World Report 2011 - Human Rights Watch

H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HWORLD REPORT | 2011E V E N T S O F 2010

H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HWORLD REPORT2011E V E N T S O F 2 01 0

Copyright © 2011 Human Rights WatchAll rights reserved.Printed in the United States of AmericaISBN-13: 978-1-58322-921-7Front cover photo: Aung Myo Thein, 42, spent more than six years in prison in Burma for hisactivism as a student union leader. More than 2,200 political prisoners—including artists,journalists, students, monks, and political activists—remain locked up in Burma's squalidprisons. © 2010 Platon for Human Rights WatchBack cover photo: A child migrant worker from Kyrgyzstan picks tobacco leaves inKazakhstan. Every year thousands of Kyrgyz migrant workers, often together with their children,find work in tobacco farming, where many are subjected to abuse and exploitation byemployers. © 2009 Moises Saman/Magnum for Human Rights WatchCover and book design by Rafael Jiménez350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floorNew York, NY 10118-3299 USATel: +1 212 290 4700Fax: +1 212 736 1300hrwnyc@hrw.org1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500Washington, DC 20009 USATel: +1 202 612 4321Fax: +1 202 612 4333hrwdc@hrw.org2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd FloorLondon N1 9HF, UKTel: +44 20 7713 1995Fax: +44 20 7713 1800hrwuk@hrw.org27 Rue de Lisbonne75008 Paris, FranceTel: +33 (0) 1 41 92 07 34Fax: +33 (0) 1 47 22 08 61paris@hrw.orgAvenue des Gaulois, 71040 Brussels, BelgiumTel: + 32 (2) 732 2009Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471hrwbe@hrw.org51 Avenue Blanc, Floor 6,1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 738 0481Fax: +41 22 738 1791hrwgva@hrw.orgPoststraße 4-510178 Berlin, GermanyTel: +49 30 2593 06-10Fax: +49 30 2593 06-29berlin@hrw.org1st fl, Wilds ViewIsle of HoughtonBoundary Road (at Carse O’Gowrie)Parktown, 2198 South AfricaTel: +27-11-484-2640, Fax: +27-11-484-2641#4A, Meiji University Academy Common bldg. 7F, 1-1,Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-kuTokyo 101-8301 JapanTel: +81-3-5282-5160, Fax: +81-3-5282-5161tokyo@hrw.orgMansour Building 4th Floor, Apt. 26Nicholas Turk StreetMedawar, Beirut, Lebanon 20753909Tel: +961-1-447833, Fax +961-1-446497www.hrw.org

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting thehuman rights of people around the world.We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination,to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumaneconduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice.We investigate and expose human rights violations and holdabusers accountable.We challenge governments and those who hold power to endabusive practices and respect international human rights law.We enlist the public and the international community tosupport the cause of human rights for all.

WORLD REPORT 2011AcknowledgmentsA compilation of this magnitude requires contribution from a largenumber of people, including most of the Human Rights Watch staff.The contributors were:Pema Abrahams, Brad Adams, Maria Aissa de Figueredo, Setenay Akdag, Brahim Alansari,Chris Albin-Lackey, Yousif al-Timimi, Joseph Amon, Amy Auguston, Leeam Azulay,Clive Baldwin, Neela Banerjee, Shantha Barriga, Jo Becker, Fatima-Zahra Benfkira,Nicholas Bequelin, Andrea Berg, Carroll Bogert, Philippe Bolopion, Tess Borden,Amy Braunschweiger, Sebastian Brett, Reed Brody, Christen Broecker, Jane Buchanan,Wolfgang Buettner, Maria Burnett, Elizabeth Calvin, Haleh Chahrokh, Anna Chaplin,Grace Choi, Sara Colm, Jon Connolly, Adam Coogle, Kaitlin Cordes, Zama Coursen-Neff,Emma Daly, Philippe Dam, Kiran D’Amico, Sara Darehshori, Juliette de Rivero, KristinaDeMain, Rachel Denber, Richard Dicker, Boris Dittrich, Kanae Doi, Corinne Dufka, AndrejDynko, Jessica Evans, Elizabeth Evenson, Jean-Marie Fardeau, Guillermo Farias, Jamie Fellner,Bill Frelick, Arvind Ganesan, Meenakshi Ganguly, Liesl Gerntholtz, Alex Gertner,Neela Ghoshal, Thomas Gilchrist, Allison Gill, Antonio Ginatta, Giorgi Gogia, Eric Goldstein,Steve Goose, Yulia Gorbunova, Ian Gorvin, Jessie Graham, Laura Graham, Eric Guttschuss,Danielle Haas, Andreas Harsono, Ali Dayan Hasan, Leslie Haskell, Jehanne Henry,Eleanor Hevey, Peggy Hicks, Saleh Hijazi, Nadim Houry, Lindsey Hutchison, Peter Huvos,Claire Ivers, Balkees Jarrah, Rafael Jiménez, Preeti Kannan, Tiseke Kasambala, Aruna Kashyap,Nick Kemming, Elise Keppler, Amr Khairy, Nadya Khalife, Viktoria Kim, Carolyn Kindelan,Juliane Kippenberg, Amanda Klasing, Kyle Knight, Soo Ryun Kwon, Erica Lally, Mignon Lamia,Adrianne Lapar, Leslie Lefkow, Lotte Leicht, Iain Levine, Diederik Lohman, Tanya Lokshina,Jiaying Long, Anna Lopriore, Linda Louie, Drake Lucas, Lena Miriam Macke, Tom Malinowski,Noga Malkin, Ahmed Mansour, Joanne Mariner Edmon Marukyan, Dave Mathieson,Géraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, Veronica Matushaj, Maria McFarland, Megan McLemore,Amanda McRae, Wenzel Michalski, Kathy Mills, Lisa Misol, Marianne Mollmann, Ella Moran,Heba Morayef, Mani Mostofi, Priyanka Motaparthy, Rasha Moumneh, Siphokazi Mthathi,Jim Murphy, Samer Muscati, Dipika Nath, Stephanie Neider, Rachel Nicholson,Agnes Ndige Muriungi Odhiambo, Jessica Ognian, Erin O’Leary, Alison Parker, Sarah Parkes,Elaine Pearson, Rona Peligal, Sasha Petrov, Sunai Phasuk, Enrique Piraces, Laura Pitter,

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSDinah PoKempner, Tom Porteous, Jyotsna Poudyal, Andrea Prasow, Marina Pravdic,Mustafa Qadri, Daniela Ramirez, Ben Rawlence, Rachel Reid, Aisling Reidy, Meghan Rhoad,Sophie Richardson, Lisa Rimli, Mihra Rittmann, Phil Robertson, Kathy Rose, James Ross,Kenneth Roth, Faraz Sanei, Joe Saunders, Ida Sawyer, Max Schoening, Jake Scobey-Thal,David Segall, Kathryn Semogas, Kay Seok, Jose Serralvo, Anna Sevortian Vikram Shah,Bede Sheppard, Robin Shulman, Gerry Simpson, Emma Sinclair-Webb, Peter Slezkine,Daniel W. Smith, Ole Solvang, Mickey Spiegel, Xabay Spinka, Nik Steinberg, Joe Stork,Judith Sunderland, Steve Swerdlow, Veronika Szente Goldston, Maya Taal, Tamara Taraciuk,Letta Tayler, Carina Tertsakian, Elena Testi, Tej Thapa, Laura Thomas, Katherine Todrys,Simone Troller, Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen, Farid Tukhbatullin, Bill Van Esveld,Gauri Van Gulik, Anneke Van Woudenberg, Elena Vanko, Nisha Varia, Rezarta Veizaj,Jamie Vernaelde, José Miguel Vivanco, Florentine Vos, Janet Walsh, Ben Ward,Matthew Wells, Lois Whitman, Sarah Leah Whitson, Christoph Wilcke, Daniel Wilkinson,Minky Worden, Riyo Yoshioka.Joe Saunders edited the report with assistance from Ian Gorvin, Danielle Haas, Iain Levine,and Robin Shulman. Brittany Mitchell coordinated the editing process. Layout and productionwere coordinated by Grace Choi and Rafael Jiménez, with assistance from AnnaLopriore, Veronica Matushaj, Jim Murphy, Enrique Piraces, and Kathy Mills.Leeam Azulay, Adam Coogle, Guillermo Farias, Alex Gertner, Thomas Gilchrist,Lindsey Hutchison, Carolyn Kindelan, Kyle Knight, Erica Lally, Adrianne Lapar, Linda Louie,Stephanie Neider, Erin O’Leary, Jessica Ognian, Marina Pravdic, Daniela Ramirez,Jake Scobey-Thal, David Segall, and Vikram Shah proofread the report.For a full list of Human Rights Watch staff, please go to our website:www.hrw.org/about/info/staff.html.

WORLD REPORT 2011

This 21st annual World Report is dedicated to the memoryof our beloved colleague Ian Gorvin, who died of cancer onNovember 15, 2010, at age 48. Ian, senior program officer atHuman Rights Watch, edited the World Report for most of thepast decade, was an expert on human rights issues in Europeand around the world, and made lasting contributions to thehuman rights movement through his work with AmnestyInternational and the Organization for Security andCo-operation in Europe as well as Human Rights Watch.An experienced activist, Ian brought good judgment as wellas linguistic savvy and an unerring eye for detail to hisediting. And he never lost sight of our mission: to tell thestories of victims of human rights violations with dignity andcompassion and to press for justice to ensure that othersdo not suffer the same fate. He was ever the voice of calm,sensible advice, with an understated but potent sense ofhumor. We miss him enormously.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

WORLD REPORT 2011Table of ContentsA Facade of ActionThe Misuse of Dialogue and Cooperation with Rights Abusers 1by Kenneth RothWhose News?The Changing Media Landscape and NGOs 24by Carroll BogertSchools as BattlegroundsProtecting Students, Teachers, and Schools from Attack 37by Zama Coursen-Neff and Bede SheppardPhoto EssaysBurma, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, and The Lord’s Resistance Army 51Africa 75Angola 76Burundi 83Chad 92Côte d’Ivoire 97Democratic Republic of Congo 103Equatorial Guinea 111Eritrea 116Ethiopia 121Guinea 127Kenya 133Liberia 142Nigeria 148Rwanda 154Sierra Leone 160

TABLE OF CONTENTSSomalia 165South Africa 171Sudan 176Uganda 185Zimbabwe 194Americas 203Argentina 204Bolivia 210Brazil 215Chile 222Colombia 227Cuba 233Ecuador 238Guatemala 243Haiti 248Honduras 252Mexico 256Peru 263Venezuela 268Asia 275Afghanistan 276Bangladesh 282Burma 288Cambodia 295China 303India 315

WORLD REPORT 2011Indonesia 321Malaysia 331Nepal 337North Korea 343Pakistan 348Papua New Guinea 355The Philippines 359Singapore 365Sri Lanka 370Thailand 376Vietnam 384Europe and Central Asia 391Armenia 392Azerbaijan 398Belarus 404Bosnia and Herzegovina 410Croatia 415European Union 420Georgia 437Kazakhstan 443Kyrgyzstan 449Russia 456Serbia 463Tajikistan 474Turkey 479Turkmenistan 485Ukraine 491Uzbekistan 497

TABLE OF CONTENTSMiddle East and North Africa 505Algeria 506Bahrain 511Egypt 517Iran 523Iraq 530Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories 536Jordan 545Kuwait 551Lebanon 556Libya 562Morocco and Western Sahara 568Saudi Arabia 576Syria 584Tunisia 591United Arab Emirates 597Yemen 602United States 6092010 Human Rights Watch Publications 629

INTRODUCTIONA Facade of Action:The Misuse of Dialogue and Cooperationwith Rights AbusersBy Kenneth RothIn last year’s World Report, Human Rights Watch highlighted the intensifyingattacks by abusive governments on human rights defenders, organizations,and institutions. This year we address the flip side of the problem–the failureof the expected champions of human rights to respond to the problem, defendthose people and organizations struggling for human rights, and stand upfirmly against abusive governments.There is often a degree of rationality in a government’s decision to violatehuman rights. The government might fear that permitting greater freedomwould encourage people to join together in voicing discontent and thus jeopardizeits grip on power. Or abusive leaders might worry that devotingresources to the impoverished would compromise their ability to enrich themselvesand their cronies.International pressure can change that calculus. Whether exposing or condemningabuses, conditioning access to military aid or budgetary support onending them, imposing targeted sanctions on individual abusers, or even callingfor prosecution and punishment of those responsible, public pressure raisesthe cost of violating human rights. It discourages further oppression, signalingthat violations cannot continue cost-free.All governments have a duty to exert such pressure. A commitment to humanrights requires not only upholding them at home but also using available andappropriate tools to convince other governments to respect them as well.1

WORLD REPORT 2011No repressive government likes facing such pressure. Today many are fightingback, hoping to dissuade others from adopting or continuing such measures.That reaction is hardly surprising. What is disappointing is the number of governmentsthat, in the face of that reaction, are abandoning public pressure.With disturbing frequency, governments that might have been counted on togenerate such pressure for human rights are accepting the rationalizationsand subterfuges of repressive governments and giving up. In place of a commitmentto exerting public pressure for human rights, they profess a preferencefor softer approaches such as private “dialogue” and “cooperation.”There is nothing inherently wrong with dialogue and cooperation to promotehuman rights. Persuading a government through dialogue to genuinely cooperatewith efforts to improve its human rights record is a key goal of humanrights advocacy. A cooperative approach makes sense for a government thatdemonstrably wants to respect human rights but lacks the resources or technicalknow-how to implement its commitment. It can also be useful for face-savingreasons–if a government is willing to end violations but wants to appear toact on its own initiative. Indeed, Human Rights Watch often engages quietlywith governments for such reasons.But when the problem is a lack of political will to respect rights, public pressureis needed to change the cost-benefit analysis that leads to the choice ofrepression over rights. In such cases, the quest for dialogue and cooperationbecomes a charade designed more to appease critics of complacency than tosecure change, a calculated diversion from the fact that nothing of consequenceis being done. Moreover, the refusal to use pressure makes dialogueand cooperation less effective because governments know there is nothing tofear from simply feigning serious participation.Recent illustrations of this misguided approach include ASEAN’s tepidresponse to Burmese repression, the United Nations’ deferential attitude2

INTRODUCTIONtoward Sri Lankan atrocities, the European Union’s obsequious approach toUzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the soft Western reaction to certain favoredrepressive African leaders such as Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Meles Zenawiof Ethiopia, the weak United States policy toward Saudi Arabia, India’s pliantposture toward Burma and Sri Lanka, and the near-universal cowardice in confrontingChina’s deepening crackdown on basic liberties. In all of these cases,governments, by abandoning public pressure, effectively close their eyes torepression.Even those that shy away from using pressure in most cases are sometimeswilling to apply it toward pariah governments, such as North Korea, Iran,Sudan, and Zimbabwe, whose behavior, whether on human rights or othermatters, is so outrageous that it overshadows other interests. But in too manycases, governments these days are disappointingly disinclined to use publicpressure to alter the calculus of repression.When governments stop exerting public pressure to address human rights violations,they leave domestic advocates–rights activists, sympathetic parliamentarians,concerned journalists–without crucial support. Pressure fromabroad can help create the political space for local actors to push their governmentto respect rights. It also can let domestic advocates know that theyare not alone, that others stand with them. But when there is little or no suchpressure, repressive governments have a freer hand to restrict domestic advocates,as has occurred in recent years in Russia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cambodia,and elsewhere. And because dialogue and cooperation look too much likeacquiescence and acceptance, domestic advocates sense indifference ratherthan solidarity.3

WORLD REPORT 2011A Timid Response to RepressionIn recent years the use of dialogue and cooperation in lieu of public pressurehas emerged with a vengeance at the UN, from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonto many members of the Human Rights Council. In addition, the EU seems tohave become particularly infatuated with the idea of dialogue and cooperation,with the EU’s first high representative for foreign affairs and security policy,Catherine Ashton, repeatedly expressing a preference for “quiet diplomacy”regardless of the circumstances. Leading democracies of the global South,such as South Africa, India, and Brazil, have promoted quiet demarches as apreferred response to repression. The famed eloquence of US President BarackObama has sometimes eluded him when it comes to defending human rights,especially in bilateral contexts with, for example, China, India, and Indonesia.Obama has also not insisted that the various agencies of the US government,such as the Defense Department and various embassies, convey stronghuman rights messages consistently–a problem, for example, in Egypt,Indonesia, and Bahrain.This is a particularly inopportune time for proponents of human rights to losetheir public voice, because various governments that want to prevent the vigorousenforcement of human rights have had no qualms about raising theirs.Many are challenging first principles, such as the universality of human rights.For example, some African governments complain that the InternationalCriminal Court’s current focus on Africa is selective and imperialist, as if thefate of a few African despots were more important than the suffering of countlessAfrican victims. China’s economic rise is often cited as reason to believethat authoritarian government is more effective for guiding economic developmentin low-income countries, even though unaccountable governments aremore likely to succumb to corruption and less likely to respond to or invest inpeople’s most urgent needs (as demonstrated by the rising number of protestsin China–some 90,000 annually by the government’s own count–fueled by4

INTRODUCTIONgrowing discontent over the corruption and arbitrariness of local officials).Some governments, eager to abandon long-established rules for protectingcivilians in time of war or threatened security, justify their own violations ofthe laws of war by citing Sri Lanka’s indiscriminate attacks in its victory overthe rebel Tamil Tigers, or Western (and especially US) tolerance of torture andarbitrary detention in combating terrorism. Governments that lose their voiceon human rights effectively abandon these crucial debates to the opponentsof universal human rights enforcement.Part of this reticence is due to a crisis of confidence. The shifting global balanceof power (particularly the rise of China), an intensified competition formarkets and natural resources at a time of economic turmoil, and the declinein moral standing of Western powers occasioned by their use with impunity ofabusive counterterrorism techniques have made many governments less willingto take a strong public stand in favor of human rights.Ironically, some of the governments most opposed to using pressure to promotehuman rights have no qualms about using pressure to deflect humanrights criticism. China, for example, pulled out all stops in an ultimately unsuccessfuleffort to suppress a report to the UN Security Council on the discoveryof Chinese weaponry in Darfur despite an arms embargo. Sri Lanka did thesame in an unsuccessful effort to quash a UN advisory panel on accountabilityfor war crimes committed during its armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers. Chinaalso mounted a major lobbying effort to prevent the awarding of the NobelPeace Prize to imprisoned Chinese writer and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo,and when that failed, it tried unsuccessfully to discourage governments fromattending the award ceremony in Norway. China made a similar effort to blocka proposed UN commission of inquiry into war crimes committed in Burma.5

WORLD REPORT 2011The United Nations and Its Member StatesThe obsession with dialogue and cooperation is particularly intense at the UNHuman Rights Council in Geneva, where many of the members insist that theCouncil should practice “cooperation, not condemnation.” A key form of pressureat the Council is the ability to send fact-finders to expose what abuseswere committed and to hold governments accountable for not curtailing abuses.One important medium for these tools is a resolution aimed at a particularcountry or situation. Yet many governments on the Council eschew any countryresolution designed to generate pressure (except in the case of the Council’sperennial pariah, Israel). As China explained (in the similar context of the UNGeneral Assembly), ”[s]ubmitting [a] country specific resolution…will make theissue of human rights politicized and is not conducive to genuine cooperationon human rights issues.” The African Group at the UN has said it will supportcountry resolutions only with the consent of the target government, in otherwords, only when the resolution exerts no pressure at all. This approach wastaken to an extreme after Sri Lanka launched indiscriminate attacks on civiliansin the final months of its war with the Tamil Tigers–rather than condemnthese atrocities, a majority of Council members overcame a minority’s objectionsand voted to congratulate Sri Lanka on its military victory without mentioninggovernment atrocities.If members of the Council want dialogue and cooperation to be effective inupholding human rights, they should limit use of these tools to governmentsthat have demonstrated a political will to improve. But whether out of calculationor cowardice, many Council members promote dialogue and cooperationas a universal prescription without regard to whether a government has thepolitical will to curtail its abusive behavior. They thus resist tests for determiningwhether a government’s asserted interest in cooperation is a ploy to avoidpressure or a genuine commitment to improvement–tests that might look tothe government’s willingness to acknowledge its human rights failings, wel-6

INTRODUCTIONcome UN investigators to examine the nature of the problem, prescribe solutions,and embark upon reforms. The enemies of human rights enforcementoppose critical resolutions even on governments that clearly fail these tests,such as Burma, Iran, North Korea, Sri Lanka, and Sudan.Similar problems arise at the UN General Assembly. As the Burmese militaryreinforced its decades-long rule with sham elections designed to give it a civilianfacade, a campaign got under way to intensify pressure by launching aninternational commission of inquiry to examine the many war crimes committedin the country’s long-running armed conflict. A commission of inquirywould be an excellent tool for showing that such atrocities could no longer becommitted with impunity. It would also create an incentive for newer membersof the military-dominated government to avoid the worst abuses of the past.The idea of a commission of inquiry, originally proposed by the independentUN special rapporteur on Burma, has received support from, among others,the US, the United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, and NewZealand.Yet some have refused to endorse a commission of inquiry on the spuriousgrounds that it would not work without the cooperation of the Burmese junta.EU High Representative Ashton, in failing to embrace this tool, said: “Ideally,we should aim at ensuring a measure of cooperation from the national authorities.”Similarly, a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that, to helpadvance human rights in the country, it is “crucial to find some co-operationmechanism with the [Burmese] national authorities.” Yet obtaining such cooperationfrom the Burmese military in the absence of further pressure is a pipedream.One favorite form of cooperation is a formal intergovernmental dialogue onhuman rights, such as those that many governments conduct with China andthe EU maintains with a range of repressive countries, including the former-7

WORLD REPORT 2011Soviet republics of Central Asia. Authoritarian governments understandablywelcome these dialogues because they remove the spotlight from humanrights discussions. The public, including domestic activists, is left in the dark,as are most government officials outside the foreign ministry. But Westerngovernments also often cite the existence of such dialogues as justification fornot speaking concretely about human rights violations and remedies in moremeaningful settings–as Sweden did, for example, during its EU presidencywhen asked why human rights had not featured more prominently at the EU-Central Asia ministerial conference.Human Rights Watch’s own experience shows that outspoken commentary onhuman rights practices need not preclude meaningful private dialogue withgovernments. Human Rights Watch routinely reports on abuses and generatespressure for them to end, but that has not stood in the way of active engagementwith many governments that are the subject of these reports. Indeed,governments are often more likely to engage with Human Rights Watch,because the sting of public reporting, and a desire to influence it, spurs themto dialogue. If a nongovernmental organization can engage with governmentswhile speaking out about their abuses, certainly governments should be ableto do so as well.The Need for BenchmarksDialogues would have a far greater impact if they were tied to concrete andpublicly articulated benchmarks. Such benchmarks would give clear directionto the dialogue and make participants accountable for concrete results. Butthat is often exactly what dialogue participants want to avoid. The failure toset clear, public benchmarks is itself evidence of a lack of seriousness, anunwillingness to deploy even the minimum pressure needed to make dialoguemeaningful. The EU, for example, has argued that publicly articulated benchmarkswould introduce tension into a dialogue and undermine its role as a8

INTRODUCTION“confidence-building exercise,” as if the purpose of the dialogue were to promotewarm and fuzzy feelings rather than to improve respect for human rights.Moreover, repressive governments have become so adept at manipulatingthese dialogues, and purported promoters of human rights so dependent onthem as a sign that they are “doing something,” that the repressors have managedto treat the mere commencement or resumption of dialogue as a sign of“progress.” Even supposed rights-promoters have fallen into this trap. Forexample, a 2008 progress report by the EU on the implementation of itsCentral Asia strategy concluded that things were going well but gave nospecifics beyond “intensified political dialogue” as a measurement of“progress.”Even when benchmarks exist, Western governments’ willingness to ignorethem when they prove inconvenient undermines their usefulness. For example,the EU’s bilateral agreements with other countries are routinely conditionedon basic respect for human rights, but the EU nonetheless concluded asignificant trade agreement and pursued a full partnership and cooperationagreement with Turkmenistan, a severely repressive government that cannotconceivably be said to comply with the agreements’ human rights conditions.It is as if the EU announced in advance that its human rights conditions weremere window-dressing, not to be taken seriously. The EU justified this step inthe name of “deeper engagement” and a new “framework for dialogue andcooperation.”Similarly, despite Serbia’s failure to apprehend and surrender for trial indictedwar crimes suspect Ratko Mladic (the former Bosnian Serb military leader)–alitmus test for the war-crimes cooperation that the EU has repeatedly insistedis a requirement for beginning discussions with Serbia about its accession tothe EU–the EU agreed to start discussions anyway. The EU also gradually liftedsanctions imposed on Uzbekistan after security forces massacred hundreds in9

WORLD REPORT 20112005 in the city of Andijan, even though no steps had been taken toward permittingan independent investigation–originally the chief condition for liftingsanctions–let alone prosecuting those responsible or doing anything else thatthe EU had called for, such as releasing all wrongfully imprisoned humanrights activists.By the same token, the Obama administration in its first year simply ignoredthe human rights conditions on the transfer of military aid to Mexico, underthe Merida Initiative, even though Mexico had done nothing as requiredtoward prosecuting abusive military officials in civilian courts. While in its secondyear the administration did withhold a small fraction of funding, it onceagain certified–despite clear evidence to the contrary–that Mexico was meetingMerida’s human rights requirements. The US also signed a funding compactwith Jordan under the Millennium Challenge Corporation even thoughJordan had failed to improve its failing grades on the MCC’s benchmarks forpolitical rights and civil liberties.Weak LeadershipUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been notably reluctant to put pressureon abusive governments. As secretary-general, he has two main tools at hisdisposal to promote human rights–private diplomacy and his public voice. Hecan nudge governments to change through his good offices, or he can use thestature of his office to expose those who are unwilling to change. Ban’s disinclinationto speak out about serious human rights violators means he is oftenchoosing to fight with one hand tied behind his back. He did make strongpublic comments on human rights when visiting Turkmenistan andUzbekistan, but he was much more reticent when visiting a powerful countrylike China. And he has placed undue faith in his professed ability to convinceby private persuasion the likes of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir,10

INTRODUCTIONBurmese military leader Than Shwe, and Sri Lankan President MahindaRajapaksa.Worse, far from condemning repression, Ban sometimes went out of his way toportray oppressive governments in a positive light. For example, in the daysbefore Burma’s sham elections in November, Ban contended that it was “nottoo late” to “make this election more inclusive and participatory” by releasingpolitical detainees–an unlikely eventuality that, even if realized, would nothave leveled the severely uneven electoral playing field. Even after the travestywas complete, Ban said only that the elections had been “insufficientlyinclusive, participatory and transparent”–a serious understatement.When he visited China the same month, Ban made no mention of humanrights in his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaving the topic forlesser officials. That omission left the impression that, for the secretary-general,human rights were at best a second-tier priority. In commenting on theawarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Chinesehuman rights activist, Ban never congratulated Liu or called for his releasefrom prison but instead praised Beijing by saying: “China has achievedremarkable economic advances, lifted millions out of poverty, broadenedpolitical participation and steadily joined the international mainstream in itsadherence to recognized human rights instruments and practices.”The new British prime minister, David Cameron, did only marginally better duringhis visit to China. He did not mention Liu in his formal meeting withChinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, saving the matter for informal talks overdinner. And his public remarks stayed at the level of generality with which theChinese governments itself is comfortable–the need for “greater politicalopening” and the rule of law–rather than mention specific cases of imprisonedgovernment critics or other concrete rights restrictions.11

WORLD REPORT 2011The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel showed a similar lack ofcourage in its dealings with China. “Dialogue” is the German government’swidely mentioned guiding principle, and Merkel in public remarks during herlatest visit to China made only the slightest passing reference to human rights,although she claimed to have mentioned the issue privately. At the “ChinaMeets Europe” summit in Hamburg, German Foreign Minister GuidoWesterwelle, without mentioning concrete abuses, cited an “intensive rule oflaw dialogue” and a “human rights dialogue” as “build[ing] a solid foundationfor a real partnership between Germany and China.” In France, PresidentNicolas Sarkozy, as he was about to welcome Chinese President Hu Jintao inParis in November, did not even congratulate Liu Xiaobo for having beenawarded the Nobel Peace Prize.With respect to Saudi Arabia, the US government in 2005 established a“strategic dialogue” which, because of Saudi objections, did not mentionhuman rights as a formal subject but relegated the topic to the “Partnership,Education, Exchange, and Human Development Working Group.” Even thatdialogue then gradually disappeared. While the US government contributed tokeeping Iran off the board of the new UN Women agency in 2010 because ofits mistreatment of women, it made no such effort with Saudi Arabia, whichhas an abysmal record on women but was given a seat by virtue of its financialcontribution. Similarly, the UK has maintained a quiet “two kingdoms” dialoguewith Saudi Arabia since 2005. Its launching included only oblique referencesto human rights, and it has exerted no discernible pressure on theSaudi government to improve its rights record.Other Interests at StakeSometimes those who promote quiet dialogue over public pressure argue efficacy,although often other interests seem to be at play. In Uzbekistan, whichprovides an important route for resupplying NATO troops in Afghanistan, the12

INTRODUCTIONEU argued that targeted sanctions against those responsible for the Andijanmassacre were “alienating” the government and “standing in the way of a constructiverelationship,” as if making nice to a government that aggressivelydenied any responsibility for killing hundreds of its citizens would be moresuccessful at changing it than sustained pressure. In making the case for whyhuman rights concerns should not stand in the way of a new partnership andcooperation agreement with severely repressive Turkmenistan, a country withlarge gas reserves, the EU resorts to similar stated fears of alienation. To avoidpublic indignation if it were to openly abandon human rights in favor of theseother interests, the EU feigns ongoing concern through the medium of privatedialogue.A similar dynamic is at play in China, where Western governments seek economicopportunity as well as cooperation on a range of global and regionalissues. For example, in its first year in office, the Obama administrationseemed determined to downplay any issue, such as human rights, that mightraise tensions in the US-China relationship. President Obama deferred meetingwith the Dalai Lama until after his trip to China and refused to meet withChinese civil society groups during the trip, and Secretary of State HillaryClinton announced that human rights “can’t interfere” with other US interestsin China. Obama’s efforts to ingratiate himself with Chinese President HuJintao gained nothing discernible while it reinforced China’s view of the US asa declining power. That weakness only heightened tension when, in Obama’ssecond year in office, he and Secretary Clinton rediscovered their humanrights voice on the case of Liu Xiaobo, although it remains to be seen whetherthey will be outspoken on rights during the January 2011 US-China summit.Western governments also have been reluctant to exert pressure for humanrights on governments that they count as counterterrorism allies. For example,the Obama administration and the Friends of Yemen, a group of states andintergovernmental organizations established in January 2010, have not condi-13

WORLD REPORT 2011tioned military or development assistance to Yemen on human rights improvements,despite a worsening record of abusive conduct by Yemeni securityforces and continuing government crackdowns on independent journalists andlargely peaceful southern separatists.US policy toward Egypt shows that pressure can work. In recent years, the USgovernment has maintained a quiet dialogue with Egypt. Beginning in 2010,however, the White House and State Department repeatedly condemned abuses,urged repeal of Egypt’s emergency law, and called for free elections. Thesepublic calls helped to secure the release of several hundred politicaldetainees held under the emergency law. Egypt also responded with anger–forexample, waging a lobbying campaign to stop a US Senate resolution condemningits human rights record. The reaction was designed to scare US diplomatsinto resuming a quieter approach, but in fact it showed that Egypt is profoundlyaffected by public pressure from Washington.Defending Rights by OsmosisOne common rationalization offered for engagement without pressure is thatrubbing shoulders with outsiders will somehow help to convert abusive agentsof repressive governments. The Pentagon makes that argument in the case ofUzbekistan and Sri Lanka, and the US government adopted that line to justifyresuming military aid to Indonesia’s elite special forces (Kopassus), a unit witha long history of severe abuse, including massacres in East Timor and “disappearances”of student leaders in Jakarta. With respect to Kopassus, while theIndonesian government’s human rights record has improved dramatically inrecent years, a serious gap remains its failure to hold senior military officersaccountable for human rights violations, even in the most high-profile cases.In 2010 the US relinquished the strongest lever it had by agreeing to lift adecade-old ban on direct military ties with Kopassus. The Indonesian militarymade some rhetorical concessions–promising to discharge convicted offend-14

INTRODUCTIONers and to take action against future offenders–but the US did not conditionresumption of aid on such changes. Convicted offenders today remain in themilitary, and there is little reason to credit the military’s future pledge given itspoor record to date. Notably, the US did not insist that Indonesian PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono authorize a special court to investigate Kopassusofficers implicated in the abduction and presumed killing of student leaders in1997-98, a step already recommended by Indonesia’s own parliament. Andthe US did not insist on ending the military’s exclusive jurisdiction over crimescommitted by soldiers.Trivializing the significance of pressure, US Defense Secretary Robert Gatesjustified resuming direct ties with Kopassus: “Working with them further willproduce greater gains in human rights for people than simply standing backand shouting at people.” Yet even as the US was finalizing terms withIndonesia on resumption of aid to Kopassus, an Indonesian general implicatedin abductions of student leaders was promoted to deputy defense ministerand a colonel implicated in other serious abuses was named deputy commanderof Kopassus.A similarly misplaced faith in rubbing shoulders with abusive forces ratherthan applying pressure on them informed President Obama’s decision to continuemilitary aid to a series of governments that use child soldiers–Chad,Sudan, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of Congo–despite a new US lawprohibiting such aid. In the case of Congo, for example, the military has hadchildren in its ranks since at least 2002, and a 2010 UN report found a “dramaticincrease” in the number of such children in the prior year. Instead ofusing a cutoff of military assistance to pressure these governments to stopusing child soldiers, the Obama administration waived the law to give the UStime to “work with” the offending militaries.15

WORLD REPORT 2011Another favorite rationale for a quiet approach, heard often in dealings withChina, is that economic liberalization will lead on its own to greater politicalfreedoms–a position maintained even after three decades in which that hasnot happened. Indeed, in 2010 the opposite occurred–in its regulation of theinternet, China began using its economic clout to try to strengthen restrictionson speech, pressing businesses to become censors on its behalf. In the end, itwas a business–Google–that fought back, in part because censorship threatenedits business model. GoDaddy.com, the world’s largest web registrar, alsoannounced that it would no longer register domains in China because onerousgovernment requirements forcing disclosure of customer identities made censorshipeasier.Despite these efforts, China still leveraged access to its lucrative market togain the upper hand because others in the internet industry, such asMicrosoft, did not follow Google’s lead. Conversely, the one time that Chinabacked off was when it faced concerted pressure–it apparently abandoned its“Green Dam” censoring software when the industry, civil society, governments,and China’s own internet users all loudly protested. And even Google’slicense to operate a search engine in China was renewed, casting furtherdoubt on the idea that a public critique of China’s human rights practiceswould inevitably hurt business.Humanitarian ExcusesSome governments and intergovernmental organizations contend that promotinghuman rights must take a back seat to relieving humanitarian suffering.Humanitarian emergencies often require an urgent response, but this argumentbecomes yet another excuse to avoid pressure even when human rightsabuses are the cause of the humanitarian crisis. That occurred in Zimbabweduring Operation Murambatsvina (Clean the Filth), when the governmentdestroyed the homes of tens of thousands of people, and in Sri Lanka during16

INTRODUCTIONthe final stages of the civil war, when the army disregarded the plight of hundredsof thousands of Tamil civilians who were trapped in a deadly war zone.In Zimbabwe, the UN country team never publicly condemned the destructionand displacement caused by Operation Murambatsvina, and almost neverspoke out publicly about the extremely serious human rights abuses committedby Robert Mugabe’s government and the ruling Zimbabwe African NationalUnion- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). In fact, during his four-year tenure inZimbabwe, the UN resident representative rarely met with Zimbabwean humanrights activists, never attended any of their unfair trials, and almost neverspoke publicly about the widespread and severe human rights abuses beingcommitted. Such silence did not translate into better access to the displacedcivilian population–the Zimbabwean authorities and ZANU-PF officials continuedto restrict and manipulate humanitarian operations in Zimbabwe, and frequentlyprevented humanitarian organizations from reaching vulnerable populationssuspected of being pro-opposition. But by failing to publicly condemnthe abuses in Zimbabwe, the UN country team lost key opportunities to use itssubstantial influence as the most important implementer of humanitarian anddevelopment assistance in the country. It also left itself addressing the symptomsof repression rather than their source.By contrast, the special envoy appointed by then Secretary-General Kofi Annanto investigate Operation Murambatsvina issued a strongly worded report in2005 citing the indiscriminate and unjustified evictions and urging that thoseresponsible be brought to justice. The report led to widespread internationalcondemnation of Mugabe’s government–pressure that forced the governmentto allow greater humanitarian access to the displaced population.Similarly in Sri Lanka, in the final months of the war with the Tamil Tigers, UNpersonnel were virtually the only independent observers, giving them a uniquecapacity to alert the world to ongoing war crimes and to generate pressure to17

WORLD REPORT 2011spare civilians. Instead, the UN covered up its own information about civiliancasualties, stopped the release of satellite imagery showing how dire the situationwas, and even stayed silent when local UN staff members were arbitrarilyarrested. UN officials were concerned that by speaking out they would loseaccess required to assist a population in need, but given Sri Lanka’s completedependence on international assistance to run camps that ultimately housed300,000 internally displaced persons, the UN arguably overestimated the riskof being barred from the country. In addition, the government’s use of anexpensive Washington public-relations firm to counter criticism of its war conductshowed its concern with its international image. By not speaking out, theUN lost an opportunity to influence the way the Sri Lankan army was conductingthe war and thus to prevent civilian suffering rather than simply alleviate itafter the fact. By contrast, after the conflict, when the independent UN specialrapporteur on the rights of the internally displaced spoke out about the lack offreedom of movement for the internally displaced, the government promptlybegan releasing civilians from the camps.A comparable pattern could be found in the role played by Western development-assistancebureaucracies in dealing with Rwanda and Ethiopia. Bothcountries are seen as efficient, relatively uncorrupt recipients of developmentassistance. Western donor agencies, often finding it difficult to productivelyinvest the funds that they are charged with disbursing, thus have a stronginterest in maintaining warm relationships with the governments. (Ethiopia’srole in combating the terrorist threat emanating from Somalia reinforces thisinterest.) Indeed, economic assistance to both countries has grown as theirrepression has intensified. Because it would be too callous to say that economicdevelopment justifies ignoring repression, the European Commission,the UK, several other EU states, and the US have offered various excuses, fromthe claim that public pressure will backfire in the face of national pride to theassertion that donor governments have less leverage than one might think.18

INTRODUCTIONThe result is a lack of meaningful pressure–nothing to change the cost-benefitanalysis that makes repression an attractive option. Quiet entreaties are leastlikely to be effective when they are drowned out by parallel delivery of massivequantities of aid.Dated PoliciesBrazil, India, and South Africa, strong and vibrant democracies at home,remain unsupportive of many human rights initiatives abroad, even thougheach benefitted from international solidarity in its struggle to end, respectively,dictatorship, colonization, and apartheid. Their foreign policies are oftenbased on building South-South political and economic ties and are bolsteredby reference to Western double standards, but these rationales do not justifythese emerging powers turning their backs on people who have not yet wonthe rights that their own citizens enjoy. With all three countries occupyingseats on the UN Security Council, it would be timely for them to adopt a moreresponsible position toward protecting people from the predation of less progressivegovernments.Japan traditionally has resisted a strong human rights policy in part becauseJapanese foreign policy has tended to center around promoting exports andbuilding good will, in part because the setting of foreign policy has been dominatedby bureaucrats who faced little public outcry over their inclination tomaintain smooth relations with all governments, and in part because Japanstill has not come to terms with its own abusive record in World War II.However, in recent years, partly due to a change in government and partly dueto growing pressure from the small but emerging Japanese civil society, theJapanese government has begun to be more outspoken on human rights withregard to such places as North Korea and Burma.19

WORLD REPORT 2011The Chinese government is naturally reluctant to promote human rightsbecause it maintains such a repressive climate at home and does not want tobolster any international system for the protection of human rights that mightcome back to haunt it. But even China should not see turning its back on massatrocities–a practice that, one would hope, China has moved beyond–asadvancing its self-interest.ConclusionWhatever the rationalization, the quest for dialogue and cooperation is simplynot a universal substitute for public pressure as a tool to promote humanrights. Dialogue and cooperation have their place, but the burden should beon the abusive government to show a genuine willingness to improve. In theabsence of demonstrated political will, public pressure should be the defaultresponse to repression. It is understandable when governments that themselvesare serious human rights violators want to undermine the option ofpublic pressure out of fear that it will be applied to them in turn. But it isshameful when governments that purportedly promote human rights fall for, orendorse, the same ploy.Defending human rights is rarely convenient. It may sometimes interfere withother governmental interests. But if governments want to pursue those interestsinstead of human rights, they should at least have the courage to admitit, instead of hiding behind meaningless dialogues and fruitless quests forcooperation.This ReportThis report is Human Rights Watch’s twenty-first annual review of human rightspractices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in morethan 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events throughNovember 2010.20

INTRODUCTIONEach country entry identifies significant human rights issues, examines thefreedom of local human rights defenders to conduct their work, and surveysthe response of key international actors, such as the United Nations, EuropeanUnion, Japan, the United States, and various regional and international organizationsand institutions.This report reflects extensive investigative work undertaken in 2010 by theHuman Rights Watch research staff, usually in close partnership with humanrights activists in the country in question. It also reflects the work of our advocacyteam, which monitors policy developments and strives to persuade governmentsand international institutions to curb abuses and promote humanrights. Human Rights Watch publications, issued throughout the year, containmore detailed accounts of many of the issues addressed in the brief summariescollected in this volume. They can be found on the Human RightsWatch website, www.hrw.org.As in past years, this report does not include a chapter on every country whereHuman Rights Watch works, nor does it discuss every issue of importance. Thefailure to include a particular country or issue often reflects no more thanstaffing limitations and should not be taken as commentary on the significanceof the problem. There are many serious human rights violations thatHuman Rights Watch simply lacks the capacity to address.The factors we considered in determining the focus of our work in 2010 (andhence the content of this volume) include the number of people affected andthe severity of abuse, access to the country and the availability of informationabout it, the susceptibility of abusive forces to influence, and the importanceof addressing certain thematic concerns and of reinforcing the work of localrights organizations.The World Report does not have separate chapters addressing our thematicwork but instead incorporates such material directly into the country entries.21

WORLD REPORT 2011Please consult the Human Rights Watch website for more detailed treatment ofour work on children’s rights, women’s rights, arms and military issues, businessand human rights, health and human rights, international justice, terrorismand counterterrorism, refugees and displaced people, and lesbian, gay,bisexual, and transgender people’s rights, and for information about our internationalfilm festivals.Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.22

WHOSE NEWS?Whose News?:The Changing Media Landscape and NGOsBy Carroll BogertThese are tough times for foreign correspondents. A combination of rapidtechnological change and economic recession has caused deep cuts in thebudget for foreign reporting at many Western news organizations. Plenty of exforeigncorrespondents have lost their jobs, and many others fear for theirjobs and their futures. Consumers of news, meanwhile, are watching internationalcoverage shrink in the pages of major papers. One recent study estimatedthat the number of foreign news stories published prominently in newspapersin the United Kingdom fell by 80 percent from 1979 to 2009. 1 TheOrganization for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that 20out of its 31 member states face declining newspaper readerships; 2 since foreignreporting is expensive, it is often the first to be cut.While changes in the media world may be hard on journalists and unsettlingfor news consumers, they also have very significant implications for internationalNGOs such as Human Rights Watch. Foreign correspondents havealways been an important channel for international NGOs to get the word out,and a decline in global news coverage constitutes a threat to their effectiveness.At the same time, not all the implications of this change are bad. Theseare also days of opportunity for those in the business of spreading the word.This essay attempts to examine the perils and possibilities for internationalNGOs 3 in these tectonic shifts in media.Of course NGOs of all kinds accomplish a great deal without any recourse tothe media at all. Human rights activists pursue much of their mission outsidethe public eye: private meetings with diplomats; closed-door policy discussionswith government officials; strategy sessions with other NGOs; and, of23

WHOSE NEWS?Human Rights Council in Geneva, for example, government delegations conductextensive diplomatic campaigns to avoid being publicly censured.Bad publicity can help spark government action. When a video surfaced inOctober 2010 showing two Papuan farmers being tortured by Indonesian soldiers,the Indonesian government clearly felt pressure to act. United StatesPresident Barack Obama was scheduled for a visit that month and neither governmentwanted the torture issue to dominate the headlines. The Indonesiangovernment, which has been notoriously reluctant to punish its soldiers forhuman rights abuses, promptly tried and convicted four soldiers of torture. 4 Itwas clearly responding to media pressure in doing so.For groups that do not enjoy extensive grass-roots support or mass membership,media coverage may act as a kind of stand-in for public pressure. In veryfew countries, and relatively rare circumstances, does the public become seriouslymobilized over an issue of foreign policy. To be sure, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has the capacity to rally global publics outside theregion–on both sides–and so does the use of US military power abroad. TheSave Darfur campaign brought hundreds of thousands of students and othersupporters to street demonstrations. But those are exceptions. In general, foreignaffairs pique the interest of a narrow subsection in any society. Extensivemedia coverage of an issue may help to affect policy even when the publicremains silent on the issue. Serbian atrocities in Kosovo at the end of the1990’s comes to mind; significant public debate, in the media and elsewhere,helped generate pressure on NATO policymakers to take action.Media coverage can also act as an informal “stamp of approval” for internationaladvocacy groups. When a prominent publication cites an NGO official ina story, it signifies that the reporter, who is supposed to be knowledgeableabout the issue, has determined the NGO to be credible. When an NGOspokesperson appears on a well-regarded television show, she may thereafter25

WORLD REPORT 2011carry greater weight with the policymakers she is trying to reach. Her veryaccess to the media megaphone makes her a bigger threat, and a person tobe reckoned with.If advocacy groups need the media, it is clear that media need them, too. Inmany countries where the press corps is not fully free, journalists rely on internationalgroups to say things that they cannot. In Bahrain, for example, theruling family promotes itself as reformist but it would have been very difficultfor the one independent local newspaper there to report extensively onrenewed use of torture during police interrogations. The fact of this resurgencewas widely alleged by activists and detainees, but considered too sensitive topublicize locally. 5 When Human Rights Watch published a report on the issue, 5the local independent newspaper covered the issue extensively, reproducingmuch of the report in its pages without major fear of retribution.Foreign correspondents working in repressive countries do not face the sameconsequences that local journalists do when they report on human rights orsocial justice issues. But they, too, may pull their punches in order to avoidproblems with their visas or accreditation. Quoting an NGO making criticalcomments is safer than doing so oneself.Some journalists feel a strong bond of kinship with NGOs that work on politicalrepression and abuse of power. Whether it was Washington Post correspondentsBob Woodward and Carl Bernstein bringing the Watergate crimes tolight, or the international press corps covering the wars in the formerYugoslavia, journalists are often driven by the desire to expose the crimes ofpolitical leaders and see justice done.Whose Sky is Falling?Paradoxically, it is precisely in wealthier countries where the media are sickesttoday. In the United States, the triple blow of the internet, the economic reces-26

WHOSE NEWS?sion, and the poor management of a few major newspapers has dramaticallyshrunk the cadre of foreign correspondents. Several daily papers, such as theBoston Globe and Newsday, have shut down their foreign bureaus entirely.Television networks have closed almost all of their full-fledged bureaus, leavinglocal representatives in a handful of capitals. The New York Times and TheWashington Post, the reigning monarchs of international coverage, appear tomaintain their foreign bureaus more out of the personal commitment of thefamilies who still own them. In the United States, at least, the commercialmodel for international fact-gathering and distribution is evidently broken.No one is more vocal about the dire consequences of these cutbacks than thenewspapers’ foreign correspondents themselves. Pamela Constable, arespected foreign correspondent for The Washington Post, wrote in 2007: “Ifnewspapers stop covering the world, I fear we will end up with a microscopicelite reading Foreign Affairs and a numbed nation watching terrorist bombingsflash briefly among a barrage of commentary, crawls, and celebrity gossip.” 6As The New York Times’ chief foreign correspondent said: “When young menask me for advice on how to become a foreign correspondent, I tell them:‘Don’t.’ It is like becoming a blacksmith in 1919–still an honorable and skilledprofession; but the horse is doomed.” 7But the correspondent, C.L. Sulzberger, made that comment in 1969. Every agelaments its own passing, and old foreign correspondents are no exception. Itis not entirely clear that the American public, or the public in any of the countrieswhere foreign correspondents are in decline, is less well-informed than itused to be. At least one study has shown, in fact, that the American public isroughly as informed about international affairs as it was 20 years ago, beforethe big declines in traditional sources of foreign reporting. 8 And overall, evenamong Western publics, media consumption is increasing. 927

WORLD REPORT 2011Meanwhile, in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and others,the internet is allowing the public to get foreign news without government filters–animportant advance in their knowledge of the world. 10 And the OECDhas estimated that, while readership of newspapers is declining among mostof its members, that decline is more than offset by the overall growth in thenewspaper industry globally. 11A number of media outlets from the global South have greatly enhanced theirinternational presence in recent years. Al-Jazeera and al-Jazeera English,financed by the emir of Qatar, report on a wide range of global news, althoughthe network has recently cut back one of its four international broadcastingcenters. Others are not so free-wheeling. Xinhua, the state-run news agency ofChina, and other Chinese media organizations such as CCTV, are loathe to runmuch human rights news–and are positively allergic to such news out of Chinaor its allies.A Peril and a BoonThe information revolution made possible by the internet represents both aperil and a boon to international NGOs grappling with the decline in Westernmedia reporting on foreign news. On the one hand, the plethora of online publications,blogs, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, cable and satellite television stations,and other forms of new media is clamorous and confusing. How areadvocacy groups to know which media are important? If one purpose of gettingmedia coverage, as laid out above, is to reach policymakers, how doesone ascertain which media they are consuming? Previously, in most countries,a couple of daily papers, a weekly magazine or two, and a few radio and televisionbroadcasts constituted the core of what critical decision-makers in governmentwere likely to get their news from. Nowadays their reading habits arenot so easy to guess. The audience for international news has fractured.28

WHOSE NEWS?A 2008 study by graduate students at Columbia University asked a range ofofficials associated with the UN in New York what media they read, listened to,and watched. Unsurprisingly, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said theyread The New York Times every day. Fifty percent read The Economist–also nosurprise. But a significant number of respondents said they were also readingthe frequent postings of a blogger at the Inner City Press, who covers UN affairsclosely but is virtually unknown outside the UN community. 12The internet poses the challenge of the glut. Advocacy groups, after all, notonly seek media coverage but also respond to media queries. Which questionersare worthy of the scarce attentions of an NGO? Which bloggers are merelycranks who will waste an inordinate amount of staff time while offering littleimpact? And how does one tell the difference? And how much time should anNGO spend poring through the latest data-dump from Wikileaks?But then there is the boon. The same internet that has blown a gaping hole inmedia budgets is also allowing NGOs to reach their audiences directly.Technologies that were once the exclusive preserve of a professional class arenow widely available. Taking a photograph of a policeman beating up ademonstrator and transmitting the image to a global audience used to involveexpensive equipment and access to scarce transmission technology. Only ahandful of trained journalists could do it. Now the same picture can be takenand transmitted with a US$35 mobile phone. During Egypt’s parliamentaryelections in late November 2010, for example, the government rejected internationalobservers and drastically restricted local monitors. But NGO activistsmanaged to film a local mayor affiliated with the ruling party filling out multipleballots and, in another place, plainclothes men with sticks disrupting apolling station.29

WORLD REPORT 2011Picking Up the Slack?For NGOs with large field presences–and even for those with only an occasionalinvestigator or representative overseas–the ability to generate and distributecontent is potentially revolutionary. But it requires more than taking a cellphonephotograph of a news event and posting it to Facebook. The question iswhether NGOs will operate systematically in the vacuum left by the commercialmedia. To do so will require re-purposing the information they are alreadygathering, and acquiring the skills to reach the public directly with featurescapable of attracting public attention. At present not many NGOs have theresources to reconfigure their research and information into user-friendly content.Most of them operate on the written word. Often they are addressingother experts rather than the public at large. Importantly, they generally haveprecious little visual information to illustrate their findings.That is beginning to change. Human Rights Watch assigns professional photographers,videographers, and radio producers to work in the field alongsideits researchers, documenting in multimedia features what the researchers aredocumenting in words. 13Amnesty International is creating an autonomous “news unit,” staffed withfive professional journalists, to generate human rights news. Medecins SansFrontieres also uses photography and video extensively, while the NaturalResources Defense Council is assigning journalists to write about environmentalissues.Even if NGOs are able to produce user-friendly content, the question remainsof how to distribute it. An NGO can post content on its website, and reach afew thousand people, perhaps tens of thousands. Distributing via Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, and other social media might garner a few thousand more.Content that “goes viral” and reaches millions of people remains the rareexception. Sooner or later the question of distribution returns to the main-30

WHOSE NEWS?stream media, whose audiences still dwarf those of the non-profit sector. Willthey distribute content produced by NGOs?With budgets for foreign news in decline, one might expect editors and producersto be grateful for the offer of material from non-profit sources. But thatis not always the case, and the answer depends on the country, the mediaoutlet, and the NGO. The BBC, for example, rarely takes material from advocacygroups for broadcast. CBS, in the US, recently tightened up its regulationsfor taking content from outside sources. 14 Time magazine will not acceptimages from a photographer whose assignment was underwritten by an NGO.And many media commentators, writing on the rising importance of NGOs asinformation producers, are wary of the trend. “While journalists–if sometimesimperfectly–work on the principle of impartiality, the aid agency is usuallythere to get a message across: to raise money, to raise awareness, to change asituation.” 15Issues of Objectivity and NeutralityNGOs like Human Rights Watch do not present facts for the sake of reportingthe news but to inform the public and advocate on behalf of victims of abuse.That sets their work apart from traditional journalism and raises the veryimportant question of whether the information being gathered and conveyedby these NGOs is less trustworthy. Unless the NGO is transparent about itsaims, about the provenance of the material it is distributing, and about thestandards it uses in its own information-gathering, the consumer–whether ajournalist or a visitor to the website–will be justifiably wary.The best media professionals spend their entire careers trying, as hard as theycan, to rid their own reporting of bias and to be fair to all sides. They believe,and they are correct, that unbiased information is a genuine public good andthat biased information can mislead readers, including policymakers, into bad31

WORLD REPORT 2011decisions–even social strife and violence. Many media training organizationsin conflict zones around the world are struggling to instill the notion of unbiasedreporting in media environments where the lack of it has proved disastrous.At the same time few people believe that the American media, wherethe culture of neutral and apolitical reporting has been most fiercely propagated,are in fact unbiased.Research-driven NGOs put a premium on rigorous, factual reporting. If theyplay fast and loose with the facts, they lose credibility and so lose tractionwith policymakers. Their reputations depend on objective reporting from thefield. At the same time, they work in service of a cause, advocating on behalfof victims and seeking accountability for perpetrators. While different NGOshave different standards for gathering, checking, and vetting information, theentire purpose of that information is to act to protect human dignity. Thosewho gather information must do so impartially, from all sides, but they are notneutral towards atrocity.Media organizations and advocacy groups stay independent of each other forgood reason. They are pursuing different objectives. Journalists’ refusal to distributecontent produced by others protects against the partisan abuse of themedia space. Meanwhile, international advocacy groups are wary of driftingfrom their core mission into the media business. But changes in technologyand commerce, at least in some countries, are pushing them closer together.To the extent that NGOs do produce more user-friendly content, they mustkeep in mind a few principles for establishing their credibility: first, transparencyin the methods of collecting the information; second, a proven trackrecord and a reputation, over many years, for reliable research; and third,complete openness about the aims of the organization and the fact of itsauthorship.32

WHOSE NEWS?NGOs still face the question of how far they want to go in creating user-friendlycontent. Few seem inclined to reorient their identities as information producersin the new information age. Filling the vacuum in international news takesmoney, and most NGOs struggle to meet their existing budgets, let aloneexpand into areas that seem tangential to their central mission. But if theyturn their backs on the trend, they will miss a critical opportunity to be heard.This information revolution has big implications for more than just a handfulof advocacy groups. Any entity that produces denser material written for amore specialist audience must now realize that the legions of those who willtransform it into something the layperson can understand–in other words, awork of journalism–are now much diminished. To have maximum impact inthe world today, information must be repurposed and refashioned for multipleaudiences and platforms, like a seed sprouting in every direction. That is atrend that no one who cares about influencing public opinion can afford toignore.Carroll Bogert is the deputy executive director, external relations,of Human Rights Watch.33

WORLD REPORT 20111 Martin Moore, Shrinking World: The decline of international reporting in the Britishpress (London: Media Standards Trust, November 2010), p 17. The study looked at foreignstories appearing in the first ten pages of four major daily newspapers.2 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Directorate for Science,Technology and Industry Committee for Information, Computer, and CommunicationsPolicy, “The Evolution of News and the Internet,” June 11, 2010http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/24/45559596.pdf (accessed November 20, 2010),p.7. The steepest declines were registered in the United States, the United Kingdom,Greece, Italy, Canada, and Spain.3 This essay focuses primarily on NGOs that do research and advocacy in multiple countriesand therefore interact regularly with journalists who cover one country for audiencesin another. Most of these remarks concern NGOs working on human rights andother social justice issues, rather than, for example, global warming and the environment,although they face some of the same challenges.4 The four were actually convicted of torture that was revealed in another, unrelatedvideo. See “Indonesia: Investigate Torture Video From Papua,” Human Rights Watchnews release, October 20, 2010, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/10/20/indonesiainvestigate-torture-video-papua.5 Human Rights Watch, Torture Redux: The Rivival of Physical Coercion duringInterrogations in Bahrain, February 8, 2010,http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/02/08/torture-redux6 Pamela Constable, “Demise of the Foreign Correspondent,” The Washington Post,February 18, 2007.7 John Maxwell Hamilton, Journalism’s roving eye: a history of American foreign reporting(Lousiana State University Press, 2010), p. 457.8 “Public Knowledge of Current Affairs Little Changed by News and InformationRevolutions: What Americans Know: 1989-2007,” The Pew Research Center for the People& the Press, April 15, 2007 http://people-press.org/report/319/public-knowledge-of-current-affairs-little-changed-by-news-and-information-revolutions(accessed November 29,2010).9 Richard Wray, “Media Consumption on the Increase,” The Guardian, April 19, 2010http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/19/media-consumption-survey(accessed November 21, 2010).10 See, for example, the Temasek Review in Singapore; Malaysiakini and other onlineportals in Malaysia; numerous Vietnamese bloggers; and the Democratic Voice of Burmaand Mizzima, among others.34

WHOSE NEWS?11 OECD, 201012 “Mass Media and the UN: What the Advocacy Community Can Do to Shape DecisionMaking,” Columbia University School of International Public Affairs, May 2009, on file atHuman Rights Watch. The respondents came from the UN Secretariat, various UN departmentswhose work touches on human rights, and diplomats representing 12 of the 15 UNSecurity Council members.13 Many photographers now raise money from foundations to partner with NGOs. Amongthe most active donors, for example, is the Open Society Institute’s DocumentaryPhotography Project: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography (accessedNovember 20, 2010); photographers at Magnum are increasingly willing to “partner…with select charitable organizations and provid[e] free or reduced rate access to theMagnum Photos archive,” http://magnumfoundation.org/core-programs.html (accessedNovember 20, 2010).14 Private conversation with CBS producer, October 2010.15 Glenda Cooper, “When lines between NGO and news organization blur,” NiemanJournalism Lab, December 21, 2009, http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/12/glenda-cooper-when-lines-between-ngo-and-news-organization-blur/(accessed November 20, 2010).35

WORLD REPORT 2011Schools as Battlegrounds:Protecting Students, Teachers, and Schoolsfrom AttackBy Zama Coursen-Neff and Bede SheppardOf the 72 million primary school-age children not currently attending schoolworldwide, more than half—39 million—live in countries afflicted by armedconflict. In many of these countries, armed groups threaten and kill studentsand teachers and bomb and burn schools as tactics of the conflict. 1Government security forces use schools as bases for military operations, puttingstudents at risk and further undermining education.In southern Thailand, separatist insurgents have set fire to schools at least327 times since 2004, and government security forces occupied at least 79schools in 2010. In Colombia, hundreds of teachers active in trade unionshave been killed in the last decade, the perpetrators often pro-governmentparamilitaries and other parties to the ongoing conflict between the governmentand rebel forces. In northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), therebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has abducted large numbers of childrenfrom schools and taken revenge on villages believed to be aiding LRA defectorsby, among other things, looting and burning schools.“We warn you to leave your job as a teacher as soon as possible otherwise wewill cut the heads off your children and shall set fire to your daughter,” read athreatening letter from Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, where betweenMarch and October 2010 20 schools were attacked using explosives or arson,and insurgents killed 126 students.While attacks on schools, teachers, and students in Afghanistan have perhapsbeen most vivid in the public eye—men on motorbikes spraying pupils withgunfire, girls doused with acid—intentional targeting of education is a far-36

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSreaching if underreported phenomenon. It is not limited to a few countries buta broader problem in the world’s armed conflicts. Human Rights Watchresearchers have documented attacks on students, teachers, and schools—and their consequences for education—in Afghanistan, Colombia, the DRC,India, Nepal, Burma, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. The UnitedNation’s Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reports thatattacks occurred in at least 31 countries from 2007 to 2009. 2While only a few non-state armed groups openly endorse such attacks, too littleis being done to document, publicize, and take steps to end them. Nor isthe negative impact of long-term occupation of schools by military forces fullyappreciated. Access to education is increasingly recognized as an importantpart of emergency humanitarian response, particularly during mass displacementand natural disasters. But protecting schools, teachers, and studentsfrom deliberate attack in areas of conflict is only now receiving greater attention.Humanitarian aid groups increasingly are alert to the harm and lastingcosts of such attacks and human rights groups have begun to address them inthe context of protecting civilians in armed conflict and promoting economicand social rights, including the right to education.An effective response to attacks on education will require more focused policiesand action by concerned governments and a much stronger internationaleffort. Making students, teachers, and schools genuinely off limits to nonstatearmed groups and regular armies will require governments, oppositiongroups, and other organizations to implement strong measures that areenforced by rigorous monitoring, preventive interventions, rapid response toviolations, and accountability for violators of domestic and international law.37

WORLD REPORT 2011Why Schools, Teachers, and Students Are AttackedNon-state armed groups target schools, teachers, and students for a variety ofreasons. Rebel groups often see schools and teachers as symbols of the state.Indeed in rural areas, they may be the only structures and governmentemployees in the vicinity, serving multiple purposes. In India, Pakistan, andAfghanistan, for example, armed opposition groups have attacked schoolsused as polling places around elections.Teachers and schools make high-visibility “soft” targets: they are more easilyattacked than the government security forces, and attacks are likely to garnermedia attention to the assailants and their political agenda, and undermineconfidence in government control. Opposition groups may also view schoolsand teachers as symbols of an oppressive educational system. A teacher insouthern Thailand told Human Rights Watch how he became a target of bothsides of the separatist conflict there. Muslim insurgents warned him that, as aMuslim, he should not be teaching at a government school. Later, local governmentparamilitary troops also threatened him for allegedly supporting theinsurgents. Soon after, unidentified assailants shot him on his way home fromdaily prayers at his mosque, seriously wounding him.Sometimes schools are attacked because armed groups are hostile to the contentof the education being delivered or because of the students they educate.In some countries, schools have been targeted because their curriculum isperceived to be secular or “Western,” others simply because the schools educategirls. Not all the violence is ideological: criminal elements may want todrive out competing sources of authority; some attacks are simply local disputesthat may or may not have to do with education.Schools and the routes students take to reach them can also be preyed uponby rebels, paramilitaries, and others seeking children for their armies, forindoctrination, or for coerced sex. During the prolonged civil war in Nepal, for38

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSexample, Human Rights Watch documented how Maoist rebels used a varietyof techniques for recruiting children, including the abduction of large groupsof children, often from schools, for indoctrination.The Consequences of AttacksThe impact of attacks can be devastating. Large numbers of teachers andpupils may be injured or traumatized, in some cases killed. And attacks oftenlead to dramatic decreases in school attendance rates. When attendanceremains low over the long term there are negative knock-on effects on theeconomy and on key development indices such as measures of maternal andchild health.In the worst cases, hundreds of schools are closed. For example,Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education reported in March 2009 that roughly 570schools remained closed following attacks by the Taliban and other insurgentgroups, with hundreds of thousands of students denied an education.Attacks can also damage facilities and teaching materials, requiring extensiverepairs and costly new materials before schools can reopen. If not shut downentirely, classes may be suspended for days, weeks, or even longer and, whenresumed, held in dangerous, partially destroyed structures or even outside.Other valuable services provided to communities in school buildings, such asadult education and community health and other services, may also be lost.When governments fail to rebuild after an attack, the impact is even greater.For example, in India, none of the schools attacked by Maoist rebels (knownas Naxalites) that Human Rights Watch visited in 2009 had received any governmentassistance to repair or rebuild. The attacks had occurred between twoand six months earlier, and state governments had stated that they had thefunding to rebuild.39

WORLD REPORT 2011Attacks on schools and teachers traumatize students and affects teachers’work performance. Even where school buildings remain intact or the physicalinfrastructure is restored, teachers and students may be too fearful to return.Qualified teachers may refuse to work in the area, leaving those who remainstretched thin.For example, in rural Bihar state in India, local residents described to HumanRights Watch how a large Maoist force blew up the middle school building intheir town. In response, local paramilitary police established a camp insidethe remaining structures. School classes were being held in a travelers’ shelterpartially exposed to the elements, without toilets or the government-mandatedmidday meal. As one parent told Human Rights Watch, “When people hearabout these problems, parents take their children out [of the school].”Attacks can also have a ripple effect on surrounding schools and affect theoverall calculation that parents and students make in assessing the costs andbenefits of attending school. In conflict areas, the quality of education is oftenalready weak and families may be highly sensitive to violence. When twoteachers were assassinated on their way to a local market in southernThailand in September 2010, for example, the local teachers’ federation suspendedclasses in all government schools in the province for three days.Threats alone can be very effective in shutting down schools in environmentswhere violence is widespread and perpetrators go unpunished. A teacher inrural Laghman province, Afghanistan, told Human Rights Watch that a third ofher students dropped out after a so-called “night letter” was left at themosque, which stated: “We warn you to stop sending your girls to these classesor you cannot imagine the consequences. Your classes will be blown up bya bomb, or if any of your daughters is raped or kidnapped, you cannot complainlater on.”40

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSUse of Schools for Military PurposesClosely related to targeted attacks on schools is the use of school facilities bynational armed forces or other armed groups. Attracted by schools’ centrallocations, solid structures, and electrical and sanitation facilities, some securityforces take over schools for weeks or months, and sometimes years. InBihar and Jharkhand states in India, for example, where government securityforces took over dozens of schools as outposts in conflicts with Maoist rebels,all of the 21 school occupations Human Rights Watch investigated in 2009 and2010 had lasted between six months and three years. Military use of schoolsnot only disrupts students’ education, it may itself provoke attacks fromopposing forces.Even when schools are not being used for classes, military use is problematicbecause attacks by opposing forces can destroy school infrastructure and blurthe lines between civilian and military installations, potentially exposingschools to attack when students return. When security forces take over aschool, they frequently fortify and militarize the school buildings andgrounds—for example, by establishing reinforced sentry boxes, digging trenches,and constructing protective walls of barbed wire and sand bags. Whensecurity forces leave, they often leave these fortifications behind. This placesthe school in ongoing danger by giving the appearance of a military presencelong after the forces have left.In some instances, security forces entirely displace students. In none of thecases investigated by Human Rights Watch had governments taken steps toprovide alternative educational facilities of comparable quality to children displacedby military occupations of school facilities.In other cases, militaries occupy only certain areas within schools, with classescontinuing to be held in the unoccupied parts. Such partial occupation ofschools is also problematic. In partially occupied schools visited by HumanRights Watch in India and southern Thailand, students, teachers, and parents41

WORLD REPORT 2011variously complained about problems as diverse as overcrowding of classrooms,loss of kitchens that had provided mid-day meals, and inability to useschool latrines. (Lack of access to toilets is a globally recognized factor contributingto lowered school attendance by girls.) Students try to continue theirstudies alongside armed men whose often poor behavior—ranging from beatingcriminal suspects in front of students to gambling, drinking, and usingdrugs—are all counter to a safe and positive learning environment for children.When security forces move in, there is typically an immediate exodus of students.And long-term occupations deter new enrollments. Girls appear morelikely to drop out or fail to enroll, motivated in part by fear of harassment byoccupying soldiers or police. Students and teachers in Jharkhand and Bihar inIndia, for example, complained that security force personnel bathed in theirunderwear in front of girls. Girls in southern Thailand told us that paramilitaryRangers had asked them for their older sisters’ phone numbers. This kind ofbehavior obviously has no place on school grounds.International Standards Protecting EducationUnder international human rights law—namely the widely-ratified Conventionon the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Economic, Social,and Cultural Rights—states are obligated to make primary education compulsoryand available free to all, and secondary education available and accessible.They must work to progressively improve regular attendance at schoolsand to reduce drop-out rates for both boys and girls. In order to ensure theright to education, states have an obligation to prevent and respond to attacksby non-state armed groups so that the schools function and children receivean education. Attacks on students, teachers, and schools will violate variousprovisions of domestic criminal law.In situations that rise to the level of armed conflict, international humanitarianlaw—the laws of war—also applies. International humanitarian law is binding42

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSon all parties to a conflict, both the government and opposition armed groups.Applicable law includes the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its two additionalprotocols and customary international law. Under international humanitarianlaw, schools and educational institutions are civilian objects that are protectedfrom deliberate attack unless and only for such time as they are beingused by belligerent forces for a military purpose. Thus a school that serves asa headquarters or an ammunition depot becomes a military objective subjectto attack.International humanitarian law also forbids acts or threats of violence with theprimary purpose of spreading terror among the civilian population.When government forces or non-state armed groups take over schools duringan armed conflict, they have an obligation to take all feasible precautions toprotect civilians from attack and to remove them from the vicinity: it is unlawfulto use a school simultaneously as an armed stronghold and as an educationalcenter. The longer a school cannot be used for educational purposes,the greater the obligation on the state to ensure the affected students’ right toeducation by other means. When a structure ceases being used as a school,the authorities must relocate the school’s teachers and students to a safelocale where education can continue or they are denying children the right toan education under international human rights law.* * *Putting an end to attacks on schools, teachers, and students requires actionat national and international levels on three fronts:• Stronger monitoring systems;• Targeted preventive measures, and more decisive and timely responsewhen incidents do occur; and• Effective justice mechanisms that hold violators of domestic and internationallaw accountable.43

WORLD REPORT 2011MonitoringA more effective deterrence to attacks on education needs to begin withacknowledgment of the problem, including clear public statements by officialsand, wherever possible, rebel group commanders, that attacks on studentsand teachers are prohibited and the use of schools for military purposesshould be off limits. Too often, government policies and regulations on use ofschools for military operations in conflict zones are ambiguous or nonexistent.A notable positive model is the Philippines, which specifically criminalizesattacks against education buildings, and prohibits the use of school buildingsby government forces as command posts, detachments, depots, or other typesof military facility. 3Information is also critical. Officials need to put in place monitoring systemsthat ensure that attacks on schools, teachers, and students are tracked: it isimpossible to devise an effective response if the scope of the problem is notknown. Too often attacks on education have fallen between the cracks of protectionand education agencies and thus have not been addressed as a systematicproblem requiring monitoring and a coordinated response. And whilegovernments are in the best position to monitor attacks, some lack the capacityor will to do so, or are themselves implicated. Here, the UN and other internationalactors have an important role to play.International monitoring is especially important for overlooked conflicts,including low level conflicts that have not produced widespread displacementbut which involve attacks on education. Militaries, embassies, political affairsoffices, and other peace and security institutions should also be encouragedto view—and thus monitor—access to and attacks on education at all levels asa critical measurement of security.The UN Security Council’s Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) onChildren and Armed Conflict provides a vehicle that, if more focused on such44

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSattacks, could have particularly far-reaching impact. The MRM was establishedin 2005 and now operates in 13 countries, feeding information on abusesagainst children in conflict from the field to the Security Council. The SecurityCouncil in turn has the power to take strong action against parties who commitabuses against children during armed conflicts, including imposing sanctionsand arms embargoes and referring perpetrators of war crimes and crimesagainst humanity to the International Criminal Court.At present the MRM is only “triggered” by evidence of the war crimes ofrecruitment and use of children as soldiers, sexual violence against children inconflict, and killing and maiming of children. Once it is operational in a country,however, the mechanism is required to monitor other abuses, includingattacks on education. The Security Council has rightly urged parties to conflictsto refrain from “attacks or threats of attacks on school children or teachersas such, the use of schools for military operations, and attacks on schoolsthat are prohibited by applicable international law.” 4 It has, however, made farfewer recommendations on education via the MRM than on higher profileissues such as child soldiers. The MRM is also not present in some places,such as southern Thailand and India, that continue to suffer repeated attackson school facilities and personnel.Supported by the MRM, the UN has achieved substantial successes reducingthe use of child soldiers by negotiating action plans with both governmentsand armed groups to demobilize children from their forces and end newrecruitment of children. To achieve similar success in ending attacks on education,the UN-led country teams that monitor violations against children inarmed conflict should improve their monitoring of attacks on education, providingthe Security Council with more information and recommendations foraction. Additionally, the Security Council should include attacks on educationas a “trigger” to start up the MRM.45

WORLD REPORT 2011Preventive Measures and Timely ResponseWhen attacks occur or even loom as a possibility, officials need to take immediatemeasures to protect teachers and students from further harm. For example,by enhancing community participation in school construction and management,education providers may draw on local information about how tobest deter threats and increase incentives among community members to supporttheir schools. Other steps may include providing private guards or escortsfor school buildings and transport; exploring alternative schools sites andschedules; prohibiting the use of schools for any military or police purpose;and negotiating with all parties the status of schools as protected or demilitarizedzones as provided for under international humanitarian law. In somecontexts, opposition groups may be influenced by statements from influentialreligious leaders or even those leaders’ active participation in schools, byinteraction with community leaders, and other steps that would discouragerebel attacks on education.For example, in Nepal the Schools as Zones of Peace initiative and thePartnerships for Protecting Children in Armed Conflict (PPCC) are often cited aseffective partnerships of non-governmental organizations and internationalagencies that, among other things, have helped keep armed groups out ofschools. In contrast, in Afghanistan in the lead up to the 2009 elections, agroup of humanitarian agencies and the Minister of Education used data onattacks to call for schools to be used as polling places only as a last resort.Their call was unheeded, and according to the ministry, 26 of the 2,742schools used as polling places were attacked on election day. 5The government’s immediate response to an attack, including repairing buildingsand replacing materials, is important for mitigating its effects and gettingstudents back to school as quickly as possible. As governments and education46

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSagencies try out responses, a “tool kit” of proven preventive measures andresponses would be useful to assist their efforts.JusticeFinally, accountability for attacks on education—including prosecuting perpetrators—iscritical. Countries that have not done so should explicitly criminalizewithin domestic law and military codes attacks on schools and placegreater restrictions on the military use and occupation of schools. The UnitedKingdom’s Ministry of Defense Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, for example,includes specific references to the protection of education buildings. 6 Inaddition to stating that attacks on schools are unlawful unless being used formilitary purposes, the manual notes that the “use of a privileged building foran improper purpose” is a “war crime traditionally recognized by the customarylaw of armed conflict.” 7 In another example, the Indian Supreme Court andvarious Indian state courts have ordered police and paramilitary forcesengaged in military operations to vacate occupied schools; however, securityforces have often ignored these orders.Domestic prosecutions for attacks, including of non-state actors, are indispensible.For example, in the DRC, an Ituri Military Tribunal in August 2006 convictedIves Kahwa Panga Mandro (“Chief Kahwa”), founder of the Party forUnity and Safeguarding of the Integrity of Congo, on six charges, including thewar crime of intentionally directing attacks against a primary school, a church,and a medical center. Citing the DRC constitution’s provision allowing courtsand military tribunals to apply international treaties, the tribunal directlyapplied the crime under the International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute ofintentionally directing attacks against institutions of education. Kahwareceived a 20-year sentence. 8 In a decision light on both legal and factual reasoning,however, an appeals court cancelled the verdict, 9 and the caseremains in legal limbo at this writing.47

WORLD REPORT 2011Where governments are unwilling or unable to prosecute, international courtscan play an important role in punishing perpetrators and deterring future violations.The International Criminal Court, for example, has explicit jurisdictionover intentional attacks against buildings dedicated to education in both internationaland internal armed conflicts, provided they are not military objectives.The court has yet to include attacks on education in its charges andshould give specific consideration to the issue during relevant investigationsand pursue cases where the evidence indicates that such attacks are amongthe most serious crimes of concern to the international community and whichare of sufficient gravity to warrant ICC prosecution.Outside of formal justice mechanisms, commissions of inquiry and truth andreconciliation commissions should address attacks on education. The 1998final report of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for example,recognized that a variety of state and non-state actors had bombed,burned, and occupied schools, and assaulted and killed teachers. Many individualperpetrators came before the commission to admit to their own involvementin attacks against schools, students, and teachers. 10The Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors the implementationof the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is also well-placed to highlighthow attacks and occupations violate the right to education. It has alreadycommented on the problem in at least four countries: Burundi, Ethiopia,Israel, and Moldova. 11 As a next step, the Committee could issue a “GeneralComment”, a statement that expands upon and clarifies provisions within theConvention. In 2008 it held a day of discussion on education in emergency situations,collecting information and recommendations that could be turnedinto a General Comment. Such an interpretation of the Convention on thisissue could assist states to protect students, teachers, and schools duringtimes of emergencies, as well as give the Committee and other internationaland domestic bodies a set of standards by which to judge government action.48

SCHOOLS AS BATTLEGROUNDSConclusionIn too many conflict-afflicted countries, combatants are able to target schools,teachers, and students with few if any consequences for the perpetrators. Theconsequences instead fall heavily on the affected teachers, students, and families,with long-term negative consequences for the affected society as awhole.The formation in 2010 of a new international coalition of UN agencies, humanitarianorganizations and other civil society groups on protection of educationsignals renewed attention to the issue. 12 The coalition’s experience to datealready suggests concrete steps governments can take to minimize attacks oneducation. Lasting improvements in the protection of schools, teachers, andstudents from attack, however, will require far more focused and coordinatednational and international action.As a tribal elder from northern Helmand province in Afghanistan noted: “Thepeople want schools, even for girls. We are losing a golden opportunity now tolift our children.”Zama Coursen-Neff is deputy director of the Children’s Rights Division at HumanRights Watch; Bede Sheppard is senior researcher in the division.1Save The Children, “The Future is Now: Education for Children in Countries Affected byConflict”, 2010, pg viii.2Brendan O’Malley, Education under Attack 2010, (Paris: UNESCO, 2010).3An Act Defining and Penalizing Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law,Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, Organizing Jurisdictions, DesignatingSpecial Courts, and for Other Related Purposes, Republic Act No. 9851, 2009- criminalizesattacks on school facilities; An Act Providing for Stronger Deterrence and SpecialProtection Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination, Providing Penalties for49

WORLD REPORT 2011its Violation, and for Other Purposes, Republic Act No. 7610, 1992- prohibits use of suchfacilities for military operations.4United Nations Security Council, “Presidential Statement on Children and ArmedConflict”, UN Doc. S/PRST/2009/9, April 29, 2009.5“Afghanistan: Over 20 Schools Attacked on Election Day,” IRIN News, August 24, 2009,http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85831 (accessed October 8, 2009).6UK Ministry of Defence, Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict (Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 2004).7 Ibid.,16.16.1, 16.29(c), pp. 428-29, n. 122.8 Tribunal Militaire de Garnison de l’Ituri, Jugement Contre Kahwa Panga Mandro, RPANo. 039/2006, RMP No. 227/ PEN/2006 (August 2, 2006).9Cour Militaire de la Province Orientale, Arrêt Contre Kahwa Panga Mandro, RPA No.023/2007, RMP 227/PEN/2006 (July 28, 2007).10 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, Report of the Truth andReconciliation Commission of South Africa (1998), vol. I, p. 34, vol. II, pp. 154, 150, 380,387, 431, 436, and 661-662, vol. III, pp. 59-60, 236, 311, 370, 408, and 617; vol. IV, p.266; and vol. V, pp. 255 and 355.11 United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), UN Committee on theRights of the Child: Concluding Observations, Burundi, CRC/C/15/Add.133 (October 16,2000), paras. 64-65; CRC, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: ConcludingObservations, Ethiopia, CRC/C/ETH/CO/3 (November 1, 2006), paras. 27-28; CRC, UNCommittee on the Rights of the Child: Concluding Observations, Israel,CRC/C/15/Add.195 (October 9, 2002), para. 52; CRC, Consideration of Reports Submittedby States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Convention on the Rights of theChild: 2nd and 3rd Periodic Reports of States Parties Due in 2005: Republic of Moldova,CRC/C/MDA/3 (July 10, 2008), paras. 423 and 435.12The Global Coalition for Protecting Education from Attack (GCPEA) includes the Councilfor Assisting Refugee Academics, Education Above All, Education International, HumanRights Watch, Save the Children International, UNESCO, and UNICEF, the UN Children’sFund. The coalition is dedicated to raising awareness about the scope of attacks on educationand their consequences, and mobilizing a more effective international response.50

H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HWORLD REPORT2011PHOTO ESSAYSBURMA, KYRGYZSTAN, KUWAIT, KAZAKHSTAN,AND THE LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY51

WORLD REPORT 2011EXILEDBURMA’S DEFENDERSby PlatonBurma is one of the most repressive and closed societies in the world, run bygenerals since 1962. Longstanding human rights abuses by the governmentinclude silencing of most of civil society, torture in prison, use of childsoldiers, forced labor, trafficking of women, and attacks targeting civilians inethnic minority areas. In May 2010, Human Rights Watch took leading portraitphotographer Platon to the Thai-Burma border to photograph former politicalprisoners, civil society leaders, ethnic minority group members, journalistsand other people in exile from their country, Burma.(left) A group of mine victims: Kio Say, 43;Hsa Ka Twe, 15; Par Taw, 45. Burma is oneof the top remaining users of landminesas part of long-running armed conflictswith ethnic minority groups.(opposite) Left to right: Ashin Sopaka,Ashin Issariya, known as “King Zero,” andU Teza. September 2007 saw the largestpopular protests against military rule inBurma in nearly 20 years. Burmesegovernment security forces killed, beat,tortured, and violently dispersed peacefulprotesters, including monks.52

WORLD REPORT 2011Democratic Voice of Burma broadcast journalists Thiri Htet San, 30, and Moe Myint Zin, 34. The DVBis a satellite radio and television news service, with highly professional reporters who risk their livesto report and record events inside Burma, and then to broadcast the news back into Burma and todistribute it worldwide.54

PHOTO ESSAYSA medical student at the time, Win Min became a leader of the 1988 pro-democracydemonstrations in Burma. He is now one of the driving forces behind an innovativecollective called the Vahu (in Burmese: Plural) Development Institute, which trainsBurmese civil society workers to work for development and peaceful change.55

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KYRGYZSTAN: “WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?”“WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?”INTERETHNIC VIOLENCEIN SOUTHERN KYRGYZSTANby Moises Saman/Magnum PhotosZhura Payzulaeva cries as sherecounts how seven members ofher family were killed in the firsttwo days of ethnic clashes in Osh.57

WORLD REPORT 201122-year-old Eliza Makeeve holds aphotograph of her late husband,23-year-old Ulan Dzhoroev, anethnic Kyrgyz man killed bygunmen during clashes thatstarted June 10 in the city of Osh.Violence erupted on June 10 when hundreds ofUzbeks gathered near a dormitory in the center ofOsh, Kyrgyzstan, allegedly in response to recentscuffles between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. HumanRights Watch researchers working in southernKyrgyzstan from June 10 to 22 documented thesubsequent massive looting and destruction of civilian property and widespreadacts of violence by Kyrgyz and Uzbek mobs in the city of Osh and the towns ofJalal-Abad and Bazar-Kurgan. While both ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks fell victim tothe violence, Uzbek neighborhoods were particularly affected as mobs of ethnicKyrgyz, many of them reportedly from villages surrounding the city of Osh,repeatedly attacked Uzbek areas.58

PHOTO ESSAYS(above) An ethnic Uzbek man walkspast the burned remains of a houseburned by mobs during ethnic clashesin the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh.(left) An ethnic Uzbek Kyrgyz womandisplays the burned remains of herKyrgyz passport and her and her son'sidentity papers after Kyrgyz securityforces destroyed them during a securityoperation in the village of Nariman.59

Workers continue to spend long periods waiting atembassy shelters, including the Philippines safe house,shown here. Workers reported spending weeks ormonths in official custody, moving from embassyshelters to police stations, and from there to criminalinvestigation facilities, before they were sent todeportation detention.

WALLS AT EVERY TURNABUSE OF MIGRANTDOMESTIC WORKERS IN KUWAITby Moises Saman/Magnum PhotosKuwait has the highest ratio of domestic workers to citizens in theMiddle East. The country’s more than 660,000 migrant domesticworkers constitute nearly a third of the work force in this small Gulfcountry of only 1.3 million citizens. But domestic workers areexcluded from the labor laws that protect other workers. They haveminimal protection against employers who withhold salaries, forceemployees to work long hours with no days off, deprive them ofadequate food, or abuse them physically or sexually.

WORLD REPORT 2011A recruitment agent stands with a group of Ethiopiandomestic workers as they waited for potential clients at anagency office in the basement of a shopping center in theHawalli neighborhood of Kuwait. Women who leaveemployers and return to recruitment agencies—either asa result of their employer’s decision or their request—arecalled “returns.”62

PHOTO ESSAYS(above) More than 200 women are packed in asweltering room in the Philippines Embassy, wherethey sleep on their luggage. Other labor-sendingcountries, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal,Ethiopia, and India, maintain shelters in Kuwait.Most are equally, if not more, crowded.(left) Gyanu, 21, came from Nepal to work as adomestic worker in Kuwait. After leaving heremployers, she sought refuge inside a makeshiftshelter operated from a private house on theoutskirts of Kuwait City.63

WORLD REPORT 2011“HELLISH WORK”EXPLOITATION OF MIGRANT TOBACCO WORKERSIN KAZAKHSTANby Moises Saman/Magnum PhotosEvery year, tens of thousands of migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan travel to theCentral Asian economic powerhouse of Kazakhstan in search of employment.Thousands of these migrant workers, often together with their children, find work intobacco farming, where many are subjected to abuse and exploitation by employerssupplying tobacco to Philip Morris Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of Philip MorrisInternational, one of the world’s largest tobacco companies.64

PHOTO ESSAYS(above) A migrant worker from Kyrgyzstan sitsinside her makeshift house in the village ofKoram, Kazakhstan.(opposite) A child migrant worker’s hands arecovered in tobacco residue after picking leaves ona tobacco farm near Koram, Kazakhstan.65


KAZAKHSTAN: “HELLISH WORKA migrant worker from Kyrgyzstanpicks tobacco leaves near the villageof Malybai, Kazakhstan.67

LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMYSince September 2008, at least 2,000 civilians have been killed andnearly 3,000 others have been abducted during attacks by the Lord’sResistance Army (LRA). The LRA, a Ugandan rebel group, operates in theborder region between northern Congo, the Central African Republic andsouth Sudan. Many of the victims, including children, were beaten todeath, had their skulls crushed or their heads sliced with machetes.Abducted children are forced to kill their family members. Three of theLRA’s leaders – Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen –are sought by the International Criminal Court under arrest warrantsissued in July 2005 for war crimes committed in northern Uganda. Allthree remain at large and continue to commit atrocities.Boniface, 14, spent six months as a rebel fighterwith the Lord's Resistance Army and wasreleased after the government Uganda Peoples’Defense Forces (UPDF) attacked their camp.

WORLD REPORT 2011(above) Marcelline, 15, was forced tobe the “wife” of an Lord’sResistance Army (LRA) commander.She spent over a year with the LRA.(left) Masua, 22, is a fisherman andfather of three children. He wasabducted by the Lord’s ResistanceArmy (LRA) and used as a porter.When he became too tired tocontinue, LRA commanders forcedchildren to hit him with sticks untilhe was left for dead.70

PHOTO ESSAYS(above) Olivier, 16, was abductedin October 2009. He was forcedto witness and participate inbrutal attacks by the Lord’sResistance Army.(right) Yoris was shot by theLord’s Resistance Army in August2010 while returning from themarket on his bicycle.71

An abandoned school lies on the outskirtsof Ango, northeastern Congo. People havefled because of recent abductions andkillings by the Lord's Resistance Army.

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WORLD REPORT 2011AngolaOn February 5, after minimal public discussion, Angola’s new constitution enteredinto force. It was approved in late January by parliament, which has been dominatedby the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) since2008. The constitution consolidates the president’s de facto powers over stateinstitutions and prescribes a parliament-based model of electing the president,rather than separate elections.In April parliament passed a law to curb Angola’s endemic corruption, followingthe president’s new “zero-tolerance” anti-corruption discourse. The law has notyet been implemented.Fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and information became morecurtailed in 2010, despite strong guarantees in the new constitution. The environmentfor human rights defenders remains restricted. Several human rights organizationshave continued to struggle with unresolved lawsuits against banningorders, administrative registration obstacles, threats, and intimidation. InCabinda province, two prominent human rights defenders were sentenced toprison on trumped-up charges following politically motivated proceedings.Arbitrary Detentions in CabindaAn intermittent armed conflict with a separatist movement has persisted inCabinda since 1975, despite a peace agreement signed in 2006. The authoritieshave long used the conflict to justify restrictions on the rights to freedom ofexpression, assembly, and association in this oil-rich enclave. The governmenthas not responded to calls for an independent investigation into allegations oftorture and other serious human rights violations committed by the AngolanArmed Forces in Cabinda for many years. Perpetrators of torture there have notbeen prosecuted.In 2010 the authorities used an armed attack on the Togolese football team onJanuary 8, which killed two Togolese and injured nine others, as a pretext toarrest and convict prominent Cabindan intellectuals and government critics. TheFront for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda, a separatist guerrilla group,76

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WORLD REPORT 2011claimed responsibility for the attack. The government has not carried out a credibleinvestigation into the incident.Only two of the nine men arrested between January 8 and April 11 were formallycharged with direct involvement in the attack, and at this writing they are awaitingtrial. Six others were formally charged and tried between June and Septemberfor unspecified “other crimes” against the security of the state, under article 26of the 1978 law on crimes against the security of the state. This legal provisioncontradicts international human rights law because it is overbroad and does notspecify the crimes for which the authorities may impose prison penalties.Those convicted include: a Chevron worker who was arrested on January 8 andsentenced to three years of imprisonment in June; two prominent human rightsdefenders–Raúl Tati, a Catholic priest, and Francisco Luemba, a lawyer–who werearrested in January and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in August; andcivic activist and university professor Belchior Lanso Tati and a former policemanwho were also arrested in January and sentenced to six and three years, respectively,of imprisonment in the same trial. In September a former activist of thecivic association Mpalabanda, arrested in January 2010, was tried and acquitted.Another former Mpalabanda activist, António Paca Panzo Pemba, was arbitrarilyarrested in April on suspicion of having organized a public demonstration in solidaritywith these political detainees, together with two Angolan human rightsorganizations. In November, charges against him were dropped for lack of evidence.Five other activists were briefly detained and released provisionally inApril for wearing and allegedly distributing t-shirts with the faces of politicaldetainees printed on them. In November, two teachers were arrested and convictedto prison sentences for “inciting to civil disobedience.” They had authored anddistributed leaflets calling on the population to abstain from Angola’s independencecelebration on November 11.Defense lawyers in August appealed to the Constitutional Court seeking revocationof article 26 of the 1978 state crime law. In September the Angolan BarAssociation also filed a request regarding the same legal provision at theConstitutional Court. At this writing the Constitutional Court’s decision is pending,78

AFRICAand despite the approval of a revised law on crimes against the security of thestate, the convicted persons remain in prison.Media FreedomThe media environment in Angola remains restrictive, and the government continuesto limit access to information, despite the emergence of a number of newmedia outlets over the past two years. The ruling party imposes a strong politicalbias in the state media. Authorities routinely limit the access of private media toofficial information and have curtailed space for open political debate on stateand private radio stations, particularly in the provinces. They have also obstructedmedia coverage of politically sensitive events such as forced evictions. OnNovember 4 the parliament passed a revised law on crimes against the security ofthe state, which contains provisions that restrict freedom of expression, for exampleby declaring “insult” of the president a criminal offense.In September and October two journalists of the Luanda-based Radio Despertar,a radio station close to the opposition party UNITA, were attacked by unknownmen. On September 5 the Radio Despertar journalist Alberto Tchakussanga wasshot dead in his home. On October 22 the radio satirist António Manuel Jojó wasstabbed in the street but survived. Both ran popular programs critical of the governmentand had previously received anonymous death threats. At this writingpolice investigations remain inconclusive.Defamation remains a criminal offense in the new press law. Other offenses, suchas “abuse of press freedom,” are vague and thus open to political manipulation.No new defamation charges against journalists were reported in 2010, but a numberof previous proceedings against journalists of the weekly newspapers Folha 8,A Capital, and Novo Jornal remain pending at this writing. Such litigation, in anincreasingly difficult economic environment for the private media, perpetuates awidespread culture of self-censorship that restricts the public’s access to independentinformation.A new press law was enacted in May 2006 but the additional legislation requiredto implement crucial parts of the law, which would improve the legal protection offreedom of expression and access to information, have still not passed at this79

WORLD REPORT 2011writing. Independent private radio stations cannot broadcast nationwide, whilethe government’s licensing practices have favored new radio and television stationslinked with the ruling MPLA and the presidency. The 2006 press law containsprovisions that prevent the establishment of media monopolies and requiredisclosure of shareholders of media corporations. Yet, the real shareholders ofcompanies registered as owners of several media corporations established since2008, which are reportedly linked to the presidential entourage, have not beendisclosed. In June a company reportedly linked to the president bought three ofthe most popular weekly newspapers known for their government criticism,Semánario Angolense, A Capital, and 40 percent of Novo Jornal.Freedom of Assembly and DemonstrationThe new constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and peaceful demonstration,and Angolan laws explicitly allow public demonstrations without the need toobtain government authorization. However, in 2010 the authorities arbitrarilybanned two public demonstrations organized by civil society organizations, publiclythreatened demonstrators, and deployed security forces to prevent thedemonstrations. In November the police also temporarily detained peacefuldemonstrators and opposition party activists in Luanda who were peacefully distributingleaflets.In March a demonstration against mass forced evictions and demolition of housesin Huila, organized by the human rights organization Omunga, was banned bythe governor of Benguela province. The governor deployed hundreds of policeagents and publicly rejected “any responsibility” for the resulting physical damageor harm to the protesters. The demonstration later took place on April 10 followinglocal and international pressure. In May the governor of Cabinda banned apublic demonstration organized by civil society groups in solidarity with civiliansjailed on suspicion of state security crimes after the January 8 guerilla attack. Thegovernor deployed police and military to prevent the demonstration from takingplace on May 22. The military and police also surrounded the organizers’ houseson the day of the demonstration, despite the demonstration being called off byits organizers.80

AFRICAHousing Rights and Forced EvictionsAngola’s laws do not give adequate protection against forced eviction, nor dothey enshrine the right to adequate housing. In 2010 the government continuedto carry out mass forced evictions and house demolitions in areas that it claims tobe reserved for public construction in Luanda and increasingly also in provincialtowns. This has occurred without adequate prior notice or compensation in severaldocumented cases.Between March and October an estimated 25,000 residents were forcibly evictedfrom their homes in Huila, without compensation or adequate prior notice, andresettled in peripheral areas without any infrastructure, driving many of the evictedinto extreme poverty. In March the government ordered the destruction of atleast 3,000 residences in Lubango, Huila province to clear railway lines.Demolitions have proceeded despite massive public criticism of the evictions bycivil society organizations, the Catholic Church, opposition parties, the parliament,and a public apology by the Minister of Territorial Administration. InSeptember and October the government has demolished at least 1,500 housesand annexes at the riverside in Lubango to make way for an urban beautificationproject.Key International ActorsAngola remains one of Africa’s largest oil producers and is China’s second mostimportant source of oil and most important commercial partner in Africa. This oilwealth, and Angola’s regional military power, has greatly limited leverage of othergovernments and international organizations pushing for good governance andhuman rights. Trade partners remain reluctant to criticize the government, to protecttheir economic interests. Since 2009 falling oil and diamond prices and theglobal economic crisis have forced the government to invest more efforts to seeksupport from international partners, including the International Monetary Fundwith which Angola signed a Stand-by-Arangement in November 2009.In February Angola underwent the Universal Periodic Review at the United NationsHuman Rights Council. Angola adopted a number of important recommendationsfrom member states. However, it did not issue a standing invitation to all UN spe-81

WORLD REPORT 2011cial rapporteurs, as requested by a number of member states as well as local andinternational human rights organizations. In May Angola was re-elected as amember of the Council and reiterated its pledge to sign or ratify all major internationalhuman rights instruments. However, none of the pending signings or ratificationshas taken place despite a previous pledge in 2007.82

AFRICABurundiBurundi held local and national elections between May and September 2010.Following communal elections on May 24, the electoral commission announcedan overwhelming majority for the ruling party, the National Council for theDefense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD).Opposition parties cried fraud and boycotted subsequent elections. Governmentofficials banned opposition meetings and tortured political opponents. BothCNDD-FDD and opposition supporters carried out acts of political violence.International observers, relieved that Burundi had not descended into mass violence,described the elections as “calm.”The government facilitated the illegal takeover of the main opposition party, theNational Liberation Forces (FNL), by a dissident wing friendly to the ruling party.Some FNL and other opposition members retreated to the bush and took uparms. Police apprehended and killed several FNL members who were attemptingto join the armed groups.The government cracked down on journalists, civil society organizations, andinternational organizations that denounced abuses.Elections and the Breakdown of Democratic ProgressCNDD-FDD’s election campaign relied on bribery and use of state resources,along with intimidation. Police shut down the meetings of some opposition partiesand arrested some activists.The May communal election results gave 64 percent of the vote to CNDD-FDD.Opposition parties claimed that there had been massive fraud and formed acoalition, ADC-Ikibiri, which called for a boycott of subsequent elections. They didnot present concrete evidence of massive fraud, but the failure of the NationalIndependent Electoral Commission (CENI) to publicize written vote tallies fromeach voting station—in violation of the electoral law—raised doubts about theintegrity of the process.83

WORLD REPORT 2011All six opposition candidates dropped out of the presidential elections in June,leaving incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza as the sole candidate. One oppositionparty, UPRONA, participated in legislative elections in July. Still, CNDD-FDDwon over 80 percent of parliament seats.Political Violence and Return to Armed ConflictBefore and throughout the elections most major parties used intimidation tactics,including violence. These parties included the FNL and, to a lesser degree, theFront for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), the Movement for Solidarity andDemocracy (MSD), the Union for Peace and Development (UPD), and the Union forNational Progress (UPRONA), but the majority of incidents were attributed toCNDD-FDD. Partisan youth groups, including the CNDD-FDD’s Imbonerakure,played a significant role in the violence. The Imbonerakure were also involved incarrying out illegal arrests before, during, and after the elections.In the two weeks before communal elections at least five politically-motivatedkillings took place. During the presidential and legislative elections at least 128grenade attacks – many of them targeting political activists on all sides – tookplace throughout Burundi, killing 11 and injuring at least 69. At least 33 CNDD-FDD meeting places were set on fire during this period.Throughout July and August FNL members fled their homes to avoid arrest, manyreturning to the forests where they had fought during Burundi’s 16-year civil war.FNL leader Agathon Rwasa went into hiding, as did ADC-Ikibiri spokespersonLeonard Nyangoma. A new armed movement was formed. In September sevenworkers employed by a prominent CNDD-FDD member were killed; evidence suggestedthat the perpetrators were FNL members in the Rukoko forest. At least 18bodies, many mutilated, washed up in the Rusizi River; some were recognized asFNL members. The United Nations mission in Burundi (BINUB) and a Burundianhuman rights group presented the authorities with evidence that police carriedout some of the killings.84

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AFRICARepression of the Political Opposition andResurgence of TortureOver 250 opposition members were arrested in June and July. Charges included“inciting the population not to vote,” which is not a crime in Burundi. Others weresuspected of serious crimes, including throwing grenades.At least 12 opposition activists were tortured or ill-treated in June and July by theNational Intelligence Service (SNR). Dozens were ill-treated by the police. SNRagents cut off part of the ear of one UPD member and forced him to eat it. Otheractivists were kicked in the genitals or imprisoned in toilets.Three opposition leaders were illegally prevented from leaving the country inJune. On June 8 Interior Minister Edouard Nduwimana banned all oppositionactivities. He rescinded the ban in late July, but police still shut down some oppositionactivities, including a September 17 ADC-Ikibiri press conference.On August 4 Interior Minister Nduwimana recognized the results of an “extraordinarycongress,” organized by former FNL members with support of the rulingparty, in which FNL president Rwasa was voted out and replaced by more compliantleaders. After years of effort by government officials and the internationalcommunity to bring Rwasa and the FNL into the political process, the congressviolated FNL internal rules and left Rwasa and his supporters with no politicalvoice.On September 27 MSD spokesperson François Nyamoya was arrested on defamationcharges after stating in a radio interview that President Nkurunziza shoulddismiss SNR chief Adolphe Nshimirimana and Deputy Police Director GervaisNdirakobuca due to abuses committed by both services. He was released on bailon October 14. In addition to his political activity, Nyamoya is a prominent lawyerwho has defended government critics in court. His client Jackson Ndikuriyo, a formerpolice officer who had filed a complaint for unlawful dismissal, was killed onAugust 26 in what Burundian rights organizations denounced as an extrajudicialexecution by police. Ndikuriyo had been fired for denouncing police corruptionand had told Nyamoya before his death that he was being threatened by DeputyPolice Director Ndirakobuca.87

WORLD REPORT 2011Human Rights Defenders and JournalistsThe year 2010 represented a low point for the rights of human rights defendersand journalists, with repression reaching a level not seen since 2006.On May 18 Foreign Minister Augustin Nsanze revoked the work permit of HumanRights Watch’s Burundi researcher, claiming that the organization’s May report onpolitical violence in Burundi was “biased” and that the researcher demonstrated“attitudes that are harmful to government institutions.” The government did notcontest any specific information in the report and as of November Nsanze had notresponded to a series of requests from Human Rights Watch for dialogue.Four journalists were arrested in 2010. Jean Claude Kavumbagu, editor of theonline service Net Press, was detained in July on treason charges—by law onlyapplicable “in times of war”—after questioning the army’s ability to respond to anattack by al-Shabaab. Prosecutors insinuated that threats from al-Shabaabagainst Burundi constituted “war.” As of October Kavumbagu had been held illegallyin pretrial detention for three months. Thierry Ndayishimiye, editor of thenewspaper Arc-en-Ciel, was detained in August for denouncing corruption at thestate energy company. He was released on bail. Two journalists from the privatenewspaper Iwacu were detained for two days in November, with no explanationand no charges.On July 29 Gabriel Rufyiri, president of the anti-corruption organization OLUCOME,was questioned by a magistrate subsequent to a defamation complaint.Bujumbura prosecutor Renovat Tabu ordered Rufyiri’s arrest. The magistraterefused, for lack of evidence, and was transferred the next day to a post in a jurisdictionin rural Burundi.Eric Manirakiza and Bob Rugurika, the director and editor-in-chief of the privateradio station RPA, received death threats. Pacifique Nininahazwe, delegate generalof the Forum for the Strengthening of Civil Society (FORSC), was subjected tosurveillance by vehicles associated with the SNR.Hearings were held in the trial of suspects in the April 2009 murder of ErnestManirumva, OLUCOME vice president. Civil society groups expressed concern thatprosecutors have neglected to arrest or question several high-ranking police and88

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WORLD REPORT 2011SNR officials who have been cited by witnesses. They have also presented evidencesuggesting that some witnesses have disappeared or have been killed.Prosecutors lost the witnesses’ confidence by sharing information on witnesseswith the SNR.Transitional Justice and Criminal JusticeA committee representing the government, the UN, and civil society completed aseries of “national consultations” on establishing a Truth and ReconciliationCommission and a Special Tribunal to address past war crimes. The committeepresented President Nkurunziza with a report in April, but it still is not public atthis writing, preventing progress on establishing the proposed mechanisms.The Burundian justice system was plagued by backlogs in 2010. Sixty-five percentof prisoners were in pretrial detention. A September court decision upholding thepretrial detention of journalist Kavumbagu held that pretrial detention is alwaysthe best means to maintain a suspect “at the disposition of the justice system,”in violation of international human rights principles.Key International ActorsInternational diplomats in Bujumbura closely followed proceedings in casesaffecting human rights defenders and journalists, many personally attended hearings.Belgium’s foreign minister condemned the arrests of Kavumbagu andNyamoya and called for investigations into the allegations of torture of politicalopponents. The United States, which offered technical assistance from its FBI ininvestigations into Manirumva’s death, pressed the government to pursue highrankingofficials suspected of involvement in the killing.Many foreign governments failed to denounce restrictions on the rights of thepolitical opposition during the election period. They downplayed the lack of anequal playing field and exerted heavy pressure on the opposition to end its boycott,which resulted in alienating opposition parties.90

AFRICAThe UN mission in Burundi systematically documented cases of torture, arbitraryarrests, and extrajudicial executions, and pressed the government to end thesepractices.The UN-appointed Independent Expert on the Situation of Human Rights inBurundi has not been able to present any report on the situation in Burundi sinceSeptember 2008, in a deviation from standard practice at the UN Human RightsCouncil. Burundi lobbied the Council to postpone the presentation of the independentexpert’s report during the council’s September 2010 session.Rwandan pressure on Burundi resulted in the illegal repatriation of 103 Rwandanasylum seekers in November 2009. Tanzania took the positive step of naturalizing162,000 Burundian refugees who had been in Tanzania since 1972.91

WORLD REPORT 2011ChadA rapprochement agreement between Chad and Sudan, signed January 15, 2010,marked the end of a five-year proxy war. The normalization of relations led to therepatriation of Chadian rebels from Sudan, the opening of the border between thetwo countries in April after seven years of closure, and the deployment of a jointforce to secure the border, though attacks on civilians in the area continue.President Idriss Déby visited Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, in February for the firsttime in six years; and in July Chad, a state party to the International CriminalCourt, hosted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, earning the dubious distinctionof being the first ICC member state to harbor a suspect from the court. TheChadian government clashed with rebel forces in eastern Chad in January andApril. Criminality, banditry, kidnappings, carjackings, and armed robbery targetinghumanitarian agencies led to the withdrawal and temporary suspension of somehumanitarian operations.In January the government of Chad requested that the United Nations begin theprocess of withdrawing the peacekeeping mission in eastern Chad. The governmentcited the mission’s slow deployment, uneven record of success, andimprovements in the security situation as reasons for its decision. In May the UNrevised the mission’s mandate and authorized its gradual drawdown and closureby the end of the year, and effectively shifted full responsibility for the protectionof civilians, including displaced populations and refugees from Darfur, to theChadian security forces.The implementation of the reforms promised in an August 2007 agreement withopposition parties has been slow and uneven. President Déby, one of Africa’slongest-serving heads of state, has failed to make adequate funding availableand has instead tightened his grip on power. Despite a new media law passed inAugust, the government continues to suppress free speech.Throughout the country, government forces continue to arbitrarily arrest anddetain civilians and suspected rebels, often on the basis of ethnicity, and subjectthem to ill-treatment and torture, sometimes in unofficial places of detention.Chad’s prison conditions are among the harshest on the African continent.92

AFRICAWeak institutions of justice contributed to a culture of impunity. The governmenthas not investigated or prosecuted serious abuses against civilians, such askillings and rapes by government security forces and rebels following clashes atAm Dam in May 2009. The disappearance of opposition leader Ibni OumarMahamat Saleh during the February 2008 attack on N’Djamena, the capital,remains unresolved.Drawdown of the United Nations Mission in ChadPeacekeepers from the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MIN-URCAT) have been in eastern Chad and northeastern Central African Republicsince mid-2008 with a mandate to protect refugees and displaced populations,facilitate humanitarian assistance, and promote human rights.Following the UN decision to draw down the mission by the end of 2010, representativesof UN agencies formed a working group with the Chadian governmentto improve security for humanitarian groups in eastern Chad. The plan includesconsolidation of the Chadian Integrated Security Detachment (DIS), a componentof MINURCAT comprised of Chadian police forces trained by the UN, which providesecurity in and around the refugee camps. However, the plans do not clearlyaddress the security concerns of refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), orthe local population.Refugees and Internally Displaced PersonsMore than 250,000 Sudanese refugees and 168,000 Chadian displaced peoplelive in camps and elsewhere in eastern Chad. In April approximately 5,000 newSudanese refugees arrived from West Darfur, following renewed fighting therebetween the Sudanese rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) andSudanese government forces.The security situation of refugees and IDPs in camps remains precarious, withcontinued reports of human rights abuses and other crimes. The militarization ofcamps, unexploded landmines, and the proliferation of arms in eastern Chad continueto put civilians at risk. Humanitarian needs were greatly exacerbated by93

WORLD REPORT 2011food shortages and pockets of famine. Severe flooding destroyed the infrastructureof some refugee camps and left 4,000 refugees completely without shelter.In May the prime minister encouraged IDPs to return to their areas of origin. Anestimated 20,000 people returned in the Dar Sila and Ouaddai regions betweenApril and July, but the sustainability of these movements is uncertain. Returneescontinue to report cases of unlawful killings, attacks, and theft. The lack of basicinfrastructure, such as access to drinking water, health centers, or schools alsostops many IDPs from returning home. Inequity in the justice system and violationsperpetrated by the Chadian Armed Forces further add to this climate of fear.Sexual ViolenceSexual and gender-based violence, including rape, early and forced marriages,and female genital mutilation, was reported frequently to UN human rights monitorsin eastern Chad; in the first half of 2010 DIS registered over 250 complaintsin this area. Most victims are children. The high levels of violence are exacerbatedby an entrenched culture of impunity and structural gender inequality. Rapesoccur in domestic settings, near victims’ residences, and outside villages, refugeecamps, and IDP sites; perpetrators include members of the Chadian NationalArmy (ANT). Women and girls do not have adequate access to health and legalservices.Child SoldiersVarious Chadian security forces, including the ANT and JEM, continued to recruitand employ children in eastern Chad. In January and February six children recruitedto JEM between 2007 and 2008 deserted and returned to the Iridimi refugeecamp. In September the special representative of the secretary-general for childrenand armed conflict presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council listingboth the ANT and JEM as parties that recruit and use children. In 2007 theChadian government signed an agreement with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)to release all children from its armed forces.On September 14, 2010, the Chadian government arrested four Sudanese rebelswho were allegedly recruiting child soldiers in the Goz Amir refugee camp. UNICEF94

AFRICAhas demobilized over 800 child soldiers in Chad over the past three years; morethan 90 percent of these children were affiliated with Chadian armed oppositiongroups.In June the government hosted a regional conference on child soldiers with fiveother Central African nations, leading to the adoption of the “N’DjamenaDeclaration,” which pledges to stop the use of children in armed conflict and torelease and reintegrate child soldiers.Hissène Habré TrialThe Senegalese government continues to delay judicial proceedings against formerChadian president Hissène Habré, who stands accused of crimes againsthumanity and torture during his 1982-1990 rule. In 2006 Senegal accepted anAfrican Union “mandate” to prosecute Habré “on behalf of Africa,” but then statedthat the prosecution would not move forward unless international donorsassumed the full expense of organizing a trial, which Senegal estimated at US$40million.In July 2010 a joint African Union-European Union team, with the support of theUnited States, presented Senegal with a proposed budget of $9 million for thetrial. Senegal has accepted the proposed budget and a donors’ conference isscheduled to take place in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, by the end of 2010.Meanwhile thousands of victims of torture and killings under Habré’s rule havenever received compensation or recognition from Chad’s current government, andmany of Habré’s henchmen still hold key positions of power, including state securityjobs.International ActorsDespite solid evidence of widespread and serious human rights abuses in Chad,the country’s key international partners have refrained from pressing the Chadiangovernment on its human rights commitments. By lodging a formal request to theUN for the non-renewal of the mission’s mandate, Chad succeeded in divertinginternational attention from its election and domestic human rights problems.95

WORLD REPORT 2011The government of Chad received ongoing military support from both France andthe US. France has had troops stationed in Chad since 1986; currently they number1,000 soldiers. Yet the Chadian government has started to question the justificationof the French deployment and, during celebrations of Chad’s 50 th anniversaryof independence, President Déby said that France must “pay a price” if it“wants to stay in Chad, to use its airplanes, and train its soldiers there.” It is notclear yet how France’s stated plan to reorganize troops stationed in its formercolonies and negotiate new defense agreements will affect its military cooperationwith Chad.As one of the key US allies on the African continent, Chad received US militaryassistance under the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership, a schemethrough which the US sends Special Forces instructors to train antiterrorist commandosin Chad. US President Barak Obama issued a waiver allowing US militaryassistance to continue to flow to Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan,and Yemen, despite State Department findings that these countries violate the USChild Soldiers Prevention Act.China is becoming an increasingly important international player in Chad.Attracted by the growing petroleum industry in the Sahel region of Africa, Chinesecompanies have increased their presence there. In June 2010 the China NationalPetroleum Corporation—one of China’s largest oil and gas companies, which isalso present in Sudan—began working on an oil pipeline in southwestern Chad.The pipeline is expected to be operational in 2011 and will facilitate the transportof crude oil from the Koudalwa field (300 kilometers, or 186 miles, south ofN’Djamena) to the Djarmaya refinery (north of N’Djamena).In early February 2010 Chad won reelection onto the Peace and Security Councilof the AU, the AU’s most important organ in charge of the day-to-day managementof peace and security issues on the continent.96

AFRICACôte d’IvoireA long-delayed presidential vote on October 31 left President Laurent Gbagbo andformer prime minister Alassane Ouattara in a run-off scheduled for November 28.Optimism among Ivorians and international partners that the country was movingtoward reunification after a calm first round was tempered by the ethnic-regionalsplit among voters, as well as concerns that incendiary rhetoric by the candidates’supporters could lead to incidents of communal and political violence. A successfulelection would signal an end to the political uncertainty that has beleagueredthe country for more than five years.Meanwhile the almost singular focus on elections by the Ivorian government andits international partners resulted in grossly insufficient efforts to address disarmament,human rights abuses, and deficiencies within rule of law institutions.Ivorians continue to suffer high levels of sexual violence, banditry, and land conflictwith little recourse in a justice system plagued by corruption, lack of independence,and insufficient resources. The state institutions mandated to protectthe population and investigate and hold accountable perpetrators of seriouscrimes continue to engage in unprofessional and predatory conduct, includingthe open extortion of citizens at checkpoints throughout the country.Elections and a Continuing Political-Military StalemateIn the first round of presidential elections, almost 80 percent of eligible Ivorianscast their votes in a process that international observers deemed to be free andfair. However, none of the candidates received 50 percent of the vote, resulting ina run-off between Gbagbo and Ouattara. Votes were cast sharply along ethnic andregional lines during the first round, with Gbagbo controlling the south and westand Ouattara the north. There were widespread concerns that a contested secondround would fail to end the country’s long-term political uncertainty.Ivorian authorities made minimal effort to disarm former combatants in 2010,allowing for the continued abundance of arms, particularly in the rebel-held northand the formerly pro-government militia stronghold in the far west of the country.As of August the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) had collectedonly 715 arms during their disarmament programs for rebel and militia forces97

WORLD REPORT 2011combined, despite the government’s census of 70,000 combatants and claimsthat around 30,000 combatants had already been demobilized. Rebel forces wereincreasingly unwilling to cooperate with inspectors from the UN Group of Expertstasked with monitoring compliance of a 2004 arms embargo. The government’sRepublican Guard has refused outright to cooperate since the embargo wasimposed.Rule of LawThe judicial system remains marked by corruption and lack of independence. Theplanned redeployment of judicial officials to the north progressed slowly in 2010,although several tribunals and correctional facilities were able to reopen afterbeing in rebel hands for seven years. However, Forces Nouvelles rebels’ refusal torelinquish de facto control of much of the north, including prisons and security,hampered the judiciary’s ability to be effective and independent.Land RightsViolent conflicts over land rights remain a persistent problem in southern andwestern Côte d’Ivoire, exacerbated by the chronic failure of the judicial system toresolve disputes. Many such conflicts pit indigenous populations against immigrantcommunities. In May at least 10 people were killed in a clash around MontPeko, one of many protected forest regions where land is illegally sold and turnedinto cocoa fields, while more than 20 people were seriously injured during aSeptember confrontation in Fresco. In the far west, almost 900 ethnic Burkinabéinternally displaced persons remain within a camp outside Guiglo due to fear ofretribution from the indigenous population should they return to their land.Extortion and RacketeeringAs in past years the government took no meaningful steps to address widespreadextortion and racketeering by government security forces and rebels. In the government-controlledsouth, police, gendarmes, and customs officials routinelydemand bribes at checkpoints. Individuals who refuse to pay bribes to corruptofficials are refused passage, intimidated, and often beaten or arbitrarily98

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WORLD REPORT 2011detained. Immigrant populations and other perceived outsiders are targeted forparticularly severe treatment.Extortion remains even more problematic in the north, where Forces Nouvellesrebels continue to exert almost complete economic control over the population.The rebels reap the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars annually atcheckpoints and through rackets on businesses, particularly the lucrative cocoaand timber trade. In late August rebel leaders promised that forces would stay intheir barracks during the two months preceding the elections. However, at thiswriting, many are still illegally manning checkpoints.Political ViolenceThe first round of presidential voting occurred with few reported incidents of violenceor intimidation. However, in the prelude to the run-off between Gbagbo andOuattara, inflammatory rhetoric by party media organs and incidents of intimidationby party youth wings intensified. At this writing there were increasing fearsthat intimidation and violence might mar the second round and the announcementof results.Tensions flared in early February as a result of disputes over the voter list.Following reports that judicial authorities were controversially removing namesfrom the voter list, protests turned violent in several towns across Côte d’Ivoire,leaving several persons dead or seriously injured. Government buildings weresacked in Man, Bouaké, and Vavoua. President Gbagbo dissolved the governmentand electoral commission on February 12, citing the protests and accusations thatthe electoral commission’s head committed fraud, leading to additional proteststhroughout the country. Law enforcement officials fired on demonstrators inGagnoa on February 19, killing five. An investigation by UNOCI’s human rightsdivision found that Ivorian security and defense forces committed serious violationsin suppressing these protests and riots, including extrajudicial killings,physical violence, and illegal arrests and detentions.100

AFRICASexual ViolenceSexual violence remained pervasive throughout the country. Problems are particularlyacute in the far west of Côte d’Ivoire, where armed men sexually assaultwomen and girls in their homes, as they tend to their fields, as they walk to orfrom the market, and after hauling them from transport vehicles. Victims are typicallyattacked during a robbery. The attacks are especially common during thecocoa harvest and on market days. Victims’ access to health and legal servicesremains extremely limited. Attempts to investigate and prosecute cases of sexualviolence are hampered by lack of political will among police and court officials,and aggravated by severe deficiencies in the justice system, particularly in thenorth and west.Accountability for Past AbusesImpunity for serious crimes committed in Côte d’Ivoire remains a major concern.The UN Security Council has still not made public the findings of the UNCommission of Inquiry into serious violations of human rights and internationalhumanitarian law since September 2002, delivered to the UN secretary-general inNovember 2004. In 2003 the Ivorian government accepted the jurisdiction of theInternational Criminal Court over serious crimes committed in violation of internationallaw. However, it has since repeatedly failed to facilitate ICC initiatives toassess national efforts on accountability for such crimes, including to determinewhether the ICC should open an investigation there.The National Human Rights Commission, which began work in July 2008, submittedits second annual report in August 2010. The commission still failed to meetthe standards laid out in the Paris Principles because it remained politicized, noteffectively independent from the executive, and inadequately funded.Key International ActorsCôte d’Ivoire’s key partners – including the UN, the Economic Community of WestAfrican States, the European Union, and France – grew increasingly frustratedwith election delays, and throughout the year exerted considerable pressure onthe Ivorian government to hold elections in 2010. They also provided significant101

WORLD REPORT 2011financial support for election preparations. However, these international partnersremained reluctant to publicly criticize the government for its human rightsrecord, or to push for accountability for those responsible for war crimes, politicalviolence, or rampant crime.With the notable exception of the August report on human rights violations duringthe February demonstrations, UNOCI continued to fail to make its statistics andreporting on human rights abuses in the country publicly available.UN Security Council Resolution 1933, adopted in June, extended UNOCI’s mandatethrough December, authorizing over 8,400 military and police personnel. Inadvance of elections the Security Council agreed to deploy 500 additional peacekeepingtroops, and UNOCI was given a clearer mandate regarding the protectionof civilians. However, proactive efforts to stem rampant violence, including sexualviolence, remained nominal. France maintained 900 troops in Côte d’Ivoire tosupport UNOCI.The Security Council extended a sanctions regime through April 30, 2011, includingan arms embargo, a ban on the import of Ivorian diamonds, and travel bansand asset freezes on three individuals, two of whom were implicated in attacksagainst UN personnel in 2006. In its August report, UNOCI recommended anexception allowing the Ivorian government to import anti-riot equipment, citingthe lack of such equipment as a contributing factor to the February abuses bysecurity forces.In January 2010 the UN Human Rights Council published a report on Côte d’Ivoireunder its Universal Periodic Review mechanism. Côte d’Ivoire committed to implementrecommendations on the rule of law and to end impunity for sexual violenceby bringing perpetrators to justice. However, virtually no efforts were made duringthe year to achieve these goals.102

AFRICADemocratic Republic of CongoAttacks on civilians and other human rights abuses continued with disturbing frequencyin 2010. The Congolese army sustained its military campaigns against foreignand national armed groups in the east and north, and launched a new campaignin the west to quell a local insurgency. As in the past, all sides targetedcivilians, who were killed, raped, arbitrarily arrested, pressed into forced labor,and looted. The ongoing violence left nearly 2 million people displaced and a further145,000 as refugees in neighboring countries.The United Nations peacekeeping mission was renamed the UN OrganizationStabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) following calls for its withdrawal bythe Congolese government, which was eager to claim security improvementsahead of the 50 th anniversary of Congo’s independence. The new name made littledifference in the struggle to protect civilians. Some perpetrators were arrestedon war crimes charges, but many others remained in positions of power, mostnotably Bosco Ntaganda, a general sought on an arrest warrant from theInternational Criminal Court (ICC). Violent attacks on journalists and human rightsdefenders increased.Attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern CongoAttacks against civilians were the most severe in northern Congo, where theLord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group, continued its brutal campaign.A further 604 people were killed and 473 abducted, bringing the death tollin Congo to over 2,000 and the number of abducted to 2,600 since the LRA beganits latest campaign of violence in 2008. The LRA also attacked civilians across theborder in the Central African Republic and Southern Sudan. The largest attack inCongo was in the remote Makombo area of Haut Uele District, where in December2009 LRA combatants clubbed to death at least 345 civilians and abducted 250others. The attack was one of the worst ever perpetrated by the rebel group in itsbloody 24-year history. The LRA also carried out widespread abductions in BasUele District, deliberately targeting children whom the group forced to serve assoldiers.103

WORLD REPORT 2011The Ugandan army—in coordination with the Congolese, Central African, andSouthern Sudanese armed forces—continued its military campaign against theLRA. The operation had some success in weakening the rebel group, but the LRA’sability to attack civilians remained undiminished. No progress was made onapprehending three of the LRA’s top leaders sought by the ICC for crimes committedin northern Uganda. Congolese army and MONUSCO efforts to protect civiliansin LRA-affected areas remained inadequate, with limited resources directedto address the threat.Military Operations in the East and WestThe Congolese army continued military operations in North and South Kivuprovinces of eastern Congo against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation ofRwanda (FDLR), a predominantly Rwandan Hutu rebel group, some of whose leadersparticipated in the 1994 genocide. At the same time the army sought to integratenearly two dozen former armed groups into its ranks, a condition of thepeace accords signed in March 2009. The integration process was fraught withproblems. A number of the armed groups dropped out, angry that their enemiesreceived higher ranks or more lucrative posts. Other groups, such as the NationalCongress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), conducted their own militaryoperations under the guise of the Congolese army, but without approval from themilitary hierarchy. The confusion affected chains of command and control of thetroops.Attacks on civilians by the army and armed groups were rampant. Hundreds werekilled and raped as each warring party accused local populations of supportingits enemies. For example, at least 105 civilians were killed in western Masisi territorywhen former CNDP troops newly integrated into the army conducted unilateraloperations against the FDLR and their allies. In another incident in Walikale territoryin early August, FDLR combatants and a local armed group, the Mai MaiCheka, systematically gang raped at least 303 civilians in 13 villages. The attackersaccused their victims of supporting the Congolese army.As in 2009, UN peacekeepers provided logistical and operational support to theCongolese military operations against the FDLR. Following earlier criticisms thatpeacekeepers had failed to put in place adequate conditions to ensure respect for104

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AFRICAhuman rights, MONUSCO strengthened its conditionality policy and sought tosupport only battalions it had previously screened. But the confused chains ofcommand made the policy’s application exceedingly difficult. Many officers with aknown track record of human rights abuses remained in command positions. Themost blatant example was General Bosco Ntaganda, sought on an arrest warrantfrom the ICC, who continued to play the de facto role as deputy commander of thejoint military operations. Ntaganda also continued to perpetrate human rightsabuses and was implicated in assassinations and arbitrary arrests of individualsopposed to him.In addition to problems in the east, the Congolese army also deployed to westernEquateur Province to counter an insurgency led by the Enyele ethnic group, after alocal fishing dispute spun out of control. The insurgents attacked opponents fromother ethnic groups, as well as policemen and soldiers. While quelling the insurgency,Congolese security forces were themselves responsible for numeroushuman rights violations. The UN estimated that 100 civilians were killed in theclashes.Sexual Violence and Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityThe level of sexual violence in Congo continued at an alarming rate. Over 15,000cases of sexual violence were reported in 2009. In 2010 there were no signs thatthe trend was decreasing. For the first six months of the year 7,685 cases werereported. More than half of the victims were under 18 years of age.In October a private member’s bill was introduced in the National Assembly proposinga punishment of three to five years’ imprisonment for “homosexual relations”and to outlaw all publications and films that highlight “sexual practicesagainst nature.” The bill also seeks to criminalize members and financers of associationsthat promote or defend “sexual relations against nature” with six monthsto one year in prison.Threats to Journalists and Human Rights DefendersCongolese human rights defenders and journalists were increasingly targeted in2010. A prominent human rights defender, Floribert Chebeya Bahizire, executive107

WORLD REPORT 2011director of Voice of the Voiceless, was found dead on June 1, following a visit topolice headquarters in Kinshasa, the capital. His driver, Fidele Bazana Edadi,remains missing at the time of writing. The national police chief was suspendedand other senior police officers were detained following the murder, though nonewas charged at the time of writing. In eastern Congo, on June 30, a human rightsdefender working for Le Bon Samaritain was killed by armed men in uniform nearBeni, North Kivu. Sylvestre Bwira Kyahi, civil society president of Masisi territory,was abducted by army soldiers on August 24 and held for a week in an undergroundprison, where he was repeatedly beaten for writing a public letterdenouncing abuses by soldiers under Ntaganda’s command and calling for hisarrest.Freelance cameraman Patient Chebeya Bankome was shot dead by soldiers outsidehis home in Beni on April 5. Radio France Internationale (RFI) began broadcastingagain in Congo on October 12, after being off the air since June 2009.Other radio stations, including in Bandundu and Kisangani, were shut down orinterrupted by authorities when they criticized government policy.Justice and AccountabilityThe vast majority of crimes committed in Congo have gone unpunished and, inmany cases, perpetrators are rewarded rather than brought to justice.Despite the somber trend, there were some positive developments. On November17, 2009, the FDLR president, Ignace Murwanashyaka, and his deputy, StratonMusoni, were arrested in Germany by the German police for war crimes andcrimes against humanity committed by FDLR troops under their command in easternCongo. Another FDLR leader, Callixte Mbarushimana, was arrested in Franceby French police on October 11, 2010, under an arrest warrant issued by the ICCfor similar crimes.In Congo the government increased military prosecutions against soldiersaccused of human rights violations, including crimes of sexual violence, althoughthe majority of those prosecuted held junior ranks. In one notable exception, followingpressure from the UN Security Council and human rights organizations,judicial authorities in Kinshasa arrested General Jerome Kakwavu in April 2010 on108

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WORLD REPORT 2011war crimes charges for rape and torture. Kakwavu is the first general arrested onrape charges in Congo’s history.In another important landmark, the Office of the UN High Commissioner forHuman Rights published on October 1 its report of a human rights mapping exercisein Congo, which documented 617 incidents of serious violations of internationalhumanitarian law between 1993 and 2003. The report described the role ofthe main Congolese and foreign parties responsible—including military or armedgroups from Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Angola—and suggested options topursue justice for the crimes, including the proposed establishment of a mixedchamber in Congo with Congolese and international judges. Rwanda and Uganda,among others, rejected the report. In an important statement, the Congolese governmentwelcomed it and said it would support the option of a mixed chamber.Key International ActorsAt the insistence of the government, the UN withdrew some 1,500 peacekeepersand pledged to conduct a joint security assessment with the government to determinefuture drawdown.Following the mass rape in Walikale, the UN dispatched its assistant secretarygeneralfor peacekeeping operations, Atul Khare, to Congo to assess the challengesfor protecting civilians and recommend improvements. The UN secretarygeneral’sspecial representative on sexual violence in conflict, Margot Wallström,also visited Congo twice to strengthen UN action to address sexual violence andhold perpetrators accountable.On May 24 United States President Barack Obama signed legislation committingthe US to developing a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians from LRAattacks and to end the group’s violence.110

AFRICAEquatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea remains mired in corruption, poverty, and repression under theleadership of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the country’s president for over30 years. Vast oil revenues fund lavish lifestyles for the small elite surroundingthe president, while the majority of the population lives in dire poverty. The governmentregularly engages in torture and arbitrary detention. It also continues apractice of abducting perceived opponents abroad and holding them in secretdetention. Journalists, civil society, and members of the political opposition faceheavy government repression.President Obiang, who overwhelmingly won re-election in November 2009 in adeeply flawed vote, unsuccessfully sought to enhance his international image byannouncing purported human rights reforms. Several prominent Obiang initiatives,including a the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO) prize in his honor, were blocked due to widespread concernover well-documented corruption and abuse in his administration.Economic and Social RightsSignificant oil revenues and the country’s small population make EquatorialGuinea’s per capita gross domestic product among the highest in the world, andthe highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, socioeconomic conditions forthe country’s population of approximately 600,000 remain dismal. One studypublished in The Lancet found that the country had the world’s highest child mortalityrate, though a second study in the same publication found that the countrydid see progress in reducing maternal mortality.The government has failed to utilize available resources to progressively realizethe social and economic rights of the population. Given its high oil revenues, ithas invested only paltry sums in health, education, and other social services. Asreported by the International Monetary Fund in May, after a four-year delay,Equatorial Guinea in 2010 began to disburse “small” amounts for those purposesthrough its Social Development Fund. The government, instead, has prioritizedinvestments in projects, such as an ultra-modern hospital, that have little benefit111

WORLD REPORT 2011for the poor who lack access to basic health services. An anti-malaria campaignlargely funded by Western oil companies has lowered the incidence of malaria.In February a United States Senate investigation revealed that President Obiang’seldest son and presumed successor—known by the nickname Teodorín—whoserves as minister of agriculture and forestry, bypassed money-laundering controlsand used suspect funds to finance expensive purchases in the US. The son’sspending on luxury goods from 2004-2007 was nearly double the Equatoguineangovernment’s 2005 budget for education. The US Senate also reported thatTeodorín is under criminal investigation in the US. In response to this negativepublicity, he hired a Washington communications firm to polish his image, selectingthe same firm used by his father. President Obiang also hired a new US lobbyist,replacing the firm he retained after a 2004 US Senate investigation exposedhis improper personal spending from national oil accounts.Freedom of Expression and AssociationEquatorial Guinea remains notorious for its lack of press freedom; its ranking byReporters Without Borders fell to 167 th out of 178 countries in 2010. A few nonstate-controlledmedia outlets publish erratically and are tightly restrained.Journalists from the state media are not permitted to criticize the government.According to international press freedom groups, in January the government firedfour reporters from the state radio and television broadcaster for “lack of enthusiasm.”In February a journalist with state-run radio was arrested and held for threedays after he reported on-air that seven bodies were found at a trash dump inBata, the largest city on the country’s mainland. In April the sole foreign correspondentin Equatorial Guinea, an Agence France-Presse reporter, was detainedand held for several hours when he attempted to cover the arrival of foreign dignitariesat the airport in Malabo, the capital.Freedom of association and assembly are also severely curtailed, infringing onthe development of civil society. The government imposes restrictive conditionson the registration and operation of nongovernmental groups. As a result, there isnot one legally registered independent human rights organization in the country.The few local activists who openly promote needed reforms are vulnerable to112

AFRICAintimidation, harassment, and reprisals. The government is also intolerant of criticalviews from abroad, frequently characterizing those who expose PresidentObiang’s autocratic and corrupt rule as racist and colonialist. It also regularlydenies visas to foreign journalists.Political Parties and Political OppositionContrary to President Obiang’s claims that “my country is democratic,” free andfair elections are denied to its people. In the lead-up to the November 2009 presidentialvote, which President Obiang won with 95.4 percent of the ballot, the governmentstifled and harassed the country’s beleaguered political opposition,denied the opposition equal access to the media, and imposed serious constraintson international observers.The ruling Democratic Party (PDGE) maintains a monopoly over political life. Onlytwo of the four other political parties with candidates running in the election—theConvergence for Social Democracy (CPDS) and the People’s Union (UP)—activelyoppose the ruling party and Obiang. Opposition parties are silenced through theuse of criminal prosecution, arbitrary arrest, and harassment. Freedom Housenamed Equatorial Guinea as one of the “worst of the worst” countries for theharsh repression of political rights and civil liberties, as it has for several previousyears.In July Teodorín was elected to head the ruling party’s youth wing. That role automaticallyconfers on the younger Mr. Obiang the vice-presidency of the PDGE andpresumably ensures that he is next in line to replace his father.Abduction, Arbitrary Detention, Torture, and Unfair TrialsThere is no independent judiciary in Equatorial Guinea. The government commonlyemploys arbitrary detention and arrests without due process. Detainees continuedto be held indefinitely without knowing the charges against them. Basic fairtrial standards are disregarded. Torture remains a serious problem despite anational law prohibiting it. Equatorial Guinea’s security services have kidnappedmore than a dozen perceived opponents abroad, including at least four in 2010.113

WORLD REPORT 2011Amnesty International reported that Equatorial Guinea abducted four nationalsliving in exile in Benin in January 2010, held them in secret detention where theywere tortured and forced to confess to participating in a February 2009 attack onthe presidential palace, and then executed them in August following a militarytrial that violated international human rights standards and the country’s ownlaws.The government had earlier arbitrarily detained and accused 10 opposition politiciansand scores of Nigerian citizens, including fisherman and traders, of involvementin the same attack on the presidential palace. In March, after more than ayear in detention, seven of the Nigerian citizens were prosecuted in an unfaircivilian trial and each sentenced to 12 years in prison, while two Equatoguineanopposition members were first acquitted by the civilian court and then retried inAugust by a military court, receiving sentences of 20 years.Key International ActorsAt its review under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN HumanRights Council in December 2009, and during a follow-up session in March 2010,Equatorial Guinea accepted over 100 recommendations to improve its humanrights record, including commitments to end torture and arbitrary and secretdetentions. In June President Obiang announced a reform plan at the GlobalForum in Cape Town, South Africa, pledging that he would make his country’s oilrevenues fully transparent, increase social spending, institute legal reforms, protecthuman rights, and preserve the environment. Although President Obianghired a “reform adviser” to help promote these purported improvements, the variouspledges were consistently belied by his government’s action.In April the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a global initiative promotingopenness on petroleum and mining revenues, expelled Equatorial Guinea forfailing to meet its most basic criteria. In July, the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries deferred Equatorial Guinea’s application to join, also in thewake of controversy over President Obiang’s record. (Although Portuguese is notspoken in the former Spanish colony, President Obiang declared it EquatorialGuinea’s newest national language.) In August the US government, as well as aUN working group and others, sharply criticized the unfair trial and executions114

AFRICAthat took place that month in Equatorial Guinea. In October, after stalling a decisionseveral times, UNESCO indefinitely suspended an award named after—andfunded by—President Obiang. UNESCO’s executive board acted after a global civilsociety campaign generated an international uproar over the planned “dictatorprize” that threatened to seriously taint the organization.The US is Equatorial Guinea’s main trading partner and US companies dominatethe country’s oil sector. The US government took some steps to hold EquatorialGuinea to global standards, notably taking a strong stance at UNESCO against theObiang prize.Spain could play an important role as the former colonial power, but it generallyhas declined to apply pressure on Equatorial Guinea regarding human rightsissues. The Spanish government, however, also opposed the UNESCO prize.In addition to the reported criminal inquiry against Teodorín Obiang in the US,legal challenges are proceeding in France, Spain, and before the AfricanCommission on Human and Peoples’ Rights alleging misuse of EquatorialGuinea’s oil funds.115

WORLD REPORT 2011EritreaBy any measure, the unelected government of President Isayas Afewerki isoppressive. It allows no space for individual autonomy in any sphere—political,economic, or religious. Arbitrary arrests, torture, and forced labor are rampant.Rule by fiat is the norm. The Eritrean government refuses to implement a constitutionapproved in 1997 containing civil and human rights provisions. ManyEritreans conclude that they can avoid oppression only by fleeing the country atrisk to their lives.Arbitrary Detention, “Enforced Disappearances,”and Deaths in CustodyThousands of Eritreans are incarcerated without charge, trial, or opportunity toappeal. They are denied access to lawyers or family. The government releases noinformation about numbers of prisoners, their places of confinement, whetherthey remain alive, or why they are being held. Many detainees simply “disappear.”Prisoners include high-ranking government officials arrested in September 2001after they publicly criticized President Isayas’s leadership, as well as editors andpublishers of all private newspapers. None have been charged or brought to trial.There have been persistent reports from former prison guards that over half theofficials and journalists arrested in 2001 are dead. Among those still held is ajournalist with dual Eritrean-Swedish citizenship, Dawit Isaac. In 2010 PresidentIsayas’s principal political advisor told Swedish interviewers the journalist wasjailed for conspiring to “facilitate” an Ethiopian invasion of Eritrea during the1998-2000 war. The advisor refused to provide substantiation and reiterated the“conspirators” would never be brought to trial or released.Despite government secrecy, information about arrests leaks out. In May and June2010 the government arrested several hundred citizens, most belonging to theAfar ethnic group, according to external opposition websites. (An Afar insurgentgroup has been active along Eritrea’s southeast Red Sea coast). About 30 womenmembers of an “unregistered” Christian church were arrested in December 2009.Although members of such churches are frequently arrested, Eritrea’s information116

AFRICAminister said that “religion had nothing to do with” their arrests. “I’m sure theywere committing a crime,” he added. Their crime has never been disclosed. Aprominent former government journalist was arrested in March 2010 with noexplanation for the arrest. A government journalist arrested in 2009 along with 11of her colleagues, also without explanation, was reported to have been placed insolitary confinement in 2010.Death in custody is common from ill-treatment, torture, starvation, and denial ofmedical care. In April 2010 a woman held for over two years in a shipping containerbecause she would not renounce her unregistered religious faith died atthe Sawa military training center from maltreatment.Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading TreatmentTorture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in detentionare routine. Former detainees report that detention almost always includes severebeatings, often leading to permanent bodily harm. Punishments also entail mockdrowning, being hung by the arms from trees, and being tied up in the sun in contortedpositions for hours or days.Poor detention conditions often amount to torture. Many prisoners are held inunlit underground bunkers and in shipping containers with broiling daytime andfreezing nighttime temperatures. A woman with deep visible scars from beatingsin detention told a BBC reporter in 2010 she had been held 23 hours a day in anunderground cell in “unbearable” heat and made to walk on sharp rocks andthorns for an hour each day.Restrictions on Freedom of Expression and AssociationThe government has monopolized all information media since 2001. No privatenewspapers have been allowed since then and no political organization otherthan the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) is permitted. Allunions are government-run. Nongovernmental public gatherings are prohibited.Asking a critical question at a government-convened forum constitutes groundsfor arrest. No NGOs exist.117

WORLD REPORT 2011Homosexuality is illegal. In March 2010 a government minister told the UnitedNations Human Rights Council that homosexuality is in “direct contradiction” toEritrean values and will not be legalized.Restrictions on Religious FreedomIt is unlawful to practice a faith unless it is one of four “registered” religions:Eritrean Orthodox, Muslim, Catholic, or Lutheran. Security forces arrest membersof “unregistered” religions, often during religious services. A religious-freedommonitoring group reported that scores were arrested in 2010. Persons arrested forthis reason are subject to the same torture and abuse as other prisoners, but canoften obtain their release by renouncing their faith. Those who refuse sometimespay with their lives. Jehovah’s Witnesses are especially targeted; three have beendetained since 1994 for refusing to submit to military service. The patriarch of theOrthodox Church, deposed by the government in 2006, remains under housearrest without access to communication.Indefinite Conscription and Forced LaborBy law, all able-bodied adult Eritreans must perform 18 months of national service.In practice, national service is routinely prolonged indefinitely. National serviceconscripts are paid a pittance and often used as cheap, involuntary labor onprojects personally benefiting ranking civilian and military leaders. They havebeen used as forced labor to implement development projects. A former goldmineemployee reported that national service recruits were involuntarily assignedto his gold-prospecting team, receiving only national service pay. Abuse of conscripts,including torture, is common.Prolonged service, harsh treatment, and starvation wages are principal reasonsfor the hundreds of monthly desertions. President Isayas said in 2010 that mostdeserters left for economic reasons or were “going on a picnic.”Indefinite conscription also forces many Eritreans to flee the country. Despite a“shoot-to-kill” policy for anyone caught trying to cross the country’s borders,thousands of refugees pour out of Eritrea to Sudan and Ethiopia. In March 2010the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that 50,000 Eritrean refugees118

AFRICAwere housed in camps in Ethiopia, a third of them military deserters, with 1,800Eritreans escaping monthly. The most prominent defections occurred in December2009 when 12 Eritrean football players defected in Kenya and later obtained asylumin Australia. Some escapees never make it. Border guards reportedly killed 12refugees in March 2010 during an escape attempt, according to an unconfirmedSudanese press report.United Nations Sanctions and Horn of Africa RelationsIn December 2009 the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea for defyingthe council’s demands that it remove troops from territory in neighboringDjibouti and stop providing political, financial, and logistical support to armedinsurgents in Somalia. Sanctions include an arms embargo, travel restrictions onEritrean officials and organizations designated by a UN sanctions committee, anda freeze of their assets.In June 2010, two years after Eritrea invaded Djibouti, it withdrew its troops andagreed to binding demarcation of the border following Qatari mediation. Duringthe two years, President Isayas repeatedly called allegations that Eritrea hadinvaded Djibouti “fabrications” and refused to meet with UN and African Unioninvestigators. About 230 Eritrean troops deserted to Djibouti in the months followingthe June 2008 battle and received refugee status. Eritrean governmentmedia have never informed the Eritrean public about the invasion, withdrawal, ordesertions.A UN monitoring committee reported in March 2010 that “the scale and nature ofEritrean government support [of Somali insurgent groups] had either diminishedor become less visible, but had not altogether ceased.” While detectable militaryassistance had declined, Eritrea continued to provide political and, possibly,financial support, according to the UN report. At year’s end, UN sanctionsremained in place.Eritrea’s relations with Ethiopia remain strained. Ethiopia occupies Eritrean territory,having reneged on a commitment, made in an agreement ending a two-yearwar between the countries, to accept as final a border demarcated by a neutralBorder Commission. A Claims Commission in 2005 found Eritrea had violated119

WORLD REPORT 2011international law by attacking Ethiopia in 1998. Eritrea continues to try to destabilizeEthiopia by funding and arming insurrection groups in that country.Key International ActorsAt least 14 mining companies from Canada, China, Australia, the United Kingdom,India, and Libya are prospecting for gold and other minerals in Eritrea. ACanadian mining company, Nevsun, Inc., is to begin commercial operations inearly 2011 at Bisha, 150 kilometers west of Asmara, the capital. The Eritrean governmentowns 40 percent of the Bisha project. Mining income is unaffected byUnited Nations sanctions for now.Eritrea receives a modest amount of foreign aid. China was the largest contributorin 2010, largely as a lender of soft loans. It announced a US$60 million loan formining activities, apparently used by Eritrea to buy a 30 percent stake in theBisha project (Eritrea already owned 10 percent by law). China also lent US$6 millionfor food security programs. The African Development Bank donated US$20million for higher education. Eritrea is in the second year of a five-year €122-millionEuropean Commission grant for food production and infrastructure projects.Little of the grant has been disbursed because of Eritrea’s failure to improvehuman rights conditions. Other ongoing lenders and donors include the UnitedArab Emirates, Iran, Qatar, and Libya; none announced new assistance programsin 2010.During the 2010 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of human rights practices at theUN Human Rights Council, Eritrea committed to acceding to the ConventionAgainst Torture. At year’s end it hadn’t done so, and there was no evidence thatits practices changed.120

AFRICAEthiopiaThe ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) consolidatedpolitical control with a striking 99.6 percent victory in the May 2010 parliamentaryelections. The polls were peaceful, but were preceded by months of intimidationof opposition party supporters and an extensive government campaignaimed at increasing support for the ruling party, including by reserving access togovernment services and resources to ruling party members.Although the government released prominent opposition leader BirtukanMidekssa from her most recent two-year stint in detention in October 2010, hundredsof other political prisoners remain in jail and at risk of torture and ill-treatment.The government’s crackdown on independent civil society and media didnot diminish by year’s end, dashing hopes that political repression would easefollowing the May polls.The 2010 ElectionsAlthough the sweeping margin of the 2010 victory came as a surprise to manyobservers, the ruling party’s win was predictable and echoed the results of localelections in 2008. The 99.6 percent result was the culmination of the government’sfive-year strategy of systematically closing down space for political dissentand independent criticism. European election observers said that the election fellshort of international standards.In the run-up to the 2010 elections there were a few incidents of violent assaults,including the March 1 killing of Aregawi Gebreyohannes, an opposition candidatein Tigray. More often, voters were influenced by harassment, threats, and coercion.The Ethiopian government’s grassroots-level surveillance machine extendsinto almost every community in this country of 80 million people through an elaboratesystem of kebele (village or neighborhood) and sub-kebele administrations,through which the government exerts pressure on Ethiopia’s largely rural population.Voters were pressured to join or support the ruling party through a combination ofincentives—including access to seeds, fertilizers, tools, and loans—and discrimi-121

WORLD REPORT 2011natory penalties if they support the opposition, such as denial of access to publicsector jobs, educational opportunities, and even food assistance. During Apriland May officials and militia from local administrations went house to housetelling residents to register to vote and to vote for the ruling party or face reprisalsfrom local party officials, such as bureaucratic harassment or losing their homesor jobs.Political Repression, Pretrial Detention, and TortureIn one of Ethiopia’s few positive human rights developments in 2010, in Octoberthe government released Birtukan Midekssa, the leader of the opposition Unityfor Democracy and Justice Party, after she spent 22 months in detention. Alongwith many other opposition leaders, Birtukan was initially arrested in 2005 andthen pardoned in 2007 after spending almost two years in jail. She was rearrestedin December 2008. In December 2009 United Nations experts determined thather detention was arbitrary and in violation of international law.Hundreds of other Ethiopians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained andsometimes subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. No independent domesticor international organizations have access to all of Ethiopia’s detention facilities,so it is impossible to determine the number of political prisoners and others whohave been arbitrarily detained.Torture and ill-treatment have been used by Ethiopia’s police, military, and othermembers of the security forces to punish a spectrum of perceived dissenters,including university students, members of the political opposition, and allegedsupporters of insurgent groups, as well as alleged terrorist suspects. Secretdetention facilities and military barracks are most often used by Ethiopian securityforces for such activities. Although Ethiopia’s criminal code and other laws containprovisions to protect fundamental human rights, they frequently go unenforced.Very few incidents of torture have been investigated promptly and impartially,much less prosecuted.Torture and ill-treatment of detainees arrested on suspicion of involvement witharmed insurgent groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front and the OgadenNational Liberation Front in Somali region remains a serious concern. The122

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WORLD REPORT 2011Ethiopian military and other security forces are responsible for serious crimes inthe Somali region, including war crimes, but at this writing no credible effortshave been taken by the government to investigate or prosecute those responsiblefor the crimes.Freedom of Expression and AssociationThe government intensified its campaign against independent voices and organizations,as well as its efforts to limit Ethiopians’ access to information in late2009 and 2010. By May, when the parliamentary elections took place, many ofEthiopia’s leading independent journalists and human rights activists had fledthe country due to implicit and sometimes explicit threats. While a few independentnewspapers continue to publish, they exercise self-censorship.In December 2009 government threats to invoke the 2009 Anti-TerrorismProclamation against the largest circulation independent newspaper, AddisNeger, forced its editors to close the paper and flee the country. A few days later,police beat an Addis Neger administrator responsible for winding down the newspaper’saffairs.Other newspapers were also threatened or attacked. The Committee to ProtectJournalists reported that 15 journalists fled the country between late 2009 andMay 2010. An official of the government’s media licensing office accused theAwramba Times of “intentionally inciting and misguiding the public.” In Augustunknown assailants smashed windows and doors of its office. In Septemberpolice interrogated the editor of Sendek after it published interviews with anopposition party leader; the police purportedly were investigating whether thenewspaper was licensed.In March a panel of the Supreme Court reinstated large fines against the ownersof four publishing companies convicted in 2007 for “outrages against the constitution”solely for their coverage of the 2005 parliamentary elections. In February ajudge sentenced the editor of Al Quds to one year in prison for an article he wrotetwo years earlier challenging Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s characterization ofEthiopia as an Orthodox Christian country.124

AFRICAForeign media did not face much better. The government began jamming theVoice of America language programs in Amharic, Oromo, and Tigrinya in February2010 and followed by jamming Deutsche Welle; the jamming ended in August.Prime Minister Meles personally justified the jamming on the grounds that thebroadcasters were “engaging in destabilizing propaganda” reminiscent ofRwandan radio broadcasts advocating genocide.The assault on independent institutions extends to nongovernmental organizations,particularly those engaged in human rights work. The repressive Charitiesand Societies Proclamation, enacted in 2009, forbids Ethiopian nongovernmentalorganizations from doing work on human rights or governance if they receivemore than 10 percent of their funding from foreign sources.The effects of the law on Ethiopia’s slowly growing civil society have been predictableand devastating. The leading Ethiopian human rights groups have beencrippled by the law and many of their senior staff have fled the country due to thesometimes blatant hostility toward independent activists.All organizations were forced to re-register with the newly created Charities andSocieties Agency in late 2009. Some organizations have changed their mandatesto exclude reference to human rights work. Others, including the EthiopianHuman Rights Council (EHRCO), Ethiopia’s oldest human rights monitoring organization,and the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyers Association (EWLA), which engagedin groundbreaking work on domestic violence and women’s rights, slashed theirbudgets, staff, and operations. The government froze both groups’ bank accountsin December 2009, allowing them access to only 10 percent of their funds.Meanwhile, the government is encouraging a variety of ruling party-affiliatedorganizations to fill the vacuum, including the Ethiopian Human RightsCommission, a national human rights institution with no semblance of independence.Key International ActorsRegional security concerns—particularly regarding Sudan’s upcoming referendumand the increasing reach of Somalia’s Islamist armed groups—have thus far insulatedEthiopia from increased human rights pressure from Western donors.125

WORLD REPORT 2011Ethiopia’s African neighbors have been mute in the face of Ethiopia’s deterioratinghuman rights situation, while China, South Korea, and Japan have increasedengagement in 2010, although their contributions remain small compared toWestern aid. Chinese money largely flows into infrastructure, although trade alsoincreased 27 percent to more than US$800 million in the first six months of 2010,according to The Economist.Few governments commented publicly on the increasing political repression grippingthe country in the months before and after the May elections. In a rareexception, the United States noted in late May that “an environment conducive tofree and fair elections was not in place even before Election Day.” The EuropeanUnion’s election observers also raised multiple concerns with the unlevel playingfield and constraints on freedom of assembly and expression. Yet even after theelection result proved the EPRDF’s consolidation of a single-party state, Ethiopia’sdonors continued to channel enormous sums of development assistance throughthe government. The government received more than $3 billion in developmentassistance in 2008 alone.The final report of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review ofEthiopia’s human rights record was adopted in March 2010. Ethiopia committedto ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It rejectedrecommendations that it repeal or amend the Charities and SocietiesProclamation and that it end the impunity of Ethiopia’s security forces.126

AFRICAGuineaThe June and November 2010 presidential elections marked a major step forwardin Guinea’s transition from military to civilian rule. While some irregularities and aleadership crisis within the electoral commission marred the credibility of thepolls, they were nevertheless considered to be the first free and fair electionssince independence in 1958. However, serious bouts of intercommunal violenceand clashes between supporters of the two parties, and the excessive use oflethal force by the security forces in responding to them, highlighted the fragilityof the security situation and pressing rule of law challenges.At year’s end there was considerable optimism that the new government wouldbegin to address Guinea’s deeply entrenched human rights problems, notably alongstanding culture of impunity, a bloated and poorly managed army, criminalacts in the face of inadequate policing, striking deficiencies within the judicialsystem, weak rule of law, and endemic corruption that deprives Guineans of keyeconomic rights.Some of the officers who assumed control of the security forces in late 2009made a concerted effort to instill discipline within the ranks. However, violationsagainst demonstrators and ordinary Guineans continued, and there was only limitedprogress in ensuring accountability for past atrocities, notably the 2007 and2009 massacres of unarmed demonstrators by members of the security forces.International actors—including France, the United States, the European Union,the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the AfricanUnion—intervened proactively to keep the transition to democratic rule on track,but remained virtually silent on the need for justice for past crimes.Political DevelopmentsThe elections brought to an end a period of profound political instability beginningin December 2008, when Captain Moussa Dadis Camara took power in acoup after the death of Lansana Conté, Guinea’s authoritarian president for 24years. Throughout 2009 the military violently suppressed the opposition, culminatingin a large-scale massacre of some 150 demonstrators in September 2009127

WORLD REPORT 2011in the capital, Conakry. In December 2009 Camara was removed following anassassination attempt against him, and his deputy, the more moderate GeneralSékouba Konaté, took over, committing to move the country toward democraticelections.In January Dadis Camara formally handed over power to General Konaté, underconsiderable pressure from international actors, by way of an agreement signedin the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou, which called for the formation of a transitionalgovernment of national unity; an ad hoc parliamentary body comprised ofmembers of civil society, political parties, the security forces, and religious bodies;and democratic elections within six months.In the run-up to elections, there were few allegations of violations of freedom ofexpression, peaceful assembly, association for political parties and movements,and protection from political violence. However, clashes between supporters ofopposing candidates and violent protests against the electoral commissionresulted in at least six deaths.Both rounds of elections were marred by procedural flaws including the late ornon-delivery of voting materials and vote tampering. Candidates mounted numerouslegal challenges to the election result. Despite the many problems, bothdomestic and international election observers concluded that the elections weregenerally free and fair.Legislative DevelopmentsThe new constitution, adopted in April by the ad hoc parliamentary body, theNational Transition Council, includes several provisions which, if implemented,could increase respect for human rights and good governance. These includeestablishing Guinea’s first independent national human rights institution, requiringpublic asset declarations by the president and his ministers, and creating aCourt of Audit mandated to conduct yearly financial audits of public institutions.The constitution also strengthened the independence of the High Council ofJudges, responsible for the discipline, selection, and promotion of judges.128

AFRICAConduct of the Security ForcesIn October and November, members of the security forces used excessive lethalforce in responding to bouts of electoral and intercommunal violence; at leasteight protesters and passersby died, and scores of others were wounded as aresult. During the violence, the security forces also engaged in theft, robbery, andassault. There were few attempts to investigate, discipline, or prosecute the soldiersand policemen implicated in these criminal acts. The military hierarchy alsofailed to put on administrative leave, pending investigation, soldiers and officersknown to have taken part in the September 2009 violence.Numerous soldiers and civilians allegedly involved in the December 2009 assassinationattempt against Dadis Camara were beaten, assaulted and in the case ofat least seven soldiers, tortured to death, inside the Alpha Yaya Diallo militarycamp in Conakry. Some 30 soldiers, detained in April after being accused of tryingto sabotage the transition to civilian rule, remain in arbitrary detention withina gendarme camp at this writing.The military hierarchy’s efforts to instill greater discipline included the creation ofa Military Police force, banning off-duty soldiers from wearing uniforms or carryingguns in public places, and adopting a Use of Force Policy committing Guineansecurity forces to internationally recognized best practices.Meanwhile police were repeatedly implicated in extortion, solicitation of bribes,and, in a few cases, sexual abuse of female detainees. Crime victims are frequentlyrequired to pay for investigations, while authorities commonly fail to conductadequate investigations and, in some cases, free alleged criminals. Policeleadership made no effort to address these problems.Detention ConditionsSevere shortages of judicial personnel, unprofessional conduct, poor recordkeeping,and insufficient infrastructure and resources, continue to lead to widespreaddetention-related abuses, notably prolonged pretrial detention and dreadfullypoor prison conditions. Prison and detention centers are severely overcrowdedand lack adequate nutrition, health care, and sanitation. The population of thecountry’s largest detention facility—designed for 300 detainees—stands at over129

WORLD REPORT 2011900. Between 80-90 percent of prisoners in Guinea were held in prolonged pretrialdetention. Prison officials consistently fail to separate convicted and untriedprisoners and, in some centers, children from adults. Unpaid prison guards regularlyextort money from prisoners and their families, exacerbating problems ofhunger and malnutrition.Progress included the late December 2009 release of some 15 military personnelheld for over one year by the coup government, and the May 15 release of some100 prisoners held in extended pretrial detention for minor offenses.Accountability for the September 28, 2009 Massacreand Other CrimesIn December 2009 the International Commission of Inquiry led by the UnitedNations issued its report confirming the killing of at least 156 people and the rapeof over 100, and concluding that the crimes perpetrated in Conakry on September28, 2009, rose to the level of crimes against humanity. The inquiry identified severalmilitary officers, including former coup leader Dadis Camara, as bearingdirect individual criminal responsibility for the crimes. This contradicted the government’sinvestigation, published in February, which absolved Dadis Camara,laid blame solely on his then-aide de camp Lieutenant Abubakar Diakité and thesoldiers he commanded, and set the number of dead at 63.The then-government committed to bringing to justice the perpetrators of theSeptember 2009 violence, and in early 2010 appointed three investigating judgesto the case. However, there has been scant information on the investigation’sprogress, and no evidence of government efforts to locate the more than 100 bodiesbelieved to have been disposed of secretly by the security forces.Meanwhile, there were no attempts to investigate, much less hold accountable,members of the security forces responsible for the 2007 killing of some 130demonstrators, or the several alleged crimes committed by the security forces in2010.130

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WORLD REPORT 2011The International Criminal Court, which in October 2009 confirmed that Guineawas under preliminary examination, visited the country in February, May, andNovember to assess progress made in national investigations.Key International ActorsEfforts to undermine and delay the electoral process were met with consistentinterventions by ECOWAS, the UN, the AU, France, the US, and the EU. The internationalresponse was organized through an International Contact Group forGuinea (known as the Contact Group). High-level visits by the UN SecurityCouncil’s special representative for West Africa, the presidents of Burkina Fasoand Mali, and the AU chairman, helped keep the electoral process on track. Afterthe intervention of the Contact Group, Malian General Siaka Toumani Sangaréwas appointed as head of the electoral commission. Some 70 EU and 200 ECOW-AS observers monitored the elections. However, Guinea’s partners remainedlargely silent on the need for those responsible for the September 2009 violenceto be held accountable for their crimes.With few exceptions, the sanctions, arms embargos, travel bans, and assetfreezes against former government members imposed in response to the 2009violence remained in place. The US funded a private security company to train aunit of the Presidential Guard. Israeli authorities fined an Israeli security firm fornegotiating a deal to provide weapons and military training to the former militarygovernment in violation of Israeli rules governing such contracts.The UN Security Council held several formal and informal consultations onGuinea. In July the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for HumanRights established a mission in Guinea following a recommendation contained inthe report by the International Commission of Inquiry. The office is tasked withhelping establish a national human rights institution, undertaking judicialreforms, and combating impunity. In May 2010 Guinea underwent the UN HumanRights Council’s Universal Periodic Review during which Guinea committed toreform the judiciary and security services, and address rampant impunity.132

AFRICAKenyaIn a historic move, Kenya’s citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of accountabilityand reform when they supported a new constitution by a two-thirds majority inAugust 2010. Constitutional reform was among the steps to which the coalitiongovernment agreed after the 2007 post-election violence. It paves the way forrestructuring the government, establishing a land commission, and carrying outsweeping changes to the police and judiciary. The year also saw the prosecutor ofthe International Criminal Court open an investigation into the post-election violence.Kenya continues to suffer the regional effects of Somalia’s crisis, with asteady flow of refugees entering the country; some suffered serious abuses at thehands of Kenyan police as they tried to find safety.A New ConstitutionThe new constitution, supported by 67 percent of Kenyan voters on August 4, wasthe culmination of four decades of effort. The new coalition government committedto a new constitution, among other reforms, after post-election violence in2007 in which 1,300 people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced.The new constitution addresses several longstanding concerns, namely the concentrationof power in the executive, the absence of checks and balances, andthe use of land as a tool of political patronage. It creates a smaller cabinet of ministerswho do not have to be parliament members; reforms the legislature by creatingan upper house, the Senate; and devolves considerable power to a new tierof county governments and governors. In an effort to address the judiciary’s lackof independence, the new constitution creates a new judiciary service commissionto nominate judges, creates a new post of director of public prosecutions,and requires parliamentary approval for appointing the attorney general. It alsoenshrines in law a land commission, which removes the president’s ability toallocate land, review existing land holdings, and set minimum and maximumholdings of land.Celebration of the constitution was marred by the presence of SudanesePresident Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on ICC arrest warrants for genocide,crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The government’s invitation to al-133

WORLD REPORT 2011Bashir and its failure to cooperate with the ICC to arrest him call into question itscommitment to cooperate with the court’s investigation.Impunity and Accountability for Post-Election ViolenceImpunity remains a pervasive problem in Kenya. In 2008 the coalition governmentpromised to establish a national tribunal to investigate and prosecute those mostresponsible for the post-election violence, or refer the crimes to the ICC. It failedto do either, and in November 2009 the ICC prosecutor sought authority from anICC pre-trial chamber to begin investigations in Kenya. On March 31, 2010, thechamber granted permission by a vote of two judges to one, after which the ICCprosecutor announced an ambitious agenda to bring at least two cases againstfour to six individuals by the end of 2010.While a limited number of cases are being investigated by the ICC, Kenya has notcredibly and effectively investigated and prosecuted other perpetrators of thepost-election violence.Witness protection emerged as a key challenge to investigations. Threats againstindividuals who witnessed post-election violence, including some who testifiedbefore the Commission to Investigate the Post-Election Violence, increased afterthe prosecutor announced that he would seek to open a Kenya investigation. InMay the president signed into law amendments to the Witness Protection Act, akey step in reforming Kenya’s witness protection system. The amendments createa new witness protection agency with increased independence, but resources andtime are needed to implement changes.There have been no investigations or forthcoming prosecutions for war crimescommitted by the insurgent Sabaot Land Defence Force or Kenyan security forcesduring the 2006-2008 Mount Elgon conflict; abuses by Kenyan army and policeunits implicated in using excessive force in disarmament operations in Manderaand Samburu districts; or extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances ofsuspected Mungiki gang members by police officers. There were no developmentsin finding the killers of Oscar Kamau Kingara and John Paul Oulu, human rightsdefenders from the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic who were gunneddown in Nairobi in 2009.134

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AFRICAThere were two achievements in the efforts against impunity during 2010.In a landmark ruling on February 4, 2010, the African Commission on Human andPeoples’ Rights condemned Kenya’s government for expelling the Endorois peoplefrom their traditional land for tourism. It ruled the eviction—with minimal compensation—violatedthe Endorois’ right as an indigenous people to property,health, culture, religion, and natural resources. It ordered Kenya to compensateand restore them to their historic land. It was the first international tribunal rulingto find a violation of the right to development.In another unprecedented judgment, Kenya’s constitutional court awardedUS$500,000 compensation to 21 political prisoners who were tortured during thegovernment of former president Daniel Arap Moi, who left office in 2002. Thecourt had previously ruled that the case, from the period when Moi was in office,could not be heard.Police ReformIn January 2010 President Mwai Kibaki set up the Police Reforms ImplementationCommittee to monitor the progress of reforms. The committee included membersof civil society. Key aspects of the reforms, such as establishing an independentpolice oversight board, are provided for in the new constitution, but other recommendations,such as merging the administration police with the regular force, arenot.Eight Kenyans were transferred illegally to Uganda following the bombings inKampala, Uganda’s capital, in July and were allegedly mistreated in detention.RefugeesThe overstretched refugee camps in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, continued toreceive thousands of new arrivals during the year, including some 34,000 peoplebetween January and September.Many of the new refugees from Somalia endured serious abuses at the hands ofKenyan police when they crossed the officially closed border. These included violence,arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention in inhuman and degrading conditions,137

WORLD REPORT 2011threats of deportation, and wrongful prosecution for “unlawful presence” to extortmoney from the new arrivals—men, women, and children alike. In some cases,police raped women. Police also failed to diligently investigate and prosecuterapes within the refugee community.In early 2010 hundreds, and possibly thousands, of Somalis unable to pay extortiondemands were sent back to Somalia in flagrant violation of Kenyan and internationallaw. The Kenyan government announced an internal investigation intothe allegations. In October the government promised to reconstruct the screeningcenter at Liboi on the Somali border “soon.” However, Kenya continued to denyalmost 400,000 camp-based refugees the right to free movement in the country,in violation of international law.Women’s and Children’s Right to HealthPartly due to health care system failures, tens of thousands of Kenyan womenand girls die each year in childbirth and pregnancy, while more suffer preventableinjuries, serious infections, and disabilities. Maternal deaths represent 15 percentof all deaths for women of reproductive age—one in 39 women in Kenya die duringchildbirth according to the United Nations—while an estimated 300,000women and girls are living with untreated fistula. Kenya’s restrictive abortionlaws, which criminalize abortion generally, contribute to maternal death and disability.Unsafe abortions cause about 30 percent of maternal deaths.The Kenyan government fails to provide adequate pain treatment and palliativecare for hundreds of thousands of children with diseases such as cancer orHIV/AIDS. Oral morphine, an essential medicine for pain treatment, is currentlyout of stock. Kenya’s few palliative care services, which provide pain treatmentbut also counseling and support to families of chronically ill patients, lack programsfor children.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityKenya continues to punish consensual adult sexual conduct with up to 14 yearsimprisonment. On February 11, following unsubstantiated rumors of a “gay wedding”in the coastal town of Mtwapa, influential Muslim and Christian religious138

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WORLD REPORT 2011leaders demanded the closure of the Mtwapa office of the Kenya MedicalResearch Institute (KEMRI), which conducts research on HIV/AIDS with men whohave sex with men. The religious leaders issued a statement promising to “flushout gays” in Mtwapa.On February 12, a group of over 200 individuals–armed with sticks, stones, andother makeshift weapons–surrounded KEMRI. Smaller mobs went to the homes ofpeople suspected of being gay. The police attempted to protect the individualstargeted by the mob by taking them into custody. Another mob severely beat up aKEMRI volunteer on February 13. Two individuals were beaten up in Mombasa onsuspicion of being gay, on February 13 and 16 respectively.In Mtwapa, Mombasa, and elsewhere, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenderpeople went into hiding in fear for their lives, and HIV/AIDS outreach, testing, andtreatment among men who have sex with men remains compromised by theattacks and the continuing climate of homophobia.Key International ActorsKenya’s partners in Europe and North America are united in pushing for accountabilityfor the election violence and an end to impunity, key conditions of thereform agenda that Kofi Annan brokered in early 2008. The United States and theEuropean Union continued to threaten travel bans against key suspects and governmentmembers to encourage Kenya to pursue reform. The US continues to supportKenya’s military and police, particularly their counterterrorism efforts, andthus has some influence over the conduct of those forces.Kenya cited a July 2009 decision by the African Union not to cooperate with theICC in arresting al-Bashir to justify its failure to do so during his August visit. Inthe face of criticism over al-Bashir’s visit, including from many of Kenya’s internationalpartners, officials repeated their commitment to work with the ICC in itsKenya investigation. Kenya also concluded an agreement in September with theICC to facilitate the court’s work within its territory. Nonetheless, concerns overKenya’s willingness to fulfill its commitments to cooperate with the ICC persist inthe wake of al-Bashir’s visit.140

AFRICARegionally, the conflict in Somalia where the al-Shabaab militia continues tostrengthen and the fragility of Somalia’s transitional government remain pressingsecurity concerns for Kenya. The 2011 referendum on the status of neighboringSouthern Sudan is a key issue that could have major implications for Kenya as afrontline state and host to refugees.141

WORLD REPORT 2011LiberiaDuring 2010 the Liberian government made some gains in consolidating the ruleof law, ensuring sound fiscal management, and improving access to key economicrights, including health care and primary education.However, inadequate police response to persistent violent incidents, continueddeficiencies in the judiciary and criminal justice sectors, and the failure to prosecutecivil servants implicated in large-scale embezzlement resulted in increaseddomestic and , to a lesser extent, international criticism of the government ofPresident Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Concern about these weaknesses was heightenedby several risk factors, notably high unemployment, communal tensions, and theupcoming 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections.Meanwhile, there was little progress in ensuring justice for victims of war crimescommitted during Liberia’s years of armed conflict, or in implementing the recommendationsof the 2009 report of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission(TRC).Insecurity and Police ConductHigh rates of crime, including armed robbery and rape, as well as violent protestsover layoffs and land disputes, including one in Lofa county that left four dead,continued to be of major concern in 2010.The undisciplined, poorly managed, and ill-equipped Liberian police were challengedto maintain law and order. On several occasions, their failure to do sonecessitated the intervention of United Nations peacekeepers, deployed toLiberia since 2003. Lack of public confidence in the police and criminal justicesystems led people to take justice into their own hands, resulting in mob attackson alleged criminals and others, causing several deaths.Liberian police continue to engage in unprofessional and sometimes abusive andcriminal behavior, including frequent absenteeism, extortion, bribery, assault,and rape. They frequently fail to adequately investigate alleged criminals, andwhen they make arrests, suspects are often freed. Lack of funding for transporta-142

AFRICAtion and communications equipment further undermines the effectiveness of thenational police, especially in rural areas.However, the police demonstrated some improvement in 2010. Crime levels inMonrovia, the capital, dropped somewhat as a result of more proactive patrolling.The actions of two new elite squads – the Emergency Response Unit and thePolice Support Unit – led to multiple arrests and showed promise in respondingto unrest. The police leadership showed an increased willingness and ability torespond to complaints of misconduct within the force, and implemented a performanceappraisal system to monitor individual officers, and a database to trackcases of misconduct.Judiciary WeaknessesPersistent deficiencies in Liberia’s judiciary led to widespread abuses of the rightto due process and undermined efforts to address impunity for the perpetratorsof crimes. The problems include insufficient judicial personnel, including prosecutors,public defenders, and clerks; an inadequate number of courtrooms; logisticalconstraints, including insufficient computers, photocopiers, and vehicles totransport prisoners and witnesses to court; archaic rules of procedure; and poorcase management. Witnesses’ refusal to testify, jurors’ willingness to acceptbribes, and unprofessional and corrupt practices by judicial staff also underminedprogress.Because of the courts’ inability to adequately process cases, hundreds of prisonerswere held in extended pretrial detention in overcrowded jails and detentioncenters that lack basic sanitation, nutrition, and health care; in 2010 just over 10percent of the roughly 1,700 individuals detained in Liberia’s prisons had beenconvicted of a crime. The number of jailbreaks—at least 12 in 2010—illuminatedcontinuing weaknesses in the criminal justice system. Improvements included thedeployment of over 20 public defenders throughout Liberia and a mobile “fasttrack” court operating out of the Monrovia Central Prison, which helped to clearthe backlog of pretrial detainees.143

WORLD REPORT 2011Harmful Traditional PracticesSerious abuses and some deaths resulting from harmful traditional practices continuedto occur in 2010, in part because of distrust of the judicial system and theabsence of law enforcement and judicial authorities. These included ritualkillings, including one case in which alleged perpetrators were local governmentofficials; killings of alleged witches; and “trials by ordeal” in which suspects ofcrimes are forced to swallow the poisonous sap of a tree or endure burning, theirguilt or innocence determined by whether they survive. The government condemnedthese practices and on several occasions the police and judiciary tookaction against alleged perpetrators.Sexual ViolenceThe incidence of rape of women and girls continued to be alarmingly high in2010, despite the establishment in 2009 of a dedicated court for sexual violence.The majority of victims were under the age of 16. While public reporting and thepolice response to reports of rape improved, deficiencies in the justice systemand the reluctance of witnesses to testify hampered efforts to prosecute cases.CorruptionWhile authorities made progress in conducting regular audits and putting programsin place to improve public finance management, these efforts made littleheadway in curbing official malfeasance. Corruption scandals—including allegationsinvolving the ministers of information, interior, and gender; the inspectorgeneral of police and police deputy commissioner for administration; the head ofthe Telecommunications Authority and high-level members of the FinanceMinistry and Central Bank—resulted in few investigations and only two convictions,with a third case pending. The work of the Anti-Corruption Commission, createdin 2008, was hampered by insufficient funds, personnel, and authority toindependently prosecute cases. The government’s refusal to prosecute somehigh-ranking civil servants and to take action against individuals cited in a controversialfinancial audit led to the perception that the president lacks the will toaddress the problem. Corrupt practices in large part gave rise to the armed con-144

AFRICAflicts that wracked Liberia in the 1990s and ended in 2003, and have long underminedthe provision of basic education and health care to the most vulnerable.The Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, in effect since 2009, wasimplemented over the course of the year, but the lack of government control oversome mining areas undermined adherence to the Kimberley Process CertificationScheme, the global effort to end the trade in conflict minerals.Legislative DevelopmentsIn September the parliament passed the Freedom of Information Bill, and alsofinally constituted the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, sevenyears after it was mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to protecthuman rights and oversee the implementation of the TRC’s recommendations.Problems marred the selection of the commission’s members—including a flawedvetting procedure, inadequate involvement of civil society groups, and the initialselection of a member with close ties to the president, and of other memberswho lacked relevant experience—generating concerns about the president’s commitmentto the commission and its potential for independence.Truth and Reconciliation Commission and AccountabilityThe Liberian government made no progress in ensuring the prosecution of thoseresponsible for war crimes committed during the armed conflicts, and made littleeffort to implement the recommendations of the TRC.The TRC, mandated to investigate human rights violations committed between1979 and 2003, presented its final report to the government in December 2009,and concluded its four-year mandate in June 2010. Its key recommendationsincluded dispensing reparations; establishing a criminal tribunal to prosecute themost notorious perpetrators; barring from public office scores of former supportersof the warring factions, including the current president; and instituting aninformal village-based reconciliation mechanism. Implementing the recommendationswas slowed by disagreement about whether the executive, legislature, orthe Independent National Commission on Human Rights should take the lead, aswell as legitimate questions about the constitutionality of some recommenda-145

WORLD REPORT 2011tions. The poor quality of sections of the report, notably the lack of solid factualevidence about those recommended for prosecution and bans from public office,further undermined its findings. During the year the president asked the JusticeMinistry, the Law Reform Commission, and the Liberian National Bar Associationto study the legal and constitutional implications of the recommendations.However, the slow pace of this consultation process raised questions about thepresident’s will to move things forward.Liberian ArmyThe program funded and led by the United States to recruit and train a new2,000-member Liberian army completed its work in December 2009. Continuedtraining and mentoring of the officer corps was conducted throughout the year bysome 60 US military personnel. Soldiers nonetheless committed numerous criminalacts, which were mostly addressed by the judiciary. The new army has yet toput in place a court martial board or military tribunal.Key International ActorsPersistent weaknesses in security and rule of law institutions despite considerableforeign aid generated concern among Liberia’s key international and developmentpartners, most notably the UN and US.In July Liberia reached the completion point under the Heavily Indebted PoorCountries Initiative, bringing the total external debt cancelled since 2007 toUS$4.6 billion. The US is Liberia’s largest donor, and in fiscal year 2009-2010contributed more than $450 million to support democratization, security sectorreform, girls’ education, and reconstruction efforts, including some $250 millionin support of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).In December 2009 the UN Security Council renewed for one year the travel ban onpersons deemed a threat to peace in Liberia, as well as asset freezes on thosesanctioned. The council also renewed the mandate for the panel of experts monitoringthe implementation of sanctions and resource exploitation, but lifted anarms embargo in place since 2003. In September 2010, the council renewedUNMIL’s mandate for one year. The UN Peacebuilding Commission will provide a146

AFRICA$25 million grant to support programs in justice and rule of law, as well as tocombat high youth unemployment.147

WORLD REPORT 2011NigeriaThe May inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan, following the death fromnatural causes of President Umaru Yar’Adua, brought hope for improvements inNigeria’s deeply entrenched human rights problems. Jonathan’s removal of theattorney general, under whose watch impunity flourished, and his appointment ofa respected academic to replace the discredited head of the electoral commission,who presided over phenomenally flawed elections, were widely viewed aspositive first steps. Yet major challenges remain.During the year, episodes of intercommunal violence claimed hundreds of lives,while widespread police abuses and the mismanagement and embezzlement ofNigeria’s vast oil wealth continued unabated. Perpetrators of all classes of humanrights violations enjoyed near-total impunity. A spate of politically motivatedkillings by Islamist militants in the north, and continued kidnappings and violenceby Niger Delta militants – including the brazen Independence Day bombingin Abuja, the capital, for which they claimed responsibility –raised concern aboutstability in the run-up to planned 2011 general elections.The National Assembly again failed to pass legislation to improve transparency,notably the Freedom of Information bill, but approved a watered-down version ofan electoral reform bill. Nigeria’s judiciary continues to exercise a degree of independencein electoral matters and has, since 2007, overturned more than onethirdof the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial election victorieson grounds of electoral malpractices and other irregularities. Meanwhile freespeech and the independent press remained fairly robust. Foreign partners tooksome important steps to confront endemic corruption in Nigeria, but appearedreluctant to exert meaningful pressure on the government over its poor humanrights record.Intercommunal and Political ViolenceIntercommunal, political, and sectarian violence has claimed the lives of morethan 14,500 people since the end of military rule in 1999. During 2010, episodesof intercommunal violence in Plateau State, in central Nigeria, left over 900 dead.In January several hundred were killed in sectarian clashes in and around the148

AFRICAstate capital of Jos, including a massacre on January 19 that claimed the lives ofmore than 150 Muslims in the nearby town of Kuru Karama. Shortly thereafter, onMarch 7, at least 200 Christians were massacred in Dogo Nahawa and severalother nearby villages. In the months that followed more than 100 people died insmaller-scale attacks and reprisal killings in Jos and surrounding communities.Meanwhile intercommunal clashes in Nassarawa, Niger, Adamawa, Gombe,Taraba, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states left more than 110 dead andhundreds more displaced. State and local government policies that discriminateagainst “non-indigenes”—people who cannot trace their ancestry to what are saidto be the original inhabitants of an area—exacerbate intercommunal tensions.Widespread poverty and poor governance in Nigeria have created an environmentwhere militant groups thrive. In Bauchi State in December 2009, violent clashesbetween government security forces and rival factions of a militant Islamist groupknown as Kala Kato left several dozen dead, including more than 20 children.Between July and October 2010, suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamistgroup killed eight police officers, an Islamic cleric, a prominent politician, andseveral community leaders in the northern city of Maiduguri, and in Septemberattacked a prison in Bauchi, freeing nearly 800 prisoners, including more than100 suspected Boko Haram members.Targeted killings and political violence increased ahead of the 2011 elections. InJanuary 2010 Dipo Dina, an opposition candidate in the 2007 gubernatorial electionsin Ogun State, was gunned down. In a series of attacks in Bauchi State inAugust, gunmen killed two of the state governor’s aides and a security guard foran opposition candidate for governor, and injured several others. Meanwhile, theNigerian government has still not held accountable those responsible for the2007 election violence that left at least 300 dead.Conduct of Security ForcesAgain in 2010, members of the Nigeria Police Force were widely implicated in theextortion of money and the arbitrary arrest and torture of criminal suspects andothers. They solicited bribes from victims of crimes to initiate investigations, andfrom suspects to drop investigations. They were also implicated in numerousextrajudicial killings of persons in custody. Meanwhile senior police officials149

WORLD REPORT 2011embezzle and mismanage funds intended for basic police operations. They alsoenforce a perverse system of “returns,” in which rank-and-file officers pay a shareof the money extorted from the public up the chain of command.The government lacked the will to reform the police force and hold officersaccountable for these and other serious abuses. At this writing, none of thepolice officers responsible for the brazen execution of the Boko Haram leader,Mohammed Yusuf, and dozens of his suspected supporters in Maiduguri in July2009 have been prosecuted. Similarly, the government has still not held membersof the police and military accountable for their unlawful 2008 killing of morethan 130 people during sectarian violence in Jos, or for the 2001 massacre by themilitary of more than 200 people in Benue State, and the military’s completedestruction of the town of Odi, Bayelsa State, in 1999.Government CorruptionNigeria made limited progress with its anti-corruption campaign in 2010. Thenational Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) indicted more than adozen politicians and senior government officials on corruption charges, includinga former federal government minister, a former state governor, and a handfulof state officials. However, the EFCC failed to indict other senior politicians implicatedin the massive looting of the state treasury, including former Rivers Stategovernor Peter Odili.Key convictions included that of a powerful banker, sentenced to six months inprison in October, and a former head of the national anti-drug agency, sentencedto four years in prison in April for taking bribes from a criminal suspect, thelongest sentence handed down to a government official to date. Meanwhile, thegoverning elite continues to squander and siphon off the country’s tremendousoil wealth, leaving poverty, malnutrition, and mortality rates among the world’shighest.Targeted attacks against anti-corruption officials increased significantly in 2010.Gunmen in three separate incidents shot and killed anti-corruption personnel,including the head of the forensic unit and a former senior investigator. Still,150

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WORLD REPORT 2011Nuhu Ribadu, the former EFCC head, returned to Nigeria in June, after fleeing thecountry in 2009 following what he believed to be an assassination attempt.Violence and Poverty in the Niger DeltaFollowing a lull in violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta, attacks increased, includingkidnappings of schoolchildren, wealthy individuals, and oil workers, and carbombings in Delta State, Bayelsa State, and Abuja. The 2009 amnesty – in whicha few thousand people, including top militant commanders, surrenderedweapons in exchange for cash stipends – led to a reduction of attacks on oil facilitiesin 2010, but their disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration have beenpoorly planned and executed. The amnesty has further entrenched impunity, andthe government has made little effort to address environmental degradation,endemic state and local government corruption, or political sponsorship of armedgroups, which drive and underlie violence and poverty in the region.Human Rights Concerns in the Context of ShariaIn northern Nigeria 12 state governments apply Sharia law as part of their criminaljustice systems, which include sentences such as the death penalty, amputations,and floggings that amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment.Serious due process concerns also exist in Sharia proceedings, and evidentiarystandards in the Sharia codes discriminate against women, particularly in adulterycases.Death PenaltyThere are about 870 inmates, including over 30 juvenile offenders, on death rowin Nigeria. Although Nigeria has an informal moratorium on the use of the deathpenalty, state governors in 2010 announced plans to consider resuming executionsto ease prison congestion.Freedom of Expression and the MediaCivil society and the independent press openly criticize the government and itspolicies, allowing for robust public debate. Yet journalists are subject to intimida-152

AFRICAtion and violence when reporting on issues implicating the political and economicelite. Edo Ugbagwu, a journalist with The Nation, one of Nigeria’s largest newspapers,was gunned down at his Lagos home in April. In Jos two journalists with alocal Christian newspaper were killed in sectarian clashes in April, while a Muslimjournalist from Radio Nigeria was badly beaten in March, in an attack the journalistsaid was incited by a state government official.Key International ActorsBecause of Nigeria’s role as a regional power, leading oil exporter, and major contributorof troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions, foreign governments—includingthe United States and the United Kingdom—have been reluctantto publicly criticize Nigeria’s human rights record.US government officials did speak out forcefully against the country’s endemicgovernment corruption and took an important first step to back up these words byrevoking the visa of former attorney general Michael Aondoakaa. The UK governmentcontinued to play a leading role in international efforts to combat moneylaundering by corrupt Nigerian officials, demonstrated by the May arrest in Dubaiof the powerful former Delta State governor, James Ibori, on an Interpol warrantfrom the UK, and the conviction of two of his associates in an English court inJune for laundering his funds. However, in fiscal year 2010, the UK increasedfunding to £140 million (US$225 million) in aid to Nigeria, including security sectoraid, without demanding accountability for Nigerian officials and members ofthe security forces implicated in corrupt practices and serious human rights abuses.The UN secretary-general expressed his concern about the intercommunal violencein Jos, but at this writing a mission by his special adviser on the preventionof genocide is stalled due to resistance from the Nigerian government.153

WORLD REPORT 2011RwandaRwanda’s development and economic growth continued in 2010, but there werenumerous violations of civil and political rights, and the government failed to fulfillits professed commitment to democracy. The year was marked by politicalrepression and restrictions on freedom of expression and association in the runupto the presidential election. In August President Paul Kagame was re-electedwith 93.8 percent of the vote in an election in which he faced no meaningful challenge.None of the new opposition parties were able to participate in the elections.Opposition party members, independent journalists, and other governmentcritics were subjected to persistent intimidation and harassment, includingarrests, detention, ill-treatment, death threats, and at least two extrajudicialkillings. A prominent government opponent in exile narrowly escaped an attempton his life. Human rights organizations encountered hostility and numerousobstacles to their work.Trials in the gacaca courts—community-based courts trying cases related to the1994 genocide—began to wind down, though the deadline for their closure waspostponed several times. The imminent completion of the gacaca processopened the way for further justice reforms. However, continuing concerns aboutfair trials prevented other states, as well as the Tanzania-based InternationalCriminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), from transferring genocide suspects toRwanda.The report of the mapping exercise on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) bythe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights documentedgrave crimes allegedly committed by the Rwandan army in 1996 and 1997.Attacks on Government OpponentsNone of the three new opposition parties were able to nominate candidates inthe presidential election. Local authorities prevented the FDU-Inkingi and theDemocratic Green Party from registering as parties. Meetings of the PS-Imberakuriwere disrupted, sometimes violently, by dissident members and other individuals.154

AFRICAThe PS-Imberakuri, registered in 2009, was taken over in March 2010 by dissidentmembers believed to have been manipulated by the ruling Rwandan PatrioticFront (RPF). In late 2009 the Senate summoned the party’s president, BernardNtaganda, on accusations of “genocide ideology.” In June the police arrestedNtaganda and raided his house and the party office. The charges against himincluded endangering national security, inciting ethnic divisions, and organizingdemonstrations without authorization. By November he was still in prison awaitingtrial.Victoire Ingabire, president of the FDU-Inkingi, who returned to Rwanda in Januaryafter 16 years in exile, was arrested in April on charges of “genocide ideology,”“divisionism,” and collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation ofRwanda (FDLR), an armed group active in eastern DRC and composed in part byindividuals who participated in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Ingabire was releasedon bail with travel restrictions, but in October was re-arrested following allegationsof involvement in forming an armed group. In November she remained indetention awaiting trial.Members of the three new opposition parties received threats related to theirparty activities. Several members of the PS-Imberakuri and the FDU-Inkingi werearrested for attempting to hold a demonstration in June. Some were released, butothers were arrested in July. Several were ill-treated by police in detention. In Julythe Green Party’s vice-president, André Kagwa Rwisereka, was found dead, hisbody mutilated, outside the town of Butare. The circumstances of his deathremain unclear.Peter Erlinder, an American and one of Victoire Ingabire’s defense lawyers, wasarrested in May on charges of “genocide denial and minimization,” and “spreadingmalicious rumors that could endanger national security.” He was released onbail three weeks later. The charges against Erlinder, who is also a defense lawyerat the ICTR, related primarily to articles published in previous years in which hequestioned key events surrounding the genocide.On June 19 Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, a Rwandan general in exile in SouthAfrica since February, was seriously injured in a murder attempt in Johannesburg.Once a close ally of President Kagame and former chief-of-staff of the Rwandan155

WORLD REPORT 2011army, Nyamwasa has become an outspoken government critic since early 2010.South African authorities arrested several suspects. Rwanda has requestedNyamwasa’s extradition, alleging he was behind a series of grenade attacks inKigali earlier in the year.Deogratias Mushayidi, a former journalist and outspoken government opponentin exile, was arrested in Burundi in March and handed over to Rwandan authorities.In September Mushayidi was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonmenton three charges: spreading rumors inciting civil disobedience, recruiting anarmed group to overthrow the government, and using forged documents. He wasalso charged with four other offenses, including “genocide ideology” and “divisionism.”The government continued to use a law on “genocide ideology”—a broad and illdefinedoffense—as a tool to silence independent opinion and criticism. In a welcomedevelopment, the minister of justice announced that the law was beingreviewed.Clampdown on Independent MediaIn April the government-affiliated Media High Council suspended the independentnewspapers Umuseso and Umuvugizi for six months, then called for their definitiveclosure, alleging, among other things, that some of their articles threatenednational security. The editors of both newspapers fled into exile after receivingthreats. Copies of the first edition of The Newsline, an English-language newspaperproduced by exiled Umuseso journalists, were seized at the Uganda-Rwandaborder in July.In February Umuseso editor Didas Gasana, former editor Charles Kabonero, andjournalist Richard Kayigamba were found guilty of defamation; they received sentencesof between six months’ and a year’s imprisonment and were ordered topay a large fine. In April Umuvugizi editor Jean-Bosco Gasasira was also foundguilty of defamation and fined.Umuvugizi journalist Jean-Léonard Rugambage, who had been investigating sensitivecases including the attempted murder of Nyamwasa, was shot dead in June156

AFRICAoutside his home in Kigali. He had reported being under increased surveillance inthe days before his death.Three journalists with the Umurabyo newspaper were arrested in July in connectionwith articles published in their newspaper; two remain in detention at thiswriting, while the other was only held for one day.Obstructions to the Work of Human Rights OrganizationsHuman rights organizations operated in a difficult and hostile climate. Rwandanhuman rights groups, weakened by years of intimidation, received threats andwere publicly accused by government officials of supporting the government’soverthrow and armed groups linked to the genocide. Civil society itself was divided:organizations close to the government publicly denounced those who weremore critical, such as the LDGL and LIPRODHOR, two of the few independenthuman rights groups left in the country. Under pressure from individuals close tothe government, several organizations disowned a joint civil society submissionon Rwanda for the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council.International nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch,were repeatedly criticized and discredited by senior government officials and thepro-government media. Immigration authorities cancelled the work visa in Marchof Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher in Kigali, rejected her second visaapplication, and forced her to leave the country in April.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityIn December 2009 the parliament took a positive initiative by voting against criminalizinghomosexuality. However, continuing negative comments on homosexualityby some public officials and newspapers reinforced the stigma faced by sexualminorities.Gacaca TrialsGacaca courts were due to end their genocide trials in 2010, but the definitivecompletion of the process was repeatedly delayed. The government is developing157

WORLD REPORT 2011mechanisms to handle outstanding genocide cases and to adjudicate allegedmiscarriages of justice by gacaca jurisdictions.Gacaca courts have prosecuted around 1.5 million cases with involvement fromlocal communities across the country. The conduct of trials before gacaca courtshas been mixed. Some judges delivered fair and objective judgments. Othershanded down heavy sentences, including life imprisonment in isolation, on thebasis of very little evidence. A number of witnesses and judges proved vulnerableto corruption and outside influence, affecting the outcome of trials and underminingconfidence in the courts. Some defense witnesses were afraid to testify forfear of being accused of genocide themselves, and there were numerous allegationsthat gacaca courts sacrificed the truth to satisfy political interests.Cases Related to the Democratic Republic of CongoLaurent Nkunda, former leader of the Congolese rebel group the NationalCongress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), remaied illegally detained underhouse arrest, without charge or trial, since January 2009. Repeated attempts toget his case heard in Rwandan courts were thwarted on the basis of legal technicalities.There were several arrests, disappearances, and at least one killing of Congolesesupporters of Nkunda in Rwanda, including Denis Ntare Semadwinga, who wasmurdered in June, and Sheikh Iddy Abbasi, who disappeared after being abductedin March.On October 1 the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights publishedthe report of its mapping exercise on the most serious violations of human rightsand international humanitarian law in the DRC between March 1993 and June2003 (see chapter on the DRC). Among other things, the report documents gravecrimes allegedly committed by the Rwandan army in 1996 and 1997. While theCongolese government welcomed the report, the Rwandan government rejectedit, initially threatening to pull out its peacekeepers from UN missions if the UNpublished it.158

AFRICAKey International ActorsMost Western donors remained broadly supportive of the Rwandan governmentand few expressed public concern about human rights violations. However, in thepre-election period, and in the face of increasingly critical media coverage ofRwanda in their own countries, some donor governments raised mostly privateconcerns about political and media restrictions with the Rwandan government.These concerns were also mentioned in the final report of the CommonwealthObserver Group on the presidential election. Relations between Rwanda and theUN came under strain following the publication of the UN mapping report on theDRC.159

WORLD REPORT 2011Sierra LeoneThroughout 2010 the government of President Ernest Bai Koroma made meaningfulprogress in addressing endemic corruption and improving access to justiceand key economic rights, notably health care and education. Endemic public andprivate corruption has for decades undermined development, and was one of themajor factors underpinning the 11-year armed conflict that ended in 2002.High levels of unemployment, persistent weaknesses in the performance of thepolice and judiciary, and increased political tension in advance of the 2012 electionsslowed the consolidation of the rule of law. Through the efforts of theUnited Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, however, progress continuedin achieving accountability for war crimes committed during the armed conflict.The discovery of a major offshore oil deposit, and the ratification by parliament ofmajor resource exploitation contracts, notably those involving a large iron oredeposit, raised hopes that Sierra Leone would be better able to address chronicunemployment, improve access to basic economic rights, and minimize donordependency. It also illuminated the continued importance of focusing on deficitsin economic governance and anti-corruption efforts.CorruptionIn 2010 the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) secured convictions against severalhigh-level public officials, including the minister of health and sanitation, theminister of fisheries and marine resources, the head of the school feeding programin the Ministry of Education, a judge, and the director of procurement at theMinistry of Defense. At year’s end a further five cases and some 90 investigationswere ongoing. While President Koroma repeatedly admonished government officialsto desist from corrupt practices, the May resignation of ACC CommissionerAbdul Tejan-Cole, reportedly over security concerns and government interference,and the ACC’s subsequent failure to investigate or indict several ruling partypoliticians, raised concerns that recent gains would be reversed. In MarchPresident Koroma released the country’s first Extractive Industries TransparencyInitiative report.160

AFRICARule of LawSerious deficiencies in the judicial system persist, including extortion and bribetakingby officials; insufficient numbers of judges, magistrates, and prosecutingattorneys; unprofessional conduct and absenteeism by court personnel; andinadequate remuneration for judiciary personnel.Overcrowding and inadequate food, sanitation, and health care in prisons remainserious concerns. The population of the country’s largest detention facility—designed for 324 detainees—stands at over 1,300. In 2010 some 65 percent ofprisoners in Sierra Leone were held in prolonged pretrial detention.However, concerted efforts by the UN, the United Kingdom (through its JusticeSector Development Programme), aid agencies, and the government have led tomeaningful improvements in access to legal representation. The Pilot NationalLegal Aid program (PNLA) supports lawyers in providing legal aid to hundreds ofpeople detained within police stations and prisons in Freetown, the capital. Bythe end of August 2010 the cases of over 1,000 individuals had been processed,of which 506 were discharged. A UN Development Program (UNDP) funded projectalso helped clear the backlog of cases throughout the country by supportinglawyers from the Bar Association in representing indigent detainees, establishinga few new permanent court houses and temporary special tribunals, and deployingitinerant judges. A donor-funded program that deployed tens of paralegals,backed by lawyers, to some 30 locations throughout Sierra Leone helped bridgethe gap between the customary and formal legal systems.Police and Army ConductThe police in Sierra Leone continue to engage in unprofessional and at timescriminal behavior. There were persistent allegations of crime victims beingrequired to pay for investigations and of police involvement in extortion, solicitationof bribes, and other criminal acts. In late 2009 the Sierra Leonean armystepped in to help the police address a spike in armed robberies.The UK-led International Military Advisory and Training Team has been workingsince 1999 to reform the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). In 2010some 40 mostly British military officers were deployed to Sierra Leone. Over the161

WORLD REPORT 2011last several years the army has been downsized from 17,000 to its goal of 8,500personnel. The Military Court Martial Board within the RSLAF, established in2009, encouraged discipline by adjudicating the cases of several soldiers implicatedin misconduct, misappropriation, and criminality. A milestone was achievedin early 2010 when the first-ever contingent of RSLAF troops was deployed aspeacekeepers, to Sudan.Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Treatment of ChildrenIncidents of sexual and gender-based violence against girls and women remainedhigh; in 2009, the latest year for which figures exist, victims reported 927 casesof rape and other forms of sexual assault and 1,543 of domestic violence. WhileFamily Support Units within police stations led to increased reporting, fear of stigmaand weaknesses within the judiciary resulted in very few prosecutions. Childlabor within artisanal diamond mining areas continued to be a major cause ofconcern. However, the completion of construction of remand facilities for juvenileoffenders successfully kept children from entering adult prisons, as was previouslythe practice.Accountability for Past AbusesBetween 2004 and 2009, eight individuals associated with the three main warringfactions were tried and convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone forrape, murder, mutilation, enslavement, recruitment of child soldiers, forced marriage,and attacks against UN peacekeepers. All eight were transferred in October2009 to Rwanda to serve out their sentences.During 2010 the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor—charged with 11counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in supporting SierraLeonean rebel groups during the conflict—made notable progress. The defense,which closed its case in November, brought forward 21 witnesses, includingCharles Taylor. Earlier, 94 witnesses testified for the prosecution. Closing argumentsare scheduled for February 2011 and a judgment is expected later in theyear. Taylor is the first sitting African head of state to be indicted and face trialbefore an international or hybrid tribunal. Due to security concerns, his trial istaking place in The Hague, Netherlands, instead of in Freetown.162

AFRICAMeanwhile, the Special Court began closing down operations in Freetown. In Maythe Special Court handed over control of its detention facility to the Sierra Leoneprison service. It also reached an agreement with the government on residualfunctions of the court, which include witness protection, court archives, supervisionof sentences, and the trial of the last person indicted, Johnny Paul Koroma,who remains at large. The Special Court—whose largest donors include the UnitedStates, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada—continues to lack theresources to complete its work. The Special Court relies solely on voluntary contributionsfrom the international community.Reparations programs for war victims, as recommended by the Truth andReconciliation Commission, provided financial and medical assistance and skillstraining to some 20,000 victims with support from the UN Peacebuilding Fundand UN Development Fund for Women.Economic and Social RightsIn 2010 the government launched a free healthcare plan for pregnant women,breast-feeding mothers, and children under five years old; raised the salaries ofhealth workers; and announced plans to increase the number of midwives trainedeach year from 30 to 150, representing a significant step toward improving accessto basic health care. To improve access to education, the government increasedthe number of teachers, awarded grants to girls and the disabled attending secondaryschool and university, and investigated and prosecuted EducationMinistry personnel engaged in corrupt practices.According to the 2009 UN Human Development report, Sierra Leone ranked 180 thout of 182 countries for overall development. A 2009 report of the UN Departmentof Economic and Social Affairs found that Sierra Leone had the world’s worst indicatorsfor infant mortality (123 deaths per 1,000 live births) and maternal mortality(the lifetime risk of maternal death is 1 in 8).163

WORLD REPORT 2011National Human Rights Commission and LegislativeDevelopmentsThe National Human Rights Commission carried out its mandate to investigateand report on human rights abuses and generally operated without governmentinterference. In January a revised Mines and Minerals Act envisioned to improveSierra Leone’s benefits from its vast natural resources was signed into law. InNovember the Right to Access Information Bill was introduced into parliament.However, the government has yet to act on the report of the Constitutional ReviewCommittee, submitted in 2008, or conduct a promised review of the CriminalLibel Law.Key International ActorsIn 2010 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President RobertZoellick visited Sierra Leone. The UN and the UK government continued to takethe lead in helping to reform and support Sierra Leone’s rule of law sectors. TheUK remained Sierra Leone’s largest donor, providing some £50 million (US$80million) in the last fiscal year, including support for the health sector, anti-corruptionefforts, security sector reform, and access to justice.In July the World Bank gave $20 million to be used over three years to addresshigh unemployment by supporting skills training and cash-for-work programs. TheEU gave €52.5 million ($73.7 million) to support infrastructure, agriculture, andgovernance.In September the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN IntegratedPeacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) for one year and lifted an armsembargo and travel ban on former rebel leaders that had been imposed in 1997.UNIPSIL plays a largely advisory role in strengthening democratic institutions andaddressing organized crime, drug trafficking, and youth unemployment.The UN Peacebuilding Fund has approved more than $35 million since 2007 tosupport justice, security, youth employment, and good governance in SierraLeone.164

AFRICASomaliaThe Transitional Federal Government (TFG), supported by the African UnionMission in Somalia (AMISOM), lost control of further territory to oppositiongroups in Somalia in 2010, with bitter fighting imposing a significant toll on civilians,especially during an upsurge of attacks in August and September. Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the militant Islamist groups that spearhead the opposition,consolidated control over much of south-central Somalia, where the populationexperienced relative stability but also increasingly harsh and intolerantrepression, in the name of Sharia law. A humanitarian crisis exists across thecountry. Humanitarian agencies have limited access due to ongoing insecurity,and armed opposition groups threatened humanitarian workers, journalists, andcivil society activists with attack.The northern region of Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic, provideda rare positive note in the region when its long-delayed presidential electiontook place in a largely free and fair atmosphere in June 2010.Indiscriminate Warfare in MogadishuContinual fighting between militant Islamist groups and the TFG raged inMogadishu, Somalia’s capital, throughout 2010, with all parties conducting indiscriminateattacks causing high civilian casualties. Opposition fighters havedeployed unlawfully in densely populated civilian neighborhoods and at timesused civilians as “shields” to fire mortars at TFG and AMISOM positions. Theseattacks are conducted so indiscriminately that they frequently destroy civilianhomes but rarely strike military targets. Often AMISOM or TFG forces respond inkind, launching indiscriminate mortar strikes on the neighborhoods from whichopposition fighters had fired and then fled, leaving only civilians to face theresulting devastation.The TFG lost further ground to al-Shabaab during the year and at this writing controlsjust a few square blocks around the presidential palace at Villa Somalia inMogadishu, with the AU forces defending the capital’s port, the airport, and a fewother strategic sites.165

WORLD REPORT 2011Clashes and attacks intensified in August and September—during the Islamic holymonth of Ramadan—after al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the July 11 bombblasts in Kampala, Uganda’s captial. At least 76 civilians died in those attacks,which struck crowded public gatherings the day of the football World Cup final.Uganda provides the largest contingent of the 7,100-member African UnionMission in Somalia. AMISOM forces were accused of indiscriminate shelling inretaliation for the Kampala blasts, particularly in Bakara Market. Bakara and otherresidential areas were repeatedly hit on July 12 and 13, again in late August, andon September 9; dozens of civilians were killed and injured in these attacks.On August 23 al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam called for an escalation in the fighting,and al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an August 24 suicide attack at theMuna Hotel, which killed 32 people, including civilians and several members ofparliament. Another suicide attack on Mogadishu’s international airport onSeptember 9 killed at least nine people, including civilians.Much of the remaining population of Mogadishu fled this new round of fightingand is now displaced in makeshift camps on the outskirts of the capital, primarilyin the Afgoi corridor, with little access to humanitarian aid and at risk of harassmentby local militia groups.Both the armed opposition groups and the TFG have used children in their ranks.Abuses in Opposition-Controlled AreasSouth-central Somalia was under the control of local administrations linked toarmed opposition groups throughout 2010. In many areas al-Shabaab rulebrought relative stability and order, which contrasts dramatically with the chaosin Mogadishu. Residents from some of these areas credit al-Shabaab with endinga constant menace of extortion, robbery, and murder from bandits and freelancemilitias. But even where this holds true, security has come at a steep price, especiallyfor women.Grinding repression characterizes daily life in communities controlled by al-Shabaab, and many local administrations have sought to implement harsh andintolerant measures in the name of Sharia law. These measures control minutedetails of personal lives, including the way people dress and work. The punish-166

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WORLD REPORT 2011ments for even minor offenses are often summary, arbitrary, and cruel. A climateof fear prevents most people from speaking out against abuses of power. As oneresident of the southern town of El Wak said, “We just stay quiet. If they tell us tofollow a certain path, we follow it.”Freedoms women took for granted in traditional Somali culture have been dramaticallyrolled back. In many areas women have been barred from engaging in anyactivity that leads them to mix with men, even small-scale commercial enterpriseson which many of them depend for a living. Al-Shabaab authorities have arrested,threatened, or whipped countless women for trying to support their families byselling cups of tea.Al-Shabaab and other opposition forces often threaten to kill people they suspectof harboring sympathies for their opponents or who resist recruitment. These arenot empty threats; opposition groups have murdered civilians regularly and withcomplete impunity.Elections in Somaliland and Instability in the NorthAfter almost two years of delay, Somaliland finally held its presidential electionon June 26, 2010. International observers deemed the polls reasonably free andfair despite an isolated incident in the Sool region, where one person was killed.The incumbent President Dahir Riyale accepted defeat and peacefully cededpower to an opposition candidate, further advancing hopes for stability in thenorthern region.The situation remains unstable in the contested regions of Sool, Sanag, and Cayn,which lie between Somaliland, in Somalia’s northwest, and the autonomous stateof Puntland in the northeast. Thousands of civilians were displaced by clan-basedclashes and conflicts over resources in the disputed area in June.Attacks on Journalists, Human Rights Defenders, andHumanitarian WorkersSomalia remains one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a journalist. Atleast three journalists were killed in 2010, bringing the total killed since 2007 to168

AFRICA22. Two were targeted killings: Sheikh Nur Mohamed Abkey of state-run RadioMogadishu was killed by three gunmen in May, and Abdullahi Omar Gedi wasstabbed by unknown assailants in Galkayo. Barkhat Awale was killed by a straybullet in Mogadishu on August 24. Both TFG and opposition forces have harassedthe dwindling number of journalists still struggling to operate in Somalia. In Aprilal-Shabaab banned all BBC broadcasts in Somalia and confiscated equipment.Journalists also suffered detentions and harassment in the northern Somaliregions of Somaliland and Puntland. In January Puntland authorities releasedMohamed Yasin Isak, a local correspondent for Voice of America, after 17 days ofdetention without charge.The majority of human rights defenders fled the country in the past years amidincreasing threats to civil society and media; the few individuals remaining insouth-central Somalia censor themselves.The delivery of humanitarian assistance to south-central Somalia has been partiallyblocked by insecurity as well as measures imposed by armed oppositiongroups specifically targeting humanitarian agencies. At least eight agencies havebeen expelled from Somalia by al-Shabaab since January. In addition, UnitedStates sanctions on support to terrorist groups have restricted the delivery of foodaid toward southern and central Somalia. As a result, some agencies had to canceltheir operations, and access is reportedly at its lowest point since 2006.Key International ActorsWestern governments, the UN, the AU, and neighboring countries, with the exceptionof Eritrea, are united in supporting the TFG as the government of Somalia.The July 2010 bombings in Kampala, Uganda, increased regional concern over thethreat posed by al-Shabaab and its connections to al-Qaeda. At this writing theprincipal response has been to increase the number of AMISOM troops to approximately7,100 and pledge further funds.Of the US$213 million pledged by a joint UN, European Union, and AU conferenceheld in Brussels in April 2009, little has reached Somalia. The EU, Ethiopia,Uganda, and Kenya trained TFG soldiers and police in neighboring countriesthroughout 2010. But efforts to bolster the TFG’s weak military and police capacity169

WORLD REPORT 2011have been plagued by allegations of corruption and the defection of newlytrained troops, some with their weapons; many of the trainees complain that theynever received their salaries.Since withdrawing from Mogadishu in early 2009, Ethiopian troops have repeatedlyentered into Somalia for security operations near the border. Ethiopia, alongwith Eritrea, remains a key player in Somalia, with both countries providing varioustypes of support to proxy forces, although Eritrea’s support for armed oppositiongroups has reportedly declined, according to UN experts.170

AFRICASouth AfricaSouth Africa’s pro-human rights constitution, stable government, democraticinstitutions, independent judiciary, and strong economy mean it has great potentialto become a global human rights leader. However, government efforts to realizethis potential at home have been inconsistent, and recent trends suggest possibleconstriction of civil and political rights. In addition, inadequate policies andpoor implementation of good ones has slowed the realization of social and economicrights for many South Africans.In the international arena, South Africa’s government has refrained in recent yearsfrom condemning abuses in China, Sri Lanka, Iran, Burma, Sudan, and theDemocratic Republic of Congo, dashing hopes that it would be a reliable partnerin promoting human rights. South Africa’s foreign policy role will be in the internationalspotlight again following its assumption of a seat on the United NationsSecurity Council on January 1, 2011.Freedom of ExpressionTwo separate but interrelated developments in 2010 led to widespread criticismand concern that the government is trying to limit freedom of expression. Aheadof its policy conference in September the ruling African National Congress party(ANC) resurrected a 2007 resolution pushing for the establishment of a MediaAppeals Tribunal, arguing that media cannot be counted on to regulate themselves,and that “freedom of the press is not an absolute right and must be balancedagainst individuals’ rights to privacy and human dignity.” The ANC’s proposalseeks to establish a regulatory mechanism accountable to the ANC-dominatedParliament, which would constitute a back-door path to censorship andsuppression of dissent.On August 4 Mzilikazi Wa-Afrika, a prominent journalist with the Sunday Timeswho had exposed corruption by officials, was arrested without a warrant by 20policemen in six vans. He was then taken to a secret location in Mpumalanga andinterrogated at 2 a.m. without a lawyer. The police also searched his home andtook notebooks without a search warrant. Wa-Afrika was eventually released onR5,000 (US$725) bail after his newspaper went to the High Court; the charges171

WORLD REPORT 2011cited upon his arrest have since been dropped. The incident heightened fearsthat such politically motivated intimidation of the press could become the norm ifthe ANC-proposed tribunal is established.In April 2010 the Department of State Security tabled a draft of the Protection ofInformation Bill (PIB) for parliamentary consideration. In 2008 Parliament firsttabled and rejected the bill—which aims to replace the existing, expansive 1982apartheid-era law that prevents and penalizes disclosure of state secrets—forbeing too draconian. Parliament instructed the Department of State Security torevise the bill in line with the constitution. But when it was re-presented in July2010, offending elements of the bill had been retained and even made harsher.The PIB currently gives the government sweeping powers to classify informationand impose jail terms of up to 25 years for publishing classified information. Itsets no limits on which officials or state bodies can classify information, and hasno clear criteria for classifying information. The bill also extends the protection ofsecrecy to commercial entities, exempts intelligence agencies from scrutiny, andimposes serious punitive measures against those who disclose information.If enacted as currently written, the bill would seriously impede the free flow ofinformation, erode the right of access to information, and violate key constitutionalprovisions. The Right to Know Campaign, which represents a broad spectrum ofcivil society groups, has pressured to squash the bill in its current form.Parliament gave the adhoc committee tasked with finalizing the bill until January28, 2011 to incorporate all inputs and present a final draft.Refugees and MigrantsOn May 11 the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA)reported 10 incidents of xenophobic violence in Siyathemba, Atteridgeville,Mamelodi, Orange Farm, and Sasolburg, where large crowds looted foreignownedshops.CoRMSA also reported mounting threats of violence following the football WorldCup, held in South Africa in June and July, leading thousands of migrants—mainlyZimbabweans—to flee South Africa or relocate to other communities. Respondingto public pressure, the government moved swiftly, establishing a heavy police172

AFRICApresence and deploying the military in Alexandria, Katlehong, and other townshipswhere xenophobic violence had been predicted. The anticipated violencedid not materialize, but migrants in South Africa continue to report scattered incidentsof xenophobic attacks.In September South Africa moved to “regularize the presence of Zimbabweans inSouth Africa” by ending the special dispensation for Zimbabwean nationals thatthe government introduced in April 2009, and resuming deportations of thosewithout the new special permits. After the January 2011 lifting of the moratoriumon deporting Zimbabweans, they have two options to lawfully enter and remain inSouth Africa: apply for asylum, or apply for a temporary residence permit underthe Immigration Rules’ work, study and business provisions. Most are unlikely toqualify under either regime. South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs alreadyhad a backlog of 309,794 unresolved applications at the end of 2009, accordingto the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.Socioeconomic RightsMillions of South Africans suffer from inadequate access to shelter, water, education,and health care. South Africa is unlikely to meet the UN health-relatedMillennium Development Goals (MDGs), and is one of only eight countries in theregion where the rate of maternal deaths seems to be increasing. The SouthAfrican government estimates that the maternal mortality ratio was 625 deathsper 100,000 live births in 2007, up from 150 deaths per 100,000 live births in1998. The under-five mortality rate was 104 deaths per 1000 live births in 2007,up from 59 deaths in 1998, while the infant mortality rate was 53 deaths per1,000 live births in 2007, compared to 54 in 2001.South Africa also has one of the world’s largest populations affected by HIV/AIDS,with more than 5 million people living with HIV, and more than 1 million needingAIDS treatment. The country’s response to the epidemic has significantlyimproved under Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi. On April 25 the governmentlaunched the HIV Testing and Counseling campaign (HTC), which aims to see 15million people accepting voluntary HIV testing and counseling by 2011, and 1.5million receiving antiretroviral treatment by June 2011. However, weaknesses in173

WORLD REPORT 2011South Africa’s public health system are already hampering the campaign’s success.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityWhile South Africa has attempted to foster a culture of tolerance by outlawing discriminationbased on sexual orientation and by legalizing same-sex unions,social conservatism means that gays, lesbians, and gender-nonconforming individualsremain vulnerable to violence and discrimination. In a study by theHuman Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 2008, over 80 percent of respondentsacross age groups “consistently” expressed the view that sex between twomen or two women “was always wrong,” and that gays and lesbians were “un-African.” The cases of Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa, who were tortured,raped, and brutally murdered on July 7, 2007, in Soweto, as well as subsequentcases of Eudy Simelane, Zoliswa Nonkonyane, and others has highlighted the vulnerabilityof black lesbians and gender-nonconforming individuals to violenceand hate crimes. The 07-07-07 Campaign continues to take up cases of violenceagainst black lesbians and gender-nonconforming individuals, and advocate foran end to hate crimes. However, the government has yet to develop and implementmeasures to end these human rights abuses.International RoleSouth Africa plays a significant role on the African continent, where it is one ofthe largest contributors to peacekeeping missions and a key player on regionalbodies, such as the African Union and the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity.South Africa continues to drive mediation efforts in Zimbabwe, which have takena bolder approach toward President Robert Mugabe under President JacobZuma’s stewardship. Yet South Africa has not publicly pushed Zimbabwe’s coalitiongovernment on key rights reforms and the need to end ongoing violations. Itfailed to condemn the violence that erupted in Zimbabwe during September’sconstitution-outreach process, and neglected to speak out against abuses committedin the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe, despite ample evidencethat the Zimbabwean military is using forced adult and child labor.174

AFRICAAt a high-level meeting on Sudan in September, organized by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, International Relations Minister Maite Nkoane-Mashabaneappealed for international support to guarantee a peaceful referendum outcomein January in South Sudan and Abyei. South Africa has also supported the work ofthe AU Panel on Sudan and contributed to the joint AU-UN operation in Darfur(UNAMID).In 2010 South Africa lobbied aggressively and successfully to regain a non-permanentseat at the UN Security Council, which will allow it to exert influence on keyinternational issues. Its past performance in multilateral institutions has beendisappointing from a human rights perspective. As a member of the SecurityCouncil in 2007-2008, South Africa opposed a resolution condemning abuses bythe military junta in Burma, while at the UN Human Rights Council in 2007, SouthAfrica attempted to block discussions of rights abuses in Zimbabwe and voted toend monitoring of abuses in Iran and Uzbekistan. South Africa’s seat on the UNSecurity Council beginning in 2011 affords the country an opportunity to translateits constitutional commitment to human rights into critical involvement on internationalissues where protecting human rights is a central concern.175

WORLD REPORT 2011SudanSudan’s human rights environment deteriorated in 2010 during the April electionsand in the months leading up to the historic referendum on southern self-determination,scheduled for early January 2011. The referendum was called for as partof the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended Sudan’s 22-year civil war.The April multi-party national elections, also prescribed by the CPA, were markedby serious human rights violations and resulted in the consolidation of power forboth the national ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’sLiberation Movement (SPLM), which controls Southern Sudan. Omar al-Bashir –subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes committedin Darfur – was re-elected president of the national government, and SalvaKiir as president of Southern Sudan and vice president of the national government.In the second half of the year domestic and international attention shifted to thereferendum, in which southerners will vote to either remain part of a unitedSudan or secede. Should southerners secede, a parallel referendum in Abyei, thedisputed oil-rich area straddling the north-south divide, will determine whetherthat area remains part of Sudan or joins Southern Sudan.The parties made slow progress in resolving key issues around the referendumsuch as voter eligibility in the Abyei referendum, and post-referendum arrangementsconcerning citizenship rights, oil- and wealth-sharing, and debt allocations.Darfur, in western Sudan, saw continued large-scale attacks by government forceson rebel forces and civilians, as well as an increase in armed clashes betweenethnic groups, particularly in South and West Darfur. The United Nations andhumanitarian agencies increasingly came under attack and were targeted for robberies,kidnappings, and killings by armed elements in Sudan’s western region.In January the parliament amended the Child Act, setting 18 years as the legal ageof majority. The previous year Sudan executed Abdulrahman Zakaria Mohammedin El Fasher, North Darfur, for a crime he committed at the age of 17. It remains176

AFRICAunclear whether the amendments to the child act will lead to a ban on the juveniledeath penalty in accordance with international law.Rights Abuses in National ElectionsHuman Rights Watch documented numerous rights violations across Sudan byboth northern and southern authorities in connection with the April elections.International and domestic election observers reported widespread technicalirregularities such as multiple voting, ballot-stuffing, and other acts of fraud.In the months leading up to the elections in the north, the ruling NCP arrestedopposition party observers and civil society groups, suppressed peaceful assembliesby opposition party members in the north, and restricted free associationand speech. During the week of the election, there were fewer cases of suchrestrictions, but Human Rights Watch documented several cases of harassment,intimidation, and arrests of opposition members and election observers in thenorth.In Darfur, continued insecurity presented an obstacle to holding free and fairelections. Large areas of Darfur were inaccessible to election officials and candidates;insecurity due to banditry and ongoing conflict restricted candidates’ freedomof movement.In Southern Sudan, throughout the elections process, security forces engaged inwidespread intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention, and mistreatment of opponentsof the SPLM as well as of election observers and voters.In the weeks following the elections the human rights situation across Sudandeteriorated, with renewed political repression in the north, incidents of electionrelatedviolence in the south, particularly where SPLM candidates ran againstindependent candidates, and ongoing conflict in Darfur. The lack of accountabilityfor abuses during the elections did not bode well for a free and fair referendumprocess nine months later.177

WORLD REPORT 2011Political Repression in Northern SudanThe national government failed to enact institutional and legal reforms, which arerequired by the CPA. The national legal framework continues to allow censorshipof the press and restrictions on freedom of assembly and political expression.The new National Security Act, passed in January, retains broad powers of arrestand detention for up to four-and-a-half months, in violation of internationaltreaties to which Sudan is a party. Legal immunities for security forces remain inplace.The post-election crackdown in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital in the north, includedthe May 15 arrest and six week detention of the opposition figure Hassan al-Turabiand the arrest of four journalists from Rai al Shaab, the newspaper affiliated withal-Turabi’s Popular Congress Party (PCP). One of the journalists was subjected toelectric shocks while in the custody of national security agents. In July three ofthe journalists received prison sentences on charges of “attempting to destabilizethe constitutional system.”In addition, authorities resumed pre-print censorship, a practice that al-Bashirpublicly declared had ended in September 2009. Officials banned articles thatreported on the arrests of al-Turabi and the journalists, and the escalating violencein Darfur. In the weeks that followed authorities continued to censor papersthrough site visits and telephone calls to editors—what Sudanese journalists call“remote control censorship”—and shut down several newspapers.National security forces continued to harass human rights activists and target studentmembers of the United Popular Front (UPF), a student group that the governmentalleges has links to the Darfuri rebel group led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur.Members of the group were subjected to arrest, detention, ill-treatment, and torture.Insecurity and Human Rights Violations in Southern SudanVote-rigging and intimidation during the elections in the south led to anger andfrustration. Grievances over the election results led to armed clashes, particularlyin areas where the SPLM faced strong opposition.178

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AFRICAIn northern Jonglei state, for example, forces loyal to a former deputy chief of staffof the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) who unsuccessfully ran for stategovernor as an independent candidate, clashed with the SPLA on multiple occasionsafter the results were announced. The SPLA’s efforts to capture the renegadecommander resulted in numerous human rights abuses against the civilianpopulation in northern Jonglei including sexual violence. In Upper Nile state, SPLAsoldiers clashed with local militia whom they accused of links to the SPLM-DC, abreakaway political party led by former SPLM leader Lam Akol. The soldiers wereresponsible for killings and rapes of civilians during these operations.Patterns of intercommunal violence stemming from cattle-rustling and other localizeddisputes across Southern Sudan continued to put civilians at risk of physicalviolence and killings. The Lord’s Resistance Army also continued to pose a significantsecurity threat in western parts of the region, with attacks, abductions, andkillings reported on a monthly basis.Neither the Government of Southern Sudan nor the UN Mission in Sudan has adequatelybeen able to protect civilians from these sources of violence. Weaknessesin the justice sector and lack of accountability mechanisms fostered an environmentof impunity for violence and human rights violations.Civil and Political Rights and the ReferendumIn the weeks preceding the referendum, Southern Sudanese communities livingin Khartoum and other northern states reported heightened anxiety over the statusof their citizenship rights following the referendum. NCP officials publiclythreatened that southerners may not be able to stay in the north in the event of asecession vote. A higher-than usual number of southerners returned to SouthernSudan toward the end of 2010, with tens of thousands arriving in southern statesduring voter registration in November. Although SPLM and Government ofSouthern Sudan officials stated that they would protect the rights of northernersliving in the South, some northern traders reported facing intimidation andmoved to northern states. As of mid-November, however, the two ruling partieshad not formally agreed to post-referendum citizenship arrangements. Bothsoutherners in the north and northerners living in Southern Sudan said that theyfeared retaliation, even expulsion, if secession were approved.181

WORLD REPORT 2011Journalists and civil society activists across the country reported that they werenot free to speak openly about any opposition to the prevailing sentiment regardingthe outcome of the referendum. In October security forces arrested a group ofsouthern students speaking out in support of secession at a pro-unity rally inKhartoum, underscoring growing tensions. Although the head of the nationalsecurity service in early August lifted pre-print censorship in northern states,repressive policies toward the media have caused many Khartoum-based papersto self-censor on sensitive topics, including the referendum outcome.Deterioration in DarfurFighting in Darfur intensified in 2010, with armed clashes between governmentand rebel forces, among rebel factions, and between armed ethnic Arab groups inSouth and West Darfur. In Jebel Mara, a stronghold of the Sudan Liberation Army(SLA) faction led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur, fighting among SLA groups over supportfor the Doha, Qatar peace talks and clashes between government forces andrebels continued throughout the year. Government attacks on Jebel Mara intensifiedagain in September, destroying dozens of villages and causing mass displacements.In Jebel Mun, another rebel stronghold, and elsewhere, clashesbetween government forces and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) intensifiedearly in the year, following the January rapprochement between Chad andSudan, in which both governments agreed to end support to rebel groups fightingin each other’s territory and to jointly patrol their common border.The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was unable to access most ofthe areas affected by violence, despite its mandate to protect civilians underimminent threat of physical violence. Both government and rebel authoritiesblocked the peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies at various times. Anincrease in banditry, abductions, and attacks on UN and humanitarian aid operationsundermined the international response.Meanwhile the peace process at Doha foundered. JEM and the SLA faction led byAbdel Wahid al-Nur and other groups boycotted the process, leaving only onerebel group, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), to negotiate.182

AFRICAIn September the Sudanese government released a new strategy on Darfur thatfocused on the return of displaced persons to their home villages. The plan didnot provide clear safeguards for the rights of displaced persons, such as their voluntaryreturn. The government repeated its intention to dismantle the camps, particularlythe volatile South Darfur Kalma camp, where political violence betweenarmed groups killed 10 people in August.Between October 30 and November 3, Sudanese national security officials arrestedand detained more than 10 Darfuri activists and journalists in Khartoum, andcontinue to hold them in unknown locations without access to family or lawyers.The arrests were widely viewed as a means to suppress information and advocacyon Darfur.Key International ActorsInternational engagement on Sudan increased and intensified with the electionsand referendum, particularly by key CPA stakeholder countries like the UnitedStates. The UN continues to deploy two major peacekeeping missions in thecountry: the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and UNAMID.On September 24 the UN convened a high-level meeting on Sudan in which theSudanese parties to the CPA and 40 heads of state re-affirmed their commitmentto a timely, peaceful referendum in January 2011.With the focus on the referendum, international attention shifted away fromDarfur, despite the deteriorating situation there and lack of progress on a peacedeal. The Sudanese government made little progress in implementing recommendationsof the AU High Level Panel on Darfur; the AU and other influential leadersdid not press the government to do so. In general, the key stakeholder countriesengaged on Sudan continued to be divided in approach and willingness to usepressure to influence the Sudanese government.In Geneva, in September, the UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandate ofthe Independent Expert on Sudan, maintaining a much-needed avenue for humanrights reporting, over objections from Sudan and its allies. The two major peacekeepingmissions in Sudan, UNMIS and UNAMID, did not publicly report on their183

WORLD REPORT 2011human rights concerns except through regular reports to the UN secretary-general.The ICC continued its investigation of crimes committed in Darfur and issued asecond arrest warrant for President al-Bashir in July 2010, adding genocide tocharges on war crimes and crimes against humanity. The same month, the AUreiterated a July 2009 call for its member states not to cooperate in the arrest ofal-Bashir. In a setback for accountability Kenya and Chad – both states parties tothe ICC – allowed al-Bashir to enter their territories in July and August, citing theAU decision.184

AFRICAUgandaFreedoms of assembly and expression in Uganda have come under attack in2010, the pressure intensifying in advance of presidential and parliamentary electionsscheduled for February 2011. Journalists critical of the government faceintimidation and sometimes criminal charges from state agents and members ofthe ruling party. Security and quasi-military organizations continue to illegallydetain and torture suspects, in some instances leading to death. Impunity forhuman rights abuses persists. For example, Uganda failed to carry out investigationsor prosecutions for the deaths of at least 40 people killed, some by militarypolice, in riots in September 2009.On July 11, 2010, two bomb blasts in Kampala, the capital, killed 76 people whohad gathered to watch the football World Cup final. The Somali armed Islamistgroup al-Shabaab claimed responsibility and threatened further attacks if Ugandacontinued to supply troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).Uganda arrested scores of suspects, charged 36 with terrorism, and eventuallycommitted 17 for trial. The judiciary issued an injunction barring the press fromcovering the investigations and, on July 28, police broke up an oppositiondemonstration, stating that public gatherings were banned until the perpetratorsof the bombings were arrested.Some fear of violence around the 2011 elections was furthered by irregularitiessurrounding the ruling National Resistance Movement primaries in August 2010.Roughly 350 petitions were filed with the party’s electoral commission, allegingbeatings, intimidation, and bribery. Investigations are ongoing at this writing.Freedoms of Assembly and ExpressionOpposition demonstrations protesting the composition of the electoral commissionwere met with police brutality. For example, in January 33 women from anopposition coalition were charged with illegal assembly, and in June policeseverely beat these women as they exited a court appearance causing four to behospitalized.185

WORLD REPORT 2011Ugandan officials have repeatedly failed to hold state actors involved in electionrelatedviolence accountable. That continued in 2010, for example in March at theRukiga by-election, where police detained six opposition supporters and beatothers who attempted to bring food to detainees leaving one person in a coma.Police were not charged with any crime.In June an ad hoc group known as the kiboko (stick) squad assaulted Forum forDemocratic Change presidential candidate Kizza Besigye and other oppositionleaders at a rally in Kampala. The opposition accused the state of supporting andmobilizing the squad. Police denied the allegations, but failed on several occasionsto arrest squad members. In July police in 13 towns arrested at least 80 peopleduring a nationwide demonstration against the electoral commission. InMbale, eastern Uganda, police used their guns to strike unarmed oppositiondemonstrators.The Ugandan government uses media and penal laws to prosecute journalists,restrict who can lawfully work as a journalist, and revoke broadcasting licenseswithout due process. Journalists face harassment and threats, especially outsidethe capital. After being forced off air by security agents during the September2009 riots, CBS Radio was permitted to operate again in October 2010. The governmentnever provided evidence in court of any wrongdoing.In August the constitutional court ruled, after five years, that the crime of seditionis unconstitutional. The court upheld the constitutionality of the crime of “promotingsectarianism,” which prohibits any act promoting “feelings of ill will orhostility” on account of religion, tribe, ethnicity, or regional origin. At least fourjournalists and some opposition politicians who criticized alleged governmentfavoritism of some ethnicities over others currently face this charge, which haseffectively silenced debate.At this writing, the government is considering draft amendments to the medialaw, which would further imperil freedom of expression.Extrajudicial Killings, Torture, and Illegal DetentionAs the Ugandan People’s Defence Force (UPDF) continued a disarmament exercisein the northeast region of Karamoja, soldiers have killed civilians with impunity.186

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AFRICAThe Uganda Human Rights Commission stated that soldiers killed civilians,including children and the elderly, in Kotido district, and two Karamoja parliamentariansaccused the army of killing between 48 and 55 civilians between April andAugust. UPDF officials acknowledged that soldiers killed 10 Karamojong, four ofthem children, during crossfire on April 24 in Kotido, but said that no soldierswould be punished.The Rapid Response Unit (RRU), formerly known as Operation Wembley and theViolent Crimes Crack Unit, a section of the police created to combat armed crime,continues to detain people without charge, well beyond the constitutionally mandated48 hours. At least two individuals died this year as a result of torture in RRUcustody. Those arrested by the RRU await trial before military courts for long periodsof time. The slowness of the military courts has resulted in instances ofdefendants serving longer periods on remand than would result from the maximumsentence for their charges.The RRU in September arrested Kenyan human rights activist Al-Amin Kimathi,who had criticized the handover of Kenyan suspects in the July bombings to theUgandan authorities without due process. Kimathi was detained for six days withoutcharge, denied access to a lawyer, and eventually charged with terrorism inthe July bombing. At this writing, he is awaiting trial with 16 other suspects.Human Rights Watch was denied access to all the detainees on this file.Bills Violating International Human Rights LawIndicating a troubling authoritarian trend as elections loom, Parliament and theCabinet drafted and debated a raft of repressive legislation.The draft Public Order Management Bill would grant the inspector general ofpolice and the minister of internal affairs wide discretionary powers over the managementof all public meetings. The draft bill imposes extensive obligations onmeeting organizers, which violates rights to freedom of assembly and speech. Thebill would also allow state actors to regulate the conduct and content of discussions.The Constitutional Court has already deemed some of these provisionsunconstitutional in previous cases.189

WORLD REPORT 2011The draft Press and Journalist Amendment Bill requires print media to be annuallyregistered and licensed by government regulatory bodies. It empowers the MediaCouncil to deny licenses based on its assessment of the newspaper’s “values”and revoke them at will.Homosexual conduct is already criminalized in Uganda, a violation of internationalstandards, but the proposed 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill would go further,punishing homosexuality with up to life imprisonment, and “serial” homosexualitywith the death penalty. The bill, still pending at this writing, would also punishfailure to report acts of homosexuality and prohibit the “promotion” of homosexualitythrough advocacy on sexual minority rights, threatening work of humanrights groups. In early October 2010 a new newspaper, Rolling Stone, publishedphotographs, names, and locations of some Ugandan lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtransgender rights activists and individuals under a headline that included thephrase “Hang Them.” Some have since gone into hiding. The government hastaken no action to protect them. The High Court issued a temporary injunctionbarring further publication of such articles, though Rolling Stone went on toallege that sexual minorities supported the July bombings.The draft HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act criminalizes intentional or attemptedtransmission of HIV, an approach discredited by international principles.Contravening international standards of voluntary counseling and testing the billalso makes testing mandatory for pregnant women, their partners, and otherspecified groups. The bill allows medical practitioners to disclose HIV status withoutthe patient’s consent potentially exposing women and girls to domestic violence.Lord’s Resistance ArmyWhile relative calm continued to prevail in northern Uganda, the Ugandan armedrebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) continued killings and abductionsacross Central African Republic, southern Sudan and northern DemocraticRepublic of Congo (see chapter on the DRC).Warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for LRA leaders in 2005remain outstanding. President Museveni reportedly signed a bill domesticating190

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WORLD REPORT 2011the Rome Statute in May prior to the ICC Review Conference in Kampala. Thenewly created War Crimes Division of the Ugandan High Court is expected tobegin its first trial in 2011 of LRA fighter Thomas Kwoyelo, charged with willfulkilling, taking hostages, and extensive destruction of property. Kwoyelo hasapplied for amnesty.Refugees and Internally Displaced PersonsAfter two decades of conflict in Uganda’s northern region, internally displacedpersons (IDPs) have largely moved out of the camps. For persons with disabilitiesthere are significant hurdles to returning home. Research by Human Rights Watchfound that women with disabilities experience stigma and isolation, genderbasedviolence, and obstacles in accessing health care and justice.The government, cooperating with Rwandan authorities, forcibly repatriated morethan 1,700 Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers from southwestern Uganda inJuly. Ugandan officials reportedly deceived the residents of Kyaka and Nakivalecamps into gathering around trucks by announcing a food distribution and informationon asylum appeals. Police and camp commanders then forced the residentsonto the trucks at gunpoint. In the ensuing panic 25 people were injuredand at least two died.Key International ActorsUganda’s Joint Budget Support partners–the European Commission, the WorldBank, the United Kingdom, Germany, Demark, Belgium, Ireland, Norway, theNetherlands, Austria, and Sweden–reduced their US$360 million contribution toUganda’s budget by 10 percent due to concerns about unaddressed corruption.A range of international actors, including United States President Barack Obama,actively condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which appeared to have contributedto retarding the bill’s progress in Parliament. Other key human rightsissues, particularly accountability for extrajudicial killings and torture by stateagents, were not raised with similar zeal.The US and the UK, among other donors, put significant effort intoenhancing the election process in advance of 2011, including training for192

AFRICApolice in public order management and support to reduce legal and regulatoryrestrictions on freedom of expression. Some raised concernsabout the independence of the electoral commission, but the governmentmade no concessions.The US continues to provide considerable logistical support and training to theUgandan army, both in counterterrorism efforts and for the ongoing UPDF-ledoperations against the LRA. The FBI provided substantial resources to investigatethe July 11 bombings, but denied reports that its agents were present during interrogationsof suspects.193

WORLD REPORT 2011ZimbabweTwo years into Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government, President Robert Mugabeand the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) have usedviolence and repression to continue to dominate government institutions andhamper meaningful human rights progress. The former opposition party, theMovement for Democratic Change (MDC), lacks real power to institute its politicalagenda and end human rights abuses.The power-sharing government has not investigated widespread abuses, includingkillings, torture, beatings, and other ill-treatment committed by the army,ZANU-PF supporters, and officials against real and perceived supporters of theMDC.Political Violence during Constitutional Outreach ProgramIn 2010 the power-sharing government began a series of community outreachmeetings called the Constitutional Outreach Program to elicit popular views on anew constitution. However, the meetings were marked by increasing violence andintimidation, mainly by ZANU-PF supporters and war veterans allied to ZANU-PF.In February police disrupted MDC-organized preparatory constitutional reformmeetings, beat participants, and arbitrarily arrested 43 people in Binga, 48 inMasvingo, and 52 in Mt. Darwin. The violence worsened in Harare, the capital,and led to the suspension of 13 meetings in September.On September 19, ZANU-PF supporters attacked MDC supporters and preventedsome from attending an outreach meeting in Mbare, Harare. The meeting endedwhen violence broke out. ZANU-PF supporters and uniformed police assaulted 11residents and MDC supporters from Mbare with blunt objects as they left themeeting. One resident, Chrispen Mandizvidza, died from his injuries onSeptember 22.Human Rights Violations in Marange Diamond FieldsDiamond revenue, particularly from the Marange diamond fields in easternZimbabwe, is providing a parallel source of revenue for ZANU-PF and its repres-194

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AFRICAsive state apparatus. Companies with connections to ZANU-PF are mining diamondsin Marange, where military control and abuses continue. Corruption is rife,and smuggling of diamonds by soldiers in the fields is prolific. The diamond revenuescontinue to benefit a few senior people in the government and their associatesrather than the people of Zimbabwe. Soldiers continue to perpetrate abusesin Marange, including forced labor, beatings, and harassment, whichZimbabwe’s government has failed to investigate or prosecute.State security agents have harassed local civil society organizations attempting todocument smuggling and abuses in the fields. On June 3, police arrested FaraiMaguwu, the head of the Centre for Research and Development, after he providedsensitive information on the activities of soldiers in the fields to Abbey Chikane, amonitor appointed by the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, an internationalbody that oversees the diamond trade (also known as the Kimberley Process).Police also beat, arrested, and detained members of Maguwu’s family. Maguwuwas charged with “communicating and publishing falsehoods against the Statewith the intention to cause prejudice to the security or economic interests of thecountry” under section 31 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.The Kimberley Process has struggled to address state abuses in the fields. It’smandate narrowly defines “blood diamonds” as those mined by abusive rebelgroups, not abusive governments. In November 2010, at their annual meeting inJerusalem, Israel, Kimberley Process members failed to reach a consensus onwhether Zimbabwe should be allowed to resume exports of diamonds from partsof the Marange diamond fields. However, Zimbabwe threatened to go ahead withdiamond exports, arguing that it had met the minimum standards required by theKimberley Process.Media Freedom and Freedom of ExpressionWith ZANU-PF still in control, the power-sharing government continues to use anarsenal of repressive legislation and unlawful tactics to restrict the right to freedomof expression, and harass and punish critical journalists. While the governmenthas lifted restrictions on the international media and allowed independentlocal daily papers to resume operations, it has not reformed media-related lawsas promised. It has also not reviewed criminal defamation laws that impose197

WORLD REPORT 2011severe penalties, including prison terms, on journalists. The government continuesto block free expression through senior officials aligned to ZANU-PF and partisanstate security agents.Journalists and media practitioners routinely face arrest for allegedly violating thestate’s repressive media laws. On January 17, police arrested BarnabasMadzimure and Fortune Mutandiro, two directors of a distribution company forThe Zimbabwean, a weekly newspaper published in South Africa and distributedin Zimbabwe. The police questioned them for two hours about the operations ofthe newspaper and then released them. On February 11, they were charged asaccomplices in “publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the state” in violation of theCriminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.Journalists and media outlets have also been subjected to threats and harassmentfrom the authorities and security forces, creating major obstacles to reportingon Zimbabwe’s political system and continuing abuses by ZANU-PF. OnJanuary 16 freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda was forced to flee the country, followingdeath threats from a senior police officer. The death threats were promptedby a story that Kwenda wrote for The Zimbabwean. The story reported that anamed senior police officer had barred Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai from visitingpolice stations across the country.In an example of restrictions on freedom of expression, police arrested artistOwen Maseko on March 26 after he displayed an exhibition that portrayed massacresthat took place in Matabeleland in the 1980s, allegedly carried out bytroops loyal to President Mugabe. Maseko was initially arrested on charges of violatingsection 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for insulting orundermining the authority of the president. The charges were later altered to section31 of the same act which deals with the publication of false statements prejudicialto the state. Maseko spent four days in police custody before he wasreleased on bail, and is awaiting trial at this writing.Human Rights DefendersThe working environment for human rights defenders continues to be restrictive.For example, 83 men and women from the group Women of Zimbabwe Arise were198

AFRICAarrested in Harare on September 20 as they demonstrated against the lack of professionalismby the Zimbabwean police. The group was detained at the HarareCentral Police Station for two days. On September 22 they were charged withcriminal nuisance under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act andreleased on free bail.In a raid at the offices of the organization Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)on May 21, police arrested staff members Ellen Chadenama and Ignatius Mhambi,charging them with possession of “obscene, indecent or prohibited articles” andconfiscating educational material. On May 24 a Zimbabwean magistrate’s courtadded the charge of “undermining authority of or insulting [the] president”because the GALZ office displayed a placard that made a critical reference toPresident Mugabe. Two days later police searched the house of the acting directorof GALZ, confiscating his birth certificate, several GALZ magazines, books, andbusiness cards. Chadenama and Mhambi spent six days in detention before theywere released on bail; they pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mhambi andChadenama reported that they were physically assaulted by the police while incustody. Mhambi said that police hit him with empty glass bottles on his knees.The arrests, which Human Rights Watch considers to be politically motivated,occurred shortly before the opening of the Constitutional Outreach Program,through which GALZ is seeking to remove discriminatory provisions and secureconstitutional protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Thetrial is ongoing at this writing although Mthambi has been acquitted of the firstcharge.Rule of LawIn a worrying development for respect for the rule of law, heads of state of theSouthern African Development Community (SADC), at their annual summit inAugust, upheld Zimbabwe’s objections to the jurisdiction of the SADC Tribunal.Zimbabwe formally withdrew from the tribunal, arguing that the court did notexist by law. In 2008 the tribunal ruled in favor of 79 white commercial farmerswho took the government to the tribunal in a bid to block the compulsory acquisitionof their farms by the state, and has made a number of other rulings againstthe state. Zimbabwe’s courts have refused to enforce rulings by the tribunal.199

WORLD REPORT 2011Key International ActorsThe South African government deepened its engagement with the power-sharinggovernment, but failed to make full use of its leverage to ensure meaningfulhuman rights improvements. Despite visiting the country several times, PresidentJacob Zuma and his mediation team have failed to engage the power-sharing governmenton critical issues that include cessation of human rights abuses, institutionalreform targeting constitutional and electoral processes, as well as securitysector reform.Instead Zuma and other heads of state from the SADC community have called forthe lifting of targeted sanctions against President Mugabe and his inner circle,arguing that these were a major obstacle to the progress of the power-sharinggovernment. In September SADC announced that it had asked for regional leadersto embark on a tour of the United States and European Union calling for the liftingof sanctions. In the absence of meaningful progress, the US and the EU havemaintained targeted sanctions on Mugabe and others within his government.200

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WORLD REPORT 2011ArgentinaArgentina continues to make significant progress in prosecuting military andpolice personnel for “disappearances,” killings, and torture during the country’s“dirty war” in the 1980s, although trials have been subject to delays.Argentina passed legislation to regulate broadcast and print media in 2010, andis considering bills to promote access to information. The impact of the newmedia legislation on freedom of expression in Argentina will depend on how it isimplemented by a new regulatory body established by the law. A landmark lawpassed in July legalized same-sex marriage.Significant ongoing rights concerns include deplorable prison conditions andarbitrary restrictions on women’s reproductive rights.Confronting Past AbusesSeveral important human rights cases from Argentina’s last military dictatorship(1976-1983) were reopened in 2003 after Congress annulled the 1986 “Full Stop”law, which had forced a halt to the prosecution of all such cases, and the 1987“Due Obedience” law, which granted automatic immunity in such cases to allmembers of the military except those in positions of command. Starting in 2005federal judges struck down pardons issued by then-president Carlos Menem in1989-90 of former officials convicted or facing trial for human rights violations.As of October 2010, 748 people were facing charges for these crimes and 81 hadbeen convicted. In December 2009, after long delays, the trial began of 19 officerswho worked in the infamous Navy Mechanics School (ESMA) for their allegedresponsibility for the torture and enforced disappearance of 87 victims. In April2010 former military president Gen. Reynaldo Bignone received a 25 year prisonsentence for the kidnapping and torture of 56 people at the Campo de Mayo militarycamp on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.Delays in judicial proceedings, however, continue to undermine accountability.According to the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), by October 2010, 253people implicated in crimes committed during the dictatorship had died before204

AMERICASbeing brought to justice. One of the main causes of delay was the failure to allocatesufficient courtrooms in Buenos Aires. There have also been long delays atthe appellate level: as of March 2010 the Supreme Court had confirmed final sentencesin only two of the cases reactivated after the annulment of the amnestylaws.The security of witnesses in human rights trials continues to be a serious concern.Jorge Julio López, age 78, a former torture victim who “disappeared” fromhis home in September 2006,the day before he was due to attend one of the finaldays of a trial, remains missing.In September the government filed a criminal complaint charging the owner andpresident of the newspaper Clarin, the director of La Nacion, and the former ownersof La Razon with crimes against humanity. The complaint alleged that thethree newspapers had illegally appropriated the newsprint company Papel Prensain 1976, during the military dictatorship. In 1977 government agents kidnappedand tortured five members of the Graiver family, which owned majority shares inPapel Prensa. The government alleges that representatives of the newspapers, inconcert with the military government, used threats to pressure the members ofthe family into signing over their shares. Clarin and La Nacion insisted that theacquisition of the shares was legal and denied any link between their purchaseand the detention of the Graiver family. They accused the government of attackingthe papers because of their criticism of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.Freedom of Expression and InformationA bill to regulate the broadcast media, approved by Congress in October 2009,aims to promote diversity of views by limiting the ability of corporations to ownlarge portions of the radio frequency spectrum. The new law contains vague definitionsof what “faults” could lead to sanctions such as the revocation of broadcastinglicenses. Responsibility for interpreting and implementing the law isassigned to a new regulatory body. Courts have issued injunctions suspendingthe application of some of its articles while they review the law.In October 2010 commissions of the Chamber of Deputies approved draft legislationpresented by President Fernández to regulate the company that produces205

WORLD REPORT 2011and distributes paper for newsprint in Argentina. The law would also declare thatthe supply of newsprint is a matter of public interest, granting oversight powers toan implementing body that reports to the executive.In 2010 both chambers of Congress debated bills to ensure public access to informationheld by state bodies. In September the Senate approved a bill presentedby an opposition senator to ensure public access to information held by all threebranches of government as well as other public institutions such as universities,state-funded enterprises, and the Central Bank. The bill would establish a body toapply the regulations, with members appointed by each branch of government,the ombudsman, the comptroller general, and the National Archive. By OctoberCongress had not yet agreed on a final text.The absence of transparent criteria for allocating government advertising contracts,at the federal level and in some provinces, creates a risk of political discriminationagainst media outlets that criticize government officials. In a caseagainst the provincial government of Neuquen, the Supreme Court ruled inSeptember 2007 that, while media companies have no right to government advertisingrevenue, officials may not apply discriminatory criteria in deciding where toplace advertisements. Several bills to regulate the matter remain pending.Judicial IndependencePresident Fernández, her husband (former president Néstor Kirchner, who died inOctober 2010), and high level authorities repeatedly questioned decisions adoptedby the judiciary in 2010. For example, in September the Supreme Courtordered the province of Santa Cruz to reinstate a former state attorney generalwho had been removed from his post in 1995, when former President Kirchnerwas governor of Santa Cruz, without following the legal procedure for his removal.President Fernández supported the governor, who refused to reinstate the attorneygeneral, and stated that the ruling was unconstitutional.Transnational JusticeTo date no one has been convicted for the 1994 bombing of the Jewish ArgentineMutual Association in Buenos Aires (AMIA), in which 85 people died and over 300206

AMERICASwere injured. Criminal investigations and prosecutions have been hindered byjudicial corruption and political cover-ups in Argentina, and by the failure of Iran,which is suspected of ordering the attack, to cooperate with the Argentine justicesystem. An Argentine federal court issued an international warrant for the arrestof former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and six Iranian officialsin 2006, but demands for their extradition fell on deaf ears. In a speech at theUnited Nations in September 2010 President Fernández offered Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad the possibility of holding the trials in a neutral thirdcountry. In a letter to the UN in October Iran rejected the proposal as “unsustainable.”In September 2010 the Argentine Supreme Court approved a request by Chile forthe extradition of Galvarino Apablaza, a Chilean citizen facing criminal investigationfor his alleged role in the assassination of former Chilean senator JaimeGuzmán, a close civilian advisor of General Pinochet. A former leader of a leftwingarmed group, Apablaza was also wanted in Chile for allegedly ordering thekidnapping of the son of a prominent newspaper owner. Both crimes were committedin 1991 after Chile’s return to democratic rule. The Supreme Court ruledthat the crimes were not political and approved the extradition subject to a rulingby Argentina’s National Refugee Commission (CONARE) on Apablaza’s long-standingrequest for political asylum in Argentina. CONARE, an inter-ministerial panelon which only government officials have the right to vote, decided unanimously togrant Apablaza political asylum. The grounds for the decision were not made public.Conditions in Detention FacilitiesOvercrowding, abuses by guards, and inmate violence continue to be seriousproblems in detention facilities. In a landmark ruling in May 2005 the SupremeCourt declared that all prisons in the country must abide by the UN StandardMinimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, highlighting the deplorable conditionsin the province of Buenos Aires. According to a report submitted to theSupreme Court in October 2009 by CELS, 4,507 people were being held in policestations in the province which are unsuited for long-term detention. CELS estimatedthat the provincial prison population was nearly 40 percent above capacity,the figure rising to nearly 65 percent if individuals held in police stations were207

WORLD REPORT 2011included. Responding to this report in March 2010 the court again urged theprovince’s Supreme Court to correct the “inhuman conditions” in detention facilities.Detainee and prisoner access to medicines and medical services continues to beinadequate in many facilities despite HIV prevalence rates far higher than in thegeneral population and conditions conducive to ill health.Reproductive Rights and MarriageWomen face numerous obstacles to reproductive health products and servicessuch as contraception, voluntary sterilization procedures, and abortion after rape.The most common barriers are long delays in obtaining services, unnecessaryreferrals to other clinics, demands for spousal permission contrary to law, financialbarriers, and, in some cases, arbitrary denials. As a direct result of these barriers,women and girls may face unwanted or unhealthy pregnancies. Unsafeabortions have been a leading cause of maternal mortality for decades.Government oversight of reproductive health care and accountability practices arewoefully deficient.In a major advance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, Argentina inJuly became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage.Key International ActorsIn June 2010 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed “deepconcern” about conditions in Argentina’s police jails and prisons, and urged thegovernment to end the use of police stations as detention centers.Argentina continued to positively engage on human rights issues at the UNHuman Rights Council and in other international settings. At the Council,Argentina has consistently voted in a principled way to ensure scrutiny of humanrights violators. It also has played a key role in opposing a proposed UN resolutionon defamation of religion that would undermine freedom of expression standards.208

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WORLD REPORT 2011BoliviaLack of accountability for rights abuses remains a serious problem in Bolivia. Thefate of scores who “disappeared” before democracy was re-established in 1982has still not been clarified, and most perpetrators of disappearances and extrajudicialexecutions have escaped justice. In 2010 officials of President EvoMorales’s government backed the military when it failed to comply with courtorders to provide access to information. During the same year the BolivianLegislative Assembly passed anti-corruption laws that do not fully adhere to therights to a fair trial and due process.Due Process and Judicial IndependenceLaws enacted in 2010 that are intended to strengthen accountability for pasthuman rights abuses and corruption by government officials include provisionsthat contravene international standards of due process and fair trial, includingthe prohibition on the retroactive application of criminal law and the right to bepresent during trial.An anti-corruption law establishing new crimes and harsher penalties passed inMarch 2010. It allows for individuals to be prosecuted for actions and behaviorthat was not criminalized before the law was adopted, a breach of the internationallaw principle that criminal provisions may not be applied retroactively. Theanti-corruption law also makes it possible to try former heads of state in absentia,a provision incompatible with the right to be present during trial in order to exercisea proper defense.In February 2010, responding to the crisis provoked by the legislature’s inabilityto agree on judicial appointments, President Morales obtained legislativeapproval to appoint five temporary justices to the Supreme Court, as well as temporarymagistrates to the Constitutional Court, in a process that lacked the usualsafeguards for selecting judges. The judges are to be replaced by permanentjudges to be elected by universal suffrage in December 2010.210

AMERICASAccountability for Past AbusesEfforts in 2010 by prosecutors to reopen investigation into serious abuses committedunder previous governments, particularly the military dictatorships ofHugo Banzer (1971-1978) and Luis García Meza (1980-1981), met with resistancefrom Bolivian armed forces. Instead of guaranteeing full military cooperation withsuch investigations, the government backed the armed forces in conflicts withprosecutors and judges.In February 2010 an investigating judge ordered the army to turn over informationthat could help clarify “disappearances” that occurred in 1980. The defense ministerassured that access would be granted. However, when the public prosecutor,Milton Mendoza, visited army headquarters to request a view of the files, he wasturned away on the grounds that the army first needed to put the documents inorder. Another prosecutor was allowed into the building a week later, but wasallowed only to view the contents of a filing cabinet, and not to remove or photocopydocuments. The armed forces eventually provided only a photocopied registerof personnel on active service in 1980. In April 2010 the Supreme Court issueda further ruling ordering the declassification of files covering the first year of theGarcía Meza dictatorship. However, at this writing the army continued to defy theorder and has provided no information to help clarify the fate of the “disappeared.”Mendoza, whom Vice-President Alvaro García Linera publicly criticizedfor overstepping his mandate, was taken off the case.In October 2010 the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of 11 former police andmilitary officers for their role in the murder in 1980 of socialist leader MarceloQuiroga Santa Cruz. It sentenced three of them in absentia to 30 years in prisonon charges including terrorism and murder, and the others to shorter prison termsfor covering up the crime. Quiroga’s remains have still not been found.In November 2008 Bolivia’s government requested the extradition of former presidentGonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and two of his ministers to stand trial for killingat least 60 people in anti-government protests in September and October 2003,when the army used lethal force to quell violent demonstrations in the highlandcity of El Alto. As of November 2010 it has received no response from the UnitedStates government.211

WORLD REPORT 2011Sánchez de Lozada resigned and fled to the US after the events, known in Boliviaas “Black October.” The three men, as well as other ministers who were given asylumin Peru, have been declared fugitives from justice. In August 2010 the prosecutorfiled charges against three senior military officials, including a former commander-in-chiefof the armed forces, for destroying military documents, includinga log believed to have recorded details of the events and the personnel who participated.Military JurisdictionThe determination of Bolivia’s military courts to assert jurisdiction over humanrights abuses has been a major obstacle to accountability for many years. Themilitary has often refused to allow members of the armed forces to testify beforecivilian courts, instead insisting on trying the cases in military court, which invariablyends in acquittals. However, in an important precedent in September 2010,the army commander-in-chief—at President Morales’s insistence—ordered fourofficers accused of subjecting a conscript to water torture in September 2009 toappear before a civilian court.Political Violence and ImpunityImpunity continued to be a problem in 2010. Investigations into deaths andinjuries that occurred during violent protests in 2008 and 2009 over Bolivia’s newconstitution and demands for autonomy by five regional departments were ineffectiveand subject to long delays.In June 2010, after long delays due to conflicts over jurisdiction, a court in La Pazbegan to hear a case against 26 defendants in connection with the killing of atleast nine pro-Morales demonstrators in Porvenir, Pando department, inSeptember 2008. The accused included the former prefect of Pando department,Leopoldo Fernández, who was indicted in October 2009 on charges of homicide,terrorism, and conspiracy. He was still in preventive detention in September2010.The Attorney General’s Office also failed in 2010 to conduct a thorough andimpartial investigation into the circumstances in which three Europeans were212

AMERICASshot dead in April 2009 when an elite police unit broke into their rooms in aSanta Cruz hotel. The public prosecutor accused the men of being mercenariesengaged in a plot to kill President Morales, and named several government opponentsalleged to have hired them. However, the evidence he offered to supportthe official version that the three men were involved in a firefight when they werekilled was widely questioned. The government rejected calls from European governmentsfor an independent investigation.Media FreedomBolivia enjoys vibrant public debate, with a variety of critical and pro-governmentmedia outlets. However, in what remains a politically polarized atmosphere,President Morales sometimes aggressively criticizes the press, accusing journalistsof distorting facts and seeking to discredit him. In January 2010, he warnedjournalists that he would establish norms “so that the media don’t lie.” However,at this writing the government has presented no proposals for legislation on themedia.Under a law against racism and other forms of discrimination, passed in October2010, media that “authorize or publish racist or discriminatory ideas” can befined and have their broadcasting licenses suspended. Media outlets protestedthese provisions, claiming they were so broad that they could be used againstmedia critical of the government.Human Rights DefendersIn August 2010, police searched and removed computers from the office andhome of Jorge Quiroz and Claudia Lecoña, lawyers for the parents of two studentskilled when police broke up a protest in May in Caranavi, in the department of LaPaz. Quiroz, who worked as a volunteer for the La Paz Permanent Assembly ofHuman Rights, reportedly accused police of using excessive force. Governmentofficials accused Quiroz of a string of offenses, including drug-trafficking, immigrationirregularities, acting as an “infiltrator” for the US embassy in the Caranaviprotests, and trafficking prostitutes. However, no proof was provided or chargesleveled, raising concern that the government aimed to discredit Quiroz because ofhis accusations against the police.213

WORLD REPORT 2011Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityThe new constitution explicitly bans discrimination based on sexual orientationand gender identity. The anti-racism law under debate in Congress provides apenalty of up to five years imprisonment for anyone who discriminates on thebasis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and an even higher penalty of up toseven-and-a-half years if the offender is a public official.Key International ActorsIn October 2010 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found Bolivia responsiblefor multiple violations of human rights in relation to the enforced disappearanceof Rainer Ibsen Cárdenas, a student, and his father, José Luis Ibsen Peña,during the military dictatorship of Hugo Banzer in the early 1970s.214

AMERICASBrazilBrazil has consolidated its place as one of the most influential democracies inregional and global affairs in recent years, but important human rights challengesremain. Faced with high levels of violent crime, some Brazilian police officersengage in abusive practices instead of pursuing sound policing policies.Detention conditions in the country are often inhumane, and torture remains aserious problem. Forced labor persists in some states despite federal efforts toeradicate it. Indigenous peoples and landless peasants face threats and violence,particularly in rural conflicts over land distribution.Public Security and Police ConductMost of Brazil’s metropolitan areas are plagued by widespread violence perpetratedby criminal gangs and abusive police. Violence especially impacts low-incomecommunities. There are more than 40,000 intentional homicides in Brazil everyyear. In Rio de Janeiro hundreds of low-income communities are occupied andcontrolled by drug gangs, who routinely engage in violent crime and extortion.Police abuse, including extrajudicial execution, is a chronic problem. According toofficial data, police were responsible for 505 killings in the state of Rio de Janeiroalone in the first six months of 2010. This amounts to roughly three police killingsper day, or at least one police killing for every six “regular” intentional homicides.The number of killings by police in Sao Paulo, while less than in Rio de Janeiro, isalso comparatively high. A 2009 Human Rights Watch report found that police inSao Paulo state had killed more people over the prior five years than had policein all of South Africa, a country with a higher homicide rate than Sao Paulo.Police claim these are “resistance” killings that occur in confrontations with criminals.While many police killings undoubtedly result from legitimate use of force bypolice officers, many others do not, a fact documented by Human Rights Watchand other groups and recognized by Brazilian criminal justice officials. Reformefforts have fallen short because state criminal justice systems rely almost entirelyon police investigators to resolve these cases, leaving police largely to policethemselves.215

WORLD REPORT 2011In 2010 the attorney general of Sao Paulo took an important step to address theproblem of police violence by establishing that all cases involving alleged policeabuse be investigated by a special unit of prosecutors.The state of Rio de Janeiro has installed Pacifying Police Units (UPP) in some favelas(shanty towns) since 2008, with the aim of establishing a more effectivepolice presence at the community level. However, the state has not yet taken adequatesteps to ensure that police who commit abuses are held accountable.Some police officers also commit abuses while off duty. In Rio de Janeiro, policelinkedmilitias control dozens of neighborhoods at gunpoint, extorting residentsand committing murders and other violent crimes. The government has undertakensignificant efforts to dismantle some of these groups, and dozens of allegedmilitia members have been arrested, but the problem remains critical.In April 2010, 23 people were executed in the region of Santos, in the state of SaoPaulo. Local residents have attributed the killings to a death squad known as the“Ninjas” which allegedly includes police officers among its members.In July 2010, four military police officers were convicted of murdering and decapitatinga mentally disabled person. They were identified as being members of adeath squad known as the “Highlanders”, a nickname derived from the group’spractice of cutting off the heads and hands of their victims in an effort to cover uptheir crimes (a practice from the 1986 fictional film Highlander).Detention Conditions, Torture, and Ill-TreatmentBrazil’s prisons and jails are plagued by inhumane conditions, violence, andsevere overcrowding. Delays within the justice system contribute to the overcrowding:some 44 percent of all inmates in the country are pretrial detainees.Over the past three years the National Council of Justice, the judiciary’s oversightbody, ordered the release of more than 25,000 prisoners who were being heldarbitrarily.The use of torture is a chronic problem within the penitentiary system. A report bythe multiparty National Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on the Penitentiary216

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WORLD REPORT 2011System concluded that the national detention system is plagued by “physical andpsychological torture.” In one case from Goias, the Commission received evidencethat the National Security Force subjected female detainees to kicks andelectric shocks, stepped on the abdomen of a pregnant woman, and forcedanother woman to strip naked. A 2010 report by the Pastoral Prison Commissionfound that these problems continue.Gangs continue to dominate the prisons in Brazil. In early 2010 gang rivalry in aprison in Parana state led to a riot involving 1,200 prisoners. Five people werekilled, including two burned to death.HIV and tuberculosis prevalence rates in Brazilian prisons are far higher thanrates in the general population; overcrowded conditions facilitate the spread ofdisease and prisoners’ access to medical care remains inadequate.There were also continued reports of substandard conditions at Rio de Janeiro’sjuvenile detention centers run by the General Department of Socio-EducationalMeasures (DEGASE). In 2010, 44 DEGASE agents were charged with participatingin a torture session in 2008 that resulted in the death of one juvenile and leftanother 20 injured.A 2001 law sought to overhaul the system of mental health institutions, whichhad been plagued by overcrowding and inhumane conditions, but it has not yetbeen fully implemented.Reproductive Health RightsRaids on family planning clinics and aggressive prosecution of abortion limitedwomen’s access to reproductive health services in 2010. In May a bill to prioritizethe human rights of a fertilized ovum over those of the pregnant woman carryingit was voted favorably out of the Family and Social Security Commission of theBrazilian House of Representatives. The bill is still pending at this writing.Forced LaborSince 1995 the federal government has taken important steps to eradicate forcedlabor, including creating mobile investigation units to monitor conditions in rural218

AMERICASareas and establishing a list of employers found to have used forced labor. Morethan 36,000 workers have been freed since 1995. However, the Pastoral LandCommission reported that more than 6,000 workers were subject to forced laborin 2009. Criminal accountability for offending employers remains relatively rare.According to the United Nations special rapporteur on contemporary forms ofslavery, forced labor is also present in urban centers in the garment industry.Bolivian workers are recruited by Brazilian sweatshops and trafficked to SaoPaulo, where they have to endure harsh living and working conditions. They areoften locked in basements, work up to 18 hours a day, and receive very little pay.Rural Violence and Land ConflictsIndigenous and landless peoples face threats and violence, particularly in landdisputes in rural areas. According to the Pastoral Land Commission, 25 peoplewere killed and 62 were attacked in rural conflicts throughout the country in2009. In September 2010 José Valmeristo Soares, a member of the Landless RuralWorkers’ Movement, was killed by gunmen in Para, the state with the highestnumbers of such killings.Confronting Past AbusesBrazil has never prosecuted those responsible for atrocities committed during theperiod of its military dictatorship (1964-1985). A 1979 amnesty law has thus farbeen interpreted to bar prosecutions of state agents, an interpretation reaffirmedin April 2010 by the Supreme Federal Tribunal.The federal government in 2010 presented a bill creating a national truth commissionto investigate dictatorship-era abuses, but at this writing its approval is stillpending in congress.Human Rights DefendersSome human rights defenders, particularly those working on issues of police violenceand land conflicts, suffer intimidation and violence. In January 2009Manoel Mattos, a human rights lawyer, was shot and killed in the border area219

WORLD REPORT 2011between the states of Paraiba and Pernambuco. The main suspect, a police officerlinked to a death squad under investigation by Mattos, has been arrested. InOctober 2010 in an unprecedented decision, the judiciary ruled in favor of arequest by the Attorney General’s Office to grant federal prosecutors jurisdictionover the case to ensure an independent investigation and prosecution.Media FreedomIn July 2009 a court issued an injunction prohibiting the newspaper O Estado deSao Paulo from publishing stories containing information from the “OperacaoFaktor” police investigation involving Fernando Sarney, son of Senate PresidentJosé Sarney. Despite strenuous criticism from national and international pressfreedom organizations, the ruling was confirmed by the Supreme Federal Tribunalin December 2009. At this writing the restrictions are still in force.In September 2010 the Supreme Federal Tribunal suspended an electoral law provisionthat had imposed restrictions on radio and television broadcast of programsthat “degrade or ridicule” political candidates.Key International ActorsIn March 2009 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed an applicationat the Inter-American Court regarding the “Guerrilha do Araguaia” case, askingthe court to hold Brazil responsible for the enforced disappearance of guerrillamembers carried out by the Brazilian military in the 1970s, during the military dictatorship.It also petitioned the court to instruct the Brazilian government toensure that the country’s amnesty law does not continue to bar the investigationand prosecution of past human rights abuses. In May 2010 the Brazilian defenseminister declared that Brazil would not comply with such a ruling. The court’sdecision is still pending at this writing.The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling against Brazil inSeptember 2009 in the case of Garibaldi v. Brazil, declaring that Brazilian authoritieshad not acted with due diligence in investigating the death of SétimoGaribaldi, who was killed in 1998 during an extrajudicial operation aimed at evictingfamilies of landless workers in Parana.220

AMERICASBrazil increased its influence at the UN Human Rights Council. In 2009 the governmentcontroversially abstained from supporting strong scrutiny of North Korea,Sri Lanka, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2010 it improved itsrecord, supporting continued UN monitoring of human rights conditions in NorthKorea and Sudan and convening a session on Haiti. Brazil also proposed in 2010that the Council develop a more cooperative, less adversarial approach to itswork, an idea that could weaken the Council if not accompanied by new mechanismsto ensure human rights accountability.221

WORLD REPORT 2011ChileChilean military courts that fall short of international standards of independenceand impartiality continue to investigate and try police accused of human rightsabuses. Counterterrorism legislation has been used inappropriately to deal withcommon crimes committed by indigenous protesters. Legislation enacted in 2010only partially corrected these problems.Judges continue to convict former military personnel accused of committing gravehuman rights violations during the military dictatorship (1973-1990). However,final sentences are often unacceptably lenient given the seriousness of thecrimes. Overcrowding and inhumane conditions in many Chilean prisons remainsa serious problem.Military JurisdictionBeginning in 2000, Chile has overhauled its criminal justice procedure and reinforceddue process guarantees, however, until 2010, military courts continued toexercise jurisdiction over civilians accused of acts of violence against Carabineros(uniformed police), which is part of the armed forces. Military courts still holdjurisdiction over crimes committed by Carabineros against civilians, such as useof excessive force, torture, and ill-treatment.In a 2005 ruling in the Palamara case, the Inter-American Court of Human Rightsordered Chile to ensure that military courts no longer exercise jurisdiction overcivilians. Subsequent court decisions have held that members of the armedforces accused of humans rights violations should also be tried under civilianjurisdiction.Legislation approved by Congress in September 2010 finally complied with Chile’sobligation to ensure that civilian courts try civilians in all cases. However, it didnot transfer to civilian jurisdiction cases of abuse by police officers against civilians,thereby failing to meet Chile’s obligations under international law to ensurethat law enforcement officials accused of human rights abuses are tried by independentand impartial courts.222

AMERICASPolice AbusesIn repeated incidents, carabineros have used excessive force during operations inindigenous Mapuche communities in the Araucanía region. Abuses typically occurwhen police try to control Mapuche protests and prevent land occupations, orwhen they enter communities to pursue activists suspected of crimes allegedlycommitted during land disputes with farmers and logging companies.Since 2002, police have been responsible for the deaths of at least threeMapuches. As noted, such cases are investigated by military courts that do notmeet international standards of independence and impartiality; sentences haveeither resulted in acquittals or been extremely lenient. In August 2010, for example,Corte Marcial (the military appeals court) placed on probation for three yearsa police corporal convicted of using excessive force by shooting a Mapucheactivist, Matías Catrileo, in the back with a submachine gun. Three military judgeson active service have a majority on the panel, which also includes two civilianappellate judges. The same court acquitted a policeman accused of shooting ayoung Mapuche, Alex Lemun, in 2002. In July 2010 it ordered charges droppedagainst four policeman accused of beating Carlos Curinao, the son of a Mapuchecommunity leader, while he lay prostrate on the ground.Counterterrorism LawsSince 2004 Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about inappropriate useof counterterrorism legislation to deal with common crimes, such as arson, committedby indigenous Mapuche activists. Under Chile’s counterterrorism law,crimes against property, such as burning homesteads, woods, or crops; or damagingvehicles or machinery, are considered terrorist crimes if judges believe theyare intended to spread fear among the population. Defendants under the lawhave restricted due process rights and face much higher sentences. As of June2010 more than 50 Mapuches faced terrorism charges and five had been convictedof terrorist crimes.In October 2010 the government enacted legislation to modify the counterterrorismlaw in response to a hunger strike by 32 Mapuche prisoners protesting thelaw’s application to their cases, as well as their prosecution by military courts.223

WORLD REPORT 2011The reforms of the counterterrorism law strengthened some due process guarantees,such as allowing witnesses whose identity can be concealed by prosecutorsto be cross-examined by defense attorneys. The government also announced itwould drop all accusations of terrorism against Mapuches currently in the courts,and accuse them only under the ordinary criminal law. However, the inclusion inthe law of crimes against property was left unchanged, and public prosecutorscontinued to apply the law to such crimes.Confronting Past AbusesCases of human rights abuses committed during military rule under investigationby the courts rose from 350 in April 2010 to 452 in June 2010 due to relatives’associations filing new cases. President Sebastian Piñera continues to providegovernment support for the Human Rights Program attached to the Ministry of theInterior, whose lawyers help relatives of victims pursue their cases before thecourts.As of June 2010, 292 former military personnel and civilian collaborators hadbeen convicted on charges of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions,and torture (of whom 210 had the verdict confirmed on final appeal). Sixty-fourwere serving prison sentences; 490 more were facing charges.In July 2010 Piñera announced he would exclude prisoners convicted of humanrights violations from presidential clemency measures that the Catholic Churchhad requested to mark the 200 th anniversary of Chile’s founding as a republic.In July 2010 the Supreme Court’s criminal chamber confirmed the conviction ofAugusto Pinochet’s secret police chief, Manuel Contreras, and eight other agentsfor the 1974 car bomb assassination of former army commander Carlos Prats andhis wife. The court sentenced Contreras and his associate Pedro Espinoza to 20years in prison for aggravated homicide and criminal association. The court heldthese were crimes against humanity, and that Chile is bound under the GenevaConventions to judge and punish those responsible for such crimes, regardless ofthe self-amnesty law that Pinochet introduced in 1977.However, in many cases the Supreme Court has routinely used its discretionarypowers to reduce sentences against human rights violators in recognition of the224

AMERICAStime elapsed since the criminal act. Often the sentence finally imposed is lowenough to exempt those convicted from going to prison. This practice raises concernsabout Chile’s fulfillment of its obligation to hold perpetrators of disappearancesaccountable by imposing appropriate punishment or sanctions; less thanone-third of those convicted were actually serving prison time in August 2010.Prison ConditionsChile has yet to take effective measures to relieve severe overcrowding in its prisons,and alleviate conditions that a senior justice official has described as “inhumane.”In Chile’s most crowded prisons in 2010, at least two prisoners on average occupiedfacilities intended for one. Prison conditions include overcrowding; poorsanitation, ventilation, and nutrition; and lack of potable water. Yet despite conditionsconducive to ill-health and the spread of infectious disease, access to medicalcare remains inadequate. According to a report that a government-appointedprison review commission issued in March 2010, the problem stems from delaysin the construction of new facilities, the introduction of faster criminal procedures,harsher sentencing policies, and failure to implement effective alternativesto prison. Following visits to facilities across the country in July and August,Minister of Justice Felipe Bulnes said that the problem of overcrowding had been“invisible for a long time,” and announced measures to improve conditions.Reproductive RightsChile is one of a handful of countries that prohibits abortion in all circumstances,even in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life or health of a pregnant woman.Despite this, an estimated 60,000 to 200,000 clandestine abortions occur annually,corresponding to between 20 and 40 percent of all pregnancies. The lack ofprecise statistics on the prevalence of abortion speaks to the highly stigmatizedand clandestine nature of the practice. Chile also has one of the highest teenagepregnancy rates in the world, with over 15 percent of all births corresponding toadolescent mothers. There was continued controversy in 2010 over the distributionof modern contraceptive methods. For example, the main health authority ofCoquimbo region withdrew the authority of midwives to distribute contraception,225

WORLD REPORT 2011contravening national norms. Many women, especially in rural or less accessibleareas, lose real access when only medical doctors can distribute contraception.Key International ActorsUnited Nations experts have repeatedly criticized the use of counterterrorism legislationagainst Mapuche activists, including the Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination and the special rapporteur on the situation of human rightsand fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.In September the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed a case withthe Inter-American Court on Human Rights accusing Chile of discriminatingagainst Karen Atala, a judge who is an open lesbian, by depriving her of custodyof her children because of her sexual orientation. The Supreme Court refused toparticipate in a panel formed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to debate ways ofimplementing the commission’s recommendations, arguing the final court decisionwas not subject to discussion. The Inter-American Court will decide for thefirst time whether such discrimination violates the American Convention onHuman Rights.226

AMERICASColombiaColombia’s internal armed conflict continued to result in serious abuses by irregulararmed groups in 2010, including guerrillas and successor groups to paramilitaries.Violence has displaced millions of Colombians internally, and displaceshundreds of thousands every year. Armed actors frequently threaten or attackhuman rights defenders, journalists, community leaders, trade unionists, indigenousand Afro-Colombian leaders, displaced persons’ leaders, and paramilitaries’victims seeking land restitution or justice.In August 2010 President Juan Manuel Santos replaced former President AlvaroUribe, whose administration was racked by scandals over extrajudicial killings bythe army, a highly questioned paramilitary demobilization process, and thenational intelligence service’s illegal surveillance of human rights defenders, journalists,opposition politicians, and Supreme Court justices. President Santos haspromoted legislation to restore land to displaced persons and compensate victimsof abuses by state agents, publicly voiced respect for an independent judiciary,and denounced threats against human rights defenders. However, it remainsto be seen whether his approach translates into concrete results in light of seriousongoing abuses.Guerrilla AbusesThe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National LiberationArmy (ELN) continue to carry out serious abuses against civilians. The FARC especiallyis often involved in killings, threats, forced displacement, and recruitingchild combatants.The FARC and ELN frequently use antipersonnel landmines. The governmentreported that 76 civilians were injured between January and August 2010 byantipersonnel landmines and unexploded munitions.In September 2010 the Colombian military killed top FARC military commanderVictor Julio Suárez, alias “Mono Jojoy,” responsible for numerous grave abusesduring his decades of leadership.227

WORLD REPORT 2011Paramilitaries and their SuccessorsSince 2003 more than 30,000 individuals have participated in a paramilitarydemobilization process, although there is substantial evidence that many werenot paramilitaries, and that others never demobilized.Successor groups to the paramilitaries, often led by mid-level commanders ofdemobilized paramilitary organizations, exercise territorial control in certainregions and are responsible for widespread atrocities against civilians. TheColombian National Police reported the groups had 3,749 members as of July2010; however, the Colombian NGO Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y laPaz estimates the groups have 6,000 armed combatants, and have expandedoperations to 29 of Colombia’s 32 departments. Toleration of these successorgroups by members of the public security forces is a main factor in their growth.Like previous paramilitaries, the groups engage in drug trafficking, activelyrecruit, and commit widespread abuses, including massacres, killings, rapes, andforced displacement. Successor groups repeatedly target human rights defenders,trade unionists, and victims groups seeking justice and recovery of land. InMedellín homicides have surged since 2008, apparently due to these groups.Successor groups contribute significantly to forced displacement. State agenciesoften refuse to register people as displaced if they say paramilitary successorgroups forced them to flee, contributing to disparities between government andNGO estimates of Colombia’s internally displaced population. While the stateagency Social Action registered 154,040 newly displaced in 2009, the respectedColombian NGO CODHES holds that 286,389 persons were displaced that year.Social Action has registered 3.3 million displaced persons between 1997 and July2010, compared to 3.9 million that CODHES reports between 1997 and 2009.Colombia’s Supreme Court has in recent years made considerable progress investigatingColombian Congress members accused of collaborating with paramilitaries.In the “parapolitics” scandal, more than 150 Congress members – mostfrom President Uribe’s coalition – have been investigated, and at least 20 convicted.The Uribe administration repeatedly took actions that could have sabotagedinvestigations, including issuing public and personal attacks against228

AMERICASSupreme Court justices. President Santos has publicly stated his commitment torespecting the court’s independence.The Supreme Court is currently investigating more than 20 members of Congressamid concerns of high levels of paramilitary infiltration. Investigations by theAttorney General’s Office into senior military officers and businesspersons whoallegedly collaborated with paramilitaries have been slow.Implementation of the Justice and Peace Law, which offers dramatically reducedsentences to demobilized paramilitaries who confess their atrocities, has alsobeen slow and uneven. As of November 2010, more than five years after the lawwas approved, there have only been two convictions and prosecutors have recovereda negligible fraction of the millions of acres of land that paramilitariesseized. The Santos government has promoted legislation to return millions ofacres of land to Colombia’s displaced population through a procedure separatefrom the Justice and Peace Law.Paramilitary leaders’ confessions in the justice and peace process suffered a setbackwhen President Uribe extradited most paramilitary leaders to the UnitedStates between May 2008 and August 2009 to face drug trafficking crimes.Paramilitary cooperation declined significantly thereafter, and several commandersrefused to continue testifying, fearing reprisals against family in Colombia.Military Abuses and ImpunityIn recent years Colombia’s Army has been blamed for an alarming number ofextrajudicial killings of civilians, including extrajudicial executions known as“false positives,” when army members, pressured to show results, kill civiliansand report them as combatants killed in action. The alleged executions haveoccurred throughout Colombia and involve multiple army brigades.The problem continues, despite a significant drop in false positives since 2009.The government does not keep statistics for such cases, but as of May 2010, theAttorney General’s Office was investigating 1,366 cases of alleged extrajudicialkillings committed by state agents involving more than 2,300 victims. There haveonly been convictions in 63 cases.229

WORLD REPORT 2011The military justice system’s resistance to transferring cases to ordinary civiliancourts impeded prosecution of extrajudicial killings. Military courts transferred266 cases in 2009 but only seven from January to September 2010.Violence against Trade UnionistsColombia still leads the world in killings of trade unionists, with more than 2,800reported killings since 1986, according to the National Labor School (ENS),Colombia’s leading NGO monitoring labor rights. Most are attributed to paramilitariesand their successor groups.While the number of murders dropped in 2007 to 39, statistics are still alarminglyhigh: 52 murders in 2008, 47 in 2009, and 36 from January to September 15,2010, according to the ENS. Threats against unionists—mostly attributed to paramilitaries’successor groups—have increased since 2007.Impunity in such cases is widespread: only 25 percent of more than 2,800 ENSdocumentedkillings of unionists are being investigated by the Attorney General’sOffice unit mandated to prosecute such crimes. The office has opened investigationsinto more than 1,300 cases (including several hundred that do not appearon the ENS list), but has only obtained convictions in 14 percent of these cases.There are also concerns the investigations are piecemeal, and do not considerwhether the victim’s union activities motivated the crime.Human Rights DefendersHuman rights defenders are routinely threatened and attacked. According to theNGO Somos Defensores, seven defenders were murdered and 51 threatened inthe first half of 2010. A coalition of Colombian and international NGOs reported30 killings of human rights defenders and social leaders between July andOctober 15, 2010. Over 40 leaders of victims groups seeking to recover land havebeen killed since the Justice and Peace process started in 2005. In 2010 severalleaders of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities were reported killed.Impunity for these crimes contributes to their persistence.230

AMERICASPresident Santos has publicly condemned threats against human rights defenders—animprovement from their stigmatization during President Uribe’s administration.The Early Warning System of the Ombudsman’s Office, which monitors Colombia’shuman rights situation, regularly issues “risk reports” warning of threats to communitiesand individuals. Other Colombian authorities have sometimes ignoredthese and failed to act to prevent abuses.Illegal SurveillanceIn February 2009 Colombia’s leading news magazine, Semana, reported theColombian intelligence service, DAS, which answers directly to the president’soffice, had for years engaged in extensive illegal phone tapping, email interception,and surveillance directed at trade unionists, human rights defenders, journalists,opposition politicians, and Supreme Court justices. DAS documents indicatethe alleged criminal activities included death threats and smear campaignsto link targets to guerrillas. The Attorney General’s Office has begun investigatingdozens of former and current DAS officials, including the current director and severalof his predecessors.Former DAS functionaries say that high-level officials in the Uribe administrationmay have ordered the illegal surveillance. In October 2010 the InspectorGeneral’s Office meted out disciplinary sanctions against President Uribe’s chiefof-staffand three former DAS directors for their part in the surveillance.Key International ActorsThe United States remains the most influential foreign actor in Colombia. In 2010it provided approximately US $673 million—mostly military and police aid—though an increasing percentage consists of social and economic assistance.Thirty percent of US military aid is subject to human rights conditions, which theUS Department of State has not consistently enforced. In September 2010 theState Department certified, for the second time under President Barack Obama’sadministration, that Colombia was meeting human rights conditions. However,231

WORLD REPORT 2011the State Department’s 2010 certification did include a comprehensive memorandumoutlining Colombia’s significant human rights problems.The US Congress has delayed ratifying the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreementuntil there is “concrete evidence of sustained results on the ground” regardingimpunity for violence against trade unionists and the role of paramilitaries.The United Kingdom reportedly reduced military assistance to Colombia in 2009,apparently due to scandals over illegal surveillance and extrajudicial executions.The European Union provides social and economic assistance to Colombia,including some aid to the government’s paramilitary demobilization programs.The Organization of American States’ Mission to Support the Peace Process inColombia, charged with verifying paramilitary demobilizations, issued reports in2009 and 2010 expressing alarm over the activities of paramilitary successorgroups.The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court continued to monitorlocal investigations into human rights crimes. The Office of the United NationsHigh Commissioner for Human Rights is active in Colombia, and has arranged tomonitor the military’s internal control structure. In October 2010 Colombia’sCongress approved the International Convention for the Protection of All Personsfrom Enforced Disappearance. It would go into effect after being signed byPresident Santos and upheld by the Constitutional Court.232

AMERICASCubaCuba remains the only country in Latin America that represses virtually all formsof political dissent. In 2010 the government continued to enforce political conformityusing criminal prosecutions, beatings, harassment, denial of employment,and travel restrictions.Since inheriting control of the government from his brother Fidel Castro in 2006,Raul Castro has kept Cuba’s repressive legal and institutional structures firmly inplace. While Cuban law includes broad statements affirming fundamental rights,it also grants officials extraordinary authority to penalize individuals who try toexercise them.Following the death of a political prisoner on hunger strike in February 2010 andthe subsequent hunger strike of a prominent dissident, Cuba’s government hasreleased more than 40 political prisoners, forcing most into exile. Many morejournalists, human rights defenders, and dissidents remain behind bars, whilethe government increasingly relies on short-term, arbitrary detentions to punishits critics.Political Prisoners, Arbitrary Detentions, and “Dangerousness”Cubans who dare to criticize the government are subject to criminal and “precriminal”charges. They are exempt from due process guarantees, such as theright to a defense, and denied meaningful judicial protection because courts are“subordinated” to the executive and legislative branches.In February 2010 political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died following an 85-day hunger strike. Zapata—who was jailed during a 2003 crackdown on more than75 human rights defenders, journalists, and dissidents—initiated his hungerstrike to protest the inhumane conditions in which he was being held and todemand medical treatment. Following Zapata’s death, dissident Guillermo Fariñasinitiated a hunger strike to demand medical attention for political prisoners withserious health problems. In July Fariñas ended his hunger strike after 135 dayswhen the Catholic Church announced it had reached an agreement with theCuban government to release the 52 political prisoners still behind bars from the233

WORLD REPORT 20112003 crackdown. By mid-November, 39 of the 52 prisoners had been released onthe condition that they accept forced exile to Spain, while 12 prisoners, whorefused to leave Cuba, remained in prison. One prisoner had been granted provisionalfreedom and allowed to stay on the island.Scores of political prisoners remain in Cuban prisons. In October 2010 theWomen in White—a respected human rights group comprised of wives, mothers,and daughters of political prisoners—issued a list of 113 prisoners whom it saidwere incarcerated for political reasons. According to the Damas, there are likelymany more prisoners whose cases they cannot document because Cuba’s governmentdoes not allow international monitors or national groups to access its prisons.The government continued to rely on arbitrary detention to harass and intimidateindividuals exercising their fundamental rights. The Cuban Commission forHuman Rights and National Reconciliation documented 325 arbitrary detentionsby security forces in 2007; from January to September of 2010, it registered morethan 1,220. The detentions are often used to prevent individuals participating inmeetings or events viewed as critical of the government. Security officers oftenoffer no charge to justify the detentions—a clear violation of due process rights—but warn detainees of longer arrests if they continue participating in activitiesdeemed critical of the government. For example, from February 23 to 25, morethan 100 people were arbitrarily detained across Cuba or placed under housearrest to prevent them participating in memorial services for Orlando ZapataTamayo.Raul Castro’s government has increasingly relied on a “dangerousness” (estadopeligroso) provision of the criminal code that allows the state to imprison individualsbefore they have committed a crime, on the suspicion that they might commitan offense in the future. Scores of individuals have been sentenced tobetween one and four years for “dangerous” activities including handing outcopies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, staging peaceful marches,writing critical news articles, and trying to organize independent unions.234

AMERICASFreedom of ExpressionThe government maintains a media monopoly on the island, ensuring that freedomof expression is virtually nonexistent. Although a small number of independentjournalists manage to write articles for foreign websites or maintain independentblogs, they must publish their work through back channels—writing fromhome computers, saving information on memory sticks, and uploading articlesand posts through illegal internet connections. Others dictate articles to contactsabroad. The risks associated with these activities are considerable. For example,blogger Luis Felipe Rojas of Holguin has repeatedly been arbitrarily detained,interrogated, and threatened by authorities for his work. In May 2010, soldiersand police surrounded his house for six days. He was arrested in Septemberalong with five human rights defenders when he traveled to attend a pro-democracymeeting, and again in October.The government controls all media outlets in Cuba and access to outside informationis highly restricted. Only a tiny fraction of Cubans have the chance to readindependently published articles and blogs because of the high cost of, and limitedaccess to, the internet: an hour of internet use costs one-third of Cubans’monthly wages and is only available in a few government-run centers.Human Rights DefendersRefusing to recognize human rights monitoring as a legitimate activity, the Cubangovernment denies legal status to local human rights groups. The governmentalso employs harassment, beatings, and imprisonment to punish human rightsdefenders who attempt to document abuses. For example, in October 2010 twomembers of the Women in White were detained as they marched in Havana holdinga banner that read: “Down with racism and long live human rights.” Policetransferred them to a police station and beat them, fracturing one woman’s noseand the other’s wrist, and held them without access to communications for sevenhours.235

WORLD REPORT 2011Travel Restrictions and Family SeparationThe Cuban government forbids the country’s citizens from leaving or returning toCuba without first obtaining official permission, which is often denied. For example,internationally acclaimed blogger Yoani Sanchez has been denied the right toleave the island to accept awards and participate in conferences eight times inthe past three years.Widespread fear of forced family separation gives the Cuban government a powerfultool for punishing defectors and silencing critics. The government frequentlybars citizens engaged in authorized travel from taking their children with themoverseas, essentially holding children hostage to guarantee their parents’ return.The government restricts the movement of citizens within Cuba by enforcing a1997 law known as Decree 217. Designed to limit migration to Havana, the decreerequires Cubans to obtain government permission before moving to the country’scapital. It is often used to prevent dissidents traveling to Havana to attend meetings,and to harass dissidents from other parts of Cuba who live in the capital. Forexample, in January 2010 authorities repeatedly threatened to remove humanrights defenders Juan Carlos González and Tania Maceda Guerra from Havana.Security officers visited their home, called them “counterrevolutionaries,” andwarned they would be forcibly returned to their native province under Decree 217if they did not leave Havana voluntarily.Prison ConditionsConditions for prisoners are overcrowded, unhygienic, and unhealthy, leading toextensive malnutrition and illness. Political prisoners who criticize the government,refuse to participate in ideological “reeducation,” or engage in hungerstrikes and other forms of protest are routinely subjected to extended solitaryconfinement, beatings, visit restrictions, and denial of medical care. Prisonershave no effective complaint mechanism to seek redress, giving prison authoritiestotal impunity.236

AMERICASKey International ActorsIn October 2010 the European Union renewed its “Common Position” on Cuba,adopted in 1996, which conditions full economic cooperation with Cuba on thecountry’s transition to a pluralist democracy and respect for human rights. At thesame time the EU dispatched its top foreign police official, Catherine Ashton, toinitiate a dialogue with Cuba’s government on how to improve relations.The United States’ economic embargo on Cuba, in place for more than half a century,continues to impose indiscriminate hardship on the Cuban people, and hasdone nothing to improve human rights in Cuba. At the United Nations GeneralAssembly in October, 187 of the 192 member countries voted for a resolution condemningthe US embargo; only the United States and Israel voted against it. InApril 2009 the US government eliminated all limits on travel and remittances byCuban Americans to Cuba. Legislation introduced in the US House ofRepresentatives in February 2010 would restore the right travel to Cuba for allAmericans and remove obstacles to sales of US agricultural commodities to Cuba.It has not yet been brought to a vote.As of October 2010 Cuba’s government had yet to ratify the core internationalhuman rights treaties—the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsand the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights—which itsigned in February 2008. Cuba is currently serving a three-year term on the UNHuman Rights Council, having been reelected in May 2009.237

WORLD REPORT 2011EcuadorOn September 30 President Rafael Correa was held captive inside a hospital forseveral hours by police who were protesting a law that diminished benefits forlaw enforcement officers. During the standoff, the government declared a state ofemergency and ordered all TV stations to transmit the official channel’s programming.A shootout broke out when members of the military rescued PresidentCorrea, resulting in at least five deaths. The government stated the events constitutedan attempted coup d’etat. At this writing hundreds of police officers areunder investigation.At least a dozen participants in protests and demonstrations were prosecuted orinvestigated in 2010 on the exaggerated charge of terrorism, due to the overlybroad provisions of the criminal code. Police officers responsible for abuses inprevious years have not been held accountable.Criminal defamation laws that restrict freedom of expression remain in force.Some articles of the draft Communications Law could open the door to mediacensorship. At this writing there is still no date set for the debate on the bill in theNational Assembly.Misuse of Anti-Terror Laws in Dealing with Social ProtestsProsecutors have applied a “terrorism and sabotage” provision of the criminalcode in cases involving protest marches that have ended in confrontations withpolice. Involvement in acts of violence during lawful protests should be an ordinarycriminal offense. Yet Ecuador’s criminal code includes, under the category ofsabotage and terrorism, “crimes against the common security of people or humangroups of whatever kind, or against their property,” by individuals or associations“whether armed or not.” Such crimes carry a possible prison sentence of four toeight years.In June 2010 Marlon Santi, president of the Confederation of IndigenousNationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), Ecuador’s largest indigenous organization, andtwo other indigenous leaders were under criminal investigation for terrorism andsabotage after leading a protest during a meeting of the Bolivarian Alliance for238

AMERICASthe Americas (ALBA) in the city of Otavalo. Protesters broke through a police barrierto gain entry to the building where Presidents Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, andRafael Correa were meeting. In September a judge charged Pepe Acacho, a Shuarindigenous leader, and 10 others, with sabotage and terrorism for their allegedparticipation in violent protests in September 2009 in the city of Macas in theEcuadorean Amazon, in which a teacher was killed. According to the Ministry ofJustice, Acacho was accused of using a community radio station he directed,Radio La Voz de Arutam, to incite demonstrators to take to the streets with poisonedspears to protest the government’s alleged intent to privatize water.In August a judge ordered the preventive detention of Juan Alcívar, a reporter forLa Hora newspaper and El Nuevo Sol radio station, on terrorism charges. Twoemployees of the La Concordia town council accused Alcívar of throwing a teargas canister at President Correa during a demonstration, causing the Ecuadoreanleader to have to cover his face with a mask. Alcívar, who was an outspoken criticof La Concordia’s mayor, argues he merely pushed the canister away. InSeptember the judge lifted the detention order, but the terrorism case againsthim continued.AccountabilityImpunity for police abuses, including extrajudicial executions, is widespread, andthose responsible for murders often attributed by police to a “settling ofaccounts” between criminal gangs are rarely brought to justice. In a June 2010statement Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicialexecutions, described the justice system as “broadly dysfunctional.” The samemonth a truth commission created by the Correa administration published areport documenting 68 extrajudicial executions and 17 “disappearances”between 1984 and 2008, and named 458 alleged perpetrators of abuses.According to the commission, few of those responsible for the abuses had beenheld accountable due to statutes of limitations, jurisdictional disputes, and proceduraldelays. In October 2010 a team of prosecutors appointed by the attorneygeneral to investigate cases reported by the commission began re-interviewingsuspects and witnesses.239

WORLD REPORT 2011Indigenous JusticeCompeting jurisdiction of the ordinary courts and of traditional indigenousauthorities, which have equal status under the 2008 constitution, has been asource of controversy. Critics of indigenous justice maintain that it is responsiblefor a number of recent lynchings, which received wide press coverage. In 2010two UN rapporteurs—on extrajudicial executions and on indigenous peoples—criticizedthese allegations as unfounded. Both urged dialogue to resolve possibleconflicts between the two spheres of justice. At this writing the government isworking on draft legislation to determine the scope of each jurisdiction.Freedom of ExpressionThe Ecuadorean criminal code still has provisions criminalizing “desacato,” underwhich anyone who “offends” the president or other government authorities mayreceive a prison sentence of up to three months (for offending officials), and upto two years (for offending the president).Journalists also face prison sentences for criminal defamation of public officials.In March 2010 Emilio Palacio, an editorial writer for the Guayaquil newspaper ElUniverso, received a three-year prison sentence for calling the president of a government-runfinancial institution “a thug” in an August 2009 editorial. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has urged member states to abolish“desacato” provisions, and to use only civil sanctions to guarantee protection ofpublic officials’ reputations.From September 2009 until June 2010 a National Assembly committee debateddraft legislation to regulate media. The draft Communications Law contains positiveelements that would strengthen free expression if enacted. It explicitly prohibitsmonopolies and oligopolies in media ownership, potentially extending therange and diversity of public debate. It broadens access for those with hearingdisabilities by promoting subtitles and sign language.However, the bill contains several provisions that could undermine freedom ofexpression. It includes restrictions whose vague language could open the way forprior censorship, which the American Convention on Human Rights explicitly prohibits.Employing the same language included in the constitution, it refers to the240

AMERICASright to freedom of expression as “the search, reception, exchange, productionand dissemination of truthful, verified, opportune, contextualized and pluralinformation.” Such definition is at odds with Principle 7 of the Declaration ofPrinciples of Freedom of Expression, endorsed by the Inter-American Commissionon Human Rights that states that the “prior conditioning of expressions… isincompatible with the right to freedom of expression.” Moreover, the bill allowsan exception to the prohibition of prior censorship “in those cases established…in the law.”In addition, the proposed law includes sanctions that impose unreasonablerestrictions on free expression, and could allow undue interference in the work ofmedia outlets. Infractions for which an outlet could be punished include failure“to observe its ethics code,” and publishing unsigned or anonymous letters. Atthis writing the bill had still to be debated on the floor of the legislature.Human Rights DefendersPresident Correa has frequently accused environmental activists and NGOsdefending indigenous rights of interfering in politics, promoting violence, andreceiving funds from abroad to destabilize the country. In July 2010 Correa threatenedNGOs that “meddle in politics” with expulsion from the country. In Octoberhe stated that he would review the list of some 50,000 NGOs registered inEcuador, some of which he said were suspected of tax evasion and prejudicingthe state.In July unidentified assailants kidnapped Germán Antonio Ramírez Herrera, aforensic expert specializing in investigating torture and extrajudicial executions,forced him into a car, and later shot him. Ramírez, an expert consultant for PRIVA,a member organization of the International Rehabilitation Council for TortureVictims, had been investigating prisoners’ injuries following a police raid at theprison of Quevedo, where he was a forensic doctor. He was killed on the sameday that he presented evidence to the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicialexecutions. Ramírez was reported to have received death threats previously.241

WORLD REPORT 2011Key International ActorsMembers of the Union of South American Nations organized an emergency meetingin Buenos Aires to support the presidency of Rafael Correa after he was heldby police in September. Other governments and international institutions, includingthe United States and the Organization of American States (OAS) alsoexpressed support for Ecuador’s democratic institutions.After visiting Ecuador in July, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial executionscriticized the justice system’s failure to hold accountable those responsiblefor execution-style killings, whether committed by state agents, hired assassins,or illegal armed groups. The OAS rapporteur on persons deprived of liberty, whovisited Ecuador in May 2010, stated that he had received reports of continuingpolice torture. He urged Ecuador to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Conventionagainst Torture.In May 2010 a court in Ontario, Canada struck out a claim for damages that threeEcuadorean community leaders had filed against two directors of the CopperMesa Mining Corporation and the Toronto Stock Exchange, where the company islisted. Since 2006, residents of Imbabura province, northern Ecuador, havereceived repeated death threats because of their opposition to a mining project inthe area. On one occasion, Copper Mesa company guards physically attackedthem, an incident captured on film. The court argued the plaintiffs had failed toestablish the responsibility of the company directors and the stock exchange incausing the alleged harm.242

AMERICASGuatemalaGuatemala’s weak and corrupt law enforcement institutions have proved incapableof containing the powerful organized crime groups and criminal gangs thatcontribute to one the highest violent crime rates in the Americas. Illegal armedgroups, which appear to have partly evolved from counterinsurgency forces operatingduring the civil war that ended in 1996, are believed to be responsible fortargeted attacks on civil society actors and justice officials. More than a decadeafter the end of the conflict, impunity remains the norm for human rights violations.The ongoing violence and intimidation threaten to reverse the littleprogress that has been made toward promoting accountability.Public Security, Police Conduct, and the Criminal Justice SystemIllegal armed groups and criminal gangs contribute significantly to violence andintimidation, which they use to further political objectives and illicit economicinterests, including drug trafficking.Powerful and well-organized youth gangs, including the “Mara Salvatrucha” and“Barrio 18,” have also contributed to escalating violence in Guatemala. The gangsuse lethal violence against those who defy their control, including gang rivals andformer members, individuals who collaborate with police, and those who refuseto pay extortion money. The gangs are believed to be responsible for the widespreadkillings of bus drivers targeted for extortion. According to the NationalPolice, 57 drivers and 30 drivers’ assistants were murdered in the first sevenmonths of 2010.Police have used repressive measures to curb gang activity, including arbitrarydetentions and extrajudicial killings. Investigations by the Human RightsOmbudsman’s Office and NGOs have found police involvement in “social cleansing,”killings intended to eliminate alleged gang members and criminals.Moreover, abuses committed by police officers routinely go uninvestigated.Guatemala’s justice system has proved largely incapable of curbing violence andcontaining criminal mafias and gangs. According to official figures, there was99.75 percent impunity for violent crime as of 2009. Deficient and corrupt police,243

WORLD REPORT 2011prosecutorial, and judicial systems, as well as the absence of an adequate witnessprotection program, all contribute to Guatemala’s alarmingly low prosecutionrate. In addition, members of the justice system are routinely subject toattacks and intimidation.Accountability for Past AbusesGuatemala continues to suffer the effects of the 36-year civil war. A UnitedNations-sponsored Commission on Historical Clarification (CEH) estimated that asmany as 200,000 people were killed during the conflict. The CEH attributed 93percent of the human rights abuses it documented to state security forces andconcluded that the military had carried out “acts of genocide.” Very few of thoseresponsible for the grave human rights violations during the civil war have beenheld accountable. Of the 626 massacres documented by the commission, onlythree cases have been successfully prosecuted in Guatemalan courts.Guatemala’s first conviction for the crime of enforced disappearance occurred inAugust 2009, when an ex-paramilitary leader was sentenced to 150 years inprison for his role in “disappearing” individuals between 1982 and 1984. The verdictwas made possible by a landmark ruling by the country’s Constitutional Courtin July 2009, which established that enforced disappearance is a continuingcrime not subject to a statute of limitations so long as the victims are stillunknown.The July 2005 discovery of approximately 80 million documents of the disbandedNational Police, including files on Guatemalans who were killed or “disappeared”during the conflict, could play a key role in prosecuting past human rights abuses.Documents in the archive led to the March 2009 arrest of two former NationalPolice agents for their alleged participation in the 1984 “disappearance” of studentleader and activist Edgar Fernando García.In September 2008 Congress passed the Law of Access to Public Information,which orders that “in no circumstances can information related to investigationsof violations of fundamental human rights or crimes against humanity” be classifiedas confidential or reserved. In March 2009 President Alvaro Colom created244

AMERICASthe Military Archive Declassification Commission, tasked with sorting and declassifyingmilitary documents from 1954-1996.Human Rights Defenders and JournalistsAttacks and threats against human rights defenders are common, significantlyhampering human rights work throughout the country. Journalists, especiallythose covering corruption, drug trafficking, and accountability for abuses committedduring the civil war, also face threats and attacks. Rolando Santiz, a reporterfor the national television station Telecentro 13, was shot to death in GuatemalaCity on April 1. Antonio de León, a station cameraman, was injured in the attack.Labor Rights and Child LaborFreedom of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively areendangered by increasing anti-union violence, including attacks on union offices,and threats, harassment, and killings of trade unionists. The International TradeUnion Confederation reports that 16 trade unionists were killed in 2009, the secondhighest total in the Americas. Seven trade unionists were reportedly killed inthe first eight months of 2010.Workers pressing for their rights in labor cases must rely on labor courts, whosework is stymied by dilatory legal measures, lengthy backlogs, and an inability toenforce rulings. According to a 2009 United States Department of State report,only two of the 216 companies operating in export processing zones (whereexport-processing factories known as “maquilas” are located) had recognizedlabor unions, and none had a collective bargaining agreement.Guatemala has one of the highest rates of child labor in the Americas. TheInternational Labour Organization reported in 2008 that 16.1 percent of childrenaged five to fourteen are obliged to work, many in unsafe conditions. Some ofthese children are employed in the construction, mining, and sex industries.245

WORLD REPORT 2011Sexual and Gender-Based ViolenceViolence against women is a chronic problem in Guatemala, and most perpetratorsare never brought to trial. Despite legislative efforts to address this violence,there has been wide impunity for crimes against women.According to the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary, and summaryexecutions, investigations into crimes against women, including transgenderwomen, are often inadequate and obstructed by investigating police operatingwith a gender bias.Reproductive RightsIn a positive development, in September 2010 Guatemala’s Congress adopted alaw guaranteeing pre-natal and maternal health care. The law also mandates theappropriation of public funds for contraceptives to be distributed in the publichealth care system.Key International ActorsIn September 2007 the UN secretary-general appointed Carlos Castresana, aSpanish former prosecutor and judge, to lead the newly-founded InternationalCommission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The commission’s uniquemandate allows it to work with the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office, thepolice, and other government agencies to investigate, prosecute, and dismantlethe criminal organizations operating in Guatemala. The CICIG can participate incriminal proceedings as a complementary prosecutor, provide technical assistance,and promote legislative reforms. As of September 2010 the commissionhas undertaken 56 investigations and participated in 11 prosecutions. An investigationby CICIG led to the March 2010 arrest of Baltazar Gómez, Guatemala’snational police chief, and Nelly Bonilla, the head of its antinarcotics unit, whowere charged with drug trafficking and obstruction of justice, as well as involvementin a gunfight that resulted in the death of five antidrug police officers. CICIGalso helped to improve the witness protection program and purge 1,700 officersfrom the National Civilian Police.246

AMERICASOriginally set to expire in 2009, CICIG’s mandate was extended by Congress foranother two years until the end of 2011. However, on June 7, 2010, Castresanaabruptly resigned, citing lack of cooperation from several high ranking governmentofficials, including the then-attorney general. The UN has since appointedFrancisco Dall’Anese, who was Costa Rica’s attorney general, as CICIG’s newhead.In October 2010 Spanish police arrested Carlos Vielmann, Guatemala’s formerinterior minister, in Madrid. Vielmann was allegedly involved in the extrajudicialkilling of seven detainees in 2006. CICIG had requested his capture some monthsearlier.The UN high commissioner for human rights has maintained an office inGuatemala since 2005 that provides observation and technical assistance onhuman rights practices in the country.In June 2010 James Anaya, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rightsand fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, visited Guatemala to investigatealleged human rights violations affecting the country’s indigenous people.Anaya concluded that the right to previous consultation, according to whichindigenous people are entitled to be consulted before any commercial enterpriseoccurs in their territory, is not being adequately protected.In July 2010 the Office of the US Trade Representative announced it would file acase against Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-UnitedStates Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) alleging that it has failed to meet its obligationson labor rights.247

WORLD REPORT 2011HaitiA devastating earthquake near Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on January 12, 2010,left an estimated 222,750 people dead, 300,000 injured including 4,000 to 5,000amputees, and up to 1.6 million homeless and displaced. In total 3 million peoplewere affected by the earthquake. Assessments calculate the material damage atabout 120 percent of the country’s annual GDP. Twenty-eight of twenty-nine governmentministry buildings and approximately 300,000 homes were damaged ordestroyed. Estimates from a range of NGOs, media outlets, and the World Banksuggest that Haiti’s government lost between 20 and 40 percent of its civil servants.Ten months after the earthquake approximately 1.3 million people still live insome 1,300 informal settlements or camps, where conditions leave residents vulnerableto flooding, disease, and violence. The government and humanitarianactors prepared for a cholera epidemic, which broke out at the end of October, tospread to the camps by the end of 2010. Many of these camps formed spontaneouslyon private land, and most internally displaced persons (IDPs) face mountingthreats of eviction. The United Nations reports that 29 percent of closedcamps have been shut down due to forced evictions or negotiated departures.The situation after the earthquake has exacerbated Haiti’s chronic human rightsproblems, including violence against women and girls, inhumane prison conditions,and vulnerability of children. Most prisoners who escaped from jail duringthe earthquake remain at large. Already weak, the diminished capacity of thestate since the disaster continues to significantly undermine its ability to safeguardfundamental human rights.Public Security and the Justice SystemHaiti has been plagued by high levels of violent crime for many years. Police ineffectivenessand abuse, along with severe shortages of personnel, equipment,and training, existed prior to the quake and contributed to overall insecurity inHaiti. The earthquake has further weakened the capacity of Haitian NationalPolice (HNP), with 75 officers reported killed, 70 missing, and 253 injured in thequake.248

AMERICASHaiti’s justice system, long-troubled by politicization, corruption, shortage ofresources, and lack of transparency, also suffered severe losses as a result of thequake. At least 10 members of the judiciary died in the earthquake, and theMinistry of Justice and the Palace of Justice were destroyed, along with many judicialdocuments. The UN reported that the Supreme Court of Haiti remained nonfunctioningas of September.In recent years kidnappings posed a serious security threat. The UN reported therate of kidnappings increased 33 percent in the first eight months of the yearcompared to the same period in 2009.Gender-Based ViolenceHigh rates of sexual violence existed before the earthquake, but the precarioussafety situation in the informal camps has left women and girls even more vulnerableto such abuse. It is difficult to get accurate data on sexual violence in thecamps. The HNP reported that 534 arrests (24 percent of all arrests) fromFebruary-April 2010 involved sexual violence. In other reports the HNP officialsindicate that 20 rapes were reported in Port-au-Prince for January-March 2010.This inconsistency in data reflects a lack of coordinated governmental response tosexual violence in the camps. On September 13, 2010, the UN launched a campaignagainst rape and gender-based violence in Haiti.Detention ConditionsHaiti’s prison system suffered from chronic and severe overcrowding when theearthquake hit. The largest prison in Haiti, the Civil Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince,housed over 5,400 prisoners, all of whom escaped after the quake. Eight monthsafter the quake the UN stabilization mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and HNP had reincarcerated629 of the escapees. The rest remain at large.Prior to the earthquake pre-trial detainees constituted almost 80 percent of allprison inmates in Haiti. The UN reports that the loss of judicial files and registrieswill increase prolonged pre-trial or arbitrary detentions and detentions of peoplenever formally charged. Damage to prison facilities since the earthquake has ledto limited cell space and even more dire prison conditions then existed before.249

WORLD REPORT 2011On July 26, 2010, Haiti’s government, with UN support, established an independentcommission of inquiry into the HNP’s violent response to a prison uprising inLes Cayes just days after the earthquake. The GOH called for the commissioninquiry after the New York Times published an in-depth report, which claimed thaton January 19, 2010, UN and HNP officers circled the prison to prevent a massiveoutbreak after its 400 detainees began to riot due to worsening conditions afterthe quake, and that HNP officers stormed the prison. Details of the event are notindependently confirmed, but the Times estimated that 12 to 19 inmates died andup to 40 were wounded. The commission had not completed its report at thiswriting.Access to Education and Child LaborPrior to the earthquake only about half of primary school-age children in Haitiattended school. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that theearthquake damaged or destroyed almost 4,000 schools and that 2.5 million childrenexperienced an interruption in their education. Schools resumed severalmonths after the earthquake; however, many experienced a sharp drop in enrollment.In 2009 the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery estimatedthere were from 150,000 to 500,000 child domestic workers in Haiti, called“restaveks.” Restaveks are children, 80 percent of whom are girls, from lowincomehouseholds sent to live with other families in the hope that they will becared for in exchange for them performing light chores. These children are oftenunpaid, denied education, and physically and sexually abused. The UN and civilsociety organizations warned that unaccompanied minors and orphans, whoincreased in number after the earthquake, are vulnerable to this form of forcedlabor.Some groups have also raised concerns about improper processing of inter-countryadoption in violation of domestic and international standards.250

AMERICASHuman Rights DefendersThe human rights community lost three prominent women’s rights activists in thequake: Myriam Merlet of Enfofamn, Magalie Marcelin of Kay Fanm, and AnneMarie Coriolan of Solidarite Fanm Ayisen (SOFA).Human rights defenders in Haiti have often been the targets of threats andattacks. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) reports that criminalgangs have threatened some women’s rights activists living and working ongender-based violence in the IDP camps, forcing them to relocate.Key International ActorsMINUSTAH, which has been present in Haiti since 2004, has played a prominentrole in increasing stability and protecting human rights in the country, but sufferedheavy losses in the earthquake; the head of mission and 96 staff werekilled, constituting the largest loss of life for the UN in a single incident. The UNhas since increased MINUSTAH’s capacity and extended its mandate throughOctober 15, 2011. The UN force contains 8,548 troops and 3,063 police.In April 2010 parliament extended the state of emergency for eighteen months,providing additional powers to the executive and establishing the Interim HaitiRecovery Commission (IHRC). President René Prèval then issued a presidentialdecree to grant necessary powers to the IHRC. Prime Minister Max Belle-rive andformer US President Bill Clinton were named as co-chairs, and the board of theIHRC was constructed to include representatives from Haiti and donor countries.IHRC’s mandate is to oversee billions of dollars in reconstruction aid and to conductstrategic planning and coordination among multi-lateral and bilateraldonors, NGOs, and the private sector. Clinton also remains the UN special envoyfor Haiti, with Dr. Paul Farmer serving as deputy special envoy.251

WORLD REPORT 2011HondurasPresident Porfirio Lobo took office in January 2010, seven months after a militarycoup ousted democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya. The Lobo administrationcreated a truth commission to look into the events surrounding Zelaya’souster. But Honduras is failing to hold accountable those responsible for thewidespread human rights violations committed by the de facto governmentinstalled after the coup. At this writing no one has been held criminally responsiblefor these abuses.Other continuing human rights concerns include lack of judicial independenceand violence and threats against journalists, human rights defenders, politicalactivists, and transgender people.Lack of Accountability for Post-Coup AbusesFollowing the military coup, the de facto government suspended key civil liberties,including freedoms of the press and assembly. In the ensuing days the militaryoccupied opposition media outlets, temporarily shutting down their transmissions.Police and military personnel responded to generally peaceful demonstrationswith excessive force. This pattern of the disproportionate use of force led toseveral deaths, scores of injuries, and thousands of arbitrary detentions.The human rights unit in the Attorney General’s Office is investigating approximately200 cases of alleged abuses committed by security officials since thecoup, many of which involve multiple victims. At this writing, it has filed chargesin 20 cases. In eight, the defendants were acquitted, leaving many acts committedby security forces after the coup unaccounted for. Most of the others remainpending before the courts, some of them stalled because the defendants are atlarge.The human rights unit’s progress on these cases has been hindered by its limitedresources and by the government’s failure to allocate funds to the existing witnessprotection program. The unit must rely on an investigative police force institutionallytied to the Ministry of Security, an arrangement that could affect theimpartiality and thoroughness of the investigations.252

AMERICASSecurity forces have obstructed investigations of abuses committed after thecoup. Under the de facto government, military and police personnel systematicallyrefused to cooperate with investigators. They failed to turn over firearms for ballisticstests, to respond to information requests to identify officers accused ofcommitting abuses, and to grant access to military installations. The situation hasimproved somewhat under Lobo, but the prior lack of cooperation has had a lastingimpact on the investigations.In October, the Honduran Congress approved an increased budget for the unitonly for 2011.Judicial IndependenceImmediately after the 2009 coup the Supreme Court held that the replacement ofZelaya was a legitimate “constitutional succession of power.” The court subsequentlyfailed to resolve in a timely manner appeals challenging the constitutionalityof measures by the de facto government that undermined basic rights. Itwaited until the de facto government revoked the measures and ruled that theappeals were then moot.The Supreme Court has absolute power to appoint and remove judges, and thecourt has used this power to advance a politically partisan agenda, seriouslydamaging the reputation of the judiciary. The court can fire judges applying vaguedefinitions of “fault,” such as carrying out “activities that are incompatible withthe honor of the position or that somehow affect its dignity.” There is no provisionto appeal the removals before an independent body.In May 2010 the Court fired four judges who opposed the coup. One judge hadpresented an appeal in favor of Zelaya, two others were present in anti-coupdemonstrations, and another said in an academic conference that there had beena coup. While the court argued it was firing them because judges may not getinvolved in politics, it applied a clear double-standard, failing to sanction judgeswho supported the coup.253

WORLD REPORT 2011Attacks on Journalists, Human Rights Defenders,and Political Activists2010 also saw a series of attacks on and threats against journalists, human rightsdefenders, and members of the political opposition. For example, in FebruaryJulio Benitez, a member of the opposition who had received numerous threateningphone calls warning him to abandon his participation in opposition groups,was shot by men on a motorcycle while on his way home. He died in the hospitalshortly afterwards. In March gunmen opened fire on Nahúm Palacios, who directedTV Channel 5 of Aguan, while he was driving his car. He died at the scene.Palacios had covered several politically sensitive issues, including anti-coupdemonstrations, corruption, drug trafficking, and agrarian conflicts.In April Father Ismael Moreno, a Jesuit priest and human rights advocate, receiveda text message threatening to kill the family of an opposition member who hadbeen raped by police officers. Father Moreno had been helping the woman andher family leave Honduras. In June Eliodoro Cáceres Benitez, a political activist,received three death threats by phone, stating that members of organized crimewould kill him and his family. Days later, his son went missing and remains missingat this writing.On September 15, police and military members attacked the offices of Radio Uno,which had been critical of the coup. They threw tear gas bombs at the radio station’soffices and at the people inside, broke windows in the building, damagedequipment, and seriously injured one person.Violence against Transgender PersonsBias-motivated attacks on transgender people are common in Honduras. At least19 transgender persons have been killed in public places in Honduras since2004; many more have been injured in beatings, stabbings, or shootings.These attacks are rarely followed by rigorous investigations let alone criminal convictions.In a welcome change, a court in September 2010 sentenced an off-dutypolice officer to 10-13 years for stabbing a female sex worker 17 times, the first254

AMERICAStime since 2003 an officer has been convicted for a crime against a transgenderperson.Key International ActorsInfluential allies and neighbors, as well as multilateral institutions—including theEuropean Union, Latin American governments, the Organization of AmericanStates (OAS), and United Nations General Assembly—immediately condemnedthe coup d’etat that ousted Zelaya. The United States also condemned the coup,but waited several weeks before imposing key sanctions (including freezing thevisas of key officials) to pressure the de facto government to restore Zelaya tooffice. Most governments gradually lifted the measures and sanctions after Lobotook office, but Honduras’ membership to the OAS remains suspended.The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has played a critical role inHonduras since the coup, producing comprehensive reports documenting abuses,including killings, threats, and attacks on journalists.The UN has also sought to promote human rights in the country. In August the UNappointed a human rights officer in Honduras. In September the Lobo administrationrequested the creation of a UN commission to fight impunity in the country,which has yet to be established. In November several countries expressed concernabout the human rights situation in Honduras during the UN Human RightsCouncil’s Universal Periodic Review of the country.255

WORLD REPORT 2011MexicoMany of Mexico’s most significant human rights issues in 2010 stemmed fromviolent confrontations between state security forces and organized crime, as wellas clashes among criminal groups. The Mexican military continues to commit seriousabuses in public security operations, yet those responsible are virtually neverheld accountable. Journalists, human rights defenders, and migrants are increasinglythe targets of attacks by criminal groups and members of security forces, yetMexico has failed to provide these vulnerable groups with protection or adequatelyinvestigate the crimes against them.Efforts to implement comprehensive reform to the criminal justice system, whichwould address endemic problems such as police torture, continued to progressslowly in 2010, leaving in place a system rife with abuses. Meanwhile, seriousrestrictions on the exercise of reproductive rights remain and Mexican laws stillprovide inadequate protections against domestic violence and sexual abuse.Impunity for Military AbusesPresident Felipe Calderón has relied heavily on the military to fight drug-relatedviolence and organized crime. While engaging in law enforcement activities, thearmed forces have committed serious human rights violations, including killings,torture, and rapes. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission has issueddetailed reports on 65 cases involving army abuses since 2007, and receivedcomplaints of more than 1,100 additional human rights violations in the first sixmonths of 2010.In April 2010 Martín and Bryan Almanza, ages nine and five, were killed, and fiveother people were wounded, when the car they were riding in came under fire inTamaulipas. The army claimed it was a shoot-out between soldiers and criminalsbut a subsequent investigation by the National Human Rights Commissionrevealed that the military had manipulated the crime scene and that soldierswere responsible for the killings.Military authorities routinely assert jurisdiction to investigate and prosecutecrimes in which members of the military are accused; the vast majority are never256

AMERICASsuccessfully prosecuted. The military justice system lacks the independence necessaryto carry out reliable investigations and its operations suffer from a generallack of transparency. According to military authorities, since 2007 only one militaryofficer has been sentenced by military courts for human rights violations.In October President Calderón proposed a reform to the Code of Military Justicethat would subject cases of rape, torture, and enforced disappearance to civilianjurisdiction; other serious violations would continue to be investigated and prosecutedwithin the military justice system. While the transfer of any cases ofhuman rights violations from military to civilian jurisdiction represents a step inthe right direction, the proposed reform would guarantee that serious abusessuch as extrajudicial killings would still be investigated by the military justice system,leaving a significant gap in accountability for most abuses. It would alsogrant military authorities discretion in classifying abuses, despite a track recordof downgrading the severity of charges against soldiers. At this writing, the reformis being debated by the Congress.Criminal Justice SystemThe criminal justice system routinely fails to provide justice to victims of violentcrime and human rights violations. The causes of this failure are varied andinclude corruption, inadequate training and resources, and abusive policing practiceswithout accountability.Torture remains a widespread problem. One perpetuating factor is the acceptanceby some judges of confessions obtained through torture and other mistreatment.Another is the failure to investigate and prosecute most cases of torture.Over 40 percent of prisoners in Mexico have never been convicted of a crime.Rather, they are held in pretrial detention, often waiting years for trial. The excessiveuse of pretrial detention contributes to prison overcrowding, which in turnleads to inhumane, unsanitary, and dangerous conditions. In January 2010, 23prisoners were killed in a riot in an overcrowded prison in Durango.Prison inmates are subject to abuses by guards, and are routinely denied adequatemedical care, particularly among women. Children are often detained inpoor conditions in police stations and other institutions.257

WORLD REPORT 2011In June 2008 Mexico passed a constitutional reform that creates the basis for anadversarial criminal justice system with oral trials, and contains measures thatare critical for promoting greater respect for fundamental rights, such as includingpresumption of innocence in the constitution. The government has until 2016 toimplement the reform. At present only a handful of states have undertaken substantivechanges.In addition to its positive aspects, the reform also introduced the provision ofarraigo, which allows prosecutors, with judicial authorization, to detain individualssuspected of participating in organized crime for up to 80 days before theyare charged with a crime—a power that is inconsistent with Mexico’s due processobligations under international law.Freedom of ExpressionJournalists, particularly those who have reported on drug trafficking or have beencritical of security forces and authorities, have faced serious harassment andattacks. From 2007 to October 2010, 35 journalists were killed, and eight moreare missing and feared dead. News outlets in Sinaloa, Coahuila, and severalother states were attacked with explosives or firearms in 2010. In July, police officersin Veracruz kidnapped, robbed, and beat a journalist who had witnessed anearlier incident in which police attacked a reporter.In spite of the increasing attacks, authorities have failed to adequately investigateand prosecute perpetrators or to protect journalists who face serious risk,generating a climate of impunity and self-censorship. In July 2010 the Office ofthe Special Prosecutor for Crimes against the Press was given a broader mandateand greater autonomy, but has since failed to improve on its poor record of prosecutingcases. In October Mexico announced plans to create a protection mechanismfor journalists under threat, a positive step, but at this writing the systemhas not yet been created.Defamation as a federal criminal offence was abolished in 2007. However, criminaldefamation laws that remain in place in many states undermine freedom ofexpression.258

AMERICASA 2002 federal law on transparency and access to information and a 2007 constitutionalreform increased avenues for public scrutiny of the Mexican government.However, progress in promoting transparency within the federal executive branchhas not been matched in other parts of the government.Human Rights DefendersHuman rights defenders continue to suffer harassment and attacks, and authoritiesconsistently fail to provide them with adequate protection. For example, twohuman rights defenders in Tijuana received menacing phone calls and emailsfrom November 2009 to May 2010 and were constantly followed by the police andthe military. A masked man told one of the defenders to leave town if she did notwant her family to be harmed, while a car was firebombed outside of the familyhome of the other defender. Receiving little protection from authorities, theyeventually fled from Tijuana.MigrantsHundreds of thousands of migrants pass through Mexico each year and many aresubjected to grave abuses en route including physical and sexual assault, extortion,and theft. Approximately 18,000 migrants are kidnapped annually, oftenwith the aim of extorting payments from their relatives in the United States.Seventy-two kidnapped migrants originating from Central and South Americawere executed en masse in August 2010 in Tamaulipas by armed gangs.Authorities have not taken adequate steps to protect migrants, or to investigateand prosecute those who abuse them. Authorities rarely inform migrants of theirrights, such as the right to seek asylum, and the authorities themselves are oftenthe perpetrators of abuses. The National Migration Institute has fired 350 agentssince 2007—roughly 15 percent of its total force—for suspected links with organizedcrime and crimes such as human trafficking. In September 2010, immigrationagents beat and robbed more than 100 migrants as they disembarked from atrain in Oaxaca.The federal Population Law requires public officials to demand that foreign citizensshow proof of their legal status before offering any service, such as provid-259

WORLD REPORT 2011ing medical care and registering human rights complaints. As a result, migrantswho suffer abuses often choose not to report crimes out of fear of deportation. InSeptember 2010 the Senate approved a reform that would require all authoritiesto attend to individuals who suffer abuses, regardless of their citizenship status.President Calderon signed the reform into law in November.National Human Rights CommissionMexico’s official human rights institution has provided authoritative informationon specific human rights cases and usefully documented some systemic problems.Under the leadership of President Dr. Raul Plascencia, the commission hasplayed a decisive role in investigating landmark cases, such as the March killingof two students at Monterrey Tec, and in advocating for improved protection forhuman rights defenders and journalists.Human Rights Reforms to the ConstitutionIn April 2010 the Senate approved a series of human rights reforms to theConstitution which would affirm the relevance of international law in Mexico,establish the circumstances in which a state of emergency may be declared, andprotect against the arbitrary expulsion of foreigners, among other changes. Thereform has not yet been approved by the House of Deputies.Domestic Violence, Reproductive Rights, and Same-SexMarriageMexican laws do not adequately protect women and girls against domestic violenceand sexual abuse. Some provisions, including those that make the severityof punishments for some sexual offenses contingent on the “chastity” of the victim,contradict international standards. Ninety percent of women who have sufferedhuman rights violations do not report them to authorities, while those whodo report them are generally met with suspicion, apathy, and disrespect. Suchunderreporting undercuts pressure for necessary legal reforms and leads toimpunity for violence against women and girls.260

AMERICASIn August 2008 the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of a Mexico Citylaw that legalized abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Since that time 16of Mexico’s 32 states have adopted reforms that recognize the right to life fromthe moment of conception. In May 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that all statesmust provide emergency contraception and access to abortion for rape victims.However, only five states have reformed their procedural codes accordingly andefforts to inform women and girls of their rights have been very limited.In August 2010 the Supreme Court recognized the right of same-sex couples inMexico City to adopt children and to marry, and ruled that all states in Mexicomust recognize same-sex marriages that take place in Mexico City.Key International ActorsThe United States to date has allocated $1.5 billion in aid to Mexico through theMerida Initiative, a multi-year aid package agreed upon in 2007 to help Mexicocombat organized crime. Fifteen percent of the aid can be disbursed only afterthe US secretary of state reports to the US Congress that the Mexican governmentis meeting four human rights requirements: ensuring that civilian prosecutors andjudicial authorities investigate and prosecute federal police and military officialswho violate basic rights, consulting regularly with Mexican civil society organizationson Merida Initiative implementation, enforcing the prohibition on use of testimonyobtained through torture or other ill-treatment, and improving the transparencyand accountability of police forces.The impact of these requirements, however, was undermined when the UnitedStates twice allocated the funds despite evidence that Mexico was not meetingthe conditions, most recently in September 2010. In a positive step, the StateDepartment announced in September that it would withhold an additional $26million in Merida aid for 2010 pending Mexico’s passage of human rights reformsto the Constitution and issuance of a proposal to reform the military justice system.In November 2009, the Inter-American Court ruled that Mexico was responsiblefor the forced disappearance of a Rosendo Radilla-Pacheco in 1974, and hadfailed to adequately investigate the crime. The binding decision ordered Mexico261

WORLD REPORT 2011to modify its Code of Military Justice to ensure that “under no circumstances canmilitary jurisdiction be applied” in cases where the military violates the humanrights of civilians. In August 2010, the Inter-American Court found that ValentinaRosendo Cantú and Inés Fernández Ortega, indigenous women from Guerrero,were raped and tortured by members of the army in 2002 and again orderedMexico to modify its military code.The OAS and UN special rapporteurs on freedom of expression conducted a jointvisit to Mexico in August 2010, concluding that grave and diverse obstacles—including serious acts of violence against journalists and widespread impunity—continue to limit free expression in Mexico. In October, the UN special rapporteuron the independence of judges and lawyers released an initial report followingher visit, highlighting the lack of access to justice for the poor and a “system deficientin the investigation of crimes,” among other problems.The UN Human Rights Committee conducted its periodic review of Mexico inMarch. The committee urged Mexico, among other recommendations, to reestablisha special prosecutor’s office dedicated to investigating abuses committedduring the country’s “dirty war” and eliminating arraigo detention from legislationand practice.262

AMERICASPeruJudicial efforts to hold military and police personnel accountable for abuses committedduring Peru’s internal armed conflict yielded disappointing results in 2010.Government officials have often criticized the process, rather than supported it,and in 2010 President Alan García signed a decree amounting to a blanketamnesty that would leave most of the crimes unpunished. The measure was eventuallywithdrawn after national and international protests. Nevertheless, the military’srefusal to provide information continues to obstruct judicial investigations,and most perpetrators have evaded justice.There have been several incidents in which police have overstepped internationalnorms on the use of lethal force in controlling protests and demonstrations.Torture, although not practiced systematically, continues to be a problem.Confronting Past AbusesAccording to Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, almost 70,000 peopledied or “disappeared” during the country’s internal armed conflict. They were victimsof atrocities committed by the Shining Path and the Túpac AmaruRevolutionary Movement, and of human rights violations by state agents.In August 2010 President García signed into law a decree that amounted to a disguisedamnesty for perpetrators of human rights violations during the armed conflict.Decree 1097 violates Peru’s international human rights obligations by allowinga statute of limitations to be applied to crimes against humanity committedbefore 2003, the year Peru ratified the United Nations Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity.Such crimes would include atrocities committed during the first government ofAlan García, such as the massacre of 122 prisoners at El Fronton prison in 1986.Decree 1097 also obliged judges to close judicial proceedings against militaryand police personnel if formal charges were not presented within the 36 monthmaximum allowed by law. Within days a general and several members of theColina Group, a death squad responsible for killings and “disappearances” duringthe government of Alberto Fujimori, asked a judge to close investigationsagainst them. President García initially defended the decree but changed his263

WORLD REPORT 2011mind after intense international and domestic criticism. In September Congressapproved a government bill to repeal the decree with an overwhelming majority.In December 2009 a Supreme Court panel unanimously confirmed a 25 yearprison sentence for former president Alberto Fujimori for the extrajudicial executionof 15 people in the Barrios Altos district of Lima in November 1991, theenforced disappearance and murder of nine students and a teacher from LaCantuta University in July 1992, and two abductions. Fujimori was the first democraticallyelected Latin American leader to be convicted for grave human rightsviolations in his own country.Given the landmark significance of the Fujimori conviction, prosecutions in otherhuman rights cases from the armed conflict period have had disappointingresults, with convictions trailing behind the number of acquittals. In June 2010the National Human Rights Coordinator, an NGO that monitors accountability,reported that the National Criminal Court, created in 2004 to hear cases involvinghuman rights violations and terrorism, had acquitted 65 military and policeagents, convicted only 15, and dismissed 23 cases.The Peruvian military has consistently failed to provide information to help prosecutorsidentify officers who participated in atrocities. Mainly as a result of thislack of cooperation, prosecutors and lawyers for relatives of victims have had difficultyassembling evidence that meets the rigorous standards courts demand.For instance, army and Ministry of Defense officials denied the detention of twostudents, Alcides Ccopa Taype and Francisco Juan Fernández Gálvez, who “disappeared”in Huancayo in October 1990. In June 2010 the National Criminal Courtacquitted two army generals responsible for military operations in the zone. Thecourt discounted the testimony of a former detainee, who had seen the studentsheld at the army base, and the evidence of other witnesses who claimed to haveseen them in custody.Several former senior military officials facing charges have used tactics to delaycourt proceedings and then filed habeas corpus petitions to the ConstitutionalCourt, claiming that their right to a trial within a reasonable time had been violated.264

AMERICASUnjustified Use of Lethal ForceIn recent years there have been several violent clashes between protesters andpolice, with deaths on both sides. In some of these incidents police appear tohave used lethal force unjustifiably.In April 2010, five civilians were killed and 16 were wounded by gunshots whenpolice opened fire to clear a demonstration by 6,000 striking miners who hadblocked a major highway in Chala, Caraveli province. A woman, who was not participatingin the events, reportedly died of a heart attack. As of September, 61police officers were facing charges.Controversy continues to surround the circumstances in which 33 people werekilled (23 police and 10 civilians) in June 2009 in violent clashes between policeand indigenous protesters in the provinces of Utcubamba and Bagua in thePeruvian Amazon. An investigative commission appointed in July 2009 placedmost of the blame on the indigenous protesters, and the interference of “outsideactors.” However, two commissioners, including an indigenous member, refusedto sign the commission’s report. They published a minority version, citing evidencethat the protesters were unarmed when the police started to shoot atthem. In May 2010 Alberto Pizango, an indigenous leader who was accused ofinstigating the protest, was arrested on charges of sedition and incitement on hisreturn from exile in Nicaragua. No ministers or police commanders were prosecutedfor their handling of the protest.In August 2010 the president issued a decree that would allow the armed forcesto confront a “hostile group” in law enforcement situations using military rules ofengagement. The definition of “hostile group” is loosely worded to include thosearmed with spears or knives or heavy objects such as rocks, raising concerns thatthe decree could be used to justify the use of excessive force against indigenousprotesters.Torture and Ill-TreatmentTorture remains a problem. The Human Rights Ombudsman and human rightsNGOs continue to report beatings by police and by members of municipal securitypatrols. They also report victimization of military recruits by superior officers,265

WORLD REPORT 2011such as the case in August 2010 of a soldier doing military service in Iquitos whowas allegedly forced by an army major to swallow keys after a dispute. Courtsoften classify cases of torture according to the seriousness of physical injuries,considering less serious injuries to be cases of “wounding,” which carries a lowerpenalty that does not normally involve incarceration.Reproductive RightsPeru’s restrictive abortion laws and policies, which generally criminalize abortionand provide only vague guidance on when an abortion may be procured lawfully,contribute to maternal death and disability. In 2005 the UN Human RightsCommittee ruled that the Peruvian state’s failure to provide an abortion for anadolescent girl carrying an anencephalic pregnancy constituted a violation of severalhuman rights, including the right to freedom from torture, and that the governmenthad an obligation to ensure that a similar situation would not occur inthe future. Even so, and despite much pressure from Peruvian civil societygroups, the government has yet to adopt clear legal guidelines for the provision oflegal abortion.Media FreedomJournalists in Peru’s provinces are vulnerable to intimidation and threats.Individuals acting in support of, or working for, municipal authorities haveassaulted, and even murdered, journalists who publicize abuses by local governmentofficials.In October 2010 the Ministry of Transport and Communications provisionallyrestored the broadcasting license of Radio La Voz de Bagua, a local radio stationin the Peruvian Amazon, which was revoked in June 2009 after the minister of theinterior and members of the president’s American Revolutionary People’s Allianceaccused it of inciting violence during its coverage of the civil unrest in Bagua.Human Rights DefendersFormer President Fujimori’s supporters in Congress, as well as some top governmentofficials, have aggressively sought to discredit NGOs that advocate for266

AMERICAShuman rights accountability. Such NGOs have been falsely accused of sympathywith terrorist groups or of undermining the armed forces.In recent years NGOs defending indigenous and environmental rights in areasaffected by mining operations have been subject to threats and judicial harassmentfor allegedly organizing or participating in protests. The government abruptlyrevoked the residency permit of Paul McAuley, a British lay member of aCatholic order who heads an environmental association in Iquitos in the PeruvianAmazon, and who has lived in Peru for 20 years.Key International ActorsFollowing a visit to Peru in September 2010, the UN special rapporteur on humanrights and terrorism described Decree 1097 on the use of force by the military as“likely to lead to breaches of international law.” He also expressed concern thatthe decree could lead to the use of unjustifiable force against unarmed protestors.In September 2010 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressedconcern that Decree 1097 “could lead to impunity in hundreds of cases of humanrights violations.”267

WORLD REPORT 2011VenezuelaThe Venezuelan government’s domination of the judiciary and its weakening ofdemocratic checks and balances have contributed to a precarious human rightssituation. Without judicial checks on its action, President Hugo Chávez’s governmenthas systematically undermined journalistic freedom of expression, workers’freedom of association, and the ability of human rights groups to promote humanrights. It has also harassed political opponents.Police abuses and impunity are a grave problem. Prison conditions aredeplorable, and fatality rates high due to inmate violence.Independence of the JudiciaryIn 2004 President Chávez and his supporters in the National Assembly launcheda political takeover of the Supreme Court, filling it with government supportersand creating new measures that make it possible to purge justices from the court.Since then the court has largely abdicated its role as a check on executive power,failing to uphold fundamental rights enshrined in Venezuela’s constitution in keycases involving government efforts to limit freedom of expression and association.The government shows scant respect for democratic checks and balances.Individual judges may face reprisals if they rule against government interests. InDecember 2009, Judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni was detained on the day she authorizedthe conditional release of Eligio Cedeño, a banker accused of corruption.Afiuni was following a recommendation by the UN working group on arbitrarydetentions, given that Cedeño had been in pre-trial detention for almost threeyears despite, although Venezuelan law prescribes a two-year limit. A day afterher arrest, Chávez branded Afiuni a “bandit” who should be sentenced to themaximum 30 years in prison. Accused of corruption, abuse of authority, and“favoring evasion of justice,” the judge’s right to due process was violated in severalrespects in criminal proceedings against her. Three UN human rights expertsissued a joint press release describing her arrest as “a blow to the independenceof judges and lawyers in the country,” and called for her release. Still, the268

AMERICASSupreme Court denied her appeals for the protection of her rights. As of October2010 she was still held in deplorable conditions in a Caracas women’s prison.Media FreedomVenezuela enjoys vibrant public debate in which anti-government and pro-governmentmedia are equally vocal in criticizing and defending the president. However,the government has discriminated against media that air views of political opponents,and has strengthened the state’s capacity to limit free speech and createdpowerful incentives for government critics to self-censor. Laws contributing to aclimate of self-censorship include amendments to the criminal code extendingthe scope of “desacato” laws that criminalize disrespect of high government officials,despite international standards that require such laws be abolished, and abroadcasting statute that allows arbitrary suspension of channels for the vaguelydefined offense of “incitement.”In June 2010 journalist Francisco Pérez was sentenced to three years and ninemonths in prison, stripped of his professional certification, and ordered to pay afine of almost US$20,000 for defaming Valencia’s mayor. Perez had publishedtwo articles in El Carabobeno newspaper accusing the mayor of nepotism and corruption.The government has abused its control of broadcasting frequencies to punishradio and television stations with overtly critical programming, while obliging privatemedia to transmit speeches of the president and other officials. Since takingoffice in February 1999 Chávez has compelled radio and TV stations using publicairwaves to transmit more than 2,000 of his speeches live.In January 2010 the government broadcasting authority CONATEL ordered thecountry’s cable providers to suspend transmitting channels that did not complywith the broadcasting statute—including the requirement to transmit presidentialspeeches—until they applied for, and received, the status of “international” channels(to which the statute does not apply). The suspension affected seven channels,including RCTV International, the cable channel created after RCTV—a criticof Chávez—was taken off public airwaves in 2007. CONATEL rejected RCTV269

WORLD REPORT 2011International’s application for status as a national broadcaster. At this writing thechannel was only available online and unable to transmit in Venezuela.In June 2010 Chávez created by decree a Center for Situational Studies of theNation (CESNA), which has broad powers to limit public dissemination of “information,facts or circumstance[s]” that it decides should be confidential. Thedecree’s language is so broad it could allow the government to block informationdisseminated by civil society groups and media entirely at its discretion.Human Rights DefendersThe Chávez government has aggressively sought to discredit local and internationalhuman rights organizations. Officials, including the president, have repeatedlymade unsubstantiated allegations that human rights advocates are engagedin efforts to destabilize the country.Rights advocates have been targeted for prosecutorial harassment. In July 2010,President Chávez stated that prosecutors should “thoroughly investigate” the“millions and millions of dollars” that the US State department gives VenezuelanNGOs. His statements came a day after a pro-Chávez organization presented aformal complaint before prosecutors seeking an investigation into fundingreceived by two leading human rights groups in Venezuela. The judiciary hasoffered no protection in such cases. The Supreme Court ruled the same monththat “obtaining financial resources, either directly or indirectly, from foreignstates with the intent of using them against the Republic, [and] the interest of thepeople [could constitute] treason.”Human rights defenders are often stigmatized in government-controlled mediaand harassed or intimidated by unidentified individuals aligned with the government.Carlos Correa, director of Public Space, was the subject of an aggressivepublicity campaign in 2010, including an animated sequence aired by state television(VTV) depicting him leaving the US embassy in a limousine with a suitcaseoverflowing with US dollar bills.270

AMERICASProsecution of Government CriticsSeveral prominent critics of the Chávez government have been targeted for criminalprosecution. The courts’ lack of independence diminished the accused parties’chances of receiving a fair trial.The Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into Guillermo Zuloaga,president of Globovisión, a television station critical of the Chávez government,for “disseminating false information, offense and insulting the President of theRepublic.” In a speech at a public meeting Zuloaga had accused the president ofhaving “ordered the shooting” of demonstrators during the April 2002 coupagainst him. In June, the president voiced outrage in a televised speech thatZuloaga was still free. A week later, police arrived at Zuloaga’s house to arresthim and his son for alleged irregularities in their car sales business, an investigationtheir lawyers said had been stalled for months. In August the VenezuelanSupreme Court authorized a request for Zuloaga and his son’s extradition fromthe United States, where they had fled to escape arrest.In May a prosecutor charged Oswaldo Álvarez Paz, a former governor of the stateof Zulia and a Chávez opponent, with “public incitement [to violate laws] endangeringpublic tranquility” and “publicizing false information” for criticizing theChávez administration during a television interview in March. Álvarez Paz hadsaid that, “Venezuela has turned into a center of operations that facilitates thebusiness of drug trafficking.” He was in pretrial detention for almost two months.Police AbusesViolent crime is rampant in Venezuela, where extrajudicial killings by securityagents remain a recurring problem. The minister of the interior and justice hasestimated that police commit one in every five crimes. According to the AttorneyGeneral’s Office, law enforcement agents allegedly killed 7,998 people betweenJanuary 2000 and the first third of 2009. Impunity for all violent crimes, includingthose committed by police, remains the norm.In April 2008 the Chávez administration issued a decree establishing a newnational police force, and enacting measures to promote non-abusive policingthat were proposed by a commission made up of government and NGO represen-271

WORLD REPORT 2011tatives. In2010 agents of the new National Bolivarian Police (PNB), trained inhuman rights and non-abusive methods, participated in a pilot scheme in Catia, ahigh-crime district of Caracas. At this writing there had been no independent evaluationof the new police force’s performance.Prison ConditionsVenezuelan prisons are among the most violent in Latin America. Weak security,deteriorating infrastructure, overcrowding, insufficient and poorly trained guards,and corruption allow armed gangs to effectively control prisons. Hundreds of violentprison deaths occur every year. In September 2010 16 prisoners were killedand 35 wounded in a riot between rival armed gangs at the Aragua Penitenciary inTocorón.Labor RightsThe Chávez government has systematically violated workers’ rights, undercuttingestablished labor unions while favoring new, parallel unions that support itsagenda.The government requires the National Electoral Council (CNE), a public authority,to organize and certify all union elections, violating international standards thatguarantee workers the right to elect their representatives in full freedom, accordingto conditions they determine. Established unions whose elections have notbeen CNE-certified are barred from participating in collective bargaining.The government has for several years promised to reform the relevant labor andelectoral laws to restrict state interference in union elections. Reforms that explicitlystate that union elections held without CNE participation are legally valid werestill pending before the National Assembly at this writing.Key International ActorsVenezuela’s government has increasingly rejected international monitoring of itshuman rights record. In its December 2009 report on human rights in Venezuela,the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that by impeding it from272

AMERICASvisiting the country, Venezuela was “contributing to the weakening of the Inter-American system for the protection of human rights.” Chávez described the reportas “ineffable” and “ignominious.”273

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WORLD REPORT 2011AfghanistanWhile fighting escalated in 2010, peace talks between the government and theTaliban rose to the top of the political agenda. Civilian casualties reached recordlevels, with increased insurgent activity across the country. An additional 30,000United States troops increased international forces to more than 150,000.Endemic corruption and violence marred parliamentary elections in September2010.NegotiationsThe Afghan government made greater efforts in 2010 to promote a negotiated settlementwith the Taliban and Hezb-e Islami (Gulbuddin). In June a ConsultativePeace Jirga brought together around 1,500 Afghan elders, politicians, and civilsociety representatives in Kabul. The government offered limited reassurances itwould seek to protect the rights of Afghan women and religious and ethnicminorities during the peace process. In October a newly appointed High LevelPeace Council drew criticism from a wide range of Afghan civil society organizationsand human rights defenders because it included numerous former warlordsimplicated in war crimes.The ConflictThe armed conflict remains most acute in the south and southeast, with a markeddeterioration in security in the north. In the first nine months of 2010 the UnitedNations documented the deaths of 2,135 civilians, an increase of more than 10percent compared to the same period in 2009, largely due to increased insurgentattacks that often take the form of drive-by shootings or suicide bombings. USand NATO-caused civilian casualties dropped in the first six months of the yearcompared to the previous year. However, the third quarter saw an increase incivilian casualties, which matched an increase in the use of air attacks and nightraids. US, NATO, and Afghan forces were responsible for more than 350 civiliandeaths during the first nine months of 2010.276

ASIAInsurgent-targeted killings in violation of international humanitarian lawincreased, particularly in the south. The UN estimates 183 assassinations in thefirst six months of the year, up 95 percent compared to 2009. Amongst the mostsenior officials killed was the governor of Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, who wastargeted in an October suicide bombing.In February and March the US military carried out a major operation in Marjah,Helmand, aimed at expelling the Taliban and installing a local government capableof providing basic services. The operation led to significant civilian displacement,and increased insurgent activity in the area, including heavy mining.According to the UN, more than 70 civilians were killed in Marjah betweenFebruary and April.In June the US and NATO launched a civil and military campaign in Kandahar.Although there was emphasis on governance reform as a central component ofwinning popular support, little action was taken to reduce the stranglehold of afew dominant tribal strongmen on the local government and economy, includingthat of the president’s brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, and Kandahar’s former governor,Gul Agha Sherzai. Combat operations increased in September, with civiliancasualties and displacement rising due to the increased Taliban and internationalmilitary presence. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported close toa thousand new patients with weapon-related injuries in August and September2010, double the previous year.So-called “night raids” against suspected insurgents intensified, despite a tacticaldirective in January 2010 encouraging commanders to use daytime raids whenpossible.Timely and transparent inquiries or accountability for forces in the event of wrongdoingare often lacking when civilians are hurt or killed in night raids, airstrikes,or escalation of force incidents. A notable exception may be the response to allegationsthat five US soldiers deliberately killed and mutilated Afghan civilians inearly 2010; several soldiers will face a court martial—for which no date has yetbeen set—on charges of premeditated murder.At this writing the US has almost doubled the number of detainees it is holding inAfghanistan to more than a thousand. Despite modest procedural improvements,277

WORLD REPORT 2011including the right to call witnesses, detainees do not receive adequate dueprocess, including the right to legal counsel or to see evidence against them.In August unidentified insurgents killed ten aid workers in Badakhshan, includingeight foreign nationals and two Afghans. Insurgents abducted British aid workerLinda Norgrove in Kunar province in September; she was killed during a US specialoperations forces rescue operation in early October.Attacks on Women and Girls in Taliban-Controlled AreasWomen in de facto Taliban-controlled areas face “night letters”—threatening missivesoften delivered at night–and death threats by phone. In recent years severalhigh profile women have been assassinated; their killers have not faced justice.While men in Taliban-controlled areas are also threatened and attacked, there isan additional gender-related dimension to the pressures on women connected tothe Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law, which is used to justify harsh punishmentsfor women seen to be mixing with men outside their immediate families.The Taliban and other insurgent groups continued to target schools, particularlyfor girls over 10-years-old. According to the Ministry of Education, between Marchand October 2010, 20 schools were attacked using explosives or arson, and insurgentattacks killed 126 students.Parliamentary Elections 2010Parliamentary elections took place in September 2010, with insecurity and frauddisenfranchising a large segment of the electorate. More than 30 were killed onpolling day.The Taliban claimed responsibility for killing three candidates during the campaignperiod: Sayedullah Sayed, killed by a bomb while speaking in a mosque;Ghazni candidate Najibullah Gulisanti, abducted and, after failed demands forprisoner release, killed; and Haji Abdul Manan Noorzai, shot dead while walkingto a mosque in Herat. In August five campaign workers supporting Fauwzia Gilaniin Herat were abducted and killed. Women campaigners throughout the countrytold election observers of threats and intimidation.278

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WORLD REPORT 2011There were serious attacks on election officials; in September, 28 election staff inBaghlan were kidnapped and two were killed in Balkh. Election monitors werealso threatened and abducted during the campaign period.Candidates and their supporters were responsible for a significant amount of theviolence, with little sign at this writing that disqualifications or criminal prosecutionswill follow.ImpunityIn January 2010 it emerged that a law had been quietly brought into effect in late2009 that provides amnesty to perpetrators of war crimes and crimes againsthumanity, despite earlier pledges by President Hamid Karzai that the NationalStability and Reconciliation law would not be promulgated. In 2007 a coalition ofpowerful warlords in parliament pushed through the amnesty law to prevent prosecutionof individuals responsible for large-scale human rights abuses in the precedingdecades. It was revived in 2010 to facilitate amnesties for reconciliationand reintegration of the Taliban and Hezb-i Islami (Gulbuddin).Lack of due process of law remains a major failing of the legal system; Afghanscontinue to face arbitrary detention, and are frequently denied access to a lawyerand the right to challenge the grounds of their detention before an impartialjudge. Corruption and abuse of power often taint court proceedings. Reports persistof torture and ill-treatment of detainees held by the National Directorate ofSecurity, with human rights officials gaining only erratic access to detention facilitieswhere abuses are thought to occur.Kidnapping for ransom is common, with an estimated 450 Afghans abductedannually according to the Afghanistan NGO Security Office. Insurgent groups alsouse kidnapping to demand prisoner releases.Attacks on Human Rights Defenders, NGOs, and JournalistsThreats, violence, and intimidation are regularly used to silence opposition politicians,journalists, and civil society activists, particularly those who speak outabout impunity, war crimes, government officials, or powerful local figures.280

ASIAWomen’s rights defenders are regularly threatened and intimidated. Governmentfailure to bring perpetrators to justice compounds fear among other womenactivists.Journalists in the conflict areas face severe pressures. Insurgent groups usearson, kidnapping, and intimidation to try to stop reporting they see as unsympathetic.The government and local strongmen also intimidate and detain journalists.Key International ActorsSafeguards against the potential human rights implications of reconciliation andreintegration have been poorly articulated by most key international actorsinvolved, including the US, United Kingdom, and UN. While most have stressedthe need to protect women’s rights, notably US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,the constitution is cited as sufficient protection, without explicit guarantees thatwomen’s right to work and freedom of movement and education will be protectedin a negotiated settlement.While the main international actors now acknowledge that impunity has fuelledthe insurgency, they have not effectively addressed systemic concerns, includingthe entrenched power of strongmen and former warlords, misuse of presidentialpowers, police corruption, and judicial weakness. This was exacerbated by continuedinternational support for powerbrokers with past and present records ofhuman rights abuses. The US military has introduced guidelines and a system ofoversight for contracting to try to reduce perceptions it is fuelling corruption,though this has not yet led to a break with notorious powerbrokers providinglogistical and security services.The US and NATO continued to operate in Afghanistan without an adequate legalframework, such as a status-of-forces agreement. It is rare for the US and NATO tohold independent and transparent investigations into possible acts of wrongdoing,or to hold individuals to account. This is particularly true of special operationsforces, and the opaque irregular Afghan forces working with both specialoperations forces and the CIA.281

WORLD REPORT 2011BangladeshThe elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed made strongcommitments to address serious human rights problems in 2010, but those promiseswere not realized, as extrajudicial executions and torture continued, as wellas impunity for members of the security forces. The government mounted sustainedattacks on the right to freedom of expression of the media and politicalopposition. Labor union activists protesting for higher wages were systematicallytargeted and, in some cases, arrested and jailed on trumped-up charges.Abuses by the Rapid Action Battalion and Other ForcesSoon after elections in December 2008, officials in the Awami League-led governmentpromised to institute a zero-tolerance policy and bring the perpetrators ofextrajudicial killings to justice. Yet little change has taken place, and in 2010 thehome minister and other officials denied any wrongdoing by law enforcementagencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the elite anti-crime, anti-terrorforce whose officers regularly kill with impunity. The RAB acknowledges thatits officers have killed at least 622 people since the force was established in2004. But in press statements, the RAB has claimed that the victims were shotand killed in “crossfire” after their accomplices opened fire on the force. Thehome minister has also supported the claim that RAB officers who have killedwere acting in self-defense. In a worrying development, the police appear to haveincreasingly adopted the RAB’s extrajudicial methods, and several hundredkillings have been attributed to the police force in recent years.Investigations by human rights organizations regularly find that victims were executedwhile in RAB custody. The bodies of the dead often bear marks of torture,and many survivors of RAB custody have repeatedly alleged ill-treatment and torture.The chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission recommended inDecember 2009 that all allegations of RAB killings be investigated by an independentcommission of inquiry. At this writing the government has taken noaction on this, and not a single member of the RAB has been criminally prosecutedfor involvement in torture or killings.282

ASIAIn one abortive attempt at justice, the High Court issued a suo moto ruling callingon the government to explain why action should not be taken against the RABofficers responsible for the “crossfire” killing of Lutfar and Khairul Khalashi inNovember 2009. However, before a ruling could be issued, the relevant judicialbench was reorganized and the case has not since been heard by the court.Attacks against Civil Society and MediaIn July 2010, officials forced the closure of the daily Amar Desh, an oppositionlinkednewspaper that had reported critically on the government. The editor,Mahmudur Rahman, was arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and he laterclaimed in court that police officers beat him and that RAB officers blindfoldedhim, handcuffed him to window bars in a cell, and deprived him of food andwater. At this writing the newspaper’s closure is under court appeal.In another assault on free expression, the police in Dhaka, the capital, temporarilyshuttered the Drik Picture Library on March 22, shortly before the opening of anexhibit titled “Crossfire” by Shahidul Alam. Police claimed the show, which featuredphotographs and installations relating to alleged extrajudicial killings bythe RAB, would “create anarchy.” After a public outcry and a legal challenge bythe gallery, the exhibit was finally able to open on March 31.Harassment and Intimidation of Apparel Industry WorkersIn 2010 the government continued to severely restrict the work of trade unionistspressing for an increase in the minimum wage. On June 3 the government’s NGOAffairs Bureau suddenly revoked the operating license of the Bangladesh Centrefor Workers Solidarity (BCWS), a group with ties to international trade union andlabor rights groups and representatives of foreign clothing brands sourcing fromBangladeshi factories.In July the government raised the monthly minimum wage for garment workersfrom 1,662 to 3,000 taka (US$24 to $43). Workers contended that the increasewas inadequate to meet the rising urban cost of living. On July 30 and 31, as theyhave often done in the past, angry garment workers took to Bangladesh’s streets.283

WORLD REPORT 2011They blocked roads and damaged factories and other property. Government securityforces responded with force, injuring scores of protesters.On July 30 the government accused Kalpona Akhter, Babul Akhter, and AminulIslam, the directors of the BCWS, of inciting workers to protest, which the directorsdenied. Babul Akhter later alleged that on the night of August 28, he wasbeaten in custody. Kalpona and Babul Akhter were released on bail in Septemberand are awaiting trial at this writing. Islam, who had managed to escape policecustody after being detained and allegedly physically abused by the police inJune, remains in hiding.ImpunityIn 2010, members of the security forces regularly escaped accountability forkillings, acts of torture, and illegal detentions. Several legal provisions effectivelyshield members of the security forces and other public officials from prosecutionby requiring government approval for criminal actions to be initiated.Military and police regularly employ torture and cruel, inhuman, or degradingpunishment against detainees, despite constitutional guarantees against tortureand Bangladesh’s ratification of the United Nations Convention against Tortureand Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The governmentfailed to investigate the causes of numerous deaths in custody, and therewas little action to hold accountable those responsible for the deaths of allegedmutineers from the Bangladesh Rifles border force.In 2009 the parliament passed amendments to the International Crimes(Tribunals) Act of 1973 in order to bring to trial those responsible for human rightscrimes in the war of 1971, but the law still falls short of international standards.Five members of Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious right-wing political group alleged tohave collaborated with Pakistani forces, were in 2010 charged with war crimes,including genocide, and at this writing are awaiting trial before a special warcrimes tribunal established in March to investigate crimes committed duringBangladesh’s battle for independence four decades ago.284

ASIAWomen’s and Girls’ RightsDiscrimination against women remains common in both the public and privatespheres, despite the presence of women in several key government positions.Bangladesh maintains a reservation against article 2 of the Convention on theElimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which requires it toeffectively adopt laws and policies to provide equal rights for women and men.Domestic violence is a daily reality for many women, and there was no progressmade in adopting laws on domestic violence and sexual harassment during 2010.The Acid Survivors Foundation reported 86 acid attacks, primarily against women,between January and September. The courts convicted only 15 perpetrators ofacid attacks in 2009.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentitySection 377 of Bangladesh’s criminal code punishes consensual homosexual conductwith penalties up to life imprisonment.Border KillingsAccording to Odhikar, a Bangladesh human rights monitoring group, at least 930Bangladeshi nationals were killed by India’s Border Security Force between theyear 2000 and September of 2010. A number of Indian nationals have also beenkilled by Indian forces deployed at the border.Acute poverty and unemployment prompts millions of Bangladeshi nationals tocross the border into India in search of jobs and commerce. While some of thosekilled are engaged in smuggling goods and contraband, Indian border forces systematicallyuse lethal force without justification.Bangladeshi authorities haverepeatedly complained about killings of Bangladeshis, as have human rightsgroups in both countries. Bangladeshi Home Minister Sahara Khatun in May 2010said that she would again ask officials in New Delhi, India’s capital, to stop theseincidents. Indian authorities declared that their forces have been instructed toexercise restraint, but there was little sign of progress in ending violations during2010.285

WORLD REPORT 2011Discrimination in Corruption CasesPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party reiterated the government’sstrong commitment to address the problem of corruption in 2010. Yet thegovernment recommended that the courts and the Anti-Corruption Commissionwithdraw hundreds of corruption cases initiated against Awami League supporterson the grounds that they were “politically motivated” cases filed under previousgovernments. The government has not recommended similar cases againstthe political opposition for withdrawal, raising significant concerns about discriminatorytreatment and politically motivated prosecutions.RefugeesBangladeshi authorities did little to prevent a wave of intensifying violence anddiscrimination against Rohingya refugees from Burma, and refugees were drivenout of communities and into makeshift camps. Newly arriving Rohingya were systematicallydenied the right to seek asylum in 2010.Key International ActorsForeign governments–including the US and members of the EuropeanUnion–raised concerns about extrajudicial executions, stressed the importance ofaddressing impunity, and called for respect for human rights, but also continuedto view the RAB as an important anti-terrorism force. The US has provided trainingon investigation methods and human rights to the RAB, but has failed to vigorouslyenforce the Leahy Law and deny US assistance and training to all RAB unitscredibly implicated in human rights abuses where justice has not been done.After the arrests of key labor leaders in the garment industry, the US Congresssent a letter in August to US garment importers urging them to put economicpressure on Bangladesh to secure the release of the prisoners. The US Congressalso called for action to withhold Generalized System of Preferences trade benefitsfor Bangladesh on labor rights grounds.286

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WORLD REPORT 2011BurmaBurma’s human rights situation remained dire in 2010, even after the country’sfirst multiparty elections in 20 years. The ruling State Peace and DevelopmentCouncil (SPDC) continued to systematically deny all basic freedoms to citizensand sharply constrained political participation. The rights of freedom of expression,association, assembly, and media remained severely curtailed. The governmenttook no significant steps during the year to release more than 2,100 politicalprisoners being held, except for the November 13 release of Nobel Peace Prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi.Calls mounted for an international commission of inquiry into serious violationsof international law perpetrated by all parties to Burma’s ongoing civil conflict.The Burmese military was responsible for ongoing abuses against civilians in conflictareas, including widespread forced labor, extrajudicial killings, and forcedexpulsion of the population. Non-state armed ethnic groups have also beenimplicated in serious abuses such as recruitment of child soldiers, execution ofBurmese prisoners of war, and indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landminesaround civilian areas.The November 2010 ElectionsIn November Burma held long-planned elections. These took place in an atmosphereof intimidation, coercion, and widespread corruption, with laws and regulationsstrongly favoring military controlled parties.In March the SPDC formed the Union Electoral Commission (UEC) and released aseries of laws governing the conduct of the elections, which included provisionsbarring any person serving a prison sentence from party membership. This effectivelyforced the National League for Democracy (NLD) to decide whether to dismissAung San Suu Kyi–who was under house arrest–and more than 430 of itsjailed members, in order to re-register with the UEC. The NLD ultimately did notre-register, and the UEC declared it illegal.Other provisions tightly regulated the campaigning of parties and candidates,warned against public disturbances, and expressly outlawed public criticism of288

ASIAthe constitution and the military. The government declared illegal a boycott campaignthat some NLD members organized, and warned the public that electionboycotters could face one year in prison.In April Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein and 27 SPDC and government cabinetministers resigned their military commissions and formed the Union Solidarityand Development Party (USDP). In August the USDP absorbed all the assets andinfrastructure of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), amass-based social welfare movement formed by the military in 1993 with morethan 26 million nominal members. The military conducted its biggest reshuffle inyears, with scores of senior officers resigning in order to run as USDP candidates.The USDP was the only party that fielded candidates for virtually all 1,168 seatsopen for contest in the national bicameral assembly and 14 regional assemblies.The remaining seats, out of a total of 1,551, are reserved for serving military officersas stipulated in the 2008 constitution.By November 37 parties had registered and were contesting the elections. Manywere small, ethnic-based parties only contesting a limited number of regionalseats. Voting was not conducted in parts of 32 townships in ethnic border areaswhere the government alleged there was armed conflict and instability.Widespread irregularities, such as advance bulk voting by local officials, werereported in some regional areas.The USDP won more than 80 percent of the seats in the bicameral national parliament.Results were mixed in the 14 state and regional assemblies, with some ethnicparties gaining half the number of seats, particularly in Arakan and Shanstates. Burman-dominated regions had majority USDP candidates elected. Manyopposition parties lodged official complaints with the electoral commission citingwidespread corruption, particularly by USDP members and officials.Ethnic Conflict, Displacement, and RefugeesThe Burmese military continues to direct attacks on civilians in ethnic areas, particularlyin Karen, Karenni, and Shan states of eastern Burma, and parts of westernBurma in China and Arakan states. Tensions increased with ethnic armedgroups that had agreed to ceasefires with the government, such as the Kachin289

WORLD REPORT 2011Independence Organization (KIO) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA), over thegovernment’s plans to transform these militias into Border Guard Force unitsunder direct Burmese army control. By the end of 2010 only five militias hadagreed, leaving large groups such as the Kachin, Wa, and Mon facing increasedmilitary pressure to transform, partly demobilize, and surrender territory. As aresult of increased tensions, parts of 32 townships in Burma– including most ofthe Wa area on China’s border–did not conduct polls in November. There arewidespread fears of resumed conflict in 2011 in ethnic areas that have experienceduneasy peace for the past two decades.Abuses by the Burmese military against civilians in violation of internationalhumanitarian law include the widespread use of anti-personnel landmines, sexualviolence against women and girls, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture,beatings, targeting of food production and means of civilian livelihood, and confiscationof land and property. All parties to Burma’s conflicts continue to activelyrecruit and use child soldiers, with the Tatmadaw (state military) continuing touse them even as the SPDC cooperates with the International LabourOrganization (ILO) on demobilizing child soldiers.Approximately half-a-million people are internally displaced due to conflict ineastern Burma, with more than 140,000 refugees in camps in Thailand. InBangladesh, there are 28,000 Rohingya refugees in official camps, and another200,000 live in makeshift settlements or mixed in with the local populationaround border areas. Millions of Burmese migrant workers, refugees, and asylumseekers live in Thailand, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Singapore.Humanitarian AssistanceBurma’s humanitarian situation did not markedly improve in 2010 despiteattempts by international relief agencies and Burmese civil society to expandoperating space and programs in the country.The Tripartite Core Group (TCG), a multilateral mechanism formed by theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the SPDC, and the UnitedNations in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, concluded its operationsin July. The UN continued to slowly expand its humanitarian initiative in Northern290

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WORLD REPORT 2011Arakan State to assist Rohingya, who have been denied citizenship and sufferedabuses by state and paramilitary forces for decades, including restrictions onmovement, livelihoods, and freedom of religion. Abuses against Rohingyawomen, including restrictions on the right to marry and access maternal health,are particularly grave. Humanitarian space throughout Burma constricted markedlyahead of the November elections, with international humanitarian organizationsbeing denied work visas for staff, travel permits, and permission to expandprograms in some areas.Calls for AccountabilityIn his report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in March, Tomás OjeaQuintana, the special rapporteur for the situation of human rights in Myanmar,outlined a “pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights which hasbeen in place for many years.” He concluded that “UN institutions may considerthe possibility to establish a commission of inquiry (CoI) with a specific fact findingmandate to address the question of international crimes.” At this writing morethan 13 countries publically supported the formation of a CoI, including theUnited States, the United Kingdom and several other European countries,Australia, and Canada. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has not publically commentedon Quintana’s call.During a general debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September17, Burmese ambassador U Wunna Maung Lwin denied the situation in Burmawarranted an inquiry, saying there were “no crimes against humanity inMyanmar... (w)ith regard to the issue of impunity, any member of the military whobreached national law was subject to legal punishments...there was no need toconduct investigations in Myanmar since there were no human rights violationsthere.”Quintana’s report to the UN General Assembly in October elaborated on the possibleparameters of a CoI, possible areas of investigation, and time frames. In lateOctober US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she wanted to “underscore theAmerican commitment to seek accountability for the human rights violations thathave occurred in Burma by working to establish an international Commission ofInquiry.” China has actively tried to block the proposal. The European Union,292

ASIAwhich drafted the annual Burma resolution, did not pursue calls for the CoI to beincluded in the resolution in the UN General Assembly.Key International ActorsUN Secretary-General Ban expressed “disappointment” and “frustration” with theSPDC’s lack of cooperation in responding to the UN’s long-standing call forrelease of political prisoners; a free, fair, and inclusive election; and the start of agenuine process of national reconciliation. Despite requests to the SPDC, Ban’sspecial advisor on Burma, Vijay Nambiar, was not permitted to visit Burma in2010.Tomás Ojea Quintana visited Burma in February, but the SPDC denied him accessfor further visits after his report to the HRC.China continued to be Burma’s most supportive international ally, routinely blockingcriticism of Burma’s human rights record in multilateral forums. ChinesePremier Wen Jiabao conducted a state visit to Burma on June 2, and BurmesePresident Than Shwe visited China from September 7-11. Than Shwe paid his secondstate visit to India in late July, where he signed numerous bilateral investmentdeals with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India failed to voice criticism orconcerns over Burma’s elections.US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbellvisited Burma in May and met senior military leaders and Aung San Suu Kyi aspart of the Obama administration’s “pragmatic engagement” policy with theSPDC. Campbell expressed his “profound disappointment” at the SPDC’s lack ofreciprocity, and the US government was consistently critical of the electionprocess. US Senator Jim Webb, who had been conducting private visits to Burmato talk with senior SPDC leaders, postponed a trip in June due to media allegationsover Burma’s suspected nuclear program and cooperation with North Korea.Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reduced its previous criticism ofBurma in 2010. In a statement, Vietnam, the current chair of the association, statedthat ASEAN emphasized the importance of “national reconciliation inMyanmar” and “holding general elections in a free and fair manner with the participationof all interested parties,” which it said contributed to the country’s sta-293

WORLD REPORT 2011bility and development. However, Indonesia and the Philippines criticized thelack of reform in Burma, particularly the elections which Philippines PresidentBenigno Aquino III called a “farce.”Burma’s neighbors China, India, and Thailand, continued to invest and tradeextensively, especially in the extractive and hydro-electric energy industries.China is building two energy pipelines from western Burma to Yunnan, and aseries of massive hydro-electric dams on the Irrawaddy River in upper Burma.Sales of natural gas to Thailand still account for the largest share of the SPDC’sforeign exchange earnings, which will increase markedly when the Chinese gaspipeline project is completed in 2013.Russia and North Korea continued to sell arms to the SPDC, despite US concernsthat North Korean sales could breach UN Security Council Resolution 1874, whichimposes curbs on weapons proliferation.294

ASIACambodiaThe Cambodian government increased its repression of freedoms of expression,assembly, and association in 2010, tightening the space for civil society to operate.Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) used the judiciary,new laws, and threats of arrest or legal action to restrict free speech, jail governmentcritics, disperse workers and farmers peacefully protesting, and silenceopposition party members.Cambodia also regressed in respecting international rights treaties. In December2009 the government deported 20 Uighur asylum seekers at risk of torture andmistreatment to China, violating Cambodia’s obligations under the 1951 RefugeeConvention. The controversial refoulement took place on the eve of a visit by seniorChinese officials that finalized a massive aid package to Cambodia.Freedoms of Expression, Association, and AssemblyJournalists who criticize the government face biased legal action, imprisonment,and violence. At least 10 opposition journalists have been killed in the past 15years.Under a new penal code that came into force in November 2009, government criticswho peacefully express views about individuals and government institutionsrisk criminal prosecution for defamation and disinformation. These include theeditor of Khmer Amatak newspaper who was charged in March with defamationand disinformation for a feature on governmental corruption, and the editor ofPrey Nokor newspaper, which covers Khmer Krom affairs, who was forced toresign in August. In May authorities banned a public screening in Phnom Penh ofa documentary about the 2004 assassination of labor leader Chea Vichea. Therewas no progress in his murder investigation or that of two other union leadersmurdered in 2004.Pending legislation on nongovernmental organizations and trade unions isexpected to further tighten restrictions on freedom of association.295

WORLD REPORT 2011In September tens of thousands of garment workers seeking a higher minimumwage began a legal strike, which union leaders suspended after government officialsagreed to negotiate. However, employers suspended or fired more than 200union leaders and members for their roles in the strike, fueling worker protests.Authorities continue to forcibly and often violently disperse public protests. Anew law allows local officials to ban protests deemed threats to “security, safety,and public order.”JudiciaryThe government made no efforts during 2010 to improve the judiciary’s impartialityor independence.Politically motivated court cases continue to target opposition members. InJanuary a provincial court convicted opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two villagerson charges of racial incitement and destroying border demarcation posts.In a closed trial, the court refused to consider defense evidence and sentencedRainsy to two years in jail in absentia. In September he was sentenced to 10 moreyears for disinformation and falsifying maps.The judiciary’s lack of independence was further highlighted in August, when theTakeo provincial court convicted four people on unfounded charges of disinformation.A long-awaited anti-corruption law hastily passed in March, with little time forpublic comment. The government threatened to expel the UN resident coordinatorwhen UN agencies called for more public debate on the law, which lacks adequateprotections for whistle-blowers and fails to ensure independence for legally-createdanti-corruption agencies.Arbitrary Detention and TorturePolice and military police routinely use torture to extract confessions fromdetainees. Courts fail to address the illegal torture and use coerced confessionsto convict the accused. The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of296

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ASIAHuman Rights (LICADHO) received reports of 60 cases of torture in the first half of2010 alone.More than 2,000 people were arbitrarily detained in 11 government drug detentioncenters. Mandated to treat and “rehabilitate” drug users, the centers subjectdetainees to violence (including electric shocks and whippings), forced labor, andmilitary-style drills. Many detainees are children and people with mental illnesses.In December 2009, 21 drug users were illegally detained and forced to test anunregistered Vietnamese herbal formula purported to “cure” drug dependence.Women and girls, including transgender women, involved in sex work face beatings;rape; sexual harassment; extortion; arbitrary arrest; and detention bypolice, government-hired security guards, and employees in social affairs centers.A 2008 law on trafficking and sexual exploitation criminalizes trafficking but alsomakes “solicitation” illegal, exposing sex workers to arbitrary detention andabuse. Police crackdowns on “trafficking” focus on closing brothels and arbitrarilydetaining sex workers rather than prosecuting traffickers.Homeless children, families, beggars, the mentally ill, and other indigent peoplegathered in police sweeps are also detained and mistreated in government socialaffairs centers.Cambodia’s prisons continue to be overcrowded and lack sufficient food, water,sanitation, and healthcare. Prey Veng prison experienced a major cholera outbreakin July, while 15 prisoners in Kampong Thom, who tried escaping in early2010, were shackled to iron bars for over a month.Land Confiscation and Forced EvictionsIllegal land confiscation and forced evictions continue to escalate. During the firsthalf of 2010, more than 3,500 families – approximately 17,000 people – werenewly affected by land grabbing, according to a survey of 13 of Cambodia’s 24provinces by LICADHO.Land rights activists faced violence and arrest, with more than 60 people imprisonedor awaiting trial for protesting forced evictions and land grabbing.299

WORLD REPORT 2011In Kampong Speu, more than 800 families had their land confiscated due tosugar concessions granted to a CPP senator. Soldiers, military police, and courtsfacilitated the arrest and charging of farmers protesting seizure of their land.In January company guards and soldiers from Brigade 31 wounded at least fourpeople when they forcibly evicted 116 families from their land in Kampong Somwhich is slated for development by a Chinese-owned company. Using militaryforce to conduct evictions is illegal in Cambodia.Land conflicts affecting indigenous peoples continue unabated. In March theUnited Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination criticizedthe government for granting numerous concessions on indigenous peoples’ landswithout their consent and harassing peaceful protesters. In Kampong Speu, aSingaporean concession holder partnered with PM Hun Sen’s sister to overseethe clearing of farmland belonging to indigenous Suy people, threatening theresource base of 350 families.On April 26, unknown assailants in Battambang shot and killed communityactivist Pich Sophan, who had led fellow villagers to contest military confiscationof their land, and was a witness to the April 4 shooting of fellow activist Sim Mey.Mey survived but was jailed in May on charges of destruction of property.Khmer Rouge TribunalIn July the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the UNbackedKhmer Rouge tribunal, sentenced the former chief of Tuol Sleng (S21)prison, Kaing Gech Eav, known as Duch, to 35 years in prison for crimes againsthumanity and war crimes. He faces just 19 more years because of time servedand deducted for his illegal detention before his transfer to the ECCC.In September the tribunal announced indictments for four other former KhmerRouge leaders in custody. Charges against them include genocide, crimes againsthumanity, torture, and murder. Despite the international co-prosecutor’s submissionof six additional suspects for indictment, Hun Sen continued to publiclyoppose further trials beyond the five persons in custody and reiterated this viewto the UN Secretary General during a meeting in October.300

ASIARefugees and Asylum SeekersAsylum seekers, especially from Vietnam and China, face forced repatriation inviolation of the Refugee Convention. Uighurs were forcibly returned to China threedays after Hun Sen signed the refugee sub-decree.The authorities also refused asylum for Khmer Krom (ethnic Khmers from southernVietnam) who fled to Cambodia from Vietnam. Despite promises to treatKhmer Krom as Cambodian citizens, authorities failed to grant many Khmer Kromcitizenship and residence rights, including 24 who were deported to Cambodia inDecember 2009 after a failed asylum bid in Thailand. In February 2010 authoritiesrejected the group’s request to receive documents needed to rent housing, getjobs, and access healthcare, education, and other services.Key International ActorsIn June Cambodia’s donors pledged US$1.1 billion in development aid for 2010.Years of donor funding for judicial reform have had little effect. Japan,Cambodia’s largest donor and the single largest funder of the ECCC, maintainedits practice of not publicly confronting the government about its rights violations.China, another major investor and donor, continued to increase aid to Cambodiawith no conditions made to improve human rights.Besides supporting rule of law, health, and human rights projects, the UnitedStates continued to aid and train Cambodia’s armed forces – including units withrecords of serious rights violations such as Brigade 31, Battalion 70, and AirborneBrigade 911 – in violation of the Leahy law. Responding to the deportation ofUighur asylum seekers in April, the US cancelled shipment of 200 surplus militarytrucks to Cambodia. In July US-funded regional peacekeeping exercises took placeon land transferred from a military unit involved in illegal land seizures.In August the European Union convened its first public consultations in Cambodiawith civil society ahead of its annual rights dialogue with the government. Rightsgroups criticized the EU’s tax-free policy for imported Cambodian sugar, some ofwhich is grown on plantations that have displaced thousands of ruralCambodians.301

WORLD REPORT 2011In March Cambodia officially accepted all 91 recommendations that UN memberstates made during the Universal Periodic Review of its rights record by the UNHuman Rights Council. Yet when the country representative from the UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights criticized the deportation of two Thais in June thegovernment threatened to expel him. According to the Foreign Minister, Hun Sendemanded the expulsion of the representative and closure of the office in a meetingwith the UN Secretary General in October. In September a report by the specialrapporteur on human rights in Cambodia strongly criticized the lack of judicialindependence.302

ASIAChinaImprisoned dissident Liu Xiaobo’s selection as the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winnerin October was a defining moment for China’s human rights movement. It alsofocused global attention on the extent of human rights violations in China, andon its unreformed, authoritarian political system as it emerges as a world power.The Chinese government tried to censor news about the prize domestically,immediately placing Liu’s wife Liu Xia under house arrest and clamping down onrights activists and Liu’s supporters. It then attempted to portray the prize as partof a conspiracy by Western countries, insisting that Chinese citizens do not valuecivil and political freedoms.That argument was significantly challenged by a public letter that circulated thenext week: written by retired Chinese Communist Party (CPC) elders, it called forpolitical reforms to defend the right to free expression and a free press as guaranteedby the constitution. The letter cited the domestic censorship of commentsthat Premier Wen Jiabao made in New York in October, in which he acknowledgedthat “the people’s wishes for, and needs for, democracy and freedom are irresistible.”In an unprecedented move, several newspapers printed Wen’s commentsthe next day, openly challenging censorship orders.The Nobel Prize and the letter highlighted the growing importance of debate withinmainstream society, the party, and the government about the role of “universalvalues.” These ideas were also advocated by Charter 08, the landmark documentthat called for a gradual overhaul of China’s political system. Liu’s participation indrafting the charter prompted his December 2008 arrest and his 11-year prisonsentence one year later.Freedom of ExpressionThe government continued to restrict the rights and freedoms of journalists, bloggersand an estimated 384 million internet users, in violation of domestic legalguarantees of freedom of press and expression. The government requires statemedia and internet search firms to censor references to issues ranging from theJune 1989 Tiananmen massacres to details of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.303

WORLD REPORT 2011On January 12, 2010, the US search engine company Google announced it wouldseek an agreement with China’s government to end the firm’s self-censorship ofChinese internet users’ search results, which it undertook partly because of governmentrequirements. The government refused. On March 22, 2010, Googlestopped censoring searches on its http://www.google.cn site and began redirectingthem to its uncensored Hong Kong-based site.On April 22, 2010, the government approved an amendment to the revised draftLaw on Guarding State Secrets. The revised law requires internet and telecomfirms to “cooperate with public security organs, state security agencies [and]prosecutors” on suspected cases of state secrets transmission.At least 24 Chinese journalists are jailed on ambiguous charges ranging from“inciting subversion” to “revealing state secrets.” They include Gheyret Niyaz, aUighur journalist and website editor, sentenced to 15 years in June for “endangeringstate security” related to a foreign media interview he gave after the July 2009protests in Xinjiang. That same week a Xinjiang court convicted three Uighur bloggerson the same charge. Dilshat Perhat, webmaster of Diyarim; the webmaster ofSalkinm who goes by the name Nureli; and Nijat Azat, webmaster of Shabnam,received sentences of five, three, and ten years respectively.Journalists who overstepped censorship guidelines continued to face officialreprisals. Zhang Hong, a deputy editor with the Economic Observer newspaper,was fired after co-writing a March 1, 2010, editorial carried in 13 Chinese newspapersadvocating the abolition of China’s discriminatory hukou (household registration)system. China Economic Times editor Bao Yuehang was fired in May 2010in apparent retaliation for a March 17, 2010, story that exposed vaccine qualityshortfalls in Shanxi province linked to four children dying and at least 74 othersfalling ill.Chinese journalists also continued to face physical violence for reporting on “sensitive”topics. On April 20, 2010, 10 unidentified assailants attacked Beijing Newsreporter Yang Jie while he photographed the site of a forced eviction. Police at thescene briefly detained the assailants before releasing them, characterizing theiractions as a “misunderstanding.” On September 8, 2010, security guards beat304

ASIAthree reporters from Jilin and Changchun television stations attempting to cover afire at the City College of Jilin Architecture and Civil Engineering.Foreign correspondents in China continue to face reporting restrictions despitethe government’s October 2008 decision to eliminate requirements for officialpermission to travel the country and interview Chinese citizens. Those restrictionsinclude a prohibition on foreign correspondents visiting Tibet freely.Legal ReformsLegal awareness among citizens continues to grow and legal reforms progressslowly, although the government’s overt hostility towards genuine judicial independenceundercuts legislative improvements. It also defeats efforts to progressivelycurtail the Chinese Communist Party’s authority over all judicial institutionsand mechanisms.Two potentially significant reforms progressed on paper but not in practice. InMay the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (the stateprosecution), and the ministries of public security, state security, and justiceissued two directives regarding excluding evidence obtained through torture. Thisincludes confessions of defendants and testimonies of prosecution witnesses,which underpin most criminal convictions in China.However, these new regulations were not followed in the case of Fan Qihang, whoin a video made public by his lawyer, described daily torture for six months andfailed attempts to retract his forced confession during trial. The Supreme People’sCourt refused to investigate the torture allegations and upheld the original deathsentence.In August the government announced a draft amendment to China’s criminal lawthat would eliminate the death penalty for 13 “economy-related non-violentoffences.” But in September a senior member of the legislature’s Legal AffairsCommittee announced the government would not pursue this initiative. Chinaleads the world in executions: five to eight thousand take place every year.305

WORLD REPORT 2011Human Rights DefendersMost human rights advocates, defenders, and organizations endure varyingdegrees of surveillance, harassment, or suppression by police and state securityagencies. Several leading figures have been jailed in the past three years, andseveral NGOs shuttered or constrained. Yet the domestic “rights defense movement”—aninformal movement connecting lawyers, activists, dissidents, journalists,ordinary citizens, and peasant and workers’ advocates—continues to expandas demands grow for the state to respect its own laws.Despite pervasive state censorship, rights advocates helped generate public andmedia debate on issues including illegal detention centers for petitioners travellingto the capital to lodge grievances (known as “black jails”), abnormal deathsin custody, widespread torture to extract confessions, use of psychiatric facilitiesto detain dissenters, socioeconomic discrimination against ethnic minorities inXinjiang, and endemic abuses linked to forced demolitions and eviction.Activists nonetheless paid a heavy price for these advances. In addition to routineharassment, they endure aggressive police surveillance, illegal home confinement,interception of communications, warnings and threats, repeated summonsfor “discussions” with security officers, and short-term detention.Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been missing for two years. He reemergedin Beijing in early April 2010 after a year of official obfuscation about his status,telling journalists and supporters that security agents had repeatedly torturedand kept him captive. He disappeared again a few days later. In October policerejected his brother’s effort to register him as a missing person.The blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng was freed from prison in September,only to be confined with his entire family in his home village and denied medicaltreatment for ailments he developed in prison. Unidentified men working at thebehest of local police officials threatened and roughed up journalists andactivists who tried visiting him.On November 10 Zhao Lianhai, the father of a child who developed kidney stonesdue to the contaminated milk scandal, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years’306

ASIAimprisonment on charges of “causing a serious disturbance” for his role in organizinga victims association to file a class action lawsuit.Migrant and Labor RightsThe All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) remains the sole legal representativeof workers in China; independent labor unions are banned. Laboractivism–mainly by migrant workers–in several foreign-invested factories insouthern Guangdong province in the summer of 2010 challenged that prohibition,resulting in improved pay and benefits for strikers at production facilities forJapan’s Honda and Denso Corporation. In August the ACFTU announced reformsaimed at developing a more democratic selection process for union leaders. Yetits insistence that reforms “not deviate from the leadership of the CommunistParty” indicates that restrictions on independent union activity will remain.The government has yet to deliver on longstanding promises to abolish the hukousystem. Access to public benefits such as education and healthcare are linked toplace of birth; China’s 230 million migrant workers are denied access to theseservices when they move elsewhere in the country.In June 2010 the State Council, China’s cabinet, announced a proposal to replacethe hukou system with a residential permit system, which would extend publicwelfare benefits to migrants in China’s cities. However, the proposal lacks atimetable and financial provisions for the hukou system’s elimination.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityThe government decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed it from theofficial list of mental disorders in 2001 but does not allow same-sex marriage. InMarch 2010 former vice-minister of health Wang Longde told state media the governmentneeded to end discrimination against gay men in order to more effectivelycombat the country’s HIV/AIDS epidemic.Despite such indications of progress, entrenched social and official discriminationagainst lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in China limits themfrom realizing fundamental rights of expression and association. Beijing police307

WORLD REPORT 2011forced cancellation of the first Mr. Gay China pageant in January 2010 withoutexplanation. In September 2010 Beijing police detained hundreds of gay menrounded up in a Haidian district park in an apparent effort to harass and intimidatehomosexuals. The men were reportedly released only after providing identificationand submitting to blood tests.Women’s RightsEntrenched gender-based discrimination and violence continue to afflict Chinesewomen. Inequality is particularly serious in rural areas, where gender-based discrimination,unequal access to services and employment, trafficking into forcedprostitution, and violence are more common than in cities. In June 2001 the nongovernmentalAnti-Domestic Violence Network of China Law Society (ADVN) calledfor revisions to domestic violence provisions of the Marriage Law. The ADVN criticizedthe current Marriage Law for requiring victims of domestic violence to providewhat the organization considers to be impossibly high standards of proof oflong-term physical abuse.Police typically subject suspected female sex workers to public “shaming”parades in violation of their rights of privacy and due process. Public criticism ofthe practice peaked after a widely publicized June 2010 incident in which policeforced two suspected sex workers to walk bound and barefoot through the streetsof Dongguan. On July 27, 2010, state media announced an official ban on thepractice, although it remains uncertain whether it will be enforced.HealthThe Chinese government moved in 2010 to protect the rights of people withHIV/AIDS. On April 27, 2010, it lifted its 20-year-old entry ban on HIV-positive foreignvisitors. And on August 30, 2010, an Anhui provincial court accepted China’sfirst-ever job discrimination lawsuit on the grounds of HIV-positive status. InNovember the provincial court ruled against the defendant.However, HIV/AIDS activists and nongovernmental advocacy organizations continuedto face government harassment. In May 2010 Wan Yanhai, China’s leadingHIV/AIDS activist, fled to the United States, citing official harassment of his NGO,308

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WORLD REPORT 2011the Aizhixing Institute. On August 16, 2010, police in Henan province detainedTian Xi, a veteran HIV/AIDS rights activist pursuing state compensation for victimsof the province’s blood contamination scandal, on charges of “intentionally damagingproperty” after a minor altercation at a hospital. Tian faces up to threeyears in prison.Government officials and security forces continue to incarcerate suspected usersof illicit drugs without trial or judicial oversight in drug detention centers for up tosix years under China’s June 2008 Anti-Drug Law. Detainees in drug detentioncenters suffer widespread human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention,forced labor, physical violence, and denial of medical services, including evidence-baseddrug dependency treatment and treatment for HIV/AIDS.China’s rapid economic growth has led to widespread industrial pollution. Thegovernment is failing to address the public health repercussions resulting fromsevere environmental degradation. Lead has poisoned tens of thousands ofChinese children, many of whom suffer permanent physical and mental disabilitiesas a result. Despite Chinese and international law that purport to protect peoplefrom polluted and hazardous environments, Human Rights Watch research tobe published next year shows that local governments across China have prioritizedconcealing the problem, turning children away from hospitals, refusing totest them for lead, and withholding or falsifying test results.Freedom of ReligionDespite a constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, China’s governmentrestricts spiritual expression to officially registered churches, mosques, monasteries,and temples. Religious personnel appointments require governmentapproval. Religious publications and seminary applications are subject to officialreview. The government subjects employees, membership financial records, andactivities of religious institutions to periodic audits. It deems all unregistered religiousorganizations illegal, including Protestant “house churches,” whose membersrisk fines and criminal prosecution. Certain groups, including the FalunGong, are seen as “evil cults,” and their followers are subject to official harassmentand intimidation.310

ASIAPolice and government officials raided a training session on law and theologyorganized by a Christian house church in Henan’s Fangcheng County on March 11,2010, and temporarily detained three attendees. On May 9, 2010, Guangzhoupolice broke up an outdoor house church service in a local park and later temporarilydetained the church’s leader for questioning. On October 10, 2010,Beijing International Airport immigration officials blocked five Protestant housechurch leaders from boarding planes en route to an international evangelical conferencein South Africa.TibetThe Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the neighboring Tibetan autonomousareas of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan province, remained tense. TheChinese government gave no indication it would accommodate the aspirations ofTibetan people for greater autonomy, even within the narrow confines of thecountry’s autonomy law on ethnic minorities’ areas. There were no mass arrestsin 2010 of the kind that followed the spring 2008 protests, but the governmentmaintains a heavy security presence across the Tibetan plateau and continues tosharply curtail outside access to most Tibetan areas.Tibetans suspected of being critical of political, religious, cultural, or economicstate policies are targets for persecution. In June the 15-year sentence given toKarma Sandrup, a prominent art dealer and environmental philanthropist, onunfounded charges of “grave robbing” signaled a departure from the government’sprevious willingness to embrace economically successful Tibetan eliteswho abstained from political pursuits. Multiple due process violations marred thetrial, including evidence the suspect and witnesses had been tortured.In July 2010 the government rejected the findings of a comprehensive HumanRights Watch report, which established that China had broken international law inits handling of the 2008 protests. The report, based on eyewitness testimonies,detailed abuses committed by security forces during and after protests, includinguse of disproportionate force in breaking up protests, firing on unarmed protesters,conducting large-scale arbitrary arrests, brutalizing detainees, and torturingsuspects in custody. The government accused Human Rights Watch of “fabricatingmaterial aimed at boosting the morale of anti-China forces, misleading the311


ASIAgeneral public and vilifying the Chinese government,” but failed to respond to anyof the report’s substantive allegations.XinjiangThe Urumqi riots of July 2009—the most lethal episode of ethnic unrest in recentChinese history—continued to cast a shadow over developments in the XinjiangUighur Autonomous Region. The government has not accounted for hundreds ofpersons detained after the riots, nor investigated serious allegations of tortureand ill-treatment of detainees that have surfaced in testimonies of refugees andrelatives living outside China. The few publicized trials of suspected rioters weremarred by restrictions on legal representation, overt politicization of the judiciary,failure to publish public notification of the trials, and failure to hold genuinelyopen trials as mandated by law.Pervasive ethnic discrimination against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities persisted,along with sharp curbs on religious and cultural expression and politicallymotivatedarrests under the guise of counterterrorism and anti-separatism efforts.In April Beijing installed a new leader for the autonomous region, ZhangChunxian, to preside over an ambitious economic overhaul. In May the firstnational Work Conference on Xinjiang unveiled numerous measures that are likelyto rapidly transform the region into an economic hub but also risk further marginalizingethnic minorities and accelerating migration of ethnic Han Chinese intothe region.By the end of 2011, 80 percent of traditional neighborhoods in the ancient Uighurcity of Kashgar will have been razed. Many Uighur inhabitants have been forciblyevicted and relocated to make way for a new city likely to be dominated by theHan population.Key International ActorsChina’s government became more brazen in thwarting international norms andopinion. In late December 2009 it successfully pressured Cambodia to forciblyreturn 20 Uighur asylum seekers, despite its record of torturing Uighurs and vocal313

WORLD REPORT 2011opposition from the US and others. A few months later, when the US suspendeda shipment of trucks to punish Cambodia for violating the 1951 RefugeeConvention, China provided a comparable shipment within a few weeks.The Chinese government also continued to obstruct international efforts todefend human rights by taking steps to derail growing international momentumfor a commission of inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity inBurma. China’s United Nations delegation also opposed the release of a UNreport documenting use of Chinese ammunition in Darfur in violation of an armsembargo. The Chinese government has still not issued invitations to the UN highcommissioner for human rights or a half-dozen other special rapporteurs whorequested visits in the wake of the Tibet and Xinjiang protests.Although more than a dozen countries continue to pursue human rights dialogueswith the Chinese government, few of these opaque discussions producedmeaningful outcomes in 2010. While most of these governments offered strongsupport for the Nobel Committee’s choice of Liu Xiaobo as winner of the peaceprize, many failed to seize other opportunities, such as conducting high-profilevisits to China or meeting senior Chinese officials to raise human rights concerns.314

ASIAIndiaIndia, the world’s most populous democracy, has a vibrant media, active civilsociety, a respected judiciary, and significant human rights problems.The government’s agenda in 2010 was dominated by continuing insurgency andarmed conflict in several regions, including Jammu and Kashmir, Maoist-afflictedareas in central India, and Manipur and other parts of the volatile northeast.Impunity for abuses committed by security forces in the context of these conflictsremains a pressing concern.Authorities made little progress in reforming the police; improving healthcare,education, and food security for millions still struggling for subsistence; endingdiscrimination against Dalits (“untouchables”), tribal groups, and religiousminorities; and protecting the rights of women and children.In many parts of the country, communities protested forcible acquisition of landby state governments for infrastructure and mining projects. These projects frequentlygo ahead without proper safeguards to protect the rights of those at riskof displacement.Legislators and officials proposed new laws to prevent torture, ensure food security,and prosecute those responsible for sexual violence, but have yet to repeallaws providing effective immunity from prosecution to government officials,including soldiers and police, responsible for human rights violations.Accountability for Security Force AbusesThe security forces have at times used excessive force in suppressing violentstreet protests in Indian-administered Kashmir; the clashes resulting in more than100 deaths and thousands of injuries to both civilians and security forces. Deathsand injuries to protesters, many of them children, prompted anger and renewedprotests, deepening a cycle of tit-for-tat violence. In September the governmentsought to calm tempers by announcing dialogue, releasing arrested protesters,and providing financial compensation for deaths.315

WORLD REPORT 2011Maoist insurgents (Naxalites), operating in seven states, killed more than 100police and paramilitary personnel in 2010, prompting a massive governmentsecurity response. Civilians were often caught up in the fighting.In Manipur, conflicting separatist demands by rival groups led to repeated unrest,with the security forces continuing to operate under the Armed Forces SpecialPowers Act (AFSPA). Separatist groups and security forces committed seriousabuses against civilians; no members of the security forces were held accountable.Activists in all of the conflict areas and in major cities demanded repeal of theAFSPA and a larger commitment by officials to holding security forces accountablefor abuse, but repeal efforts were stymied by opposition from the army andextreme nationalist political parties.Bombings and Other AttacksProsecutors made some progress in 2010 in pursuing justice for a series of bombingstargeting civilians that killed 152 persons in 2008, responsibility for whichwas claimed by an Islamist militant group called Indian Mujahedin (IM). Policehave charged more than 70 alleged IM members or associates from nine states inthe 2008 attacks and continue to seek the arrest of more than three dozen fugitives.The IM is also suspected in a February 2010 attack in Pune city that claimed17 lives and has apparently claimed responsibility for a September attack thatinjured two foreign tourists in New Delhi.There were repeated allegations of unlawful detention, torture, and other ill-treatmentby police to secure confessions in response to such attacks. In severalcases, the police themselves appear to have drafted the confessions. The suspectssuffered further abuses while in jail awaiting trial and even in court.On an encouraging note, the trial of Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving Pakistanigunman in the November 2008 Mumbai attack that claimed 166 lives, was conductedin a professional manner and was not the summary proceeding that criticshad feared.316

ASIAPolice in 2010 reported that extremist Hindu groups may have been responsiblefor bombing attacks in Ajmer and Hyderabad, prompting the Home Minister towarn against these previously ignored militant groups.Other Accountability IssuesImpunity for abusive policing remains a pressing concern in India, with continuingallegations in 2010 of police brutality, extrajudicial killings, and torture. Whilesome policemen were prosecuted for human rights abuses, legal hurdles to prosecutionremained in place and long-promised police reforms remained in draftform or unimplemented. Alleged perpetrators use political influence, corruption,and intimidation to obstruct investigations, delay proceedings, discourage plaintiffs,and ultimately escape prosecution.The long backlog and slow progress of cases in India’s courts also discouragespotential complainants. Victims’ family members and human rights lawyers neededseveral years, for example, to force an investigation into allegations that theGujarat police summarily executed four persons in 2004. Only after the SupremeCourt ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the summary executionof an alleged terrorist in 2005 were a state minister and several seniorGujarat police officials arrested.The government has yet to prosecute those responsible for the mass killings ofSikhs that followed the 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by herSikh bodyguards. Delivery of justice for mass violence against Muslims inMumbai in 1992-93 and in Gujarat in 2002 has been slow.In a positive development, a legislator from the ultra-nationalist Bharatiya JanataParty was convicted in June 2010 for his role in violence against Christians inOrissa in 2008 that left at least 40 people dead and thousands displaced when aHindu mob attacked Christians. In August, 16 others were sentenced to threeyears in prison for their role in the violence.317

WORLD REPORT 2011Women’s RightsWhile many serious issues remain, Indian officials took some positive steps onwomen’s rights in 2010. In March long-awaited legislation reserving seats forwomen in parliament was passed by the upper house and awaits lower houseapproval. In April authorities introduced nationwide guidelines for maternal deathinvestigations and introduced a separate mechanism to track pregnancies andtheir outcomes.“Honor” killings of women and girls continued in 2010, mostly in the northernstates of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. Khap panchayats (unofficial villagecouncils) issued edicts condemning couples for marrying outside their caste orreligion and censured marriages within a gotra (kinship group) as incestuouseven though there was no biological connection. To enforce these decrees, familymembers threatened couples, filed false cases of abduction, and killed spousesto protect the family’s “honor.” Some local politicians and officials were sympatheticto the councils’ edicts, implicitly supporting the violence.India still lacks comprehensive legislation on sexual violence and child sexualabuse, but authorities in 2010 began to consider reforms to the existing sexualviolence law. Among a host of other problems, rape survivors continue to sufferfrom use of an unscientific and degrading “finger test” in many hospitals to determinewhether they are “habituated” to sexual intercourse; the findings of the testcan be used in rape cases and other criminal proceedings.Children’s RightsIn Jammu and Kashmir, several children were among those killed or injured duringanti-government demonstrations. Children detained for alleged participationin the violent protests were held in jail with adults, in violation of juvenile justicelaws.Although the government issued a directive preventing security forces from occupyingand using schools as long-term outposts during anti-Maoist operations instates such as Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, it failed to effectively implementthe measure, resulting in continued disruptions in education. Maoist insurgentscontinued to bomb government schools and to recruit children into armed318

ASIAcombat. The government failed to effectively implement policies that provide forfree and compulsory primary education.Access to Pain ReliefHundreds of thousands of persons with advanced cancer suffer unnecessarilyfrom severe pain because the Indian government has failed to ensure access tosafe, effective, and inexpensive pain drugs. More than half of government-supportedregional cancer centers do not offer palliative care or pain management,even though more than 70 percent of their patients need it. Numerous patientstold Human Rights Watch that their suffering from cancer and other conditionswas so severe that they would rather die than live with the pain. The governmentalso failed to integrate palliative care into HIV treatment programs.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityBuilding on a 2009 decision of the Delhi High Court, government officials promisedto drop section 377—a provision too often abused to treat consensual homosexualconduct between adults as a crime—in proposed amendments to thePenal Code.India’s Foreign PolicyDespite its considerable influence, India continues to miss opportunities to raiseconcerns about even egregious human rights violations in other countries or toassert leadership on human rights at the United Nations. In several cases, it hasactively opposed international efforts to pressure human rights violators.India played an important role in Afghanistan, providing aid for humanitarian andinfrastructure projects. In July the Foreign Minister called on all parties to abjureviolence, end links to terrorism, and accept the “democratic and pluralistic valuesof the Afghan Constitution, including women’s rights.”After the conclusion of a Sri Lankan military campaign to defeat the Tamil Tigersin 2009, India provided humanitarian assistance for the rehabilitation of displacedpersons and called for political reconciliation. India, however, has contin-319

WORLD REPORT 2011ued to be weak on accountability for atrocities committed during the conflict byboth Sri Lankan and Tamil Tiger forces.In July India hosted a state visit by Burma’s authoritarian leader, General ThanShwe. India failed to demand greater protection for human rights by the militaryjunta, support an international commission of inquiry into war crimes in Burma,or condemn the deeply flawed processes and rules for Burma’s national electionheld on November 7, 2010.Relations with Pakistan remained tense, particularly when new evidence showedthat Pakistani military intelligence officials may have been involved in supportingthe Lashkar-e-Taiba attack in Mumbai in November 2008.Key International ActorsIndia’s policy in the subcontinent is heavily influenced by its strategic and economicconcerns about China’s growing influence in countries like Burma, Nepal,Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.Relations between India and China suffered setbacks in 2010. China disapprovesof India’s continued support to Tibetan refugees and its hosting of the Tibetangovernment in exile. However, both China and India agreed to resolve differencesthrough continued dialogue.India continued to build strong ties with the United States and Europe, built onincreasing trade and business opportunities. Both the US and EU insisted theyprivately pressed India to address a range of domestic rights concerns and tobecome more of a champion of human rights issues internationally. But there wasno evidence such efforts resulted in changes in Indian policy or practice.320

ASIAIndonesiaOver the past 12 years Indonesia has made great strides in becoming a stable,democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media. However,serious human rights concerns remain. While senior officials pay lip service toprotecting human rights, they seem unwilling to take the steps necessary toensure compliance by the security forces with international human rights andpunishment for those responsible for abuses.New allegations of security force involvement in torture emerged in 2010. But themilitary consistently shields its officers from investigations and the governmentmakes little effort to hold them accountable. The government has also done toolittle to curb discrimination against and attacks on religious, sexual, and ethnicminorities.In July the US government lifted its ban on military assistance to Kopassus,Indonesia’s elite special forces, despite continuing concerns about its humanrights record.Freedom of ExpressionWhile Indonesia today has a vibrant media, authorities continue to invoke harshlaws criminalizing those who raise controversial issues, chilling peaceful expression.Indonesia has imprisoned more than 100 activists from the Moluccas andPapua for “rebellion” for peacefully voicing political views, holding demonstrations,and raising separatist flags.In August Indonesian police arrested 21 individuals for planning to float pro-independenceflags attached to balloons during a visit to the Moluccas by PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Police subjected them to severe beatings that lastedfor days including with wooden sticks and bars and forced them to hold painfulstress positions. In September Papuan activist Yusuf Sapakoly, convicted of“rebellion” in 2007 for assisting activists who displayed a pro-independence flag,died of kidney failure after prison authorities denied him medical treatment. InJuly, after 10 months of delay, prison authorities in Papua permitted political prisonerFilep Karma to travel to Jakarta for necessary surgery.321

WORLD REPORT 2011Indonesia’s criminal libel, slander, and “insult” laws prohibit deliberately “insulting”a public official and intentionally publicizing statements that harm anotherperson’s reputation, often even if those statements are true. In early 2010 Tukijo,a farmer from Yogyakarta, was sentenced to six months’ probation and a threemonthsuspended prison sentence for criminal defamation after he asked a localofficial to disclose the results of a land assessment.Military Reform and ImpunityIndonesia still does not credibly investigate most allegations of serious humanrights abuse by security forces. Despite parliament’s recommendation inSeptember 2009, President Yudhoyono failed in 2010 to authorize an ad hoccourt to investigate the 1997-98 enforced disappearances of student activists. Norwas there any progress on a bill before parliament that would give civilian courtsjurisdiction to try soldiers accused of committing abuses against civilians. InNovember a military court in Papua convicted four soldiers for beating unarmedcivilians in Papua to sentences of between five and seven months in prison, theincident was captured on film. Other videos of security forces torturing or killingcivilians emerged this year but few perpetrators have faced justice.Ignoring recommendations from a National Human Rights Commission team,police and prosecutors took no steps to reopen the case against former deputystate intelligence chief and one-time Kopassus commander Maj. Gen. MuchdiPurwopranjono, implicated in the 2004 murder of prominent human rightsactivist Munir Said Thalib.In January President Yudhoyono appointed Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, implicatedin the 1997-98 student disappearances and in serious human rights abusesin East Timor, to the position of deputy defense minister.Of 18 Kopassus personnel convicted of human rights abuse since 1999, at least 11continue to serve in the military. On March 22 Defense Minister PurnomoYusgiantoro publicly pledged to suspend from active duty military officials crediblyaccused of gross human rights abuses in the future, discharge those convictedof abuse, and cooperate with their prosecution. Six days later soldiers inDepok were accused of severely assaulting four boys who had allegedly stolen a322

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ASIAbicycle. Military police said they investigated the soldiers but released no informationsuggesting that they were prosecuted or disciplined.The armed forces retain extensive business holdings despite a law requiring thegovernment to shut down these businesses or take them over by October 2009.The government merely ordered a partial restructuring of the entities—cooperativesand foundations—through which the military holds many of its investments.The team overseeing the restructuring failed to meet an August deadline to completeits work, which remains incomplete at this writing.Freedom of ReligionSenior government officials justify restrictions on religious freedom in the nameof public order. In April Indonesia’s Constitutional Court upheld a law prohibiting“blasphemy,” which criminalizes the practice of beliefs deviating from the centraltenets of one of six officially recognized religions, on the grounds that it protectspublic order.On several occasions militant Islamist groups mobilized large groups of privatecitizens and attacked places of worship of minority religious communities. Policefrequently failed to arrest the perpetrators of the violence. In July the local authoritiestried to seal a mosque where members of the Ahmadiyah religious communityworship in Kuningan, West Java. When Ahmadiyah members blocked them,hundreds of anti-Ahmadiyah protesters then attempted to forcibly close themosque, resulting in minor injuries. Police made no arrests, and in AugustIndonesia’s religious affairs minister called for a ban on Ahmadiyah religiouspractice, claiming that the violence resulted from the Ahmadiyah’s failure toadhere to a 2008 decree requiring them to refrain from spreading their faith.Several minority congregations alleged that local government officials arbitrarilyrefused to issue them permits required by law to build a “house of worship.”Those who attempted to worship without a permit faced harassment and violence.In August protesters assaulted a Protestant congregation that had begun holdingservices in a vacant lot after officials in Bekasi, a Jakarta suburb, denied their permitrequest and sealed two sites they used for services. Approximately 20 congre-325

WORLD REPORT 2011gants were injured, but police made no arrests. In September assailants attackedtwo leaders of the congregation, injuring one critically. Police arrested 10 suspects,including the leader of the local chapter of the militant Islamic DefendersFront.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityIn a sign of rising social intolerance, threats by the Islamic Defenders Front forcedcancellation of a regional meeting of the International Lesbian, Gay Bisexual,Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) in Surabaya in March and a National HumanRights Commission workshop on transgender issues in April.Papua/West PapuaIn 2010 Indonesia maintained restrictions on access to Papua by foreign humanrights monitors and journalists, facilitating a climate of impunity. Indonesiaexpelled the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from Papua in 2009;its office there remained closed in 2010.In May government officials transferred Anthonius Ayorbaba, the warden atPapua’s Abepura prison, after the Papua office of the National Commission onHuman Rights found him responsible for frequent beatings of prisoners byguards. However, authorities did not investigate Ayorbaba further and took noother steps to address allegations of prisoner abuse at Abepura.In July Papuan journalist Ardiansyah Matra’is’s body was found in a river. Matra’ishad reported on plans for a large agri-business development in Papua and illegallogging involving police officers. Police claimed he had committed suicide, but anautopsy revealed he had died before entering the river.Despite the wide circulation of a video showing police paramilitary (Brimob) officerstaunting Yawan Wayeni after they had cut open his stomach, police officialsmade no effort to investigate or prosecute those responsible for his killing.In October a 10-minute cell phone video showed Indonesian soldiers brutally torturingtwo Papuan farmers, Tunaliwor Kiwo and Telangga Gire, as they asked them326

ASIAabout weapons. Kiwo screams as a piece of burning wood is repeatedly jabbed athis genitals. The Indonesian government promised to prosecute the soldiers.AcehAceh’s provincial government continued to implement a repressive Shariainspireddress code and law on “seclusion”—banning association betweenunmarried men and women in “isolated” places—primarily through a Shariapolice force that harasses, intimidates, and arbitrarily arrests and detains womenand men. Local community groups also forcibly enter homes and assault andpublicly humiliate couples they suspect to be committing “seclusion.” Policemake little effort to deter such behavior.In January 2010, three Sharia police officers raped a young woman they haddetained overnight on suspicion of “seclusion.” Officials replaced the head of thelocal Sharia police and two of the perpetrators were tried and sentenced toimprisonment for eight years, but authorities declined to implement broaderremedial measures.In July the West Aceh district government forbade women from wearing tightpants and authorized the local Sharia police to require women wearing pants toimmediately change into a government-issued skirt.In a positive development, Aceh’s governor refused to implement an October2009 draft law that would have added new Sharia offenses that raise humanrights concerns, including criminalizing adultery by a married person and imposingpenalties including death by stoning.Migrant Domestic WorkersMigrant domestic workers continue to confront a range of abuses both during therecruitment process in Indonesia and while employed abroad. The governmenthas failed to stop local recruiters from charging prospective migrants exorbitantfees that leave them highly indebted, which contributes to situations of forcedlabor abroad. Citing concerns about abuse, the government has maintained bansof new migration to Malaysia and Kuwait, and in 2010 imposed and lifted a ban327


ASIAon migration to Jordan. Negotiations to revise a 2006 memorandum of understandingwith Malaysia on domestic workers, initially expected to be concluded in2009, have repeatedly stalled on establishing a minimum wage and a recruitmentfee structure.Child Domestic WorkersHundreds of thousands of girls in Indonesia are employed as domestic workers.Many work long hours, with no day off, and are forbidden from leaving the housewhere they work. In the worst cases, girls are physically, psychologically, and sexuallyabused by their employers. Presently, Indonesia’s labor law excludes alldomestic workers from the basic labor rights afforded to formal workers.The parliament failed to enact a draft Domestic Worker’s Law. The committee consideringthe bill ceased its deliberations in July 2010 following internal disagreements,particularly over a provision that would require domestic workers to bepaid the minimum wage.Migration and RefugeesIndonesia does not offer asylum for refugees and has not ratified the 1951Refugee Convention. Increasingly, Indonesia has detained asylum seekers, largelyas a result of foreign pressure. Indonesia detained nearly 1,300 migrants betweenJanuary and June 2010, many of whom were attempting to reach Australia. Someorganizations have reported mistreatment and substandard care in detention.Key International ActorsIndonesia continued its leadership role in ASEAN and appointed an independentexpert supported by civil society groups as its representative to the ASEANIntergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which held its first formalsession in Jakarta in April. Yet Indonesia failed to press for strengthening theAICHR’s weak mandate or for substantial participation by civil society organizationsin its work.329

WORLD REPORT 2011The United States broadened bilateral relations with Indonesia by implementingthe US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership. In July the US lifted an 11-year banon military aid to Kopassus, despite continuing concerns about impunity and theunit’s human rights record. The US requested that Indonesia shift soldiers previouslyconvicted of human rights abuse out of the force but not that they be dischargedfrom the military entirely. In November President Barack Obama visitedJakarta to discuss the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, signaling closercooperation between the two nations. He did not raise specific human rights concerns.The US also continued to provide significant support to Detachment 88,Indonesia’s counterterrorism police, but revealed that it cut off aid for the unit inthe Moluccas in 2008 as a result of human rights concerns.In September the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs helda hearing to discuss abuses by security forces in Papua and shortcomings in theimplementation of special autonomy.The Australian government continued to cooperate with Kopassus andDetachment 88. In September Australia noted concern about torture allegationsin the Moluccas but did not announce a suspension of aid in response.In June the European Union held the first EU-Indonesia Human Rights Dialogue inJakarta. The EU reported that it raised areas of concern but did not indicatewhether it had called for any specific human rights improvements.330

ASIAMalaysiaNearly two years after Malaysian Prime Minister Seri Najib Tun Razak assumedoffice pledging to “uphold civil liberties,” there has been only limited progress.Promised amendments to the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other laws permittingpreventive detention have not been enacted. Restrictions on freedom of expressioncontinue to be used to limit the right of government critics to express theirviews. Local police chiefs continue to restrict public assemblies and processions,often on political grounds.Detention without Charge or TrialMalaysia’s 50-year-old ISA permits indefinite detention without charge or trial ofany person deemed by officials to be a threat to national security. Officials in2010 reiterated their opposition to repeal of the ISA but agreed to considerreforms in five areas, including limiting detention without trial, providing guaranteesagainst mistreatment of detainees, and more precisely defining what behaviortriggers application of the ISA. However, in March the home minister declaredthat the ISA could not be amended without also reviewing six other laws affectingsecurity and permitting preventive detention, including the Emergency (PublicOrder and Crime Prevention) Ordinance, the Dangerous Drugs (SpecialPreventative Measures) Act, and the Restricted Residence Act.The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Malaysia in June2010 and reported that it was “seriously concerned” by the laws permitting preventivedetention and recommended their repeal or, if amended, their “conformitywith article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” The workinggroup expressed concerns that Malaysian authorities resort to the EmergencyOrdinance even when the alleged crimes, such as stealing, fighting, or involvementin organized crime, fall under the purview of Malaysia’s penal code.331

WORLD REPORT 2011Migrant Workers, Refugees, Asylum Seekers,and Trafficking VictimsThe Malaysian Immigration Act 1959/1963 fails to differentiate between refugees,asylum seekers, trafficking victims, and undocumented migrants. While otherlaws and policies provide some protections for some groups, the governmentdoes not effectively or consistently screen alleged immigration offenders; resultingin many ostensibly protected individuals end up arrested, detained, anddeported.In October 2010, in an attempt to “prove to the international communityMalaysia’s commitment to fighting human trafficking,” police used the ISA todetain seven Malaysian immigration officers and two foreigners for traffickingoffenses. The same month the government implemented amendments to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act that conflate trafficking victims with smuggled migrantworkers, reduce protections for both groups, and make it less likely that traffickingvictims will be able to cooperate in identifying and prosecuting perpetrators.The government continues to hold trafficking victims in closed shelter facilitiesthat resemble detention centers.Despite announcements to the contrary, some 300,000 migrant domestic workersin Malaysia still lack important protections. Domestic workers are excluded fromkey protections under Malaysia’s Employment Act, including limits on workinghours, public holidays, a mandatory day off per week, annual and sick leave,maternity protections, and fair termination of contracts.In 2009 Indonesia suspended migration of domestic workers to Malaysia until a2006 Memorandum of Understanding could be revised with stronger protectionsfor workers. Negotiations have stalled repeatedly over the establishment of a minimumwage structure, employees’ rights to retain their passports, and division ofresponsibility for recruitment and placement costs.Drug PolicyThe National Anti-Drugs Agency maintains some 28 Puspens (drug detention centers)where detainees are held for a minimum of two years. Although rates of332

ASIArelapse to drug use have been estimated in Malaysia at 70-90 percent, peoplewho are subsequently rearrested for drug use face long jail terms and caning.Freedom 0f Assembly and Police AbusePolice continued in 2010 to restrict the right to peaceful assembly guaranteed inMalaysia’s constitution. On several occasions, local police refused to issue permitsto activists for public assemblies, marches, and meetings, and used excessiveuse of force to break up unlicensed events.On August 1, police dispersed eight candlelight vigils commemorating the 50thanniversary of the ISA, detaining more than 30 people. At some sites, they failedto give proper warning or allow sufficient time for participants to disperse.Lawyers on hand to represent detained individuals were prevented from doing so.There was no progress on plans announced in August 2009 by Home MinisterHishamuddin Hussein to remove restrictions on public gatherings at certain designatedlocations.Freedom of Expression and the MediaAs blogs, Twitter, YouTube, and other websites continue to challenge mainstreamnewspapers, television, and radio for readers and listeners, officials continue tofall short in fulfilling their pledge to preserve an open internet and to realizePrime Minister Najib’s vision of a media sector in which journalists are “empoweredto report what they see, without fear of consequence.”Officials in 2010 harassed journalists, confiscated published materials for“review,” and banned publications outright or suspended them for activitiesallegedly beyond the scope of their publishing licenses. The 1984 PrintingPresses and Publications Act requires that all publications renew their licensesannually.In September Najib explained the gap between his rhetoric and the government’snoticeably more vigorous crackdown on free expression, saying, “I did say thatpress must be responsible. I did not say that we will waive all the laws inMalaysia… if you go against the law, whether it is defamation or whether it is333

WORLD REPORT 2011inciting racial hatred, religious hatred, then you have to be responsible for youraction.”In June and July the government temporarily shut down newspapers published bythe opposition coalition’s three major parties. Printing license renewals camewith restrictive conditions, such as requirements that sales be limited to partyoffices and party members.Also in June, the Home Ministry banned 1Funny Malaysia, a book of political cartoons,and two other books by Malaysiakini cartoonist Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque,popularly known as Zunar. In September, hours before the launch of Cartoon-ophobia,a another Zunar book, police raided his office, seized copies of the work,and arrested him on sedition charges for publishing books detrimental to publicorder. In October Home Minister Hishamuddin denied application for yet anotherbook by Zunar.That same month the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commissioninvestigated Malaysiakini, a popular online newspaper often critical of governmentpolicy, over its reporting on Prime Minister Najib’s opening speech at thegeneral assembly of the ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organization.The Home Ministry has repeatedly refused Malaysiakini’s applications to publisha daily print version.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityThe government continued to reject efforts to repeal article 377 of the penal code,which criminalizes consensual “carnal intercourse against the order of nature,” orto replace the law’s section on non-consensual sexual acts with a modern, gender-neutrallaw on rape. The government ceased banning gay-themed films, butonly if certain acts are not depicted and gay characters repent by the movie’s end.Due Process and Trial of Anwar IbrahimThe trial of Anwar Ibrahim, leader of Malaysia’s political opposition, continued onthe charge of “sodomy” in a case involving alleged consensual homosexual conduct.The prosecution refused to hand over documents crucial to the defense,334

ASIAincluding a list of witnesses, witness statements, and clinical notes and specimensfrom the medical examination of the accuser two days after the alleged incidenttook place. Malaysia’s Criminal Procedure Code, section 51A, includes a provisionrequiring the prosecution to turn over “any” document it will use as evidenceand a written statement of facts favorable to the defense with the exceptionof any act that “would be contrary to public interest.”Freedom of ReligionAlthough Islam is Malaysia’s official state religion, the constitution affirms thatMalaysia is a secular state protective of religious freedom for all. However,Malaysia’s dual-track legal system permits Sharia courts, in which non-Muslimshave no standing, to rule on religious and moral offenses involving Muslims andon issues involving marriage, inheritance, divorce and custody battles, and burialrites, many of which involve interreligious disagreement. In a widely publicizedand potentially far-reaching decision in March, Malaysia’s high court awardedcustody of three children to a Hindu woman whose husband had, without herknowledge, converted to Islam and had the children converted, but other casesremained mired in the courts.Key International ActorsUnited States officials emphasized trade and investment, nuclear non-proliferation,and regional security in discussions in 2010 with their Malaysian counterparts,but did address some concerns relating to human rights, democracy, andrule of law. In a visit in November US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did notmeet with human rights groups or with Anwar Ibrahim.Malaysia invited the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to visit but thentried to stop civil society representatives from meeting privately with visitinggroup members.In May Malaysia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council.Malaysia continued to play the primary role in thwarting efforts by the intergovernmentalAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Migrant335

WORLD REPORT 2011Workers to negotiate a legally binding ASEAN instrument for the protection andpromotion of the rights of migrant workers.336

ASIANepalNepal’s political and peace processes remained stalled in 2010, resulting in instability,weak governance, and no progress on accountability for human rights violations.Prime Minister Madav Kumar Nepal of the Unified Marxist-Leninist party(CPN-UML) resigned on June 30, under pressure from the Maoists who demand aunity government with themselves at the helm. At this writing the parliament hasfailed to form a new government, despite 16 rounds of parliamentary votes. TheConstituent Assembly missed the May 28 deadline to draft a new constitution. Ina last-minute deal, political parties concluded a three-point agreement to extendthe Constituent Assembly by another year.The government made little progress in 2010 on realizing people’s economic,social, and cultural rights though economic development. Reports of lawlessnesspersist in many parts of the country, especially in the southern plains of the Teraiand the eastern hills. Armed groups and ethnically based organizations havebeen involved in killings and extortion with impunity.Accountability for Past AbusesThe government and political parties still fail to show the will to establishaccountability for human rights violations committed during the war. No one fromthe security forces or among the Maoists has been held criminally responsible forabuses committed during the conflict. In many cases, those accused of violationsactively receive protection from the security forces or political parties.In October the Nepal Army extended the tenure of Colonel Raju Basnet by twoyears, though he was at the Maharajgunj army barracks in 2003 and 2004 whenvarious cases of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearance tookplace. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the UN Office of theHigh Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly requested thatthe government start proceedings against Basnet.In spite of a court order, the army refused to hand over Major Niranjan Basnet,accused in 2004 of the torture, rape, and murder of 15-year-old Maina Sunwar.After Basnet was returned at the request of the UN from a peacekeeping mission337

WORLD REPORT 2011in late 2009, the army took him into its custody. In July a military tribunal, establishedto probe the circumstances of Basnet’s return from Chad, concluded hewas “innocent.”The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-M) leadership has likewisefailed to cooperate with criminal investigations into alleged crimes committed byMaoists during and after the conflict.Although the Comprehensive Peace Agreement does not provide a broad amnestyfor serious crimes, the government continues to discuss the withdrawal of casesdeemed “political,” including cases of murder. In January the Supreme Courtupheld the conviction of Maoist Constituent Assembly member BalkrishnaDhungel for the 1998 murder of Ujjwal Kumar Shrestha. However, police havefailed to arrest him, and Maoists claim the case is against the ComprehensivePeace Agreement and interim constitution.In September police and the NHRC exhumed the bodies of four people inDhanusha district. The four are believed to be among five students that securityforces allegedly disappeared and killed in 2003. So far, the police have failed toquestion officials and claim they are waiting for DNA results to pursue furtherinvestigations.The draft bills to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and aDisappearances Commission have been tabled in parliament but await debate bythe Statute Committee. While the bills are a step towards ensuring justice for warvictims, several provisions remain that are inconsistent with international law.Integration of Maoist CombatantsFor more than four years, 19,602 Maoist former combatants have been held inUN-monitored cantonment sites. In January 2010 the process began of discharging4,008 of them, who were disqualified as children (2,973 of them) and as laterecruits. A UN monitoring mechanism was formed to scrutinize UCPN-M compliancewith its commitment to a 2009 action plan with the government and the UNrepresentatives, including a provision on the non-recruitment of children. A specialcommittee established in mid-2009 to address the integration of Maoist com-338

ASIAbatants into the security forces was unable to function for several months due tothe continuous absence of UCPN-M from meetings.DalitsDalits (“untouchables”) suffer from discrimination in economic, social, and culturalspheres. In September 2009 Nepal announced its support for the UNagreed-uponguidelines on the elimination of caste discrimination. However,Nepal has yet to implement recommendations made in 2004 by the Committee onthe Elimination of Racial Discrimination, including adopting relevant statutory lawto enable the National Dalit Commission–a state agency–to fulfill its mandate.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityThe Nepal government has made significant strides towards ensuring equality forlesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in recent years. The governmenthas promised that the 2011 national census will allow citizens to identify themselvesas male, female, or transgender.Yet progress remains tenuous. According to local NGOs, there are 280 discriminatorylegal provisions affecting the LGBT community. In September sexual minoritiesalleged that the Home Minister refused to issue citizenship cards to transgenderpeople, contravening a Supreme Court directive three years ago. In response,dozens of LGBT individuals staged protests in the capital. Police detained someprotesters without charge for several hours.Women’s RightsWhile women have constitutional guarantees and a strong representation in theConstituent Assembly, women and girls continue to face widespread discrimination.Violence and exploitation, including trafficking, domestic violence, dowryrelatedviolence, rape, and sexual violence remain serious problems. Sexual violencecases are often settled in private, and even when complaints are filed,police rarely carry out effective investigations.339

WORLD REPORT 2011Female members of the Constituent Assembly have formed a caucus to pressurecommittees to discuss women’s concerns. Some of the members’ demandsinclude for women’s perspectives to be included on the issues of citizenship andproperty, and for the government to reserve positions for women in administrationand the judiciary, and to provide dedicated public services for sexual andreproductive health.Many women migrate to the Middle East as workers through recruitment agencies;once they arrive in these countries, they are often vulnerable to abuse andhave very few legal protections.TeraiTensions persist over the rights of the different ethnic groups, including Madheshicommunities near the Indian border in the Terai, who want greater autonomy andproportionate representation in government jobs. Public security remains a majorconcern in many districts of the Terai. The UN secretary-general, in his periodicreport to the UN Security Council expressed concern that the extortion of officials,teachers, and business people by armed groups and ethnic organizations is onthe rise despite increased police patrols.According to human rights groups, the government’s special security policy,which aims to address the deteriorating security situation, has led to increasedhuman rights violations. For instance, OHCHR documented 57 cases of deaths asa result of the unlawful use of lethal force by security forces between January2008 and June 2010. In several Terai districts, armed groups have recruited childrenas messengers for extortion notes and ransom collection, and for enforcingbandhs (strikes) called by the armed groups.Tibetan RefugeesThe current administration continued to endorse the “One China Policy” andTibetan refugees faced increased harassment by Nepali authorities in efforts toappease China. Several instances of arrests, criminalization of entry, detention,refoulement, and attempted refoulement of Tibetan refugees were reported in2010. In June Nepali authorities forcefully deported three Tibetan new arrivals340

ASIAfrom Humla district. Two of them are believed to be in detention in China. InOctober police in Kathmandu confiscated ballot boxes during annual electionsheld by Tibetan refugees to nominate candidates for the government in exile. TheHome Minister reportedly issued a statement saying the polling “violated Nepal’sforeign policy and existing laws of the host country.”Key International ActorsNepal is dependent on aid and relies heavily on its traditional donors, such asJapan, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and the European Union. Ithas to maintain a balance in its relations with its two powerful neighbors, Indiaand China. In an effort to correct their heavy dependency on India, Nepali politicalparties–particularly the Maoist-led government–have attempted to strengthenties with China. In December 2009 China provided military aid of about US$3 million,including training for the Nepal Army.In December 2009 the US president signed into law the 2010 ConsolidatedAppropriations Act, which includes a prohibition on assistance to the Nepal armyunless, among other things, it fully cooperates with investigations and prosecutionsby civilian judicial authorities of violations of internationally recognizedhuman rights.India played a positive role in bringing about the comprehensive peace agreementbetween political parties to end the Maoist conflict. But since then, Indiastands accused of meddling in the selection of a consensus prime minister,adding to the political instability.The UK continues to provide military assistance to Nepal. In October Nepal’s armychief, Gen. Chhatraman Gurung, visited the UK to boost military ties.The UCPN-M remains on the US list of banned terrorist organizations. In June, theUS embassy in Kathmandu denied a visa to Agni Sapkota, a senior Maoist member,for his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killing of Arjun BahhadurLama during the Maoist insurgency.Nepal continues to be a key troop-contributing country to UN peacekeeping missions.341

WORLD REPORT 2011In June the government renewed OHCHR’s mandate for a year but demanded aphased closure of all offices outside Kathmandu, thus weakening human rightsmonitoring in the field.The mandate of the UN Mission in Nepal is ending in January 2011. UN UnderSecretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe visited Nepal in October todiscuss the peace process with the prime minister.342

ASIANorth KoreaDespite lip service to human rights in its constitution, conditions in theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) remain dire. There is noorganized political opposition, free media, functioning civil society, or religiousfreedom. Arbitrary arrest, detention, lack of due process, and torture and ill-treatmentof detainees remain serious and endemic problems. North Korea also practicescollective punishment for various anti-state offenses, for which it enslaveshundreds of thousands of citizens in prison camps, including children. The governmentperiodically publicly executes citizens for stealing state property, hoardingfood, and other “anti-socialist” crimes.Vitit Muntarbhorn, then-United Nations special rapporteur on human rights inNorth Korea, wrote in his final report in February 2010 that the country’s humanrights situation “can be described as sui generis [in its own category], given themultiple particularities and anomalies that abound.” He added that, “simply put,there are many instances of human rights violations which are both harrowingand horrific.”Inter-Korea relations plunged after 46 South Korean sailors died when their warship,the Cheonan, sank in March 2010. A South Korea-led team that includedinvestigators from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Swedenblamed North Korea for the attack. In July the UN Security Council adopted astatement condemning the attack. However, North Korea’s strongest ally, China,declined to name North Korea as the party responsible, and shielded it from significantSecurity Council action.A campaign for a UN commission of inquiry on North Korea gained momentum in2010, with a growing number of international and South Korea-based humanrights organizations pressing governments to support the initiative.Monetary Devaluation and Food ShortagesReports of deaths from starvation surfaced in the months following North Korea’sineptly managed monetary devaluation scheme, which effectively demonetizedsavings in the old currency in November 2009. North Korea abolished its old343

WORLD REPORT 2011bank notes with virtually no advance notice and only allowed North Koreans toexchange up to 100,000 won (approximately US$25 to US$30 according to thethen-market exchange rate) of the old currency for the new bills. Authorities alsobanned the use of foreign currencies and closed markets. It later lifted thosebans.Many people saw their entire private savings wiped out overnight, while prices forfood and other basic commodities skyrocketed as merchants stopped sellinggoods in expectation of further price hikes.South Korea-based NGOs and media with informants inside North Korea reportedon new hunger-related deaths, especially among vulnerable groups. North Koreareportedly executed Pak Nam Ki, the former finance minister who implementedthe currency revaluation, accusing him of being a South Korean spy intent onwrecking the economy. Although several international humanitarian agenciescontinued to deliver food and services, they have continued to have difficultyconfirming delivery to the most needy.Torture and Inhumane TreatmentTestimony from escaped North Koreans indicates that persons arrested on criminalcharges often face torture by officials aiming to enforce obedience and toextract bribes and information. Common forms of torture include sleep deprivation,beatings with iron rods or sticks, kicking and slapping, and enforced sittingor standing for hours. Detainees are subject to so-called “pigeon torture,” inwhich they are forced to cross their arms behind their back, are handcuffed, hungin the air tied to a pole, and beaten with a club. Guards also rape femaledetainees.ExecutionsNorth Korea’s Criminal Code stipulates that the death penalty can only be appliedto a few crimes, such as “crimes against the state” and “crimes against the people,”although at least one scholar believes a December 2007 law extended thepenalty to many more. In reality, North Koreans are executed for a wide range ofcrimes, including vaguely defined non-violent offenses.344

ASIAForced Labor CampsTestimony from escapees has established that persons accused of politicaloffenses are usually sent to a forced labor camp, known as gwalliso.The government practices collective punishment, which results in an offender’sparents, spouse, children, and even grandchildren also being sent to a forcedlabor camp. These camps are notorious for abysmal living conditions and abuse,including severe food shortages, little or no medical care, lack of proper housingand clothes, mistreatment and torture by guards, and executions. Death rates inthese camps are very high.North Korea has never acknowledged these camps exist, but US and SouthKorean officials estimate some 200,000 people may be imprisoned in these facilities,which include No. 14 in Kaechun, No. 15 in Yodok, No. 16 in Hwasung, No.22 in Hoeryung, and No. 25 in Chungjin.Refugees and Asylum SeekersNorth Korea criminalizes leaving the country without state permission. Those wholeave face grave punishment upon repatriation such as lengthy terms in horrendousdetention facilities or forced labor camps with chronic food and medicineshortages, harsh working conditions, and mistreatment and torture by campguards. Some are even executed, depending on their offense and who they metabroad.Most North Koreans who leave do so across the country’s northern border withChina. Hundreds of thousands have fled since the 1990s, and some have settledin China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Beijing categorically labelsNorth Koreans in China “illegal” economic migrants and routinely repatriatesthem, despite its obligation to offer protection to refugees under both customaryinternational law and the Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 protocol, towhich China is a party.Many North Korean women in China live with local men in de facto marriages.Even if they have lived there for years, they are not entitled to legal residence andface arrest and repatriation. Some North Korean women and girls are trafficked345

WORLD REPORT 2011into marriage or prostitution in China. Many children of such unrecognized marriagesare forced to live without a legal identity or access to elementary educationin order to avoid their mothers being identified and repatriated.Government-Controlled JudiciaryNorth Korea’s judiciary is neither transparent nor independent. All personnelinvolved in the judiciary, including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court clerks, andjury members are appointed and tightly controlled by the ruling Workers’ Party ofKorea. In cases designated as political crimes, suspects are not even sentthrough a nominal judicial process; after interrogation they are either executed orsent to a forced labor camp with their entire families.Labor RightsThe ruling Korean Workers’ Party firmly controls the only authorized trade unionorganization, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea. South Korean companiesemploy some 44,000 North Korean workers in the Kaesong IndustrialComplex (KIC), where the law governing working conditions falls far short of internationalstandards on freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining,and gender discrimination and sexual harassment.Restrictions on Information, Association, and MovementThe government uses fear—generated mainly by threats of forced labor and publicexecutions—to prevent dissent, and imposes harsh restrictions on freedom ofinformation, association, assembly, and travel.North Korea operates a vast network of informants to monitor and punish personsfor subversive behavior. All media and publications are state-controlled, andunauthorized access to non-state radio or TV broadcasts is severely punished. Thegovernment periodically investigates the “political background” of its citizens toassess their loyalty to the ruling party, and forces Pyongyang residents who failsuch assessments to leave the capital.346

ASIAKey International ActorsThe UN Human Rights Council reviewed North Korea’s human rights record at aUniversal Periodic Review session in December 2009. North Korea failed to formallystate whether it accepts any of the 167 recommendations that it took underadvisement from that session. The same month the UN General Assembly adopteda resolution against North Korea for the fifth straight year, citing memberstates’ serious concerns about continuing reports of “systemic, widespread, andgrave violations of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.” In April2010 the council adopted a resolution against North Korea for the third year forabysmal, systematic human rights violations.In July 2010 the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for theEuropean Union to sponsor a resolution to establish a UN commission of inquiryto assess past and present human rights violations in North Korea.The Six-Party talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula remain stymied. Citingthe attack on the Cheonan, the US announced new sanctions targeting Office 39,a secretive Korean Workers’ Party organization known to raise foreign currency forthe party. North Korea jailed Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a US citizen who crossed theborder, on charges of illegal entry and other unspecified crimes. Former USPresident Jimmy Carter secured Gomes’ release in August 2010.North Korean leader Kim Jong Il visited Chinese leaders in Beijing in May andAugust 2010 to discuss economic and other cooperation schemes. Observersspeculate the trips were tied to building support for a future transfer of powerfrom Kim to his third son, Kim Jong Un.North Korea’s relations with Japan remained frosty, largely due to a dispute overabductees. North Korea admitted in 2002 that its agents had abducted 13Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s to use them for training North Koreanspies. It returned five to Japan, but claimed the other eight had died. Japaninsists the number of abductees is higher. No legal means of immigrationbetween the two countries exists; of the nearly 100,000 migrants from Japan toNorth Korea between 1959 and 1984, only 200 have been able to return to Japanby escaping clandestinely.347

WORLD REPORT 2011PakistanIn July Pakistan experienced a devastating flood that swamped one-fifth of thecountry, displacing 20 million people and causing billions of dollars in damage.Already reeling from attacks by militant groups and skyrocketing food and fuelprices, the fragile civilian government struggled to cope. Although criticized aschaotic, the flood relief effort was largely free of systematic discrimination againstat-risk minorities.The security situation continued to deteriorate in 2010 with militant groups carryingout suicide bombings and targeted killings across the country. The Talibanand affiliated groups increasingly targeted civilians and public spaces, includingmarketplaces, hospitals, and religious processions. In Karachi targeted killings ofpolitical activists escalated.Ongoing rights concerns include the breakdown of law enforcement in the face ofterror attacks; confrontations between the judiciary, lawyers’ groups, and the government;continuing torture and mistreatment of criminal suspects; unresolvedenforced disappearances of terrorism suspects and opponents of the former militarygovernment; abuses by the military during operations in the tribal areas andSwat; and discriminatory laws and violence against religious minorities.Militant Attacks, Counterterrorism, and ReprisalsSuicide bombings, armed attacks, and killings by the Taliban, al Qaeda, and theiraffiliates targeted nearly every sector of Pakistani society, including journalistsand religious minorities, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The country’s largestcities bore the brunt of these attacks. Two attacks in late May against theAhmadiyya religious community in Lahore claimed nearly 100 lives. On July 1 asuicide bombing at Data Darbar, shrine of the patron saint of Lahore, killed 40people.In the tribal areas and the Swat valley, suicide bombings against and targetedkillings of police and civilians deemed to be army informants or peace activistswere commonplace. On July 15 at least five people were killed and nearly 50348

ASIAwounded in a suicide bomb attack near a crowded bus stop in Mingora, the maintown of the Swat valley.Security forces routinely violated basic rights in the course of counterterrorismoperations. Suspects were frequently detained without charge or convicted withouta fair trial. Credible reports emerged that a few thousand suspected membersof al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other armed groups were rounded up in a countrywidecrackdown that began in 2009 in Swat and the Federally Administered TribalAreas, but few were prosecuted before the courts. The army repeatedly refused toallow lawyers, relatives, independent monitors, and humanitarian agency staffaccess to persons detained in the course of military operations.Since the military regained control of Swat in September 2009, Taliban-perpetratedabuses such as public floggings and hangings have mostly ended. Despitethis, Human Rights Watch continued to receive credible reports of military andpolice abuses in the district, including summary executions, arbitrary detention,forced evictions, and house demolitions. Human Rights Watch investigated someof these allegations and documented scores of executions. Army chief Gen.Ashfaq Parvez Kayani promised to investigate a video allegedly documenting soldiersexecuting a group of men and boys in Swat. At this writing, however, no perpetratorshave been held accountable for the killings.Abuses by Pakistani police, including cases of extrajudicial killing, also continuedto be reported throughout the country in 2010.Aerial drone strikes by the United States on suspected members of al Qaeda andthe Taliban near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan escalated in 2010. As ofOctober 15, 2010, 87 strikes had been reported, many more than in any other previousyear. These strikes were accompanied by persistent claims of large numbersof civilian casualties but lack of access to the conflict areas has prevented independentverification.In July the federal government presented amendments to anti-terrorism laws tothe Senate (upper house of Parliament) that would enable authorities to placesuspects under pre-charge detention for 90 days without judicial review or theright to bail. Confessions made before the police or military would be deemed349

WORLD REPORT 2011admissible as evidence despite evidence that torture is routine. At this writing theamendments remain before the Senate.BalochistanA package of reforms aimed at improving provincial autonomy and providingredress for ethnic Baloch grievances was passed by Parliament in 2010. But civilianauthorities struggled to implement the reforms as conditions markedly deterioratedin Balochistan. Armed groups launched several attacks against securityforces in the province. Pakistan’s military publicly resisted government reconciliationefforts and attempts to locate ethnic Baloch “disappeared” during Gen.Pervez Musharraf’s military rule, a key source of continued tension.As documented by Human Rights Watch, Pakistan forces continued to be implicatedin the enforced disappearance of suspected ethnic Baloch militants.Militant groups increased attacks against non-Baloch civilians, teachers, and educationfacilities. At least nine education personnel were killed between Januaryand October 2010. Many teachers, particularly ethnic Punjabis, Shia Muslims,and other targeted minorities, sought transfers out of fear for their safety.Legal Reforms and the JudiciaryIn April parliament unanimously passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution,limiting presidential power and giving parliament, the prime minister, the judiciary,and provincial governments greater autonomy. Politicians and civil societygroups hailed the amendment as an important step in restoring Pakistan’s parliamentarysystem of democracy. The Supreme Court sparked a confrontation withparliament by voluntarily agreeing to hear legal challenges to parts of the amendment,including those dealing with mechanisms for judicial appointments.In June Pakistan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsand the Convention Against Torture. However, Pakistan made its ratification contingenton a number of broad and vaguely defined reservations, including excluding“anything repugnant” to the Constitution of Pakistan.350

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WORLD REPORT 2011Relations between the judiciary and some of its erstwhile allies in the “Lawyer’sMovement,” which helped restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry tooffice in 2009, deteriorated markedly during the year. In October lawyers attemptedto physically attack the chief justice of the Lahore High Court in his chambers.The following day provincial police permitted into the court premises by theLahore chief justice beat and arrested some 100 lawyers and charged them underPakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act.In October Asma Jahangir, a highly regarded human rights activist and former UNrapporteur was elected the first woman president of the Supreme Court BarAssociation, the country’s most prominent forum for lawyers. Jahangir emphasizedthe need to create professional distance between lawyers and the judgesthey helped restore to office in 2009.Treatment of Minorities and WomenViolence and mistreatment of women and girls, including rape, domestic violence,and forced marriage, remain serious problems. The Domestic Violence(Prevention and Protection) Bill, unanimously passed by the National Assembly inAugust 2009, lapsed after the Senate failed to pass it within three months asrequired under Pakistan’s constitution.On November 7, 2010, Aasia Bibi, a Christian from Punjab province, became thefirst woman in the country’s history to be sentenced to death for blasphemy. Thesentence was greeted with international and domestic condemnation amidrenewed calls by rights groups for repeal of Pakistan’s infamous blasphemy laws.In 2010 Ahmadis continued to be the primary target for prosecutions under variousprovisions of the blasphemy laws across Pakistan. Islamist armed groupsalso targeted them for attack. On May 28, militants attacked two Ahmadiyyamosques in Lahore, killing 94 people and injuring well over a hundred. Threedays later, unidentified gunmen attacked Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital where victimsand one of the alleged attackers were under treatment. A Taliban statement “congratulated”Pakistanis for the attacks, calling people from the Ahmadiyya andShia communities “the enemies of Islam and common people.”352

ASIAMedia FreedomPakistan’s media remained a vocal critic of the government and experienced lessinterference from the elected government than in previous years. However, themedia rarely reported on human rights abuses by the military in counterterrorismoperations.As in previous years, journalists known to be critical of the military continued tobe harassed, threatened, and mistreated by military-controlled intelligence agencies.On April 12, shots were fired at the house of journalist Kamran Shafi, a vocalcritic of the armed forces and their influence over the state. In September investigativejournalist Umar Cheema, who had reported critically on civilian and militaryauthorities in 2010, was abducted, tortured, and then dumped 120 kilometersfrom his residence in Islamabad. Cheema alleged his abductors were fromone of Pakistan’s secret intelligence agencies.Throughout 2010 the Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outletsover their coverage, a practice documented by Human Rights Watch in 2009, anda number of journalists were killed in the tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwaprovince. On April 19 reporter Azmat Ali Bangash was killed in a suicide bombingin Orakzai tribal agency while reporting on food delivery at a displaced personscamp. On July 28, grenade attacks on the homes of journalist Zafarullah Buneriand Imran Khan injured at least six women and children. Journalists MujeeburRehman Siddique and Mirsi Khan were both shot dead in September.Bomb blasts in Quetta claimed by Islamist armed groups killed cameraman MalikArif on April 16 and cameraman Ejaz Raisani and television station driverMohammad Sarwar during a religious procession on September 3.British-Pakistani documentary filmmaker Asad Qureshi was finally released onSeptember 9 after being held captive for five months by a group calling itself the“Asian Tigers.”In October the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party announced a boycott of Geo TV, ananti-government television channel, and affiliated newspapers. When the government’sformer information minister Sherry Rehman appeared on the channel,353

WORLD REPORT 2011President Asif Ali Zardari in retaliation ordered PPP activists to besiege Rehman’sKarachi home for several hours, threatening her and her family.Chief Justice Chaudhry and provincial high courts effectively muzzled criticism ofPakistan’s judiciary in the media. Journalists told Human Rights Watch that majortelevision channels were informally advised by judicial authorities that theywould be summoned to face contempt of court charges for criticizing or commentingunfavorably on judicial decisions or specific judges. Publications includingthe English-language newspapers Dawn and the News had to apologize publiclyto the court and editors of the former faced contempt proceedings for publishinga story alleging misuse of office by the chief justice of the Sindh High Court.Key International ActorsThe US remained Pakistan’s most significant ally and was the largest donor toPakistan’s flood relief effort in 2010. However, as documented by Human RightsWatch throughout 2010, there were several instances where US aid to Pakistanappeared to contravene the Leahy Law. That law requires the US StateDepartment to certify that no military unit receiving US aid is involved in grosshuman rights abuses, and when such abuses are found, they are to be thoroughlyand properly investigated. In October the US sanctioned six units of the Pakistanimilitary operating in the Swat valley under the Leahy Law even as it announced aUS$2 billion military aid package for Pakistan to help the country meet unprecedentedcounterterrorism challenges.On July 6, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced a judicial inquiry intoBritain’s role in torture and rendition in Pakistan since September 2001. Severalof the cases involve allegations of torture committed against British citizens inPakistan with British complicity.In April a three-member United Nations inquiry commission concluded its investigationinto the December 2007 assassination of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.The commission concluded that not only did Pakistani authorities fail to provideBhutto the security that could have saved her life, but elements within the powerfulmilitary may have played a role in her assassination. The panel was highly criticalof the “pervasive role” played by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence.354

ASIAPapua New GuineaAs construction of a US$15 billion project to tap Papua New Guinea’s rich liquefiednatural gas (LNG) reserves got underway in 2010, Prime Minister MichaelSomare predicted that his troubled country was on the verge of transformation.But longstanding problems that have consistently hobbled progress in the countrywere on display throughout the year. Corruption scandals grabbed the headlines,a UN investigation highlighted by now familiar patterns of brutal policeabuse, and violence against women and girls continued to be widespread.Just as troubling are signs that the government is more committed to avoidingaccountability than improving its capacity to govern responsibly. In 2010 the governmentmoved to curtail the powers of its own widely-praised OmbudsmanCommission, while also trying to enact legislation that would strip citizens of theirright to challenge the legality of controversial extractive industry projects in court.Extractive IndustriesThe government has staked the country’s future on its extraordinary abundance ofnatural resources. Extractive industries are the main engine of the economy, butthe government has a long track record of failing to adequately regulate them. In2010 there were already worrying signs that the LNG project could generate violentdisputes among landowners over compensation payments, this a full fouryears before the gas is expected to flow.In many ways the government has left large multinational extractive companies toregulate themselves. For instance private security forces at the sprawling Porgeragold mine—operated by Barrick Gold, a Canadian company—have been implicatedin incidents of gang rape and other human rights abuses. Yet the governmentprovides no meaningful oversight of such private security forces or effective,accessible channels for victims to report such abuses.In 2010 a group of citizens filed suit to prevent the Chinese-owned Ramu nickelmine from building a pipeline that would deposit mine waste into the ocean. Thegovernment responded by introducing amendments to the country’s EnvironmentAct that would strip citizens of their right to challenge government-sanctioned355

WORLD REPORT 2011projects in court. At this writing the amendments have been passed by parliamentbut not signed into law. Supporters of the Ramu mine also reportedly intimidatedand harassed the plaintiffs in the case.Torture, Rape, and Other Police AbusesHuman Rights Watch has previously documented widespread patterns of abuseby Papua New Guinea’s police force, including use of excessive force, torture, andsexual violence, against children as well as adults. These abuses remain rampantand almost all of those responsible continue to enjoy impunity. In the face ofwidespread violent crime, such tactics have deeply eroded the public trust andcooperation crucial to effective policing.In May the UN special rapporteur on torture visited the country and documentedroutine beatings of criminal suspects that often rise to the level of torture, extortionof sex from female detainees, corruption, and other abuses. Police sometimesdeliberately disable suspects of serious crimes and escapees by cuttingtheir tendons with bush knives and axes. The UN special rapporteur found thatconditions in correctional institutions were “poor” and in police lockups“appalling.” Children are regularly detained with adults in police lockups.In July mobile police squads housed and fed by Barrick Gold at the company’sPorgera gold mine allegedly kidnapped and raped three teenage girls. In anunusual and positive move, the police suspended the alleged culprits from dutyand opened a criminal investigation into the incident. More than five years afterthe police beat and sexually assaulted several dozen women and girls (and gangraped at least four in detention) in a raid on the Three-Mile Guest House in PortMoresby in March 2004, the Ombudsman Commission issued a report findingthat police had unlawfully arrested and detained the victims, used excessiveforce, and raped and humiliated them. The Commission also found that seniorofficials failed to supervise or control the officers under their command.Violence against WomenViolence against women and girls is epidemic in Papua New Guinea, with studiesindicating that more than half of all women in Papua New Guinea have suffered356

ASIAphysical assault by a male partner. Sexual violence against women and girls isalso commonplace. Support services such as shelters and emergency health careare grossly insufficient and victims face formidable barriers to obtaining redressthrough the justice system, including lack of information, limited legal aid, andgeographic distance. Many village courts rely on customary laws that fail to protectwomen’s rights. The system often leaves perpetrators unpunished, a problemexacerbated by some police officers’ own propensity to engage in sexual violence.Government Corruption and Institutional DecayThe government has regularly become embroiled in corruption scandals over theyears and 2010 was no exception. A judicial report that came to light in Aprildetailed how top-level government officials and others siphoned off some $300million through phony compensation claims. Meanwhile the capacity of key publicinstitutions continues to decay, especially in rural areas where the governmentoften fails to provide basic services like health and education. Thegovernment–against widespread civil society protests–supported moves to curtailthe powers of its Ombudsman Commission, the very institution tasked withunearthing patterns of government corruption and abuse.The Rights to Health and EducationPapua New Guinea performs poorly on most indicators of economic and socialwell-being. Rates of maternal and child mortality are among the highest in theregion. The closure of rural aid posts and health centers, declining transportationinfrastructure, the failure of allocated funds to reach local governments, and ashortage of drugs, medical equipment, and trained health professionals all limitaccess to quality healthcare.The country has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Pacific: around 34,100people are living with the disease (0.92 percent of adults in 2010), with youngwomen most likely to be diagnosed. Gender-based violence and discrimination,as well as poor access to healthcare, fuel the virus’s spread. People living withHIV/AIDS often face violence and discrimination. Antiretroviral therapy is inaccessibleto most. Despite training, police undermine prevention efforts by targetingfemale sex workers and men and boys suspected of homosexual conduct for357

WORLD REPORT 2011beatings and rape. Police do so in part because they can threaten arrest usinglaws criminalizing homosexual conduct and certain forms of sex work, andbecause social stigma against homosexuals and sex work shields the police frompublic outrage.Primary education is neither free nor compulsory. Recent estimates of net primaryschool enrollment rates range from around 45 to 55 percent. Barriers include longdistances to schools, a shortage of upper secondary placements, high schoolfees, and school closures due to insecurity. Girls in particular suffer from sexualabuse by other students and teachers, lack of water and sanitation facilities, andface daily dangerous journeys to and from school.The Role of Key International ActorsAustralia, Papua New Guinea’s former colonizer, is the country’s most importantinternational partner. Australia provides some $450 million in assistance annually,more than it provides to any other country.The home governments of most multinational companies working in the countryprovide few if any enforceable human rights standards to govern overseas corporatebehavior. In 2010 Canada’s parliament rejected a bill that would have takenmodest steps towards establishing such standards for Canadian companies,including companies with operations in Papua New Guinea. The bill encounteredfierce resistance from the mining industry.In 2011 Papua New Guinea’s human rights record is due to be examined at the UNHuman Rights Council.358

ASIAThe PhilippinesBenigno Aquino III, the son of the late president Corazon Aquino, swept to powerin the May presidential elections on a platform of fighting corruption and promotingjustice for victims of crime. The national and local elections were consideredlargely free and fair, though marred by violence, including dozens of killings priorto election day. Political violence continued after the elections as more than 20activists, journalists, party members, and politicians were killed since Aquinotook office on June 30.The Philippines is a multiparty democracy with an elected president and legislature,a thriving civil society sector, and a vibrant media. But several key institutions,including law enforcement agencies and the justice system, remain weakand the military and police commit human rights violations with impunity.In September Andal Ampatuan Jr. and 18 others went on trial for the November23, 2009, massacre of 58 people, including more than 30 media workers inMaguindanao on the southern island of Mindanao. Several witnesses to the massacreand their family members were killed in late 2009 and 2010.Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced DisappearancesHundreds of leftist politicians and political activists, journalists, and outspokenclergy have been killed or abducted since 2001. So far only 11 people have beenconvicted of these killings—none in 2010—and no one has been convicted of theabductions. While soldiers, police, and militia members have been implicated inmany of these killings, no member of the military active at the time of the killinghas been brought to justice.In December 2009 the Philippines enacted the Crimes Against InternationalHumanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity Act (RepublicAct 9851), which defines and penalizes war crimes, genocide, and crimes againsthumanity. It provides for senior officers to be held criminally liable for abusescommitted by subordinates if they knew or should have known of the abuses anddid not take the necessary steps to stop them.359

WORLD REPORT 2011At least five witnesses and family members of witnesses to Ampatuan familyabuses, including the Maguindanao massacre have been killed since December2009. On June 14 an unidentified gunman shot and killed Suwaib Upahm, anAmpatuan militia member who had participated in the massacre and had offeredto testify for the government if afforded witness protection. Three months beforehe was killed, Human Rights Watch had raised concerns with Justice Departmentofficials in Manila about his protection. The department was still considering hisrequest for protection at the time of his killing.President Aquino has proposed an 80 percent budget increase for the witnessprotection program, but his administration has not taken steps to make the programindependent and accessible and to extend protection from the onset of apolice investigation until it is no longer necessary, including after the trial.Optimism over Supreme Court writs to compel military and other officials torelease information on people in their custody and take steps to protect people atrisk continued to be dampened by hesitancy to grant inspection orders and difficultyin enforcing them. In two cases, the Supreme Court held that investigationshad been inadequate, but simply referred the case to the national Commission onHuman Rights for further investigation and monitoring—a role that the commissionshould already be carrying out. One of these cases involved the 2007 abductionof leftist activist Jonas Burgos who remains missing.“Private Armies”In numerous provinces, ruling families continue to use paramilitary forces andlocal police as their private armies. By recruiting, arming, and paying members ofthese various militias, often with national government support, local officialsensure their continued rule, eliminate political opponents, and engage in corruption.The Maguindanao massacre, the most egregious atrocity implicating a rulingfamily in recent years, was allegedly carried out by a private army consisting ofgovernment-endorsed paramilitary members, as well as police officers and soldiers.In 2010 the government created task forces to dismantle private armies inMasbate and Abra provinces, but they continue to operate. In July President360

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WORLD REPORT 2011Aquino directed the police and military to take control of paramilitary forces,properly train them, and ensure that all forces are insulated from political entities.Aquino continues to defend the use of these forces, which often providemanpower for private armies and have a history of perpetrating rights abuses.TortureThe August release of a cell phone video showing a Manila precinct chief pullingon a rope tied around a suspect’s genitals and beating him during interrogationfocused public attention on police torture. Investigators have filed charges of tortureagainst nine of the police officers involved in the video. The victim, DariusEvangelista, is thought to be dead.The 2009 Anti-Torture Act criminalizes torture and introduces mechanisms to preventagainst torture. For example, it requires the police and military to declareeach month the location of all detention facilities to the Commission on HumanRights. The police and military conducting trainings on the law but have yet todeclare the location of detention facilities.Targeted Killings of Petty Criminals and Street YouthsSo-called death squads operating in Davao City, General Santos City, Digos City,Tagum City, and Cebu City continued to target alleged petty criminals, drug dealers,gang members, and street children. The number of killings has declined followinga Commission on Human Rights investigation.In January the Ombudsman preventatively suspended 26 police officers for failingto solve the summary killings in Davao City, but this order was reversed by theCourt of Appeals in July.At this writing the Commission on Human Rights has not reported on the outcomeof the investigations of the multi-agency task force into summary killings in DavaoCity, which commenced in April 2009.362

ASIAArmed Conflict in MindanaoA ceasefire remained in place between the Philippine government and the MoroIslamic Liberation Front and peace talks are expected. However, at this writingmore than 100,000 people remained displaced after the escalation of the conflictin 2008 and 2009.The army continued to fight Abu Sayyaf, an armed group implicated in numerousattacks and abductions against civilians, particularly in Sulu and Basilan.Conflict with the New People’s ArmyMilitary clashes between government forces and the communist New People’sArmy (NPA) continued in 2010, especially in Central and Northern Luzon,Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Negros, and on Mindanao. Around1,100 people in Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, were displaced twice this year for severaldays each time after government forces moved into their area.On February 6 the military and police arrested 43 men and women on firearmscharges, and accused them of being NPA members. All but five of the detaineessay they are health workers and deny links to the armed group. The arresting officersdetained them blindfolded and without access to communication for the initial36 hours, and refused them legal counsel during this time. Rather than investigatingthese allegations of abuse, the military granted awards to the two officersthat led the arrests.The NPA continued to kill civilians and extort “taxes” from individuals and businesses.For example, on July 13, NPA members killed the former mayor ofGiporlos, Mateo Biong, Jr., in Eastern Samar province. The NPA said that it killedBiong after he was sentenced to death by a rebel “people’s court.”Reproductive Rights and Access to CondomsRestricted access to condoms continues to impede HIV/AIDS prevention efforts inthe Philippines, where more than 90 percent of HIV transmission occurs throughunsafe sexual contact and both rates of transmission and overall HIV prevalencehave increased sharply in recent years, particularly among the most at-risk popu-363

WORLD REPORT 2011lations. In September President Aquino pledged to enhance access to all forms offamily planning, including condoms. At this writing the Philippines continues toprohibit abortion.Filipino Workers AbroadApproximately 2 million Filipinos work abroad, including hundreds of thousandsof women who serve as domestic workers in other parts of Asia and the MiddleEast. While the Philippine government has made some effort to support and protectmigrant domestic workers, many women continue to experience abusesabroad including unpaid wages, food deprivation, forced confinement in theworkplace, and physical and sexual abuse (see Saudi Arabia, United ArabEmirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Malaysia chapters).Key International ActorsThe United States remains the most influential ally of the Philippines and, togetherwith Australia and Japan, one of its three largest bilateral donors. The US militaryhas access to Philippine lands and seas under a Visiting Forces Agreement,and the two militaries hold annual joint exercises. The United States Senateappropriated US$32 million for the Philippines in fiscal year 2009-2010 underForeign Military Financing for procurement of US military equipment, services,and training. Of that sum $2 million is contingent on the Philippine governmentshowing progress in addressing human rights violations, including extrajudicialkillings. In September the Millennium Challenge Corporation granted a five-yeareconomic development compact to the Philippines, totaling $434 million.Implementation continued on the 2009-11 European Union €3.9 million (US$5.3million) program to address extrajudicial killings and strengthen the criminal justicesystem by providing training and technical assistance.Relations with China, particularly Hong Kong, have remained strained since a dismissedpolice officer took a busload of Hong Kong tourists hostage in Manila. Thepolice response was incompetent and eight tourists were killed, plus the hostagetaker, and nine tourists were injured.364

ASIASingaporeIn January 2010 Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that “updating” the politicalsystem to “ensure a more diverse set of voices in Parliament” was a top prioritybut did not commit to far-reaching changes. Current Singaporean laws and policieson freedom of expression, assembly, and association sharply limit peacefulcriticism of the government and have been used repeatedly to stymie the developmentof opposition political parties and dissenting voices. Of particular concernis the 2009 Public Order Act, which requires a permit for any “cause-relatedactivity,” defined as a show of support for or against a position, person, group, orgovernment, even if only one person takes part.The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in power since 1959, occupies 82of the 84 parliamentary seats that have full voting rights, controls all mainstreammedia outlets, and presides over a government with extensive powers to regulatecitizen’s lives.Freedoms of Assembly, Expression, and AssociationSingapore’s constitution guarantees rights to free expression, peaceful assembly,and association, but also permits restrictions in the name of security, the protectionof public order, morality, parliamentary privilege, and racial and religious harmony.The restrictions are interpreted broadly.Censorship extends to broadcast and electronic media, films, videos, music,sound recordings, and computer games. The Newspaper and Printing Presses Actrequires yearly registration and permits authorities to limit circulation of foreignpapers which “engage in the domestic politics of Singapore.”The Films Act, which since revisions in March 2009 allows some room for politicalthemes and online election advertising, still restricts political speech. Films andvideo must still be submitted to censors, “partisan… references” on any politicalmatter are still off-limits, and the Ministry of Information, Communication and theArts may still ban any film deemed to run contrary to public interest. In July 2010the Media Development Authority ordered a Martyn See video, “Ex-political prisonerspeaks out in Singapore,” removed from Youtube and from See’s blog.365

WORLD REPORT 2011In November 2010 British author and journalist Alan Shadrake was found guiltyon charges of “scandalizing the judiciary” and sentenced to six weeks in jail inaddition to a fine and court costs. He claimed in his book, Once a Jolly Hangman:Singapore Justice in the Dock, that Singapore’s mandatory death penalty for murder,treason, and some 20 drug trafficking-related offenses is not being appliedas equitably as the government contends. Shadrake’s book concludes that thejudicial process is subject to political and economic pressures, including from theruling party, and biased against the “weak,” “poor,” or “less-educated.” Duringthe trial, the prosecution warned media outlets that publicizing Shadrake’s allegationscould lead to charges against them.Government authorities continue to closely regulate public meetings, demonstrations,and processions. In May 2010 Vincent Cheng, held under the InternalSecurity Act in 1987 as the alleged leader of a Marxist conspiracy, agreed for thefirst time to speak publicly about his treatment in detention at a seminar,Singapore’s History: Who Writes the Script, organized by students from theHistory Society of the National University of Singapore. The National LibraryBoard, the venue’s sponsor, however, rescinded the invitation and the event wentahead without Cheng’s participation.A lower court’s 2009 acquittal of three leaders and two supporters of the oppositionSingapore Democratic Party (SDP) charged with conducting a processionwithout a permit became in 2010 yet another setback for free assembly when ahigh court reversed the decision on appeal. Siok Chin Chee, a member of the centralcommittee of the SDP, was sentenced to five short jail terms in 2010 for distributingpolitical flyers without a permit.The liberalization of regulations governing Singapore’s “Speakers’ Corner” inHong Lim Park in 2008 has had little impact. Although processions and demonstrationsare permitted and a police permit is no longer required, the park site isringed with five CCTVs and speakers must register online and show their IDsbefore they begin. Speaking at the Corner provides no protection from applicationof sedition and criminal defamation laws.The Societies Act requires any organization with more than 10 members to register.However, registration may be denied on grounds that an organization’s “pur-366

ASIAposes [are] prejudicial to public peace, welfare or good order” or that registrationwould be “contrary to the national interest.”Criminal Justice SystemSingapore’s Internal Security Act and Criminal Law (Temporary Provision Act andUndesirable Publications Act) both permit arrest and detention without warrant orjudicial review. The Misuse of Drugs Act permits confinement of suspected drugusers in “rehabilitation” centers for up to three years without trial. Second-timeoffenders face prison terms and may be caned.Singapore continues to implement its mandatory death sentences for some 20drug-related offenses, which has been repeatedly criticized by United Nationshuman rights bodies and experts. In August a court postponed the scheduledexecution of Malaysian Yong Vui Kong, 22 years old, accused of transporting 47grams of heroin into Singapore in 2007, following international attention to thecase.Judicial caning, an inherently cruel punishment, is a mandatory additional punishmentfor medically fit males between 16 and 50 years old who have been sentencedto prison for a range of crimes including drug trafficking, rape, and immigrationoffenses. In addition, a sentencing official may at his discretion order caningin cases involving some 30 other violent and non-violent crimes. The maximumnumber of strokes at any one time is 24.The US State Department reported that “through November [2009] 4,228 convictedpersons were sentenced to caning, and 99.8 percent of caning sentences werecarried out.” The case of Oliver Fricker, a Swiss national, drew international attentionin June 2010 when he was sentenced to five months in jail and three strokesof the cane for breaking into a subway system depot and spray painting one of itscars. On appeal, Fricker’s sentence was increased by two months.367

WORLD REPORT 2011Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityIn violation of international standards, Penal Code section 377A criminalizes sexualacts between consenting adult men. In September a defendant brought a constitutionalchallenge to the law on grounds that it is discriminatory.On May 15, 2010, the second annual Pink Dot festival, bringing together over4,000 LGBT individuals and their families and friends, took place at the government-establishedSpeaker’s Corner in Hong Lim Park.Migrant Domestic Workers and TraffickingSingapore continues to make improvements in working conditions for some196,000 foreign domestic workers through vigorous prosecution of employersand recruiters who physically abuse workers or fail to pay wages. However, itrefuses to include domestic workers under the Employment Act or to regulaterecruitment fees, which can run to 40 percent of the total salary a worker will earnduring a two-year contract. Instead, it preserves a sponsorship system that ties adomestic worker to a specific employer who, in turn, retains the right to cancelthe migrant worker’s contract, making her subject to immediate deportation.Unscrupulous employers often use the threat of contract cancellation to intimidateworkers to accept unlawful work conditions, restrict their movements, andprevent them from filing complaints.A government-mandated standard contract for migrant workers does not addressissues such as long work hours and poor living conditions. Instead of guaranteeingone day off per month and a set number of rest hours a day, it makes suchbreaks a matter of negotiation between employer and employee. It also fails toprovide protections against denial of annual or medical leave, requires immediatedeportation of pregnant workers, and stipulates that no foreign domestic workersmay marry a Singaporean.Human Rights DefendersTo actively defend human rights in Singapore is to risk being repeatedly fined,jailed, bankrupted, and forbidden from travel outside the country without govern-368

ASIAment approval. Although the number of human rights defenders has increased,the community remains small.Key International ActorsIn March 2010 confirmation hearings before the US Senate, US Ambassador-designateDaniel Adelman said he would “use public diplomacy to work for greaterpress freedom, greater freedom of assembly and ultimately more political spacefor opposition parties” in Singapore. Following his confirmation, Adelman backtracked,stating that democracy and press freedom “are for Singaporeans todecide for themselves.”Singapore continues to play an important role in the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN), driving forward its economic integration agenda andpressing for full implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) Free Trade Agreement. As an important financial center for SoutheastAsia, Singapore continues to face criticism for reportedly hosting bank accountscontaining ill-gotten gains of corrupt leaders and their associates, including billionsof dollars of Burma’s state gas revenues hidden from national accounts.369

WORLD REPORT 2011Sri LankaThe aftermath of the quarter-century-long civil war, which ended in May 2009 withthe government defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),continued to dominate events in 2010. As pressure mounted for an independentinvestigation into alleged laws of war violations, the government responded bythreatening journalists and civil society activists, effectively curtailing publicdebate and establishing its own commission of inquiry with a severely limitedmandate. When United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established hisown panel to advise him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka, the governmentrefused to cooperate.Sri Lanka held presidential and parliamentary elections in January and Aprilrespectively. President Mahinda Rajapaksa easily won re-election, and the rulingUnited People’s Freedom Alliance party remained in power with a significantmajority in parliament. Two weeks after the presidential election, the main oppositioncandidate, former army chief Sarath Fonseka, was arrested and in Augustfound guilty before a court martial of engaging in political activity while still inuniform, and was stripped of his rank and pension. In a second court martial inSeptember, he was found guilty of corrupt military supply deals and sentenced to30 months imprisonment.In September, at the Rajapaksa administration’s urging, parliament passed the18th amendment to the constitution, which removed restrictions on central governmentcontrol over important independent bodies, such as the police, judiciary,electoral bodies, and national human rights commission. The amendment consolidatedcentral government power, in particular executive power.AccountabilitySri Lanka made no progress toward justice for the extensive laws of war violationscommitted by both sides during the long civil war, including the government’sindiscriminate shelling of civilians and the LTTE’s use of thousands of civilians ashuman shields in the final months of the conflict.370

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WORLD REPORT 2011Senior government officials have repeatedly stated that no civilians were killed bySri Lankan armed forces during the final months of the fighting, despite overwhelmingevidence reported by Human Rights Watch and others that governmentforces frequently fired artillery into civilian areas, including the governmentdeclared“no fire zone” and hospitals. When in late 2009, former commanderFonseka, then a presidential candidate, stated he was willing to testify about theconduct of the war, the defense secretary threatened to have him executed fortreason.Rajapaksa established the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)in May 2010. The LLRC’s mandate, which focuses on the breakdown of the 2002ceasefire between the government and the LTTE, does not explicitly require it toinvestigate alleged war crimes during the conflict, nor has the LLRC shown anyapparent interest in investigating such allegations in its hearings to date.Internally Displaced PersonsAfter illegally confining more than 280,000 civilians displaced by the war in military-controlleddetention camps–euphemistically called “welfare centers”–thegovernment released most of the detainees in 2010. Many of those who returnedto their homes in the north and the east face serious livelihood and securityissues. About 50,000 people remained in the camps, primarily families that couldnot return to their former homes.Arbitrary Detention, Enforced Disappearances, and TortureThe government continues to detain without trial approximately 7,000 allegedLTTE combatants, in many cases citing vague and overbroad emergency laws. Thedetainees are denied access by the International Committee of the Red Cross, andlittle is known of camp conditions or their treatment. They typically have access tofamily members but not to legal counsel. While the government asserts that it haswithdrawn some of its emergency regulations, the Prevention of Terrorism Actenables security forces to circumvent basic due process.There were reports in 2010 of new enforced disappearances and abductions inthe north and the east, some linked to political parties and others to criminal372

ASIAgangs. The government continues to restrict access to parts of the north, makingit difficult to confirm these allegations. Witnesses testified before the LLRC thatrelatives last known to be in government custody at the end of the war wereforcibly disappeared and were feared to be dead.The emergency regulations, many of which are still in place, and the Prevention ofTerrorism Act give police broad powers over suspects in custody. Sri Lanka has along history of custodial abuse by the police forces, at times resulting in death. Ina particularly shocking case in January, a video camera caught police officers brutallybeating to death an escaped prisoner.Attacks on Civil SocietyFree expression remained under assault in 2010. Independent and oppositionmedia came under increased pressure, particularly in the run-up to elections. SriLankan authorities detained and interrogated journalists, blocked access to newswebsites, and assaulted journalists covering opposition demonstrations.News outlets associated with opposition parties came under the most vigorousand sustained attacks. The government particularly targeted Lanka-e-News, anews website published in English, Tamil, and Sinhalese, often aligned with theopposition party People’s Liberation Front (JVP). A contributor to Lanka-e-News,Prageeth Ekneligoda, left his office on January 24 and has been missing eversince.Lanka-e-News was one of six news websites blocked by the state-controlled SriLanka Telecom internet provider for several days starting on January 26, the dayof the presidential election. Even after the elections commissioner ordered SriLanka Telecom to unblock the website, the editor of Lanka-e-News, SandaruwanSenadheera, was subjected to threats and intimidation. Following several abductionattempts, Senadheera went into hiding.The government also targeted another JVP-owned bi-weekly newspaper, IridaLanka. On January 29, police questioned senior news editor ChandanaSirimalwatte and two editorial assistants about a recently published article. Whilepolice released the assistants after several hours, Sirimalwatte was held without373

WORLD REPORT 2011charge for 18 days. The police also sealed the newspaper’s offices until a courtordered them opened again.Some 20 journalists, media workers, and civil society actors went into hiding inthe days following the January election out of concern for their safety. At least fourjournalists left the country, adding to the several dozen who have fled in recentyears.Arrests and Harassment of Opposition Members andSupportersThe sudden emergence of Sarath Fonseka as a plausible political challenger toRajapaksa in November 2009 galvanized the opposition, bringing together suchdisparate parties as the left-wing Sinhalese-nationalist JVP and the right-leaningUnited National Front (UNP). Even the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), previouslysympathetic to LTTE goals, pledged its support to Fonseka. Although Rajapaksawon the election by a comfortable margin, his administration targeted Fonsekaand his supporters in what seems to have been an effort to remove not onlyFonseka, but any strong opposition voice, from the public arena.A few weeks after the January elections the government raided opposition officesand arrested dozens of staff members, including Fonseka. Some were arrestedwhen security forces surrounded the hotel where Fonseka’s staff were staying onelection night; another 13 staff members were arrested and accused of conspiringto stage a military coup.Key International ActorsMounting pressure from the United States, some European governments, andintergovernmental bodies contributed to the Sri Lankan government’s decision toestablish the LLRC in May. Other influential international actors, including Indiaand Japan, adopted a “wait and see” approach, failing to insist on more seriousjustice efforts. A US State Department report issued in August acknowledged thatthe government had not taken effective steps toward accountability and notedthe LLRC’s shortcomings. In October Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International,and the International Crisis Group declined an invitation to testify before the374

ASIALLRC, citing its limited mandate and lack of impartiality. Also in October, UnitedKingdom Prime Minister David Cameron stated in parliament that there was aneed for an independent investigation into the conduct of the war, seeminglyretreating from parliament’s prior commendation of the LLRC.In June UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established a three-member panel toadvise him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government publiclycastigated the newly created panel and, in early July, Housing Minister WimalWeerawansa led a protest outside a UN office in Colombo, preventing staff fromentering the building. It was only a few days later, after Ban recalled the UN residentcoordinator to New York, that President Rajapaksa intervened and theprotests stopped.In June Japan announced that it would donate 100 million yen (US$1.23 million)through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for humanitarian assistance tointernally displaced persons in Sri Lanka. In July the European Union decided towithdraw Sri Lanka’s preferential trade relations, known as the GeneralisedSystem of Preferences Plus, effective from mid-August, after it identified “significantshortcomings” regarding Sri Lanka’s implementation of three UN humanrights conventions. The government responded that the decision amounted to foreigninterference and that Sri Lanka could manage without the trade benefits.In September the International Monetary Fund announced that it had approved aUS$2.6 billion loan to Sri Lanka following a two-week mission to the country.375

WORLD REPORT 2011ThailandPolitical instability and polarization continued in 2010, and occasionally resultedin violence. There were at least 90 deaths and 2,000 injuries of civilians andsecurity personnel during politically motivated street battles between March andMay. Public pledges by the Thai government to prioritize human rights, politicalreconciliation, and accountability for abuses have largely been unfulfilled.Political ViolenceAfter a month of largely peaceful rallies, on April 7, anti-government protestersfrom the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)–backed by formerprime minister Thaksin Shinawatra–stormed Parliament, forcing cabinet ministersand parliamentarians to flee the building. In response, Prime MinisterAbhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency and created the Center for theResolution of Emergency Situations (CRES), an ad hoc body made up of civiliansand military officers, to handle the crisis and enforce emergency powers.On April 10 the CRES deployed thousands of soldiers in an attempt to reclaimpublic space occupied by the red-shirted UDD, sparking violent clashes aroundPhan Fa Bridge. At nightfall the soldiers were ambushed by the heavily armed“Black Shirt” militants, apparently connected to the UDD and operating in tandemwith it. At the same time some UDD security guards and protesters usedweapons such as pistols, homemade explosives, petrol bombs, and slingshots toattack the soldiers. The panicked soldiers withdrew, firing live ammunition at theprotesters. The government reported that 26 people (including five soldiers) werekilled, and at least 860 wounded (including 350 soldiers).Between April 23 and 29, groups of armed UDD security guards searched KingChulalongkorn Memorial Hospital every night, claiming hospital officials had shelteredsoldiers and pro-government groups. The hospital relocated patients andtemporarily shut down most services.Negotiations in early May, based on Prime Minister Abhisit’s five-point proposal,ultimately foundered when Maj.-Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol, who claimed to representThaksin’s interests, and other hardliners attempted to seize control of the376

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WORLD REPORT 2011UDD from more moderate leaders. On May 12 the prime minister warned that thegovernment planned to disperse UDD protesters at Ratchaprasong junction.As government troops moved to encircle UDD-controlled areas on May 13, anunknown sniper shot Major-General Khattiya, who died four days later. Violenceescalated as UDD protesters and the Black Shirts began to openly fight the securityforces surrounding their camps. The CRES set out rules of engagement, permittingsecurity forces to use live ammunition as warning shots to deter protestersfrom moving closer; for self-defense; and when troops had clear visuals of “terrorists,”a term the government failed to define. In reality, the military deployedsnipers to shoot anyone who breached “no-go” zones between the UDD and armybarricades, or who threw projectiles towards soldiers. Sometimes soldiers alsoshot into crowds of protesters.On May 19 the government launched a military operation to reclaim areas aroundRatchaprasong junction, sparking another round of street battles, in which soldiersused live ammunition, and some UDD protesters and the Black Shirts foughtback. Around midday key UDD leaders surrendered and thousands of protesterssought sanctuary in the Wat Pathum Wanaram temple, which had been declareda safe zone by agreement with the government. A Human Rights Watch investigation,based on eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence, found that soldierslater opened fire on persons sheltering in the temple. Many were wounded, andsix people, including a volunteer medic, were killed.After the surrender of UDD leaders, groups of UDD protesters and the Black Shirtslaunched a coordinated campaign of looting and arson attacks on the CentralWorld shopping complex and other locations across Bangkok for two days, startingon May 19. Previously key UDD leaders had urged their supporters to loot andburn should the government forcibly disperse the UDD protests.Street battles injured at least nine reporters and photographers and led to thedeaths of two foreign journalists. On May 19, UDD protesters burned the headquartersof Bangkok’s TV Channel 3 and provincial branches of NBT TV, accusingboth stations of bias.That same day UDD supporters outside Bangkok rioted and burned governmentbuildings in reaction to events in the capital, inflicting damage in Khon Kaen,378

ASIAUbon Ratchathani, Udorn Thani, and Mukdahan provinces. The security forcesopened fire on the protesters, killing at least three, and wounding dozens more.Throughout the year bomb attacks in Bangkok and other provinces targeted governmentand military locations, as well as political groups, companies, and propertiesassociated with anti-UDD elements. For example, on April 22, M79grenades fired at pro-government groups near Saladaeng junction killed one personand wounded 85.As a means to reconciliation, Prime Minister Abhisit endorsed an impartial investigationinto the violence committed by all sides. However, the UDD said theinquiry was not fully independent or impartial, and in any case, the military wasnot fully cooperative. Separate inquiries by the National Human RightsCommission and the specifically appointed Independent Fact-FindingCommission for Reconciliation made little progress.Emergency Decree DetentionOn April 7 the government proclaimed the Emergency Decree on PublicAdministration in Emergency Situation in Bangkok and other provinces.The decree allows the CRES to hold suspects without charge for up to 30 days inunofficial places of detention, and gives officials effective immunity from prosecutionfor most acts committed while implementing the decree.The CRES questioned, arrested, and detained UDD leaders and members whotook part in the protests, as well as accused sympathizers. The CRES summonedhundreds of politicians, former officials, businessmen, activists, academics, andradio operators for interrogation; froze individual and corporate bank accounts;and detained some people in military-controlled facilities. The CRES ordered foreignand Thai journalists and volunteer medics to report to the CRES headquartersand substantiate their public statements that they witnessed abuses committedby the security forces.At this writing the government has failed to provide the exact number and whereaboutsof those detained without charge by the CRES.379

WORLD REPORT 2011Repressions of Media Freedom and Freedom of ExpressionThe CRES used the emergency decree to shut down more than 1,000 websites, asatellite television station, online television channels, publications, and morethan 40 community radio stations, most of which are considered to be closelyaligned with the UDD.In addition, the government continued to use the Computer Crimes Act and thecharge of lese majeste (insulting the monarchy) to enforce online censorship andpersecute dissidents, particularly those connected with the UDD, by accusingthem of promoting anti-monarchy sentiments and posing threats to nationalsecurity. Chiranuch Premchiaporn, webmaster of online news portal Prachatai,was arrested on September 24 and charged with violating the act because ofreader comments on the site deemed offensive to the monarchy in 2008.Abusive Anti-Narcotics PolicyThe government supported reopening investigations into the 2,819 extrajudicialkillings that allegedly accompanied the 2003 “war on drugs.” However, littleprogress was made to bring perpetrators to justice, or end systematic police brutalityand abuse of power in drug suppression operations. In June Ratchaburiprovince police officers shot and killed Manit Toommuang, a suspected drug trafficker,while he was handcuffed and in their custody.Concerns remained about the detention of drug users in compulsory drug “rehabilitation”centers, mostly run by the military and the Interior Ministry.“Treatment” is based on military-style physical exercise, with little medical assistancefor drug withdrawal symptoms.Violence and Abuses in the Southern Border ProvincesHuman Rights Watch expressed concern about the alleged mistreatment of insurgentsuspects in custody after Sulaiman Naesa was found dead at theInkhayuthboriharn army camp in Pattani on May 30. Muslim people and humanrights groups also made a growing number of complaints about the unlawful useof force by Thai security personnel, including assassinations of religious teachers380

ASIAand community leaders suspected of involvement in the insurgency. There havebeen no successful criminal prosecutions in these cases. On September 1, policedropped criminal charges against army-trained militiaman Suthirak Kongsuwan,who had been accused of leading an attack on Muslim worshippers at Al FurqanMosque in June 2009, killing 10 people and wounding 12 others.Separatist groups continued to attack and kill civilians, including teachers fromgovernment-run schools, and threaten teachers and principals, forcing them toclose schools temporarily. Government security forces frequently occupiedschools, impairing education by turning schools into armed camps. Insurgentsrecruited children from private Islamic schools to participate in armed hostilities,serve as spies, and carry out arson. Thai security forces raided private Islamicschools, and detained teachers and students for questioning.Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrant WorkersThai authorities violated the international principle against refoulement by returningrefugees and asylum seekers to countries where they were likely to face persecution.Despite international outcry, including strong protests by the UnitedNations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN secretary-general,the Thai army on December 28, 2009, forcibly returned 4,689 Lao Hmong, including158 UNHCR-designated “persons of concern,” to Laos. In November Thaiauthorities sent back to Burma thousands of Burmese fleeing armed conflicts inborder areas before UNHCR could assess whether they were returning voluntarily.In October the Immigration Police arrested 128 Tamils for illegal entry, includingmany registered with UNHCR, and threatened to send them back to Sri Lanka.The Thai government failed to fulfill its promise to conduct an independent investigationinto allegations in 2008 and 2009 that the Thai navy pushed boats ladenwith Rohingyas from Burma and Bangladesh back to international waters, whichallegedly resulted in hundreds of deaths. A group of 54 Rohingyas have been heldat the Immigration Detention Center since January 2009, without access to anymechanism for refugee determination or sufficient medical care. Two of them diedin detention in 2009.381

WORLD REPORT 2011Migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos continue to be abused withimpunity by local police, civil servants, employers, and thugs; with little enforcementof Thai labor laws. A poorly designed and implemented “nationality verification”registration scheme caused hundreds of thousands of migrant workers tolose their legal status, deepening their vulnerability to exploitation. Femalemigrant workers are also vulnerable to sexual violence and trafficking.Human Rights DefendersThe government made little progress in official investigations into the cases of 20human rights defenders killed, including the 2004 “disappearance” and presumedmurder of Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit.International ActorsThe UN, the United States, Australia, and the European Union expressed strongsupport for political reconciliation and the restoration of human rights anddemocracy in Thailand, including by urging the government and the UDD toengage in dialogue and refrain from using violence. The UN provided training andtechnical assistance to the inquiry process, which aims to bring to justice thoseresponsible for politically motivated violence and abuses.The UDD, through an international law firm hired by Thaksin, submitted a reportto the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in October, calling for aninvestigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed by Thai authoritiesduring the dispersal of the UDD protests.Thailand made a significant number of human rights pledges in its successfulcampaign to join the UN Human Rights Council, and expectations for progresswere further raised when Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand’s ambassador to theUN in Geneva, was selected as the president of the Council in June, but little hasbeen implemented at this writing.382

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WORLD REPORT 2011VietnamThe Vietnamese government tightened controls on freedom of expression during2010, harassing, arresting, and jailing dozens of writers, political activists, andother peaceful critics.Cyber-attacks originating from Vietnam-based servers disabled dissident websitesand the government introduced new restrictions on public internet shops whilecontinuing to restrict access to numerous overseas websites.Public protests over evictions, confiscation of church properties, and police brutalitywere met at times with excessive use of force by police. Police routinely torturedsuspects in custody.Vietnam, which served as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) in 2010, demonstrated little respect for core principles in the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter to “strengthen democracy” and “protectand promote human rights and fundamental freedoms.”Repression of Dissent2010 saw a steady stream of political trials and arrests as the governmentstepped up suppression of dissent in advance of the 11th Communist Party congressin January 2011. In December 2009 and January 2010, five activists linked tothe banned Democratic Party of Vietnam, including lawyer Le Cong Dinh, weresentenced to prison on subversion charges, followed by the January 29 sentencingof democracy campaigner Pham Thanh Nghien for disseminating anti-governmentpropaganda. On February 5 writer and former political prisoner Tran KhaiThanh Thuy, who was arrested after trying to attend the trials of fellow dissidentsin 2009, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment on trumped-upassault charges.In February police arrested three activists for distributing anti-government leafletsand organizing worker strikes in Tra Vinh province. They were tried and sentencedto long prison sentences in October on charges of “disrupting security.” In April384

ASIAthe Lam Dong court sentenced four people to prison for alleged links to theVietnam Populist Party.In July and August police arrested land rights petitioners Pham Van Thong andNguyen Thanh Tam in Ben Tre, Tran Thi Thuy in Dong Thap, and Mennonite pastorDuong Kim Khai in Ho Chi Minh City. On August 13 Ho Chi Minh City math professorPham Minh Hoang was arrested. He had been an active contributor to a websitecritical of Chinese-operated bauxite mines in the Central Highlands. The fivewere charged with subversion, with the banned Viet Tan Party claiming all butPham Van Thong as members.Authorities harassed, detained, and interrogated online critics during the year. InOctober police arrested blogger Phan Thanh Hai and Vi Duc Hoi, an editorialboard member of Fatherland Review, and extended the imprisonment of NguyenVan Hai (Dieu Cay), a founding member of the Club of Free Journalists. InNovember police arrested outspoken legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu on charges ofdisseminating anti-government propaganda and detained and interrogated formerpolitical prisoner Le Thi Cong Nhan about her poems and interviews on theinternet.Ethnic minority activists also faced arrest and imprisonment. In January the GiaLai provincial court handed down prison sentences to two Montagnards, RmahHlach and Siu Koch, on charges of violating the country’s unity policy. After conflictsbroke out in June between Montagnards and a rubber plantation company inGia Lai, authorities reinforced the security presence in three districts and arrestedMontagnards belonging to independent Protestant house churches, who theyaccused of using religion to forward a political agenda. In November the Phu Yenprovincial court sentenced Ksor Y Du and Kpa Y Ko to prison for “underminingnational unity.”In March land rights activist Huynh Ba, a member of the Khmer Krom (ethnicKhmer) minority group, was sentenced to prison in Soc Trang on charges of“abusing democratic rights.” In July authorities in Tra Vinh defrocked and arrestedKhmer Krom Buddhist abbot Thach Sophon, charging him with illegal confinement.He was sentenced in September to a nine-month suspended sentence.385

WORLD REPORT 2011Freedom of Expression, Information, and AssociationThe government does not allow independent or privately-owned domestic mediato operate and exerts strict controls over the press and internet. Criminal penaltiesapply to authors, publications, websites, and internet users who disseminatematerials that oppose the government, threaten national security, reveal statesecrets, or promote “reactionary” ideas. The government blocks access to politicallysensitive websites, requires internet cafe owners to monitor and store informationabout users’ online activities, and subjects independent bloggers andonline critics to harassment and pressure.In April the Hanoi People’s Committee–the executive arm of the municipal government–issuedDecision 15, which requires all internet cafes in Hanoi to installinternet monitoring software approved by the authorities and prohibits the use ofthe internet to “call for unauthorized protests, strikes, and slow-downs.” SinceSeptember 1 all internet service providers in Hanoi have been required to shutdown internet transmissions at all internet retail providers from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.every day.The government bans independent trade unions and human rights organizations,as well as opposition political parties. Current labor law makes it almost impossibleto declare a legal strike, and while illegal “wild-cat” strikes do occur, workersfound to be leading such work stoppages face retaliation from the authorities andtheir employers. Activists who promote workers’ rights and independent unionsare frequently harassed, arrested, or jailed.Freedom of ReligionThe government restricts religious practices through legislation, registrationrequirements, harassment, and surveillance. A special centrally directed policeunit (A41) monitors groups the authorities consider religious “extremists.”Religious groups are required to register with the government and operate undergovernment-controlled management boards. The government bans any religiousactivity deemed to oppose “national interests,” harm national unity, cause publicdisorder, or “sow divisions.”Adherents of some unregistered religious groups and religious activists campaigningfor internationally guaranteed rights are harassed, arrested, imprisoned,386

ASIAor placed under house arrest. During Buddhist festivals in May and August DaNang police blocked access to Giac Minh Buddhist pagoda and interrogated thepagoda’s abbot, who is the provincial representative of the banned UnifiedBuddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). In May religious leader Cam Tu Huynh wassentenced to prison on charges of slander for criticizing police crackdownsagainst followers of the unrecognized branch of the Cao Dai religion.Those currently in prison for their religious or political beliefs—or a combinationof the two—include more than 300 Montagnard Christians, as well as Hoa HaoBuddhists, and members of the Cao Dai religion. Religious leaders under housearrest include UBCV Supreme Patriarch Thich Quang Do, Catholic priests NguyenVan Ly and Phan Van Loi, and Khmer Krom Buddhist Abbot Thach Sophon.Members of officially recognized religious groups, including Roman Catholics,also face harassment, especially church leaders and lay people attempting to protectchurch property. In January police used tear gas and electric batons to dispersevillagers from Dong Chiem parish near Hanoi who were trying to stop policefrom taking down a crucifix.In May police violently dispersed villagers conducting a funeral procession andprotest march to a cemetery located on disputed land in Con Dau parish in DaNang. Police used truncheons and electric shock batons to beat people andarrested more than 60 persons. Most of those arrested were subsequentlyreleased, but seven were charged with opposing law enforcement officers anddisturbing public order. Afterwards one of the villagers, Nguyen Thanh Nam, wasinterrogated and beaten by police on several occasions; he died in July frominjuries suffered during a beating by civil defense forces.Criminal Justice SystemPolice brutality—including torture and fatal beatings—was reported in all regionsof the country, at times sparking public protests and even riots. In July demonstrationserupted in Bac Giang provincial town after a man was beaten to death inpolice custody after being arrested for a minor traffic violation.Political and religious prisoners, and others whose cases are considered sensitive,are routinely tortured during interrogation, held without access to communicationsprior to trial, and denied family visits and access to lawyers. Vietnamese387

WORLD REPORT 2011courts remain under the firm control of the government and the VietnamCommunist party, and lack independence and impartiality. Political and religiousdissidents are often tried without the assistance of legal counsel in proceedingsthat fundamentally fail to meet international fair trial standards.The use of dark cells, shackling, and transfer of political prisoners to remote prisonsfar from family continue to be used as punitive measures. In March, for example,journalist Truong Minh Duc was transferred to K4, a more isolated and harshlysupervised section of Xuan Loc prison.Vietnamese law continues to authorize arbitrary “administrative detention” withouttrial. Under Ordinance 44, peaceful dissidents and others deemed threats tonational security or public order can be involuntarily committed to mental institutions,placed under house arrest, or detained in state-run “rehabilitation” or “reeducation”centers.Between 35,000 and 45,000 people are detained in centers for drug dependence“treatment.” Detainees are sentenced for up to four years without a lawyer, courthearing, or an opportunity to appeal the decision. Detainees are forced to performlong hours of “therapeutic labor” with punishments for those who do notmeet production quotas. Independent reviews of Vietnam’s system of compulsorydrug treatment have found that some 90 percent of former detainees relapse todrug use.Defending Human RightsAt considerable personal risk, a number of activists and former prisoners of consciencein Vietnam continued to publicly denounce ongoing rights abuses in2010. After his release from prison for medical reasons in March, Father NguyenVan Ly issued a series of public reports detailing torture in prisons. In August HoChi Minh City police detained and questioned another former prisoner, NguyenBac Truyen, after he publicly advocated on behalf of peaceful dissidents servinglong prison terms.Vietnam exerted pressure on neighboring countries to repress Vietnamese dissidentsand human rights defenders living in those countries. Ongoing requests byVietnam for the Cambodian government to crack down on Khmer Krom activists inCambodia, for example, played a role in the conviction of four people—including388

ASIAa Khmer Krom monk—by a Cambodian court in August for allegedly distributingleaflets criticizing Cambodia’s relations with Vietnam. In September, in responseto a request from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, Thai authorities pressured theForeign Correspondents Club of Thailand to cancel a press conference byVietnamese human rights activists and barred them from entering Thailand.Key International ActorsVietnam continued its rocky relationship with China. In 2010 tensions mountedover China’s increasingly aggressive claims to oil—and gas—rich offshore islands,signaled in July by Chinese military exercises in the South China Sea.Vietnam remained the leader of the Cambodia/Laos/Myanmar/Vietnam bloc inASEAN.In July and August United Nations independent experts on minority issues and onhuman rights and extreme poverty visited Vietnam. Despite repeated requests forinvitations, the government continued to refuse access to other UN special procedures,including those on freedoms of religion and expression, torture, and violenceagainst women. Although Japan has considerable leverage as Vietnam’slargest donor, it did not publicly comment on Vietnam’s deteriorating rightsrecord.The United States continued to develop its trade, defense, and security ties withVietnam while also pressing Vietnam—one of the largest recipients of US aid inEast Asia—to improve its rights record. Steady improvement in US-Vietnam bilateralrelations addressed mutual objectives to offset China’s military and economicinfluence in the region. Vietnam continued its delicate balancing act in order toavoid angering China, its single largest trading partner, or the US, its largestexport market.In October, during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s second trip to Vietnam in2010, she expressed concerns about the arrests of activists—including severalshortly before she arrived—attacks on religious groups, and internet censorship,and secured a written commitment from the government to sign and implementthe UN Convention Against Torture.389

H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HWORLD REPORT2011EUROPEAND CENTRAL ASIA391

WORLD REPORT 2011ArmeniaArmenian authorities have yet to ensure meaningful investigations into excessivepolice force during March 2008 clashes in Yerevan, the capital, when oppositionsupporters protested alleged fraud in the previous month’s presidential election.Twelve opposition supporters remain imprisoned following the events.Torture and ill-treatment in police custody remains a serious problem.Amendments to the Law on Television and Radio threaten to limit media pluralism.Authorities continue to restrict freedom of assembly.Armenia’s international partners did not fully use their leverage to influence thehuman rights situation. The European Union and Armenia launched negotiationson an association agreement to strengthen ties.Lack of Accountability for Excessive Use of ForceAuthorities have yet to ensure a meaningful investigation into, and full accountabilityfor, excessive use of force by security forces during clashes with protestorsin March 2008. Ten people were killed, including two security officials and eightprotestors. Only four police officers have been convicted of excessive use of force,in December 2009. They were sentenced to three years, but were amnestiedimmediately, and are only barred from working in law enforcement.More than 50 civilians were prosecuted in relation to the March 2008 violence,with some sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Although a June 2009 presidentialpardon released many of them, local human rights groups maintain that 11 oppositionsupporters remain imprisoned on politically motivated charges.On January 19, a court sentenced Nikol Pashinyan, opposition leader and editorin-chiefof the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, to seven years imprisonment forallegedly organizing “mass disorders” during the March 2008 events. An appealscourt upheld the decision but halved his sentence. In November 2010 Pashinyanclaimed two masked men attacked and beat him in Kosh prison; the governmentdenied the allegation.392

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAIn April 2010, relatives of nine victims killed in the March 2008 violence, the eightprotestors and one of the soldiers, appealed unsuccessfully to court for a thoroughinvestigation into the deaths.In a March 2010 report analyzing the post-March 2008 trials, the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) called on authorities to, among otherthings, comprehensively investigate allegations of ill-treatment and ban in courtevidence obtained through ill-treatment.Torture and Ill-TreatmentLocal human rights groups report continued ill-treatment in police custody. Forexample, on April 13, 2010, police detained 24-year-old Vahan Khalafyan and fourothers in Charentsavan, north of Yerevan, on suspicion of robbery. Khalafyan diedof knife wounds some hours later. Police say he stabbed himself with a knifeobtained in the station, and deny allegations of ill-treatment.On April 23, investigators charged the head of Charentsavan’s CriminalIntelligence Department and three others with abuse of authority. The trial isongoing at this writing. Khalafyan’s relatives and human rights groups want additionalmurder and torture charges. An internal police investigation led to the dismissalof Charentsavan’s police chief and three officers. The Helsinki Citizens’Assembly (HCA) Vanadzor Office reported that police ill-treated two other mendetained with Khalafyan. Police failed to conclusively investigate these incidents.On August 27 a court ordered the investigation into the death in custody of LevonGulyan be reopened. In May 2007, Gulyan was found dead following a policeinterrogation. Authorities say he jumped from the second-story of a police stationtrying to escape. Gulyan’s relatives deny this, insisting he was tortured.During a September 2010 visit the United Nations Working Group on ArbitraryDetention interviewed numerous detainees and prisoners who alleged beatings,other ill-treatment in police custody, and refusal by prosecutors and judges toadmit evidence of the ill-treatment into court.In September a YouTube video showed Army Major Sasun Galstyan beating andhumiliating two conscripts. An investigation into abuse of power is ongoing.393

WORLD REPORT 2011In June the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found Armenia had twice violatedthe prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment in the case ofAshot Harutyunyan. Convicted of fraud and tax evasion in 2004, Harutyunyandied of a heart attack in prison in January 2009. The court determined authoritieshad denied him necessary medical care for his multiple chronic health problems,including heart disease, an ulcer, and diabetes. The court also found the government’spublic restraint of Harutyunyan in a metal cage during his appeal hearingsamounted to degrading treatment.On July 26, 14 human rights groups issued a statement citing a 20 percent rise inthe national prison population, which is leading to overcrowding, health problems,and conflicts among detainees.Media FreedomIn early 2010, as part of the transition to mandatory digital broadcasting, parliamentconvened a working group to revise the Law on Television and Radio thatincluded NGOs and opposition parliamentarians. Parliament adopted the legislationin a June 10 emergency session before thorough discussion of the draft.The amendments reduced the number of available television stations, and stipulatethat existing broadcasters or those with at least three years experiencereceive preference in future licensing competitions, creating a barrier for newbroadcasters.In March the Gyumri-based television station GALA reported advertisers withdrewbusiness under pressure from local officials. 26 companies pulled their ads inone month alone. Since 2007, GALA has been subject to apparently politicallymotivated court cases and harassment by state agencies, seemingly in retaliationfor the station’s regular coverage of opposition party activities.The independent television station A1+ remained off the air for an eighth year,despite a June 2008 ECTHR judgment that Armenia had violated freedom ofexpression due to repeatedly arbitrarily denying the station a broadcast license.394

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAFreedom of AssemblyAuthorities continue to restrict freedom of assembly by frequently denyingrequests to hold demonstrations. Opposition parties and some NGOs allege particulardifficulties securing indoor events venues.On May 31, riot police forcibly prevented opposition demonstrators from enteringYerevan’s Liberty Square. They detained 15 demonstrators following clashes withriot police, holding them for several hours and denying them access to lawyers.During the operation police detained Ani Gevorgian, a correspondent for theopposition Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, and two opposition activists,Gevorgyan’s brother, Sargis, and Davit Kiramijyan. Amid local media outrage,police did not press charges against Ani Gevorgyan. Authorities chargedKiramijyan with hooliganism and Sargis Gevorgyan with using force against apolice officer. Their joint trial is ongoing.On November 9, police briefly detained four youth opposition activists protestingoutside a Yerevan hotel at the start of an EU-organized human rights seminar. Theactivists claimed police punched and kicked them in the police station.Human Rights DefendersPolice closed the investigation into the May 2008 attack on Armenian HelsinkiAssociation Chairman Mikael Danielyan, who was wounded when an assailantshot him with a pneumatic gun after an argument. The investigation was allegedlyclosed due to lack of criminal intent. A court rejected Danielyan’s appeal againstthe decision.Mariam Sukhudyan, primarily an environmental activist, publicized on nationaltelevision in November 2008 the case of two girls who alleged sexual harassmentat a Yerevan school. Police charged Sukhudyan with falsely reporting a crime. OnMarch 10, 2010, the United States Embassy awarded Sukhudyan its first everWoman of Courage Award. A day later, the criminal case against her was dropped.395

WORLD REPORT 2011Key International ActorsArmenia’s international partners did not make full use of their leverage to pressArmenia to fulfill its human rights commitments.The EU’s annual assessment of Armenia—published in May to report on itsprogress in meeting benchmarks in the European Neighbourhood Policy ActionPlan— commended Armenia for certain progress, but urged the government to tryharder to ensure that there is a comprehensive investigation into the March 2008events. On July 19 the EU launched negotiations on an Association Agreementwith Armenia to strengthen political and economic ties.The May 2010 Universal Periodic Review of Armenia at the UN Human RightsCouncil raised concerns about investigations and prosecutions related to theMarch 2008 violence; torture and ill-treatment by police; judicial independence;and freedom of assembly and expression. Armenia said it would “examine all recommendationsand implement them.”Following his May visit to Armenia, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council ofEurope (PACE) President Mevlüt Çavusoglu called on the authorities to adopt anew electoral code; reform police; and ensure judicial independence, freedom ofassembly, and media independence and pluralism. In June the PACE rapporteurson Armenia welcomed the government’s “roadmap” of reforms following theMarch 2008 election violence, but expressed concerns about the new electoralcode and amendments to the broadcasting laws. The rapporteurs acknowledgedprogress on police and judicial reforms.In March the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture publisheda report on its ad hoc visit to Armenia in March 2008, finding that practicallyall people detained on March 1, 2008, alleged physical ill-treatment duringarrest, and some alleged ill-treatment during police questioning.During a July 4-5 visit to Yerevan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton metPresident Serzh Sargsyan, and separately with civil society leaders. SecretaryClinton discussed the US government’s concerns that recent changes to the Lawon Television and Radio could hinder freedom of expression.396

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAOn August 20 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President Sargsyan agreedto extend Moscow’s lease of a military base in Armenia until 2044, and Russiacommitted to updating Armenia’s military hardware.In April 2010 Armenia suspended the ratification process for two protocols itsigned with Turkey in 2009 to establish bilateral relations. The unresolved conflictbetween Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to impede normalizationof Armenian-Turkish relations. The EU commended Armenia’s commitmentto pursuing normalization of relations, but expressed concern about loss ofmomentum.397

WORLD REPORT 2011AzerbaijanAzerbaijan’s human rights record remained poor in 2010. The government continuedto use criminal defamation and other charges to intimidate and punish journalistsexpressing dissenting opinions; an outspoken journalist remained inprison on spurious criminal charges, apparently in retaliation for his work. Theparliamentary elections of November 7 failed to meet international standards.Other serious problems persisted, including restrictions on freedoms of religion,assembly, and association, and torture and ill-treatment in custody.The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found Azerbaijan had violated freedomof expression by imprisoning journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and called for hisimmediate release.Media FreedomGovernment officials initiated 26 criminal defamation cases against journalistsand other critics in the first half of 2010; courts delivered 14 sanctions. In additionofficials filed 36 civil defamation claims, 30 of which were successful. Forexample, in February 2010 a Baku court convicted Ayyub Karimov, editor in chiefof the Femida 007 newspaper, of slander and ordered him to pay a fine, inresponse to a Ministry of Internal Affairs complaint regarding Karimov’s articlescriticizing the ministry. Also in February Ministry of Education officials filed a criminalcomplaint against Alovsat Osmanli, a mathematician, for articles in theAzadlig newspaper criticizing the ministry for mistakes in mathematics textbooks.In July a court sentenced Eynulla Fatullayev, chief editor of two newspapers andan outspoken government critic, to an additional two-and-a-half years in prisonon spurious drug charges brought by prison authorities. Fatullayev was sentencedto eight-and-a-half years in prison in 2007 on charges of fomenting terrorism andother criminal charges, which were widely believed to be politically motivated. InApril the ECtHR found that Azerbaijan “grossly” and “disproportionately” restrictedfreedom of expression by imprisoning Fatullayev and ordered his immediaterelease. In October the decision became final after the court’s Grand Chamberrefused to admit the government’s appeal. Fatullayev remains imprisoned at thiswriting.398

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAPolitical activists and bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade who were victimsof an apparently staged attack in July 2009 and subsequently convicted of hooliganismwere released in November 2010 after serving over half of their sentences.Several journalists suffered physical attacks by police and others; the governmentfailed to meaningfully investigate these incidents. In February a police officerattacked Leyla Ilgar, a correspondent for the Yeni Musavat newspaper, as shereported at a local market. Police interrogated her and deleted the photographsfrom her camera. In May police detained Seymur Haziev, a reporter for the Azadlignewspaper, at an opposition rally in Baku. Haziyev was questioned without hislawyer, charged with resisting arrest, and sentenced to seven days imprisonment.Haziyev reported that two officers kicked and hit him periodically during the interrogation.In July unidentified men attacked Elmin Badalov, a reporter for Yeni Musavat, andAnar Garayli, the deputy editor of Milli Yol, while they took photographs for aninvestigative story about luxury villas near Baku believed to be built by the transportationminister. In August an unidentified assailant stabbed Rasul Shukursoy,a sports writer for Komanda newspaper, in the arm. Shukursoy links the incidentto his article criticizing a famous football player.Police interfered with journalists’ efforts to document public protests. In June aspolice broke up a Baku demonstration by opposition party Musavat, they alsoshoved journalists and prevented them from filming. In July presidential administrationguards detained and erased the recordings of four journalists filming aprotest by Sabirabad region residents complaining about the government’sresponse to severe flooding in southern Azerbaijan.In May Baku airport security forced Norwegian journalist Erling Borgen to placehis camera and recorded DVD footage in his checked bags. Upon arrival in OsloBorgen discovered that all footage from his visit to Azerbaijan for a documentaryon Eynulla Fatullayev had disappeared.In February the parliament approved amendments to several laws that ban mediarepresentatives from videotaping, photographing, or audio recording without asubject’s prior knowledge or consent, except in “operative-investigative cases”399

WORLD REPORT 2011carried out by law enforcement. In June the government placed restrictions onstreet newspaper vending in central Baku, allegedly for aesthetic reasons, limitingmany newspapers’ distributions and revenues.Elections to Milli Mejlis (Parliament)The ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party won an overwhelming majority in the November 7parliamentary elections; only one clear opposition candidate gained a seat in thecountry’s 125-member parliament. Restrictions on political parties and freeexpression of political views, due to restrictions on the freedoms of assembly andassociation, marred the pre-election campaign. International observers criticizedthe elections for failing to meet international standards.In September the ECtHR found Azerbaijan violated the right of opposition candidateFlora Karimova to free elections when it invalidated 2005 parliamentary electionresults in the district she had won.Freedom of Assembly and AssociationThe government restricted freedom of assembly. Officials did not authorize anydemonstrations in central Baku and police quickly dispersed unauthorizedprotests. On April 26 the Baku police rounded up about 80 people traveling to arally on free expression and assembly, releasing some immediately on the outskirtsof Baku and detaining others for five hours. Police charged 10 with resistingthe police and violating public order. Four days later police briefly detaineddozens of political activists outside the State Oil Academy, where they had beencommemorating the 2009 deadly shooting there.The government interfered with the work of NGOs. The Ministry of Justice refusedto register the Television and Alternative Media Development Center three times.In August police briefly detained several employees of the Kur Civil Society organizationas they monitored flood damage in southern Azerbaijan.In December 2009, several unknown people beat Ilgar Nasibov and VafadarEyvazov of the Democracy and NGO Development Resource Center in theNakhichivan Autonomous Republic, a landlocked region in southwestern400

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAAzerbaijan. The activists believe the attack came in retaliation for their plannedanti-corruption seminar.In September 2010 Elman Abassov and Hekimeldostu Mehdiyev, Nakhichivanbasedemployees of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, a mediamonitoring organization, reported that security officials regularly interrogate peoplewith whom the activists meet, pressuring them to cease further contact for“their own safety.”Freedom of ReligionAll religious communities were forced to re-register with the State Committee forWork with Religious Organizations by January 1, 2010, or face potential liquidation.The 450 communities that successfully re-registered included 433 mosquesand two Protestant churches. The state denied registration to Baku’s BaptistChurch, its Catholic Parish, and its Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses,and others. Authorities threatened to close several mosques, including theFatima Zahra Mosque in Baku and a Sunni mosque in the town of Mushfigabad,after refusing to register them.In March police detained and prosecuted two Jehovah’s Witnesses for “distributingreligious literature without state permission,” fining each US$250. InSeptember an appeals court upheld the decision to sentence Farid Mammedov, aJehovah’s Witness, to nine months in prison for refusing compulsory military serviceon religious grounds. In October two Muslim men from the northernAzerbaijan region of Zakatala reported being detained by local police, whoharassed them for their long beards and forcibly shaved them off. In Octoberpolice raided a Baptist harvest festival in the northern Azerbaijani town of Qusar,arresting four participants and sentencing them to five days’ imprisonment.Torture and Ill-TreatmentWidespread torture and ill-treatment in custody continue with impunity. In 2010the Azerbaijan Committee against Torture, an independent prison monitoringgroup, received over 150 complaints alleging torture and ill-treatment in custody.401

WORLD REPORT 2011Police disciplined several officers, but failed to criminally prosecute any. At leastone prisoner reportedly died in custody in 2010 after alleged ill-treatment.Political PrisonersThe government continued to hold political prisoners. At this writing, NGOactivists counted between 23 and 45 political prisoners, including former governmentofficials, businessmen, and opposition politicians arrested prior to theNovember 2005 parliamentary elections on allegations of attempting to overthrowthe government.Key International ActorsInternational and regional institutions and bilateral partners voiced concernsabout and criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record, especially regardingmedia freedoms. In June 2010 Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe commissionerfor Human Rights, published a report on his May visit to Azerbaijan,urging the government to remedy a range of abuses, including police misconductand violations of freedom of expression and association and fair trial norms.In a June resolution the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe calledon the government to release imprisoned journalists, decriminalize libel, andrefrain from new criminal defamation charges against journalists.During his United Nations General Assembly speech in September, United StatesPresident Barack Obama expressed hope that Azerbaijan would implement democraticreforms and increase human rights protections, including the release of theimprisoned bloggers Milli and Hajizade. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visitedBaku in July and raised a number of concerns with the government, including theimprisonment of the bloggers.The European Union’s April 2010 European Neighbourhood Policy Action Planprogress report commended Azerbaijan for improvements in economic and socialgovernance, but expressed concern about the penitentiary system; torture in custody;and freedoms of expression, assembly and religion. In July 2010 Azerbaijan402

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAand the EU began negotiations for an Association Agreement to further strengtheneconomic relations.Following its December 2009 review of Azerbaijan’s torture record, the UNCommittee against Torture urged the government to, among other things, ensurethat all allegations of torture are subjected to prompt, impartial, and effectiveinvestigation.403

WORLD REPORT 2011BelarusThe situation for civil society and independent media remains dismal, withBelarusian authorities continuing pressure and threats ahead of the December2010 presidential elections. Journalists and civil society activists face harassmentin the form of interrogations, detentions, arrests, and seizure of personal property.NGOs struggle with registration procedures, and media outlets have beenthreatened with closure.ElectionsIn September the Belarusian parliament scheduled presidential elections forDecember 2010. President Aleksandr Lukashenka will run for a fourth term. Firstelected in 1994, Lukashenka was re-elected in 2001 and 2006 despite protests ofelection fraud from activists, international NGOs, and concerned governments,such as those of the United States and most European Union member states.Government crackdowns on civil society and independent media preceded previouspresidential elections, and activists reported continued punitive measures inthe run up to the December elections.Some positive amendments, including eliminating the need for candidates toobtain permission for public events, were made to the electoral code in January,and more candidates were allowed to register in the April 2010 local elections.However, electoral code violations and lack of transparency marred the April elections.In the Maladziechna district, four members of the Divisional ElectoralCommission ran for the Council of Deputies, in violation of electoral law. Belarusrefused long-term election monitoring proposed by the Organization for Securityand Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The only long-term election-monitoring presencewas provided by local observers, who were forced to maintain a distance of3 to 10 meters from ballot counting.Freedom of AssociationIndependent civil society groups report government pressure, but many remainactive in Belarus. Four activists—Zmicier Dashkevich, Yauhien Afnahiel, Artur404

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAFinkievich, and Uladzimir Lemiesh—from the youth opposition movements YoungFront, Young Belarus, and European Belarus, were kidnapped in public inNovember and December 2009. Assailants in civilian clothes pulled the men intowaiting cars, and dumped them outside the city limits. The kidnappers warnedthree of the men to cease political activities before releasing them.In May authorities in more than 20 cities raided apartments and confiscated computerequipment from activists for the “Speak the Truth Campaign,” founded inFebruary 2010 to encourage public discussion about social problems. Leaders ofthe movement were detained for three days on suspicion of disseminating falseinformation. The campaign’s founder, Uladzimir Niaklayau, has voiced interest inrunning for president.In March 2010 the Ministry of Justice refused for the third time to register theBelarusian Assembly of Pro-democratic NGOs, citing procedural violations in itscreation, and alleging that the organization’s name does not describe its activities.The assembly serves as an unofficial umbrella organization for more than250 Belarusian NGOs and provides legal guidance and conducts advocacy ontheir behalf.Freedom of AssemblyActivists are required to apply for demonstration permits, but the onerous applicationprocess restricts the right to hold peaceful assemblies. Civil societyactivists are frequently arrested, fined, and detained for participating in unsanctionedassemblies. In January 2010, 43 activists and leaders of the unofficialUnion of Poles in Belarus (UPB) were detained while en route to an assembly tore-elect Teresa Sobol as chairperson of the Ivenets Polish House, a culture andeducation center for the Ivenets region. In February authorities arrested 40 UPBactivists for an unsanctioned protest over Sobol’s closed trial, in which the courtordered her to hand over control of the Polish House building to the officiallysanctionedUnion of Poles in Belarus.Authorities used force to disburse three unsanctioned democratic oppositiondemonstrations in February, and detained several participants in an unsanctionedMinsk parade supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in405

WORLD REPORT 2011May. When authorities do sanction opposition rallies, they grant permission forlocations far from public view.Media FreedomThe government tightened its control on media through stricter internet controls,harassing and detaining independent journalists, and issuing warnings to publications.In July 2010 a presidential edict restricting the internet came into force. It requiresregistration of online resources, identification of users at internet cafes and storageof their internet history for a year, and restricts access to “banned” informationon the internet.Independent news sources –theCharter97 news website, and Narodnaya Vola andNovaya Gazeta newspapers—were all investigated for criminal defamation againstthe former head of the Homel Region KGB Department in 2010. Authorities repeatedlyinterrogated editors and staff, searched their apartments, and confiscatedtheir electronic equipment. In March police forcibly broke into Charter97’s editorialoffice, injuring web-site editor Natalia Radzina. In September 2010 AlehBiabienin, founder of Charter97, was found hanged in his dacha. Bebenin’s colleaguesand international NGOs have called for a criminal investigation of his edeath, which was officially ruled a suicide. In an unprecedented development,the authorities have allowed the OSCE to send two forensic experts to participatein the investigation. Death threats against other Charter97 journalists have beenposted anonymously to the website since Bebenin’s death.In a positive development, the majority of news publications were able to registerunder a 2009 law requiring them to re-register, and 107 new publications wereregistered in the first half of 2010. However, authorities denied registration to atleast eight independent newspapers, citing insufficient qualifications of the editorsor improper premises for the editorial offices. Additionally, the number ofofficial warnings against news outlets increased in 2010. Under the 2009 law, twoofficial warnings constitute sufficient grounds to close a media outlet.Independent newspapers Narodnaya Vola and Nasha Niva have already received406

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAthree warnings, and dozens of other papers, including Komsomolskaya Pravda inBelarus, Va-Bank, Novy Chas, and Tovarishch, have received at least one warning.Political PrisonersTwo activists arrested on politically-motivated charges in 2009 were sentenced toprison in May 2010.The court sentenced civil activist Mikalaj Autukhovich to five years and twomonths in a maximum security prison for illegal possession and transportation offive shotgun shells and a hunting rifle, despite claims that witness testimony wasobtained through intimidation. Autukhovich went on a hunger strike in June toprotest prison conditions and demand dental treatment, which he has notreceived as of this writing.His co-defendant, Uladzimir Asipienka, received a three-year prison sentence forpossessing and transporting firearms and explosives. The men’s convictionsappear connected with their civil society activism. Asipienka had previously beenimprisoned for involvement in an entrepreneurs’ movement, while Autukhovichattempted to unite veterans in an opposition organization and ran in parliamentaryelections as an independent candidate.Siariej Kavalenka, a Conservative Christian party activist, was sentenced to threeyears of house arrest for displaying a white-red-white Belarusian flag, a symbol ofprotest against the Lukashenka administration.Death PenaltyBelarus remains the only country in Europe that still allows the death penalty. InMarch 2010 Belarusian authorities executed Andrej Zhuk and Vasilii Yuzepchukfor murder, even though their cases were pending before the United NationsHuman Rights Committee. In May, the Hrodna Regional Court sentenced AlehHryshkaucou and Andrej Burdyka to death for murder. The executions and sentencesoccurred after the Belarus National Assembly established a task force toexplore a possible death penalty moratorium—a stipulation for full suspension ofEU and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe sanctions. In 2010, the407

WORLD REPORT 2011Ministry of Justice reported that 321 people had been sentenced to deathbetween 1990 and 2009, with the number of sentences declining in the lastdecade from its peak of 47 in 1998. The ministry did not provide information onthe number of actual executions.Palliative CareBelarus’ low consumption of morphine and other opioid medicines, reportedannually to the International Narcotics Control Board, indicates that access tomedicine for pain treatment is available to less than 20 percent of its terminalcancer patients.Key International ActorsBelarus’ relations with both Europe and Russia deteriorated in 2010, and foreigngovernments failed to hold Belarus accountable for its domestic human rights situation.Belarus came up for Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council inMay 2010. The resulting report offered recommendations on freedom of speech,association, and assembly, as well as a moratorium on the death penalty, butBelarus rejected any commitment to implement them. Belarus accepted the recommendationsto absolutely prohibit torture and introduce a definition in linewith the Convention Against Torture in its legislation, but failed to recognize flawsin investigating complaints of torture.In October 2010 the EU called on Belarus “to fully cooperate” with the presidentialelection monitoring of the Office for Democratic Institutions and HumanRights (part of OSCE). The EU also extended its existing travel restrictions againsthigh-level officials, but simultaneously suspended restrictions through October2011.US President Barack Obama extended existing travel restrictions against highlevelBelarusian officials until June 2011 due to concerns about detentions, disappearances,and political repression.408

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAThe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) suspended high-levelcontact with Belarus in April, declaring the lack of international observers at theApril elections, state discrimination against the country’s Polish minority, and theexecution of Zhuk and Yuzepchuk as “concrete steps backwards.” PACE also withdrewits earlier recommendation that the Council of Europe restore Belarus’s“special guest status,” initially suspended in 1997 over human rights concerns.In June Belarus signed a customs agreement with Russia and Kazakhstan thatremoves trade barriers between the three countries. Despite their economic cooperation,Belarus distanced itself from Russia in August after Russia cut oil and gassubsidies to the country.409

WORLD REPORT 2011Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe protracted political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina continued to stall necessaryreforms in 2010, including constitutional changes initiated after a ruling bythe European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that eligibility restrictions for politicalcandidates discriminate against ethnic minorities. Effective local war crimesprosecutions were again a bright spot, but the intimidation of independent journalists,the slow rate of return of refugees and internally displaced persons(IDPs), and the arbitrary detention of national security suspects continued tostain the country’s human rights record.War Crimes AccountabilityThe pace of war crime trials continued to be good on both central and local (bothcantonal and municipal) levels, despite practical impediments, such as staffingand funding shortages, and political sensitivities surrounding the topic. On July11, 2010, the remains of 775 victims of the Srebrenica massacre were buried inthe Potocari area, at a ceremony marking the 15 th anniversary of the worst atrocityin Europe since World War II. Ratko Mladic, an indicted architect of the massacre,remains at large. Another indicted architect, Radovan Karadzic, faced trial at theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Karadzic made hisopening statement in March and the prosecution began presenting its case inApril.In June the ICTY convicted Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Beara, two high-rankingBosnian Serb army officials, of genocide, murder, extermination, and persecutionfor their roles in the massacre at Srebrenica, sentencing them to life imprisonment.A third defendant, Drago Nikolic, was convicted of aiding and abettinggenocide, murder, extermination, and persecution, and sentenced to 35 years inprison. Four others were also convicted of a range of crimes committed duringand following the fall of Srebrenica and Zepa.The War Crimes Chamber in Sarajevo continued to prioritize the most seriouscases of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and reached final verdicts ineight cases between November 2009 and September 2010, bringing its total410

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAnumber of completed cases to 46. Sixteen new cases began during this period,with 53 ongoing trials as of September 2010.Local courts in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina commenced five warcrimes cases and issued verdicts in three cases between November 2009 andSeptember 2010. During the same period Republika Srpska local courts began sixcases and completed eight, and Brcko District began two new cases. According tothe national war crimes strategy, the most sensitive and serious cases are to betried centrally, while less controversial and complex ones are to be handled atmunicipal and canton levels.Return of Refugees and Internally Displaced PersonsThe return of refugees and IDPs to their areas of origin remained slow, and theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) registeredthe return of only 181 refugees and 177 IDPs during the first six months of 2010.As of June 2010 there were more than 113,465 registered IDPs (including some7,000 in collective centers): 48,659 in the Federation, 64,560 in Republika Srpskaand 246 in Brcko. There are no reliable estimates of the number of refugees outsideBosnia.Lack of economic opportunity, inadequate housing, and people’s reluctance toreturn to areas where most residents are of a different ethnicity remain the keyimpediments to return. As of September 2010 Bosnia hosted 129 Kosovo Romaunder temporary protection status.In June the House of Peoples (the upper house of parliament) amended thenational returns strategy to reflect the current challenges to returns of the remainingdisplaced, designating 2014 as the year by which displaced people should begiven housing or financially compensated. The strategy also reiterates the need toprovide more livelihood opportunities and maintain security for returnees.National Security and Human RightsSeven North African and Middle Eastern men were subject to indefinite detentionwithout charge on national security grounds during 2010. At least five of the men411

WORLD REPORT 2011had been previously stripped of their acquired Bosnian nationality. In February,Omar Frendi, an Algerian detainee, accepted voluntary departure to Algeria. Asecond Algerian, Noureddine Gaci, was detained in June; an Egyptian, MuhamedElfarhati Othman, was detained in October; and in August, in the case of ImadHusin–a Syrian who remains in detention–the ECtHR indicated that it might interveneif Husin was not charged or released by years’ end, despite the court’s earlierintervention in 2008.In June a bomb exploded at a police station in the town of Bugojno, killing onepolice officer and injuring six others. One of seven men subsequently arrestedconfessed to planting explosives and at this writing is in detention awaiting trialwith two others whom were arrested later.Ethnic and Religious Discrimination in the Political SystemOctober general elections were organized in direct contravention of a bindingDecember 2009 ruling by the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR in the case of Sejdicand Finci v Bosnia Herzegovina. The court ruled that the inability of the applicants–aJew and a Roma– to stand for the presidency or the House of Peoples inBosnia and Herzegovina amounted to illegal discrimination, and called on Bosniato make constitutional and electoral reforms to remove discriminatory provisionsand allow candidates who are not Serb, Bosniak, or Croat.Media FreedomThreats and harassment of independent journalists continued throughout 2010.In February a policeman verbally and physically assaulted Osman Drina, areporter for Independent Television IC (Nezavisna Televizja IC), while he wasreporting on a sporting event. The Ministry of Interior opened an investigationinto this incident, which is still ongoing at this writing.In March a car belonging to Rade Tesic, a journalist for the Euroblic daily newspaper,was burned while parked near Tesic’s house in Doboj. No one was injured inthe attack. The editorial staff of Euroblic also received several anonymous, threateningphone calls in March regarding Tesic’s articles about the activities of localcriminal networks.412

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIABakir Hadziomerovic, the editor in chief of the popular “60 Minutes” TV program,which exposes links between politicians and organized crime, received repeatedanonymous death threats against him and his family in writing and by telephone.Police opened an investigation and inspected the program’s premises, but at thiswriting has made no arrests in the case.Human Rights DefendersNo attacks on human rights defenders were recorded in 2010. The community oflesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights defenders, including Association Q,the main LGBT organization, maintain a low profile and remain weak and vulnerableto intimidation and harassment.International ActorsThe combined Office of the High Representative/European Union SpecialRepresentative, backed by the United States and the Peace ImplementationCouncil continue to focus on assisting the country to overcome the protractedpolitical stalemate and forge closer integration with the EU.An April high-level meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State JamesSteinberg, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (whose country thenheld the EU rotating presidency), and key Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians inButmir failed to produce significant results, with Bosnian leaders unwilling tosupport any transfer of power from the governments of the Federation andRepublika Srpska to the central government ahead of the October elections. Thesuccess of ethnic nationalist parties in the elections underscored the obstacles tosuch reform.During a March visit to Bosnia Jean-Charles Gardetto, the Council of EuropeParliamentary Assembly (PACE) rapporteur, identified witness protection as a keychallenge to accountability for war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This concernwas echoed in a report by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina,released in May, which called on the Bosnian authorities to do more to protectwitnesses in war crime trials from harassment and violence. PACE also adoptedresolutions on the functioning of democratic institutions in Bosnia in January and413

WORLD REPORT 2011April, highlighting the urgent need for constitutional reform, and sent a pre-electionassessment mission to the country in September.In February Bosnia and Herzegovina was subject to Universal Periodic Review bythe UN Human Rights Council. Recommendations included the need to implementconstitutional reforms, address the continued lack of sustainable financial andsocial support for the internally displaced, respond adequately to threats andattacks against independent journalists, and remove the death penalty from theconstitution of Republika Srpska.The European Commission’s annual progress report, released in November, criticizedBosnia and Herzegovina for failing to implement constitutional reforms, theslow pace of reforms of the justice and penitentiary systems, and political interferenceand pressure on independent media. The EU commended ongoing effortsto process remaining war crimes cases and cooperation with the ICTY and highlightedimprovement in the government’s efforts to facilitate the return of remainingIDPs and refugees.414

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIACroatiaThe election in January of a new president pledging to promote human rights, andthe opening of a crucial chapter on European Union membership talks in June,put human rights on the agenda in Croatia. But the gap between commitmentsand progress remained. There was little movement towards deinstitutionalizingpersons with intellectual or mental disabilities, and questions about access overshadoweda long-awaited program to benefit Serb former tenancy rights holders.In absentia trials and concerns over fairness undercut domestic war crimes prosecutions,and the EU called into question Croatia’s commitment to freedom ofexpression and information.Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesMore than 9,000 persons with intellectual or mental disabilities remained in institutionsas of September, with numbers rising. A master plan for deinstitutionalizationand extensive social welfare reforms, both expected in 2010, have yet tobe published at this writing. There were also few advances in creating communitybasedhousing and support programs, such as personal assistants and other helpwith daily activities that would allow people to leave institutions.There was no progress in reforming the legal capacity system, which routinelyresults in persons with intellectual or mental disabilities being denied the abilityto make decisions and exercise rights, contributing to their institutionalization.In September the State Attorney’s Office in Rijeka brought criminal chargesagainst the former director of Lopaca Psychiatric Hospital for 2008 abusesagainst Ana Dragicevic, who was forcibly institutionalized because of her sexualorientation, and four other unnamed patients.The Croatian government and parliament again failed to amend the officialCroatian translation of article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities, which erroneously allows confinement in a residential institution tobe categorized as a “community living option.”415

WORLD REPORT 2011Return and Reintegration of SerbsIn September Croatian authorities issued a decision to permit former tenancyrights holders to buy apartments at discounts of up to 70 percent. The decisioncould remove a long-standing obstacle to Serbs returning to urban areas,although the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted thatapplication deadlines and evidential requirements could impede access. The programhas yet to commence at this writing.In the first six months of 2010, 203 refugees—all ethnic Serbs—returned toCroatia. UNHCR estimates that 10,000-15,000 of the approximately 70,000 registeredCroatian Serb refugees might consider returning to Croatia if problems withhousing and pensions are addressed. As of June there were 2,246 internally displacedpersons in Croatia, of whom approximately 1,600 were Serbs.There were ongoing delays in government-sponsored social housing programs forreturnees. As of June, 7,456 of the 13,187 families who applied had been allocatedhousing, of which 4,623 were Serbs. Around 3,300 families were still waiting foreligibility decisions.The slow process of recognizing wartime work by Serbs in formerly rebel-heldareas for pension eligibility continued. As of May, 18,848 of approximately22,000 requests had been processed, although only 56 percent were resolvedpositively, in part because of disputes about admissible evidence. In someregions, positive outcomes were as low as 30 percent, compromising the financialsecurity of returnees.War Crimes AccountabilityThe trial of Croatian generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak, and Mladen Markac atthe International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimesand crimes against humanity against Serbs concluded in September, with a decisionexpected at the end of 2010. At the request of Croatian Prime MinisterJadranka Kosor, the Croatian government created a task force in October 2009 tosearch for documents related to the case that the ICTY prosecutor alleged were inthe government’s possession. The trial concluded without these documents.416

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAIn March 2010 the Croatian Supreme Court confirmed the acquittal of GeneralRahim Ademi, and reduced the sentence of General Mirko Norac for war crimesagainst Serb civilians from seven to six years, relying on his service in theCroatian Armed Forces as mitigation. It remained the only case transferred fromthe ICTY to Croatia.Croatian investigations into war crimes committed by members of the CroatianArmed Forces increased in 2010. In the first nine months of the year, Croatianauthorities issued new war crimes indictments against 25 individuals, 11 of whomwere Serbs. But Serbs remained the majority of defendants in domestic warcrimes prosecutions. Ten trials, involving 13 Serb and 5 other defendants werecompleted in the same period, 16 of whom were convicted. Another 17 trialsinvolving 29 Serbs and 14 Croats were still ongoing. In absentia war crimes trialsremained a problem, with 23 Serbs and 7 others not present to defend themselves.In September the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina enforced a Croatian warcrimes conviction and eight-year sentence against former Croatian MP BranimirGlavas, following a request from the Croatian Justice Ministry. Glavas, a Bosniancitizen, fled to Bosnia in May 2009 on the same day he was convicted in theZagreb district court. Bosnian police arrested him after the court ruling which,barring a successful appeal, will see Glavas serve his sentence in Bosnia.Asylum and MigrationCroatia passed amendments to its asylum legislation in July 2010, requiringquicker judicial review of detention decisions of asylum seekers and increasedsupport to those granted asylum or subsidiary protection, in an effort to movecloser to European and international standards. But there were continuing problemswith its practices, including delays in processing claims and a lack of accessto a state-funded lawyer at first instance and for those seeking to challenge theirdetention. The refugee recognition rate remained below 10 percent in the secondhalf of 2009 and the first half of 2010.Croatia lacked a strategy to respond effectively to the increasing numbers ofunaccompanied migrant children (160 in 2009, with very few in previous years).417

WORLD REPORT 2011Key problems included an overstretched guardianship system, the absence of atracking system (with some children disappearing), and lack of access to a statefundedlawyer for children who do not claim asylum.Media FreedomJournalists faced government pressure because of their reporting. Sergej Trajkovicand Tomislav Kukec, two journalists from the newspaper Jutarnji List, faced governmentattempts to block publication of reports about commercial abuses withinthe meat industry, including lack of government oversight in regulating the industry.In April police in Zagreb interrogated and searched the home of Marko Rakar, aprominent blogger, after he published a leaked list of registered war veterans. Thegovernment had resisted efforts to release the list, which civil society activistsbelieve contains people fraudulently receiving pensions as war veterans.The trial of six suspects in the double murder in 2008 of prominent journalist IvoPukanic and his marketing director Niko Franjic ended in November, with the convictionof all six for first degree murder. Sentences ranged from 15 to 40 years.Human Rights DefendersHuman rights defenders in Croatia remained free to operate but reported difficultiesaccessing information from Croatia’s national and local authorities.In May, for the third successive year, Croatia’s parliament examined but thenfailed to adopt the People’s Ombudsman’s annual human rights report.Parliament offered no explanation for its decision.Key International ActorsThe EU remained the most influential international actor in Croatia. The openingof the justice and fundamental rights chapter in June offered encouragement toCroatia, although the challenges of closing the chapter were highlighted in theEuropean Commission progress report released in November, which identified418

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAdomestic war crimes accountability, freedom of expression, deinstitutionalizationof persons with disabilities, and treatment of the Serb and Roma minorities asongoing areas of concern.The UN Human Rights Council conducted its first universal periodic review ofCroatia in November, calling on Croatia to address concerns about the fairness ofdomestic war crimes trials and improve its treatment of persons with disabilitiesand the Serb and Roma minorities.During a visit to Croatia in April, the Council of Europe commissioner for humanrights Thomas Hammarberg identified the importance of addressing housing andother obstacles to return of IDPs and refugees; the need to improve fairness inwar crimes proceedings; and the need to tackle access to housing, employment,education, and statelessness of Roma.After her July visit to Croatia the UN special rapporteur on the right to housingidentified the need for available and transparent post-war housing programs forSerb returnees as a key challenge.419

WORLD REPORT 2011European UnionThe EU gained new architecture to protect human rights, with the Charter ofFundamental Rights entering into force in January, a greater role for the EuropeanParliament, and the creation of an EU commissioner for fundamental rights. Newcommissioner Viviane Reding promised a “zero tolerance” policy for EU statesviolating the charter.Infringement proceedings against Greece over its asylum system indicated theEuropean Commission’s willingness to hold member states to account for rightsviolations. The commission publicly faulted France over expulsion of Roma,emphasizing procedural safeguards when limiting free movement of EU citizens,rather than non-discrimination obligations.The scale of the challenge to ensure full respect of human rights in the EU wasunderscored by evidence of growing intolerance—manifest in electoral success byfar-right parties, including in ruling coalitions, and policies targeting Roma,Muslims, and migrants—and ongoing concerns over abusive counterterrorismpolicies, inadequate access to asylum, and uneven protection against discrimination.Common EU Asylum and Migration PolicyEfforts to reform and harmonize asylum procedures across the EU remainedstalled. Studies by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)in March and the European Commission in September found significant differencesand shortcomings in the way asylum claims are handled across the EU.Around three-quarters of all irregular migrants entered the EU through Greece in2009, with early estimates for 2010 suggesting a rising trend. Arrivals by seadropped significantly in 2010, with the EU border agency, Frontex, reporting a 75percent decrease in maritime arrivals in the first half of the year. Only 150 peoplereached Italy and Malta in the first quarter of the year, down from 5,200 in thesame period in 2009. Sea arrivals in Spain were also down sharply.420

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA421

WORLD REPORT 2011The Dublin II Regulation, which requires asylum claims to be made in the firstcountry of entry into the EU, exacerbated the burden placed on Greece’s alreadybroken asylum system (discussed below). But European Commission-led effortsto initiate modest reform encountered strong opposition from some memberstates.As of mid-2010 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had issued orders tostates to suspend more than 750 “Dublin” returns to Greece, with thousandsmore pending or blocked at national level. In September the United Kingdom governmenthalted all such returns to Greece. As of early November the Netherlands,Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway (the latter two not EU countries)had done the same.In September the ECtHR heard a challenge to the policy brought by an Afghanreturned by Belgium to Greece, where he claims he was subjected to ill-treatmentand risked being returned to Afghanistan without proper examination of his asylumclaim. A ruling is pending at this writing.The European Commission’s May action plan on unaccompanied migrant childrencalled for a common European approach to ensure durable solutions in children’sbest interests.The UK and other EU countries (as well as Norway) pursued plans to build receptioncenters in Kabul, Afghanistan, in order to repatriate unaccompanied children,despite concerns over security and lack of safeguards.Dozens of rejected asylum seekers were returned to Iraq in at least three jointflights between April and September, despite objections by UNHCR. Frontex coordinatedat least one of these charter flights. The UK and the Netherlands organizedtheir own flights, in addition to participating in joint returns. In Novemberthe Netherlands announced a halt to such deportations after the ECtHR intervened.The UK said it would suspend removals if ordered to do so by the ECtHR.New guidelines for Frontex operations at sea, adopted in April, included a ban onreturn to persecution and the obligation to consider the needs of vulnerablegroups, including asylum seekers, children, and trafficking victims.422

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAMalta withdrew from Frontex missions in March over the guidelines, which requirethose rescued in international waters to be taken to the mission’s host countryrather than the closest port. But in July, Malta participated in a controversial jointrescue operation with Libya, which led to some Somali migrants being returned toLibya, while others were brought to Malta.The European Parliament approved an EU readmission agreement with Pakistanin September, despite serious concerns about respect for human rights clauses.There were also concerns that the agreement would facilitate the repatriation ofAfghans, including children, who transited through Pakistan.The European Commission signed a cooperation agreement with Libya in October,including €50 million (approximately US$67 million) for border management andrefugee protection, despite the forced closure of UNHCR’s office in Tripoli in June.Discrimination and IntoleranceThe Roma, Europe’s largest minority, continued to face discrimination, exclusion,and extreme poverty across the region. In April the European Commission adopteda communication on Roma for the first time, ahead of the second EU Summiton Roma held later that month in Spain, calling for more effective policies toaddress multiple sources of marginalization of Roma. EU countries, notablyGermany, continued to repatriate Roma to Kosovo despite UNHCR guidelines,while France targeted Roma for repatriation to Eastern Europe.Despite concerns about interfering with the right to freedom of religion and personalautonomy, efforts to restrict face-covering veils in Europe gained politicalmomentum in 2010. France’s parliament approved legislation in September banningthe wearing of such veils in all public places and making it a crime to coercewomen to cover themselves. The Constitutional Council ruled in early October thatthe law was compatible with France’s constitution.The lower house of the Belgian parliament approved similar legislation in May. Atthis writing, it has yet to be examined by the Senate. A ban was included in thecoalition agreement in the Netherlands in September, with proposals also on thetable in Spain, Italy, and Denmark.423

WORLD REPORT 2011In May Germany’s interior minister ruled against a similar ban, but a December2009 Federal Labor Court ruling, which upheld a ban on a teacher in North-Rhine-Westphalia wearing a headscarf in the classroom, underscored the continuedpresence of state-level restrictions on headscarves for teachers and civil servants.Germany and other EU states blocked efforts to upgrade EU anti-discriminationlaws to prohibit discrimination on grounds of religion, age, disability, and sexualorientation. National obstacles to ending discrimination against lesbian, gay,bisexual, and transgender people also remained, including in the Netherlands,where transgender persons could only officially change gender if they undergoirreversible sex reassignment surgery, and Italy, which still lacked explicit protectionagainst discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.Counterterrorism Measures and Human RightsUN special rapporteurs on torture and on human rights while countering terrorismconcluded in a joint February report that Germany (one case, 2002) and the UK(several cases, from 2002 onward) had been complicit in secret detentions of terrorismsuspects. In June the Council of Europe commissioner for human rightscriticized the lack of progress towards full accountability for complicity in UnitedStates abuses in Poland, Romania, and Sweden. A criminal investigation waslaunched in January in Lithuania after a parliamentary committee concluded inDecember 2009 that the CIA had established two secret detention facilities inthat country in 2005 and 2006.Resettlement of Guantanamo Bay detainees in Europe continued. BetweenJanuary and September, 10 detainees were resettled in EU countries, three eachin Spain and Slovakia, two in Germany, one in Bulgaria, and one in Latvia. Italyand Spain both pledged to take two more.As part of the action plan to counter radicalization and recruitment to terrorism,the Council of the EU agreed in April to systematically collect and share informationon radicalization, raising right to privacy concerns.In September the EU General Court annulled a November 2008 EuropeanCommission terrorism finance regulation freezing the assets of Saudi national424

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAYassin Abdullah Kadi, the second EU Court ruling against his asset freeze, in bothcases for lack of procedural fairness.Human Rights Concerns in Select EU Member StatesFranceIn July the government launched a highly-publicized campaign to expel Romafrom France following riots sparked by the fatal shooting of a member of the communityof French gens du voyage (“travelers”) that month by a gendarme (nowunder criminal investigation). By the end of August, 128 informal settlements hadbeen dismantled–including those occupied by French gens du voyage–andalmost 1,000 Roma sent back to Romania and Bulgaria. An August 5 directivefrom the interior minister, leaked in early September and subsequently annulled,ordered prefects to take “systematic action to dismantle illegal camps, prioritygiven to those of Roma” linked to the expulsions, showing discriminatory intent.In September France agreed to improve procedural safeguards after the EuropeanCommission threatened infringement proceedings over its failure to properlyimplement EU law on freedom of movement. The changes have yet to be introducedat this writing.Following its August review of France, the UN Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination expressed concern over what appeared to be collectiveexpulsion, as well as the difficulties Roma and French gens du voyage face exercisingtheir rights and accessing education and decent housing. The committeealso expressed broader concern about discriminatory political discourse in Franceand increased racist and xenophobic violence.In October the National Assembly approved a government draft immigration lawweakening the rights of asylum seekers and migrants, despite criticism from UNCommittee against Torture in May and ECtHR in 2009 about inadequate safeguardsfor fast-tracked asylum claims. The Senate is to debate the law in early2011.425

WORLD REPORT 2011The bill also contained last-minute government amendments designed to widenthe grounds for expelling EU citizens to include “abusing” France’s welfare system,exploitation of begging, and “abusive” occupation of land. The amendments’timing and focus and statements made by government ministers stronglysuggested the measures were aimed at Roma.In late December 2009, French authorities expelled a Tunisian man to Senegal onnational security grounds, despite an order from the ECtHR to suspend hisremoval. Earlier that month the court ruled that France would violate its obligationsunder the European Convention if it deported an Algerian man who servedsix years in France on terrorism charges. France complied.In July the Constitutional Council declared the inadequate safeguards in ordinarycriminal cases, including denial of the presence of a lawyer during interrogations,unconstitutional. In October the government introduced draft legislation to reformpolice custody. Legislation remains pending at this writing. The ECtHR subsequentlyruled in October that the current rules violated fair trial standards. Also inOctober the Court of Cassation, the highest criminal court, ruled that weaker safeguardsin terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking cases violate the rightto an effective defense. At this writing the current draft law does not addressthese issues.GermanyIn a February report the UN special rapporteur on racism underscored persistentracism, xenophobia, and discrimination when it comes to housing, employmentand education, living conditions, and movement restrictions for asylum seekers.The Grand Chamber of the ECtHR ruled in June that Germany had violated the banon ill-treatment when it only fined a deputy police chief (later promoted) and hissubordinate for threatening a kidnapper with torture in 2002, concluding that thepunishment lacked the necessary deterrent effect.In a judgment that became final in May, the ECtHR ruled that a German law allowingconvicted prisoners deemed dangerous to be detained indefinitely after theyhave served their sentences violated the right to liberty and prohibition on arbitrarydetention.426

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAIn July Germany lifted its restrictions on the application of the UN Convention onthe Rights of the Child, covering a variety of issues, including asylum-seekingchildren. German rights groups continue to call on the government to bring thetreatment of unaccompanied migrant children in line with the convention, includingending accommodation with adults and detention pending deportation ofthose aged between 16 and 18.GreeceIn September UNHCR described the situation facing migrants and asylum seekersin Greece as a “humanitarian crisis.” There were no concrete improvementsdespite the government’s repeated commitments to overhaul its broken asylumsystem, restore appeal rights, ensure humane treatment for migrants, and policeaccountability for ill-treatment.A presidential decree containing modest reforms, including addressing a backlogof more than 46,000 cases, remained stalled, in part because of the country’sbudget crisis. Only 11 of 30,000 applicants (0.04 percent) were granted asylum atfirst instance in 2009. Wider reforms have been pushed back to 2011 or later.The European Commission continued infringement proceedings against Greecefor its breach of EU asylum rules, sending the government a second letter of formalnotice on June 24. In response to a request from Greece, Frontex deployed175 border guards to the Greece-Turkey border in November.Migrants and asylum seekers continued to be detained in substandard conditions.There is little or no assistance for unaccompanied migrant children andother vulnerable groups, many of whom live in destitution or on the streets, atrisk of exploitation and trafficking. Following a visit in October, the UN specialrapporteur on torture called conditions in many immigration detention facilitiesinhuman and degrading.Violence by armed opposition groups, as well as strikes and demonstrations,marked a year of increasing economic crisis and austerity measures in Greece.There were several deadly bomb attacks against public buildings, killing abystander in March and the assistant to the minister of citizen protection in June.Other attacks caused structural damage. In November police in Greece and else-427

WORLD REPORT 2011where intercepted over a dozen letter bombs addressed to foreign embassies inAthens, the Greek parliament, heads of state, and institutions in Europe.A policeman was sentenced in October to life in prison for intentionally shootinga 15-year-old boy in Athens during a demonstration in December 2008, sparkingnationwide riots. Another officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for complicity.In May the Council of Europe European Committee of Social Rights made publicconclusions from December 2009 condemning Greece for widespread discriminationagainst Roma in access to housing. The same committee had condemnedGreece in 2004.ItalyRacist and xenophobic violence and hostile political discourse remained a pressingproblem. In January, 11 African seasonal migrant workers were seriouslyinjured in drive-by shootings and mob attacks over a three day period in Rosarno,Calabria. At least 10 other migrants, 10 law enforcement officers, and 14 local residentsrequired medical treatment. Over 1,000 migrants left the town followingthe violence, most of them evacuated by law enforcement personnel. Numerouscountries expressed concern about racism and xenophobia in Italy during itsUniversal Periodic Review at February’s UN Human Rights Council (HRC).Roma and Sinti continued to suffer high levels of discrimination, poverty, anddeplorable living conditions in both authorized and unauthorized camps. EasternEuropean Roma, primarily from Romania and living in informal settlements, facedforced evictions and financial inducements to return to their countries of origin. InOctober the Council of Europe European Committee of Social Rights publishedconclusions from June condemning Italy for discrimination against Roma in housingand access to justice, economic, and social assistance.Italy continued to deport terrorism suspects to Tunisia, including MohamedMannai in May, despite the risk of ill-treatment, persistent interventions from theECtHR, and condemnation by the Council of Europe. A June resolution from itsCommittee of Ministers reiterated Italy’s obligation to comply with European Courtdecisions.428

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAThe European Committee for the Prevention of Torture said in an April report thatItaly violated the prohibition on refoulement when it intercepted boat migrantsattempting to reach Italy and returned them to Libya without screening for peopleneeding international protection. Two Italian officials faced prosecution in a Sicilycourt for their role in the return of 75 people to Libya on an Italian Financial Policeboat in August 2009.Italy failed to offer asylum to approximately a dozen Eritreans it had pushed backto Libya in 2009, where alongside hundreds of other Eritreans they suffered illtreatment,abusive detention, and threat of deportation to Eritrea.In May a Genova appeals court convicted 25 out of 29 police officers for violenceagainst demonstrators at the 2001 G8 summit, overturning acquittals by a lowercourt. The Interior Ministry said it would not suspend the officers. Appeals againstthe May decision are pending at this writing.The NetherlandsGeneral elections in June left the anti-immigrant Freedom Party in third place with24 parliamentary seats. In late September, after months of negotiations, theLiberal Party and Christian Democrats announced a center-right coalition governmentresting on Freedom Party support.In October Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders appeared in court for inciting discriminationand hatred against Muslims, non-Western immigrants, and specificallyMoroccans, as well as for group defamation of adherents to Islam. Later thatmonth new judges were appointed following a challenge by Wilders over allegedbias; the case remains pending at this writing.New rules in July extended the 48 hour accelerated asylum procedure to eightdays while making it the default procedure, despite domestic and internationalcriticism that eight days are insufficient for a proper assessment, particularly incomplex cases and those involving vulnerable groups. In February the UNCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women criticized Dutchaccelerated procedures as unsuitable for women victims of violence and unaccompaniedchildren, and urged the government to recognize formally domesticviolence and gender-based persecution as grounds for asylum.429

WORLD REPORT 2011The ECtHR ruled in July that the expulsion to Libya of a Libyan man, acquitted ofterrorism charges by a Dutch court in 2003, would violate the ban on returns torisk of torture.In September, under a new policy announced in July, the government deported aSomali who had been refused asylum to Mogadishu, despite UNHCR guidelinesadvising against all returns to south-central Somalia.PolandOfficial flight records obtained by two national human rights groups in Februaryconfirmed that at least six CIA rendition flights landed in Poland in 2003. A criminalinvestigation launched in 2008 into complicity in a CIA secret prison continued,with reports suggesting the prosecutor was considering war crime chargesagainst former president Aleksander Kwasniewski and other former senior officials.In September the prosecutor in charge of the case said his investigationwould include the alleged detention and torture of a Saudi man while in CIA custodyin Poland.Discrimination based on race, gender, and sexual identity remained serious problems.In June the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism andIntolerance (ECRI) expressed concern over Poland’s failure to adequately addressdiscrimination against Roma and non-citizens in education, housing, employment,and health. The European Commission referred Poland to the EU Court ofJustice in May for failing to implement the EU directive on race equality. At thiswriting a government-sponsored anti-discrimination bill is pending final approvalin parliament and is expected to come into force in January 2011. A coalition of 40rights groups criticized the bill as failing to protect against discrimination on thebasis of sexual orientation, disability, age, or religion in a variety of spheres, oragainst gender discrimination in education.Warsaw hosted a landmark gay rights rally in July. The first EuroPride parade in aformer Eastern Bloc country was peaceful, despite strong opposition. InDecember 2009 the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights hadexpressed concerns about discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtransgender persons in Poland. The ECtHR ruled in March that Poland discriminat-430

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAed unlawfully against same-sex couples by denying them the same protection inrelation to housing and succession rights afforded to unmarried heterosexualcouples.In a May report the UN special rapporteur on the right to health criticized Polandover the lack of access to legal abortions, contraception, and prenatal testing.SpainThe violent Basque separatist group ETA announced a unilateral ceasefire in earlySeptember after a year of relative inactivity and significant arrests under continuingFrance-Spain cooperation. A French gendarme was killed in March near Parisin a shoot-out with suspected ETA members. In January the Spanish SupremeCourt ruled that 2006 negotiations between elected Basque officials andBatasuna, the Basque nationalist party declared illegal in 2003 for alleged ties toETA, did not constitute a crime. Three ETA members were convicted for theDecember 2006 bombing of a Madrid airport. They will serve a maximum of 4oyears in jail each, despite the symbolic 1,000 year sentences.Spain rejected recommendations from peer governments during its UniversalPeriodic Review at the HRC in May. The rejected recommendations included theimprovement of safeguards for terrorism detainees held without access to communicationand the implementation of the 2008 justice reform in terrorism casesrecommendations made by the UN special rapporteur on human rights whilecountering terrorism. The Spanish government similarly rejected recommendationsto create an independent police complaints mechanism.Parliament approved in June an overhaul of Spain’s criminal code effectiveDecember 2010, increasing sentences for over 30 crimes, creating a new systemof post-sentence “supervised liberty” for terrorism and sex offenses, and creatinga new crime of disseminating information to “provoke, foment or foster” the commissionof a terrorism offense.Judge Baltasar Garzón, known internationally for his efforts to bring formerChilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to justice, was suspended in May and facedtrial for investigating alleged cases of illegal detention and forced disappearancesof more than 100,000 people during Spain’s civil war and under the subsequent431


EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAFranco regime, despite a 1977 amnesty law. The UN Working Group on Enforced orInvoluntary Disappearances expressed concern in May over Garzón’s suspensionand criticized Spain’s amnesty law.Around 200 unaccompanied migrant children, mainly from sub-Saharan Africaand Morocco, remain in “emergency” centers set up in 2006 in the Canary Islandsdespite repeated pledges by the local government to close them. Around half livein La Esperanza, a substandard, large, isolated former detention facility. The UNCommittee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern in September over inadequatereception conditions and neglect of children in the Canaries. It recommendedthat Spain establish child-friendly centers and introduce effective complaintsmechanisms for children in care to report ill-treatment.A new law came into force in July removing restrictions on abortion to make itlegal on request up to the fourteenth week of pregnancy. It also increased accessto, and information about, reproductive rights and family planning. Prior to thereform, abortion was lawful only on the grounds of serious health risks for thewoman, fetal malformations, or in rape cases.United KingdomGeneral elections in May resulted in a coalition between the Conservative andLiberal Democrat parties, Britain’s first coalition government since 1945.In July the new government announced a judge-led inquiry into allegations ofcomplicity of UK intelligence agencies in torture, and for the first time publishedguidance for intelligence officers on interrogating detainees abroad. The inquiry,whose detailed terms of reference have yet to be published at this writing, is notexpected to begin until all ongoing criminal investigations into alleged complicityby British agents in overseas torture were resolved. In November the UK’s topprosecutor announced there was insufficient evidence to prosecute a SecurityService (MI5) officer over the abuse of Binyam Mohamed. The same month thegovernment announced it would pay former Guantanamo Bay detainees compensationto settle civil suits and avoid disclosure of classified documents, withoutUK authorities admitting culpability.433

WORLD REPORT 2011Concerns remained that current guidelines on overseas interrogations give toomuch latitude to intelligence officers, appear to create ministerial discretion topermit use of abusive techniques, and foresee assurances as a means of mitigatingthe risk of torture or ill-treatment, despite their inherent unreliability.The Equality and Human Rights Commission warned the government inSeptember that it would seek judicial review by the courts if the guidance was notamended. Lawyers representing civilians detained and allegedly tortured byBritish forces in Iraq also threatened action because the guidelines do notunequivocally prohibit hooding, an issue central to the public inquiry into the2003 death of Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa while in British military custodyin Basra. The inquiry’s hearings ended in October and a final report is pendingat this writing.Heavily redacted documents were published in July and September following aHigh Court order in a civil case brought against the UK government by six formerGuantanamo Bay detainees. The documents provided evidence that the governmentwas aware as early as January 2002 of allegations that UK citizens and residentswere being tortured in US custody but failed to object to transferring UKnationals to Guantanamo Bay. The documents also included 2002 guidance to UKintelligence officers that if they observed the “mistreatment” of prisoners in foreigncustody “the law does not require you to intervene to prevent this.”In July the Home Office launched a review of much-criticized counterterrorismmeasures, including control orders, extended pre-charge detention, stop andsearch without suspicion, and deportation with assurances. At this writing thegovernment has yet to present its reform proposals to parliament. The governmentsuspended the terrorism stop and search power in July, following theECtHR’s confirmation that the powers violated privacy rights, was too broad, andlacked safeguards.Despite the Home Office review, the coalition government agreement endorsedthe use of diplomatic assurances to deport terrorism suspects.In May the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) blocked the deportationon the basis of diplomatic assurances to Pakistan of two Pakistani terrorismsuspects. In July the US government began extradition proceedings against one of434


WORLD REPORT 2011the suspects. The case is ongoing at this writing. SIAC ruled in September that anEthiopian terrorism suspect could be safely deported to Ethiopia despite the riskof torture, the first case involving a 2008 agreement between the two countries.An appeal is pending at this writing.In June the UK High Court confirmed a moratorium on transfers of terrorism suspectsto the National Directorate of Security (NDS) facility in Kabul following allegationsof torture. In March the ECtHR ruled that the UK violated the rights of twoIraqis by transferring them from UK military custody in Basra to Iraqi authorities inDecember 2008. The court rejected the UK government’s appeal in October.The prime minister publicly apologized in June for the “unjustified and unjustifiable”1972 killing of 14 unarmed protestors in Northern Ireland by British soldiers,following the long-awaited report from the Bloody Sunday Inquiry published thesame month. The 12 year inquiry concluded the soldiers did not face any threatand gave no warnings before firing.The death in October of an Angolan man as he was being deported by privatesecurity guards working for the Home Office prompted an inquiry by theParliamentary Home Affairs Committee into restraint techniques used during suchremovals. A criminal investigation into the death was ongoing at time of writing.Children continued to be detained in immigration centers despite the government’spledge in May to stop the practice. Women, including survivors of sexualviolence in Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Uganda, continued to be placed in the“detained fast-track” asylum procedure unsuited to considering such complexclaims.The Supreme Court ruled in July that two gay asylum seekers from Iran andCameroon could not be denied protection on the grounds that they could concealtheir sexuality in their countries of origin. The Home Office announced new rulesto prevent removals to countries where individuals face persecution based ontheir sexual orientation or gender identification.436

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAGeorgiaGeorgia’s human rights record remained uneven in 2010. The government evictedhundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from state-owned collective centersin Tbilisi, the capital, often leaving them homeless or without adequate compensation.State actors hindered activists’ right to assembly and attacked andharassed journalists and opposition newspapers. Municipal elections on May 30largely met international standards, but observers also identified significantshortcomings.More than two years after the August 2008 Georgian-Russian conflict over SouthOssetia, the government has not effectively investigated international humanrights and humanitarian law violations. Russia strengthened its military presencein and effective control over Georgia’s breakaway regions. The European Unionstarted negotiations with Georgia to deepen economic and political ties.Forced Evictions of Internally Displaced PeopleSince June the authorities have evicted hundreds of IDPs from state-owned temporarycollective centers in Tbilisi, supposedly to provide them with durable housingsolutions. The authorities failed to respect international standards regardingevictions: they did not engage in genuine consultation with IDPs, did not providereasonable advance notice of eviction, and failed to provide adequate alternatives.Some IDPs received no alternative housing; others were sent to homes inremote regions, some of which had damaged roofs or lacked electricity or gas.Georgia has some 246,000 IDPs as a legacy of conflicts in the 1990s and in 2008.Over 40 percent live in 1,658 state or private collective centers, 515 of which arein Tbilisi.In June officials gave IDPs verbal warnings five days prior to eviction. August 2amendments to Ministry of Interior Decree No. 747 abolished the five-day warningrequirement. Thereafter some IDPs received only a few hours’ warning prior toeviction. The evictions violated Georgia’s Law on the Internally Displaced, whichprohibits the removal of IDPs without written consent and the placement inhomes inferior to their current residences.437

WORLD REPORT 2011The Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation says it offered those evicted inAugust either financial compensation or housing in rural areas. Many IDPsrefused to relocate to rural areas citing lack of employment opportunities. Theyreceived no financial compensation and became homeless after eviction.Freedom of Assembly and Police ViolenceThe authorities interfered with peaceful assembly and failed to meaningfullyinvestigate past excessive use of force by law enforcement. On August 14, policearrested Georgian activists and writers Irakli Kakabadze, Shota Gagarin, andAleksi Chigvinadze as they peacefully protested on George W. Bush Street inTbilisi. Police charged the three with disobeying police orders and released themthe next day after a court fined each of them GEL400 (US$220). At the closedhearing, the judge heard only police evidence and refused to watch video showingthe men cooperating with police at the moment of arrest. Kakabadze allegedthat police verbally and physically abused him in the police car. AnOmbudsman’s representative visited Kakabadze in detention and confirmedinjuries on his shoulder and arm.On November 23, 2009, police arrested Dachi Tsagauri, Jaba Jishkariani, and IrakliKordzaia– activists from a pro-opposition youth group–as they protested governmentpolicies near the parliament. At the time of arrest police told the activiststhat they had violated the law on rallies, which bans holding rallies in a 20-meterradius from the Parliament building. However, the arrest protocol indicated thatthe protestors stood 30 meters away from the building. The Tbilisi City Courtfound the men in violation of rules for holding a rally and for resisting police andfined each GEL500 (US$280). The court did not consider video footage from journalistspresent at the rally showing that the activists had not obstructed movementof pedestrians and had obeyed police orders at the moment of arrest.On August 19, 2010, police detained two opposition activists allegedly for resistingpolice orders also outside parliament, where IDPs and others peacefullyprotested the spate of evictions. The protestors had informed the city municipalityabout the rally in advance and did not block the road. The Tbilisi City Courtfined the activists GEL400 (US$220) each for resisting police orders.438

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAThe government has refused to launch a comprehensive investigation into eventsof November 7, 2007, when police used excessive force against largely peacefuldemonstrations in Tbilisi, resulting in at least 500 injured. The authorities havealso failed to conduct an effective investigation into a June 15, 2009 police attackagainst 50 opposition supporters outside the police headquarters, when at least17 demonstrators were injured. The government has also failed to conduct a thoroughinvestigation into the March 2006 operation to quell a riot in Tbilisi PrisonNo. 5, which left seven prisoners dead and dozens injured.Municipal ElectionsNational municipal elections took place on May 30, 2010 to elect 63 local councils,including the mayor of Tbilisi, who was directly elected for the first time. Theruling National Movement party won an overwhelming majority in all municipalities.International observers concluded that the polls marked progress towardsinternational standards, but significant shortcomings remained, including legaldeficiencies, unlimited campaigning and the use of administrative resources bysome public officials, and isolated cases of election-day fraud.Lack of Accountability for Laws of War ViolationsOver two years since the Georgian-Russian conflict over South Ossetia, Georgianauthorities have yet to ensure a comprehensive investigation into and accountabilityfor international human rights and humanitarian law violations by theirforces.During the war the Georgian military used indiscriminate force, including firingmultiple rocket launchers, an indiscriminate weapon that should not be used incivilian areas. The military also used cluster munitions against the Russian military,including in civilian-populated Georgian territories adjacent to the administrativeborder with South Ossetia.The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court—to which Georgiais a party—continued with its preliminary examination of the situation and sentdelegations to Russia in March and to Georgia in June 2010 to obtain additionalinformation on domestic proceedings.439

WORLD REPORT 2011Some 20,000 ethnic Georgians from South Ossetia remain displaced.Media FreedomThe media environment remains mixed, with diverse print media, but nationwidetelevision broadcasting limited to the state-owned Public Broadcaster and progovernmentRustavi 2 and Imedi stations. Transparency of media ownershipremains a concern.Several journalists alleged pressure and attacks. On June 25, police assaultedGori-based Trialeti television journalist Lado Bichashvili and cameraman ImedaGogoladze as they filmed the removal of a Stalin statue from the city center.About eight policemen beat the journalists and confiscated their camera, whichthey later returned with materials deleted.In July Vakhtang Komakhidze, a long-time Georgian investigative journalist,received asylum in Switzerland, citing threats by the authorities. The threatsallegedly intensified after Komakhidze started work on an investigative filmregarding the August 2008 war in South Ossetia.In February the opposition newspaper Guria News, published in Western Georgia,alleged that local authorities threatened and intimidated the private distributorswho distribute the newspaper. On February 8, police briefly detained Guria Newscorrespondent Irakli Dolidze as he photographed a police official, confiscating hisphoto camera and cell phone temporarily.On November 25, 2009, the Ministry of Interior’s Special Operations Departmentcalled in Tedo Jorbenadze, head of the investigations unit at the independentBatumi-based weekly newspaper Batumelebi, and threatened to publish photosof near-naked men, Jorbenadze allegedly among them, if he refused to cooperatewith intelligence services.Criminal Justice SystemPrison overcrowding remains a problem, leading to poor conditions. Courts’ lownumber of acquittals is a key factor in overcrowding. In September the Council ofEurope’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading440

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIATreatment or Punishment published a report on its February visit to Georgia, notinga number of positive developments, but expressing concern regarding little orno progress on overcrowding in Georgian prisons and lack of meaningful activitiesfor prisoners.In February Georgia restored the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14,after reducing it to 12 in 2008, making it consistent with the country’s internationalcommitments. In 2009 the state trained 430 investigators in juvenile interrogationtechniques and made the presence of a lawyer and a legal guardian mandatoryduring interrogation.Key International ActorsThe United States and the EU deepened their engagement and economic ties withGeorgia. Meanwhile, Russia continued to occupy Georgia’s breakaway regions ofSouth Ossetia and Abkhazia and strengthened its military presence in the regionby establishing a military base and placing an advanced surface-to-air missilesystem in Abkhazia.In July US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Georgia and met with womenleaders from civil society and government. She also met President MikheilSaakashvili to emphasize the US commitment to Georgia’s territorial integrity andpledging support for democracy and economy. Working groups met in Tbilisi andWashington in 2010 to discuss the implementation of the U.S.-Georgia Charter onStrategic Partnership, signed in January 2009, envisaging increased cooperation,including on strengthening human rights.The April 2010 European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan progress reportcommended Georgia for improvements in judicial reform and fighting corruption,but raised concerns on several issues including: prison overcrowding, minorityrights, and media transparency. In July 2010 Georgia and the EU began negotiationsfor an Association Agreement, which enhances the ENP, aiming at strengthenedeconomic and political relations.A report on Georgia by the Council of Europe’s European Commission againstRacism and Intolerance issued in June expressed concern about discrimination441

WORLD REPORT 2011against ethnic and religious minorities and the absence of mechanisms foraddressing abuses.In September Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights ThomasHammarberg published a report on disappearances during and after the August2008 armed conflict, calling for impartial investigations by both sides. In OctoberHammarberg published another report on human rights issues following the conflict,including the right to return, rights of displaced persons to care and support,and protection and release of detainees.In August the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concernabout forced evictions of IDPs in Tbilisi.442

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAKazakhstanDuring its 2010 chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation inEurope (OSCE), Kazakhstan’s human rights record was marred by continued disappointments.Restrictive amendments to media and Internet laws remained, anda number of websites and weblogs were blocked on a regular basis. The governmentpunished activists for breaking restrictive rules on freedom of assembly.Several activists were put on trial in 2010 and Kazakhstan’s leading human rightsdefender, Evgeniy Zhovtis, remains in prison.Freedoms of Expression and InformationGovernment loyalists dominate broadcast media outlets; independent journalistswho criticize government policies and practices face threats and harassment;there are prohibitive penalties for civil defamation; and criminal penalties for libelremain in force. Combined, these conditions chill the environment for freedom ofexpression. In the first half of 2010 five journalists were physically attacked andanother five accused of criminal libel, according to the media watch dog Adil Soz.One of the attacked journalists is Igor Larra, of the independent daily SvobodaSlova. On March 22, 2010, three unidentified men assaulted him in Aktobe,breaking his nose and jaw and inflicting multiple contusions to his head. In theweeks prior to the attack Larra had been covering a 19-day strike by oil workersemployed by OzenMunaiGaz. The workers had demanded that the company’sdirector resign and that management take back cuts in wages. The biggest shareholderat OzenMunaiGaz is the state-owned company KazMunaiGaz. According toAdil Soz, Larra did not file a complaint because he did not trust the authorities toconduct a proper investigation.In July 2010 a court upheld an April 21 ruling ordering the independent weeklyUralskaya Nedelya to pay 20 million tenge (US$136,000) in “moral damages” toTengizneftestroi, an oil company. The weekly had published an article in August2009 criticizing the company for being so sure of winning a tender that it hadhired workers and bought equipment before the tender was even published. Thecompany confirmed these facts during the trial hearing, raising doubt about thegrounds for the ruling.443

WORLD REPORT 2011The authorities denied parole to imprisoned journalist Ramazan Yesergepov, editorof the newspaper Alma-Ata Info, after he had completed one-third of his sentence.Yesergepov was sentenced to three years in prison in 2009 for disclosingstate secrets, because his newspaper had published information from a letterfrom the Committee for National Security in which the agency appeared to beattempting to sway a criminal investiation against a local businessman.Yesergepov’s trial was not open to the public, and he was denied access to alawyer of his choice.On March 1, 2010 the head of the government’s Agency for Information andNetworks stated that a computer emergency response team had been establishedand had started to develop “a blacklist of destructive websites.” The same officialmentioned that religious and political websites in particular would be consideredfor the list. Currently blocked are more than a dozen websites, including the popularRussian-language blogging platform Livejournal and the website of the independentweekly Respublika.Freedom of AssemblyOn March 26, 2010, a court sentenced Vladimir Kozlov, a leading activist with theopposition party Alga!, to 10 days of administrative arrest on charges of holdingan unsanctioned protest. The charges were brought because Kozlov had distributedleaflets criticizing the trial and sentencing of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the formerdirector the state-owned nuclear company KazAtomProm, whose imprisonmentmany believe is politically motivated. Kozlov had distributed the leafletsalong a pedestrian zone in Almaty; other individuals distributing commercialleaflets at the same time where not arrested.On May 2, 2010, Yermek Narymbaev, leader of the Arman (Dream) social movement,was sentenced to 15 days’ administrative arrest for allegedly holding apeaceful unsanctioned mass gathering of 500 people on May 1. During his arrest,he was additionally charged with resisting the police and offending the judge athis trial on May 2. On June 23, a court sentenced him to four years’ imprisonment.444

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAIn June 2010, courts fined at least five individuals—three journalists and twohuman rights activists—for organizing and participating in unsanctioned meetingsand disobeying the authorities. In each case, the individual had staged aone-person picket on Almaty’s main square protesting the highly controversiallaw, adopted that month, giving President Nursultan Nazarbaev lifetime immunityfrom prosecution.Detention of ActivistsIn July 2010 a court in Aktobe sentenced Aidos Sadykov, a longtime oppositionpolitical activist who had assisted oil workers in creating an independent union,to two years’ imprisonment for “hooliganism accompanied by resistance to thepolice,” in what appears to be a politically motivated set-up. On May 27, Sadykovwas arrested for attacking an unknown man, despite evidence that he was himselfattacked and did not retaliate against the attacker. When Sadykov wasalready handcuffed he resisted police attempts to put the cell phone of theattacker in his pocket. During his court hearing the judge twice declined to showa video that a journalist had recorded shortly after the arrest, which could haveproved Sadykov’s innocence.September 3, 2010 marked the one-year anniversary of the imprisonment ofKazakhstan’s most prominent human rights defender, Evgeniy Zhovtis. OnSeptember 3, 2009, Zhovtis, founding director of the Kazakhstan InternationalBureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, was found guilty of vehicularmanslaughter, following an unfair trial marred by serious procedural flaws thatdenied him the right to present a defense. Zhovtis was sentenced to four years ina settlement colony, a penal establishment which allows for more freedoms thanan ordinary prison. The facilty’s director had the discretion to allow Zhovtis to liveand work outside the establishment but chose not to do so.On April 26, 2010, the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan declined to review Zhovtis’verdict.445

WORLD REPORT 2011Risk of RefoulementSince the entry into force in January 2010 of the Law on Refugees, the Kazakhgovernment renewed pressure on refugees and asylum seekers from Uzbekistanwho are devout Muslims and fear religious persecution in Uzbekistan. More than70 asylum seekers and refugees signed a letter to Human Rights Watch statingthat when they applied for asylum, migration officials tried to convince them thatthey have nothing to fear in Uzbekistan.In June Kazakh authorities rounded up more than 40 Uzbek nationals in Almaty,almost all of whom were registered asylum seekers. Some were released, and atthis writing some 31 remain in detention in Kazakhstan, pursuant to extraditionrequests from the Uzbek government. While the charges on which the Uzbekauthorities are seeking extradition have not been made public, they are reportedlyrelated to religious extremism. There is significant, credible evidence that personsprosecuted in Uzbekistan on religious extremism charges face a grave risk oftorture or other forms of ill-treatment in detention. Despite these risks,Kazakhstan extradited to Uzbekistan four men; two of them are ethnic Uzbeks butcitizens of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.Labor Abuses and Child Labor in AgricultureFarmers employing migrant workers from Kyrgyzstan on farms supplying tobaccoto Philip Morris Kazakhstan (PMK), a subsidiary of Philip Morris International(PMI) did not provide workers with written contracts or pay them for periods ofeight to nine months of employment. They confiscated some workers’ passportsand subjected some to forced labor. Child labor remains a serious problem intobacco and cotton farming, which employs children as young as 10. Expertsagree that tobacco and cotton farming are two of the worst forms of child laborworldwide owing to the difficulty of the work and the risks associated with exposureto pesticides and tobacco leaves. Beginning in 2010 PMI and PMKhave revised their contracts with tobacco farmers to ensure that migrant workersreceive regular wages and other protections. PMI and PMK have also committedto implement a mechanism for complaints; to expand training for workers, farmers,and PMK employees regarding labor rights and hazards of child labor; and446


WORLD REPORT 2011to develop summer camps and work with the government to facilitate access toschools for migrant workers’ children to prevent child labor.Key International ActorsKey international actors, notably members of the OSCE, uncritically pledged theirsupport for and cooperation with Kazakhstan during its OSCE chairmanship in2010. They generally failed to use the chairmanship and Kazakhstan’s bid to holda summit at the end of 2010 as a lever to push for outstanding reforms.During a United Nations Security Council discussion on February 5, the UnitedKingdom stressed that the role of the OSCE chairmanship “brings with it importantresponsibilities to promote and embody the principles of human rights … onwhich the OSCE is founded.” During a meeting with President NursultanNazarbaev on April 11, 2010, United States President Barack Obama said the USwould continue to support democratic reforms in Kazakhstan, but fell short ofexpressing concern about Kazakhstan’s human rights performance.On February 12, during Kazakhstan’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN HumanRights Council, UN member states raised many concerns about media freedoms.They recommended that Kazakhstan adopt a moratorium on criminal libel, establisha cap on defamation awards in civil suits, stop any attempt to filter internetcontent or block access to websites, and refrain from adding further unwarrantedrestrictions to Kazakhstan’s media law. Kazakhstan committed to implementmost of these recommendations, but denied that its laws criminalize defamationby journalists and rejected allegations of abusive regulation of Internet content.During a visit to Kazakhstan in April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged thegovernment to implement the UPR recommendations, noting that “a robust andengaged civil society—with full guarantees of free speech and media, and tolerancefor ethnic and religious diversity—is a powerful force for modernization.”Following its May 2010 review of Kazakhstan, the UN Committee on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights noted “with concern the low level of awareness ofhuman rights in general, and of the Covenant in particular” and expressed deepconcern about “the precarious situation of migrant workers.”448

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAKyrgyzstanIn 2010 Kyrgyzstan experienced its worst violence and upheaval since independencein 1991, with disastrous results for human rights.Unrest surrounding President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s ouster in early April led to 85deaths, hundreds of injured, and contining violence. Between June 10 to 14 ethnicviolence shook southern Kyrgyzstan, killing hundreds, injuring thousands,destroying more than 2,600 homes, and resulting in the temporary mass exodusto Uzbekistan of nearly 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks from the country’s southernprovinces. For several days Kyrgyz authorities failed to contain or stop the killingsand large-scale destruction, and did not appear to take every possible measure toprotect all citizens.The country remained extremely volatile after the June violence, especially in thesouth, where lack of security and accountability has allowed vigilantism and ruleof force to prevail over the rule of law. As trials related to the violence began,angry mobs—mostly comprised of relatives of ethnic Kyrgyz killed in June violence—attackeddefendants and their relatives, human rights defenders, journalists,and lawyers.A constitutional referendum on June 27, 2010—just two weeks after the mayhem—transformed Kyrgyzstan to the first parliamentary republic in Central Asia.Parliamentary elections on October 10 were largely peaceful despite the tenseatmosphere. With five parties passing the five percent threshold, internationalobservers praised the elections as “pluralistic.”April TurmoilOn April 7, 2010, demonstrators ousted President Bakiyev from office, throwingthe country into political turmoil. In precedeing weeks, the political oppositionhad held a series of demonstrations to air various grievances, including concernregarding President Bakiyev’s growing authoritarianism, persecution and imprisonmentof influential opposition political leaders, alleged government nepotismand mismanagement, increased energy tariffs, growing corruption, and governmentclosure of several media outlets.449

WORLD REPORT 2011Authorities detained several opposition leaders on the eve of nationwide oppositiongatherings planned for early April. Political violence erupted in response tothe first detention and was eventually quelled on April 6 in Talas, a city in northwesternKyrgyzstan. Violence erupted again on April 7 in Bishkek, when securityforces tried to disperse a peaceful protest against the detention of more oppositionleaders. Thousands of people eventually gathered in front of the WhiteHouse, the main government building in Bishkek, in a standoff with securityforces. Some demonstrators were armed with weapons they had seized frompolice. As the situation escalated security forces fired on the demonstrators withlive ammunition.Clashes ended in the early morning hours of April 8 when opposition supporterstook control of the White House, forcing Bakiyev to abandon his office. He fledthe country on April 15, and a 14-member interim government of opposition leaderstook charge.The authorities’ investigation into April’s events has focused on members of theousted government. It is unclear to what extent, if any, the authorities have investigatedcrimes committed by demonstrators, including illegal seizure and use ofweapons.Mayhem in Southern Kyrgyzstan in JuneThe political power struggle that followed Bakiyev’s ouster acquired an ethnicdimension in southern Kyrgyzstan when the area’s large Uzbek minority sidedwith the interim government and helped prevent Bakiyev staging a comeback. Thegrowing role of the ethnic Uzbek community in the political arena led to escalatingtensions and violent clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in May 2010.On the evening of June 10, violence erupted in Osh when a large crowd of ethnicUzbeks gathered in the city center in response to several fights between smallgroups of ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek men earlier that day; the fighting escalated,with crowds clashing throughout the night.Outraged by the violence and concerned about their bretheren in Osh, crowds ofethnic Kyrgyz from neighboring villages descended on the city and joined local450


WORLD REPORT 2011residents in clashing with ethnic Uzbeks, looting and torching Uzbek shops andneighborhoods, and even killing Uzbeks.Widespread use of heavy military vehicles in the attacks on Uzbek neighborhoodsindicated that, in at least some cases, government forces facilitated the attacksby knowingly or unwittingly giving cover to violent mobs. It remains unclearwhether government forces actively participated in these attacks, and if so, towhat extent.On June 13, 2010, violence spread to neighboring Jalal-Abad province, causingmore deaths, injuries, and destruction.According to official statistics, more than 400 people died during the violenceand around 2,600 homes were destroyed, most of them owned by ethnic Uzbeks.Aftermath of the ViolenceThe government’s investigation into the violence has included serious violationsof Kyrgyz and international law. Arbitrary arrests and extortion were widespread,and there is credible evidence in numerous cases that detainees were ill-treatedand tortured. One man died from injuries he sustained in custody.The authorities systematically denied defendants due process rights, such as theright to representation by a lawyer of their choice and the right to consult with alawyer in private, which made it impossible for clients to complain confidentiallyabout ill-treatment, extortion, and other violations. Lawyers also said the authoritieshave routinely refused to order medical examinations of detainees in cases ofsuspected ill-treatment.In the vast majority of cases authorities claimed that they had been unable to verifyallegations of torture and ill-treatment, and refused to launch criminal investigations.At this writing no official has been charged or prosecuted for the use oftorture and ill-treatment.In August the government acknowledged that most individuals detained in connectionwith the violence were ethnic Uzbeks, raising concern that the investigationinto the violence was biased. As the post-violence crackdown by police on452

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAthe ethnic Uzbek community intensified in late June and July, ethnic Uzbeks wantingto flee to Uzbekistan could not do so due to the closed land border.At numerous trials related to the June violence, aggrieved relatives of ethnicKyrgyz victims attacked ethnic Uzbek defendants, defendants’ relatives, lawyers,and journalists, before, during, and after trial hearings. Police did little to stop orprevent these attacks.For example, on September 15, 2010, a court in southern Kyrgyzstan sentencedAzimjon Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek human rights defender and head of the NGOAir, to life in prison for his alleged role in an incident in which an ethnic Kyrgyzpoliceman was killed during the June violence. During the trial the victim’s relativesand supporters threatened and struck Askarov’s lawyer, shouted threats andinsults at the defense team, and beat relatives of the defendant. Police were presentbut did not act. The court heard numerous witnesses for the prosecution, butdefense lawyers felt they could not endanger witnesses by calling them to thestand. On two occasions prior to the trial angry groups, allegedly including thepoliceman’s relatives, threatened and physically attacked Askarov’s lawyer. Localauthorities did not respond.Similar attacks continued at trials through October.Threats to Human Rights DefendersSeveral of Kyrgyzstan’s most prominent human rights leaders received threats inconnection with their investigation into the June violence and its aftermath.In late June Tolekan Ismailova of Citizens Against Corruption, a human rights NGO,fled the country for several months with her family after the Osh prosecutor’soffice falsely accused her and Aziza Abdirasulova of Kylym Shamy, anotherhuman rights NGO, of distributing inaccurate information about a police operationthat followed the violence. A few days later Ismailova’s neighbors in Bishkekreported that strangers had come to the neighborhood to inquire about her familyand where she lived. Abdirasulova received numerous threats. For example inAugust, angry residents of Bazar-Kurgan threatened to kill one of Abdirasulova’schildren if their mother monitored Askarov’s trial.453

WORLD REPORT 2011In October two unknown men threatened the program coordinator ofSpravedlivost (Justice), based in the southern city of Jalal-Abad, for providing freelegal assistance to defendants in cases related to the June violence.ElectionsParliamentary elections on October 10 and the election campaign that precededthem were conducted in a peaceful and rather pluralistic manner—an importantstep towards future free and fair elections. The Office for Democratic Institutionsand Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(OSCE) noted a number of shortcomings though, especially regarding electionlegislation and the accuracy of voter lists.Key International ActorsA unified international community expressed concern about the April 2010 disturbances,quickly condemned the June violence, and called for the restoration oflaw and order. It also called for objective investigations into the events. However,key governments and international organizations such as Russia, the CollectiveSecurity Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the UN Security Council were much morehesitant to take necessary measures to protect the civilian population. Despitecalls from the Kyrgyz authorities during the June violence, no international bodyproved ready to deploy stabilization forces.Six weeks after violence erupted in June OSCE participating states reached anagreement, at the Kyrgyz government’s request, to deploy a small unarmed internationalpolice force to the region in a monitoring and advisory role. The Kyrgyzgovernment also requested the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s special envoy forCentral Asia establish an independent international commission of inquiry intothe June 2010 violence. Due to disagreement within the Kyrgyz government aboutboth initiatives, their deployment was postponed until after the October 10 election.At this writing the international commission has commenced its work, whilethe government continues to hold up the deployment of the police advisorygroup.454

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIADuring his visit to Kyrgyzstan on April 3, 2010—just before the overthrow of theBakiyev government—United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was“troubled” by the crackdown on independent media in Kyrgyzstan and urgedauthorities to respect all human rights, including free speech and freedom of themedia.On May 3, 2010, during Kyrgyzstan’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UNHuman Rights Council, UN member states issued a number of important recommendations,including ensuring an early return to constitutional order; rule of lawand respect for human rights; ending all forms of intimidation, harassment,aggression, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture against all persons, especiallyhuman rights defenders, peaceful demonstrators, and journalists; ensuringjudicial independence; ensuring the rights of minorities; and inviting the specialrapporteur on torture to visit in 2010. Kyrgyzstan accepted these and other recommendations.On June 18, 2010, the Council adopted a resolution condemning ethnicviolence in Kyrgyzstan and called on the high commissioner to keep itappraised of the situation.455

WORLD REPORT 2011RussiaIn 2010 Russia demonstrated increased openness to international cooperation onhuman rights, but the overall human rights climate in the country remaineddeeply negative. President Dmitry Medvedev’s rhetorical commitments to humanrights and the rule of law have not been backed by concrete steps to support civilsociety. The year 2010 saw new attacks on human rights defenders, and the perpetratorsof brazen murders in the previous year remained unpunished.Civil SocietyDespite the Kremlin’s repeated statements about the importance of normal workingconditions for NGOs, human rights defenders remain vulnerable to harassmentand attacks, and those working to end impunity in the North Caucasus areespecially at risk.In September Oleg Orlov, chairman of the Memorial Human Rights Center, stoodtrial for criminal slander, a charge that carries up to three years in prison. Thecharge stems from Orlov’s statement that Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader ofChechnya, was politically responsible for the July 2009 murder of NataliaEstemirova, a leading Memorial researcher in Chechnya. No one has yet beenheld accountable for Estemirova’s murder. It is unclear if the investigation hasexamined possible official involvement or complicity in the crime.Memorial resumed its activities in Chechnya in late 2009, following a six-monthsuspension after Estemirova’s murder and threats against other staff. Under theleadership of the Nizhny Novgorod Committee Against Torture, 12 Russian humanrights organizations established mobile groups that worked by rotation inChechnya throughout 2010. The groups assist Memorial in investigating humanrights violations in the republic and provide legal aid to victims.In a May 2010 meeting with NGOs working on the North Caucasus, PresidentMedvedev urged local authorities to cooperate with civil society organizations.However, Kadyrov and other high-level Chechen officials continued to makethreatening statements about rights groups. In a televised interview in July,456

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAKadyrov described human rights defenders and Memorial activists as “enemies ofthe state, enemies of the people, enemies of the law.” The Kremlin failed to react.Rights activists in the republic of Dagestan, particularly the Mothers of Dagestanfor Human Rights, continue to receive threats. In June 2010, human rights lawyerSapiyat Magomedova was severely beaten by police in the city of Khasavyurt. Thealleged perpetrators, although identified, have not been held to account.Human rights defenders working in other regions also faced harassment andattacks. In February 2010 Vadim Karastelev, a human rights advocate in the portcity of Novorossiisk, served seven days of administrative detention for organizingan unsanctioned demonstration in support of Aleksei Dymovsky, a former policeofficer whose YouTube video exposé of police corruption received nationwideattention. The day after Karastelev’s release, unknown assailants brutally beathim, causing serious injuries.Responding to public outcry about police violence and lawlessness, the governmentpledged to undertake major reforms. However, the draft law on police proposedin 2010 falls short of what is necessary to best prevent human rights violationsby law enforcement officials and ensure civilian oversight over policing.In May 2010 a court in the Sverdlovsk region sentenced Alexei Sokolov, a prisoners’rights advocate from Ekaterinburg, to five years in prison on spurious criminalcharges after an unfair trial. The charges appear to be in retaliation for his workexposing police and prison abuse.Throughout 2010, police continued to disperse, sometimes violently, the publicrallies held in large cities on the thirty-first day of each month in support of Article31 of the constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly. The year 2010opened with the detention of Ludmilia Alexeeva, Russia’s leading human rightsdefender, then aged 82, at a Moscow rally on New Year’s Eve. Prominent activistLev Ponomarev twice faced administrative detention in 2010 for participating inrallies.Yet there was also a breakthrough in autumn 2010, when the authorities allowedan October 31 rally that drew at least 1,000 peaceful protesters to TriumfalnayaSquare in central Moscow. This development stands as a great victory for Russia’s457

WORLD REPORT 2011civil society movement and its international supporters. Incidentally, the authoritiesconsented to this rally just as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)issued a stinging rebuke to Moscow in the Alexeev v Russia ruling, saying that theRussian authorities repeatedly denied activists the right to hold gay pride marches,in violation of the right to freedom of assembly.In June a Moscow court found the co-organizers of the Forbidden Art-2006 exhibition,Yuri Samodurov and Andrei Erofeev, guilty of inciting religious hostility. Thecourt maintained that the artworks on display contained images offensive toChristians, and fined Samodurov and Erofeev 200,000 (US$6,452) and 150,000($4,839) rubles respectively.NGOs and the media remain vulnerable to vague anti-extremist legislation, whichthe authorities use to silence critics. In July 2010, new provisions to the law onthe Federal Security Service (FSB) were adopted allowing the FSB to issue warningsto individuals, organizations, and media outlets. The warnings require individualsor organizations to stop activities the FSB considers actually or potentiallyextremist. In September 2010, the Moscow prosecutor’s office launched anunprecedented wave of intrusive inquiries into foreign-funded NGOs.The North CaucasusThe Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus republics remained active in 2010.In countering it, law enforcement and security agencies continued to commitgrave violations of fundamental human rights, such as torture, enforced disappearances,and extrajudicial killings.The use of unlawful counterinsurgency methods coupled with rampant impunityfor abuses, antagonizes the people of Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan, andwidens the gap between the public and the government. On March 29, for thefirst time since 2004, a major attack was perpetrated in Russia’s capital. Two suicidebombers from Dagestan exploded themselves in the Moscow metro duringmorning rush hour, killing 40 and wounding dozens.Despite the fact that their monitoring capacity is severely hampered by securityconcerns, human rights groups continued to document abductions and extrajudicialkillings in 2010.458

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAThe Chechen government has brazenly adopted a policy of collective punishment.In 2010, high-level Chechen officials, including the president, stated publicly thatinsurgents’ families should expect punishment unless their relatives surrender.Stopping short of directly instructing law enforcement agencies to destroy thehouse of insurgents’ families and apply other collective punishments, such statementsencourage lawless actions by police and security personnel.Violations of women’s rights in Chechnya intensified in 2010. Women not wearingheadscarves are harassed on the street. Local authorities unambiguously condonedthe pelting of unveiled women on the streets with paintball guns, whichresulted in the hospitalization of at least one woman in June. In a July televisioninterview, Kadyrov said that the women deserved such treatment for failing todress appropriately. The Chechen authorities have banned those refusing to wearheadscarves from working in the public sector or attending schools and universities.In the republic of Ingushetia, despite President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov’s stated commitmentto uphold the rule of law and improve the working climate for humanrights NGOs, law enforcement and security agencies continue to perpetrateabductions, torture, and killings. According to Memorial, 12 civilians were abducted,three forcibly disappeared, and 11 were extrajudicially executed betweenJanuary and September 2010.The year 2010 saw new insurgent attacks in Dagestan and new abductions of residentsby law enforcement and security officials. The appointment ofMagomedsalam Magomedov as the republic’s new president in early 2010 hashad no noticeable impact on the human rights and security situation in Dagestan.Salafi Muslims are especially vulnerable to persecution in Dagestan because theauthorities suspect them of ties to the insurgency. In May seven Salafi men werearbitrarily detained and severely beaten by Kazbekovsky district police officials;one victim died of his injuries. Police torture is endemic beyond unlawful counterinsurgencypractices. In July, police detained a 14-year-old boy in the village ofKhotoba on suspicion of theft, and severely beat him, causing serious injuriesand the loss of hearing in one ear.459

WORLD REPORT 2011Cooperation with the European Court of Human RightsIn January 2010 – after years of delay – Russia ratified Protocol 14 to theEuropean Convention for Human Rights, becoming the last Council of Europe(CoE) member state to do so. Protocol 14 streamlines the case review process atthe ECtHR and strengthens the enforcement mechanisms of the CoE’s Committeeof Ministers.To date the EctHR has issued more than 150 judgments holding Russia responsiblefor grave human rights violations in Chechnya. Russia continues to pay therequired monetary compensation to victims but fails to meaningfully implementthe core of the judgments, in particular conducting effective investigations andholding perpetrators accountable. The Russian authorities have also failed to takesufficient measures to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses and new complaintsare lodged with the ECtHR every year. The failure to fully implement thecourt’s judgments denies justice to the victims and fuels the climate of impunityin Chechnya.Lack of Accountability for Laws of War ViolationsOver two years since the Russian conflict with Georgia over South Ossetia,Russian authorities have yet to ensure a comprehensive investigation into andaccountability for international human rights and humanitarian law violations bytheir forces.Russian forces used cluster bombs in areas populated by civilians in Georgia,leading to civilian deaths and injuries. Russia also launched indiscriminate rocketattacks on civilian areas, causing casualties. Russian forces in Georgia failed toprotect civilians in areas under their effective control whilst also preventingGeorgian forces from policing these areas.Health Issues and HIV/AIDSIn 2010 the Russian government continued to violate the rights of hundreds ofthousands of drug users who are denied access to effective drug treatment andHIV prevention. The government’s 2009 decision to shift funding away from HIV460

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAprevention services resulted in the closure of 42 health centers in August 2010. Anumber of other sites operate under an extended grant from the Global Fund toFight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but these programs also face closure. Thegovernment’s opposition to drug treatment using methadone or buprenorphineputs injection drug users at grave risk of HIV infection. Unnecessarily restrictivenarcotics laws unduly limit the accessibility of morphine for patients with paindue to cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other illnesses, condemning many to severe suffering.Migrant Worker RightsRussia has between 4 and 9 million migrant workers, over 80 percent of whomcome from the region of the former Soviet Union. Forty percent of migrant workerslabor in construction, where they face abuses that include confiscation of passports,denial of contracts, non-payment or delayed payment of wages, and unsafeworking conditions. Migrant workers have few effective options for redress.Legislative changes adopted in May tie foreign workers more closely to theiremployers and may discourage a worker from leaving an abusive employer. Otherlegislative changes introduced a system for simplifying legal employment of workersemployed by private persons as nannies, contractors, and in other non-commercialjobs.To complete the large-scale construction projects necessary for Russia to host the2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, employers are hiring large numbers ofmigrant workers from other parts of Russia and from other countries. Some workershave reported employers’ failure to provide contracts, non-payment or severedelays in payment of wages, and substandard employer-provided housing.Expropriation of Property and Evictions in Advance of the 2014Olympic GamesTo make way for venues for the 2014 Winter Olympics, hundreds of families livingin the Adler region of Sochi will lose their property through state expropriations.Some will also lose their livelihoods, such as small hotels and farms. Althoughthe regional government has in most cases promised compensation, serious con-461

WORLD REPORT 2011cerns remain about the compensation amounts and procedures, and the meansof challenging official actions.International ActorsIn 2010 Russia showed some improved cooperation on human rights, butRussia’s international partners did not do enough to encourage human rightsreform.In February, after two years of stalled negotiations, Russia allowed a delegationfrom the United Kingdom’s parliament to conduct a fact-finding visit to Chechnya.In March Dick Marty, the rapporteur on human rights in the North Caucasus forthe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made a long-awaitedvisit to Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan. Marty’s critical report on the lack oflegal remedies for victims of human rights violations was unanimously adopted atthe June session of PACE, marking the first time the Russia delegation voted infavor of a critical report on the North Caucasus.The European Union held two rounds of human rights consultations with Russia.While the consultations provide an important forum for working-level discussionson human rights, the lack of follow-up mechanisms, isolation from high-levelpolitical meetings, and the absence of high-level Russian participation underminetheir effectiveness. The EU continued negotiations on its Partnership andCooperation Agreement with Russia, which expired in 2007.The United States and Russia initiated a civil society working group for governmentrepresentatives and civil society experts to discuss thematic issues in bothcountries. The working group convened in Washington, DC in January to focus oncorruption and children’s rights. It met in May in the Russian city of Vladimir todiscuss prison reform and migration. The meetings, while providing a good platformfor discussion, have not had any practical outcome to date.The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court continued its preliminaryexamination of the 2008 armed conflict between Russia and Georgiaover South Ossetia and sent delegations to Russia in March 2010 and to Georgiain June to obtain additional information on domestic remedies and proceedings.462

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIASerbiaIn March the Serbian parliament adopted a resolution condemning the Srebrenicamassacre in Bosnia and apologizing to its victims and their relatives. However theresolution and the parliament’s continuing domestic efforts to tackle war crimeswere overshadowed by the government’s ongoing failure to arrest Ratko Mladic,the Bosnian Serbs’ wartime military leader. The European Union neverthelesstook steps to strengthen ties with Serbia by unfreezing a trade agreement, relaxingits visa regime, and asking the European Commission to begin assessingSerbia’s application for EU membership. These steps were prompted in part by ashift in the Serbian government’s stance on Kosovo. Acts of intimidation of independentjournalists persisted, along with discrimination against the Roma minority.War Crimes AccountabilityAt this writing Serbia has failed to arrest Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, the tworemaining fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia (ICTY). In a June briefing to the United Nations Security Council, ICTYprosecutor Serge Brammertz noted Serbia’s cooperation with requests for assistance,but indicated that efforts to arrest the fugitives “have thus far producedfew tangible results.” In September Brammertz reiterated his dissatisfaction withSerbia’s efforts to secure the arrests of fugitives and called on the EU to pressSerbia for cooperation. On a more positive note, Serbian authorities recoveredMladic’s wartime notebooks during a search operation in February and providedthem to the ICTY, which will likely introduce them as evidence in several trials.The trial of Zdravko Tolimir, the last suspect in custody of the ICTY to face prosecution,began in February. Tolimir faces charges of genocide, war crimes, andcrimes against humanity related to 1995 events in Srebrenica and Zepa.The Serbian War Crimes Chamber convicted a total of five suspects in three warcrimes trials in 2010 the Malic case, the Banski Kovacevac case, and the Medakcase, and acquitted a sixth. The Appellate Court of Belgrade reached final decisionsin two cases, the Ovcara case and the Podujevo case. There were eight first463

WORLD REPORT 2011instance trials ongoing at the chamber during 2010, and a further 10 cases subjectto ongoing appeal.In September the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor indicted nine men in connectionwith killings of ethnic Albanians in the village of Cuska (Qyshk in Albanian) in May1999, during the war in Kosovo. In total, 26 men are currently being investigatedfor murder and theft in Cuska.In May the prosecutor indicted six Serbs for war crimes against Croat civilians inLicki Osik, Croatia, in October 1991.In August the prosecutor indicted Veljko Maric, a former member of the CroatianArmed Forces, for the wartime killing of Serb civilians in the Croatian village ofRastovac. Maric was arrested in April at the Serbian border with Bulgaria. He isthe first ethnic Croat to face war crime charges in a Serbian court.Treatment of MinoritiesThroughout the month of June Roma residents of an informal settlement in the villageof Jabuka, north of Belgrade, were harassed by local Serbs after a Romateenager killed a 17-year-old Serb boy and protests escalated into stone-throwingand threats to destroy Roma homes. At this writing, the Roma neighborhoodremains under 24-hour police protection. The Serbian local and central levelauthorities condemned the violence.In May the Serbian authorities and the European Investment Bank reached anagreement committing the City of Belgrade to provide sustainable housing by theend of 2010 for Roma evicted from an informal settlement under the GazelaBridge in August 2009. The evicted residents are currently living in metal containersin various municipalities outside Belgrade. In October Belgrade’s developmentagency, with the help of police, demolished a separate Roma informal settlementand evicted its 36 residents without offering them any alternative accommodation,despite interventions from NGOs, Roma political representatives, andthe Ministry for Human and Minority Rights.In February an ethnic Albanian police officer in the Albanian-majority PresevoValley was injured when a bomb planted under his police vehicle exploded, frac-464

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAturing his legs and ribs and hurting his wife and two other female passers-by. Atthis writing no group has claimed responsibility and no one has been charged forthe attack.Integration of Refugees and Internally Displaced PersonsAs of September 2010 there were 82,699 refugees registered in Serbia, accordingto the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and around 225,000 internallydisplaced persons (IDPs), mainly from Kosovo, according to the Serbianauthorities. Refugees and IDPs continued to face problems throughout 2010obtaining personal documentation and accessing sustainable housing and socialservices. According to UNHCR, 3,500 remain in collective centers. Roma IDPs fromKosovo face particularly difficult economic and social conditions.Deportations to Serbia from Western Europe continued in the absence of assistanceprograms, with 637 persons (around half of them Roma) deported in thefirst 9 months of 2010, according to the Serbian Comissariat for IDPs andRefugees.Media FreedomIn July Teofil Panic, a political commentator for the Serbian weekly Vreme, wasbeaten by two men with metal bars on a packed bus in Belgrade. The reason forthe attack remains unclear. Panic suffered a concussion and injuries to his entirebody. The perpetrators fled the scene and currently remain at large, despite acriminal investigation.In February Serbian minister for infrastructure Milutin Mrkonjic assaulted MilanLadjevic, a journalist at the daily Kurir, slapping him across the face and usingobscene language after Ladjevic pursued him for an interview. Mrkonjic subsequentlyapologized publicly for his behavior.In December 2009 reporter Brankica Stankovic and her staff from the B92 TVchannel received repeated death threats after airing a program about footballhooligans. In August the Higher Court of Appeal jailed one suspect over thethreats and ordered the first instance court to look again at charges against five465

WORLD REPORT 2011other suspects, reversing an April ruling by the lower court dismissing chargesagainst all six.In June the Serbian Parliament adopted a new Electronic Communication Law,which permits the creation of a national database of personal email and internetcommunication and allows police to view its contents. Serbian and internationalmedia organizations argued that the law is unconstitutional and could jeopardizethe confidentiality of journalists’ sources.Human Rights DefendersA June event organized by the Queeria lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenderorganization to collect 10,000 signatures in support of a Belgrade Pride Parade in2010 was dispersed after a bomb threat, which proved to be false. The 2009pride event was cancelled over security concerns.The interior minister and the human rights minister publicly stated their supportfor the Pride Parade, which took place in October. A few hundred LGBT demonstratorsand their supporters marched through the streets of Belgrade, heavilyguarded by police and security forces. Violent counterdemonstrators shoutinghomophobic language attacked police and wounded many officers, but failed todisrupt the parade. The counterdemonstrators also attacked the Democratic Partyheadquarters and destroyed many shops and vehicles.In March the Serbian Ministry of Labor and Social Policy denied the NGO MentalDisability Rights International–Serbia access to monitor social care institutionsfor persons with disabilities, on the grounds that the institutions were too busyimplementing reforms. The group had previously had informal access. The ministrypromised access at a later unspecified time once reforms were implemented,but at this writing, despite further requests, at this writing the group has yet togain access.Key International ActorsIn December 2009 the Council of the EU decided to unfreeze implementation ofthe Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia and to lift visa requirements for all466

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIASerbian citizens. The Serbian government submitted its formal application for EUmembership the same month. In October the Council asked the EuropeanCommission to begin considering Serbia’s application, despite Belgrade’s failureto hand over Mladic. In November the European Commission published its annualprogress report on Serbia, highlighting the continued liberty of Mladic andHadzic. The report noted the lack of progress on prison reforms and widespreademployment discrimination against women, while marking improvements tomedia freedom and progress on domestic war crimes trials.In July the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion in a casebrought by Serbia and stated that Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independencedid not violate international law. Serbia’s initial response was a draft UN GeneralAssembly resolution condemning Kosovo’s declaration of independence, but aftersignificant diplomatic pressure by the EU and the United States, Serbia agreed toa joint UN General Assembly resolution with the EU calling for negotiationsbetween Sebia and Kosovo that would allow them to normalize their relations.The General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution in September.KosovoKosovo’s justice system remained weak in 2010, despite efforts to try perpetratorsof war crimes and postwar abuses against minorities. Deportations ofKosovars from Western Europe continued, with a disproportionate impact onKosovo’s most vulnerable minorities: Roma, Askhali and Egyptians, the latter, aRomani Albanian-speaking group with mythical origins in ancient Egypt. The findingof the International Court of Justice that Kosovo’s declaration of independence“did not violate general international law, Security Council resolution 1244 or[Kosovo’s] Constitutional Framework,” had little discernible impact on humanrights in Kosovo.Protection of MinoritiesMinorities in Kosovo, including Serbs, Roma, and Albanian-speaking Ashkali andEgyptians, remained at risk of discrimination, marginalization, and harassment.According to the Kosovo Police Service, 40 inter-ethnic incidents (including fourmurders) were reported during the first eight months of 2010: 31 in the divided467

WORLD REPORT 2011city of Mitrovica, which remains a flashpoint for violence; as well as five inPristina, one in Gnjilane, one in Prizren, and one in Pec.In April ethnic Albanians pelted stones at the tents of Serbian returnees to the villageof Zac, in Istok municipality, and also staged protests against the returneesfollowing rumors that there were war criminals among them. UNHCR denied theseallegations, and Kosovar and international authorities robustly condemned theviolence. But in August, in the same village, a bulldozer was used to demolishthree houses of Kosovo Serb returnees. The police arrested two Kosovo Albanianteenagers in the incident, and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci condemnedthe destruction.In July as Serbs in northern Mitrovica protested the opening of a Pristina governmentoffice, an explosion killed one demonstrator and injured 11. Nobody wasarrested in the immediate aftermath of that attack. Just three days later PetarMiletic, a Serb member of the Kosovo Assembly, was shot and injured as he lefthis home in northern Mitrovica. At this writing the perpetrators remains at large.In September an ethnic Albanian man was shot dead in an ethnically mixed areaof northern Mitrovica.The government made limited progress implementing its Roma, Ashkali, andEgyptian integration strategy. Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians continue to face persistentdiscrimination, particularly in employment and access to public services,and have the highest unemployment, school dropout, and mortality rates inKosovo.In June, 5,000 people demonstrated in the municipality of Pristina following theMunicipal Assembly’s adoption and implementation of a headscarf ban on bothstudents and teachers in all public schools.Return of Refugees and Internally Displaced PersonsVoluntary returns to Kosovo increased, though the overall numbers remain small.During the first six months of 2010, UNHCR Kosovo registered a total of 1,036 voluntaryminority returns: 417 Serb, 99 Roma, 257 Ashkali/Egyptian, 32 Bosniak,152 Gorani, and 79 Albanian (to Serbian majority areas, mainly Mitrovica).468


WORLD REPORT 2011Meanwhile, deportations of Kosovars from Western Europe continued with littleassistance for returnees once they are in Kosovo. According to UNHCR, 1,694Kosovars were deported from Western Europe during the first nine months of2010, including 347 people sent to areas where they were in a minority: 193Roma, 55 Ashkali, 2 Egyptians, 7 Bosniaks, 25 Gorani, 5 Turks, 29 Albanians, and1 Serb. Deportations have a particularly adverse effect on Roma, Ashkali andEgyptians.The Kosovo authorities signed a bilateral readmission agreement with the governmentof Germany in late April 2010. It awarded Kosovo a better visa facilitationregime in exchange for accepting deportations of all persons originating fromKosovo. Around 16,000 people are expected to be returned under it, many ofthem Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian. Similar agreements were signed with Albania,Belgium, France, and Switzerland in late 2009 and 2010.In October a lead-contaminated Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian camp in Cesmin Lugwas closed and demolished after a decade. Most of its inhabitants are beingrehoused in reconstructed homes in the original Roma neighborhood (Mahalla) inSouth Mitrovica, together with some residents from a second lead-contaminatedcamp at Osterode, which remains open at this writing. A group of Cesmin Lug residentsunwilling to return to the Mahalla have been moved to Osterode and arepending their resettlement elsewhere at this writing. Funding comes from a €5million European Commission project announced in December 2009, includingmedical treatment, education, community safety, and income generation, and acomplementary project funded by the US Agency for International Development.Impunity, Accountability, and Access to JusticeIn July the ICTY Appeals Chamber partially quashed the acquittals of RamushHaradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and formerKosovo prime minister; Idriz Balaj, a former member of the KLA in command of aspecial unit known as the Black Eagles; and Lahi Brahimaj, who served as adeputy commander of the KLA in the Dukagjin area of Kosovo. The appeals courtordered a partial retrial of the case, accepting the prosecution’s contention thatthe trial court had failed to take adequate measures to secure the testimony of470

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAtwo crucial witnesses. In September the ICTY denied Haradinaj’s motion for provisionalrelease, citing the integrity of the trial.In May the EU Rule of Law and Police Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) announced thatits investigation into the so-called “Yellow House” case, involving the allegedtransfers by the KLA in 1999 of around 400 Serbian and other captives to detentionfacilities in Albania, had failed to produce evidence to substantiate allegationsof organ-trading. At this writing the status of the investigation into the otherallegations remains unclear. Investigations into the case by Dick Marty, the rapporteurof the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, and the Serbian warcrimes prosecutor continued, but no new facts were made public.EULEX investigations into separate allegations of abuses in KLA-run camps inAlbania resulted in three arrests. In May EULEX police in Pristina arrested SabitGeci for the alleged torture of civilians in a KLA-run camp in the town of Kukes,northern Albania, in 1999. The same month, EULEX police arrested ZhemsitKrasniqi in Prizren in connection with crimes against civilians of various ethnicitiesin KLA bases in Albania in 1999. The third arrest took place in June in themunicipality of Djakovica. The suspect’s name has not been made public.In the year prior to September 2010, EULEX completed five war crime cases, witheight more ongoing and 27 in pretrial stages. EULEX completed eight cases relatedto the March 2004 riots during the same period.The long-running trial of Albin Kurti, a leader of the Vetevendosje movement forself-determination, concluded in June. A mixed judicial panel including EULEXand Kosovo judges convicted Kurti of a minor charge and sentenced him to timeserved, releasing him immediately. There were credible allegations that the KPSused excessive force during Kurti’s arrest earlier in June, prompting an investigationby the Ombudsperson Institution, which remains pending at this writing.While EULEX took steps to improve collaboration with Kosovo police, judges, andprosecutors, the justice system continued to be hampered by longstanding problemsincluding a lack of skill in judicial policing, the assisting of prosecutors ininvestigations, and the failure of court staff to systematically use electronic casemanagement software. Witness protection and security remained serious concerns,with few Western states consenting to host witnesses (no new states471

WORLD REPORT 2011agreed to do so during 2010), an inconsistent use of protective measures by thecourts, and the continued lack of a comprehensive witness protection law.According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1,837 persons remainmissing from the 1999 conflict, the majority Kosovo Albanians.In May EULEX and the Serbian authorities jointly announced the discovery of asuspected mass grave in southern Serbia believed to contain the remains of asmany as 250 Kosovo Albanians who went missing during the war. In Septemberthe Kosovo authorities began excavating in a coal mine in the Vucitrn municipality,where the bodies of 20 Kosovo Serbs killed during the 1999 war are believedto have been buried. At this writing no human remains have been found at eithersite.Media FreedomIn February Vehbi Kajtazi, a journalist for the daily newspaper Koha Ditore, wasallegedly threatened by Sabit Geci, a former KLA member, in response to Kajtazi’sarticle criticizing an amnesty for a group of prisoners, including Geci’s son, Alban.Kajtazi was discouraged by KPS when he tried to file a complaint against Geci.In July an explosive device was thrown into the courtyard of the home of CaslavMilisavljevic, editor-in-chief of Radio Kosovska Mitrovica. The device exploded,damaging three vehicles. Nobody was injured. KPS opened an investigation intothe incident but no perpetrators have been arrested at this writing.Human Rights DefendersIn late November 2009 the Council of the EU agreed on the EULEX Human RightsReview Panel (HRRP). The panel reviews complaints of human rights abuse byEULEX from individuals. In May 2010 three members of HRRP (and one alternate)were appointed by the acting EULEX head of mission. The first regular session ofHRRP took place in June. At this writing, HRRP had received 16 cases and deemed12 admissible, including 7 relating to the functioning of the justice system.The filling of a vacancy in the three-member UN Human Rights Advisory Panel,which hears similar complaints against UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), allowed it472

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAto resume functioning. But its effectiveness remained hampered following restrictionsintroduced by the UN in October 2009.There were continued instances of the Kosovo authorities ignoring the interventionsof the Kosovo Ombudsperson Institution, or responding late.Key International ActorsIn May 2010 peacekeepers from NATO-led Kosovo Force intervened in Mitrovica toassist KPS and EULEX police to quash the week-long civil unrest sparked bySerbian local elections in North Mitrovica.An April report to the UN Security Council from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonwarned that deportations to Kosovo undermine the country’s stability. ThomasHammarberg, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, made similarstatements and repeatedly called for a moratorium on deportations.In June the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe released a criticalreport emphasizing the need for Kosovar authorities to cooperate with war crimeinvestigations, combat discrimination and abuse against minorities, create conditionsfor the safe return of IDPs and refugees, ensure media freedom, promotewomen’s rights, and take urgent steps to close lead-contaminated Roma camps inNorth Mitrovica.In November the European Commission’s annual progress report highlighted theongoing weakness of Kosovo’s justice system, inadequate attention to warcrimes; continued threats to independent journalists; slow progress on missingpersons; and widespread discrimination and marginalization of Roma, Ashkaliand Egyptians.473

WORLD REPORT 2011TajikistanDespite a few small positive steps, Tajik authorities continue to violate rightsaffecting areas ranging from elections and media freedoms to religious libertyand women’s rights.In February 2010 Tajikistan held parliamentary elections that were marked byfraud, resulting in the ruling party’s victory by an overwhelming margin and thefurther strengthening of President Emomali Rahmon’s nearly 20-year rule. Theauthorities continued to suppress the press, especially in the run-up to the election.The government began enforcing a repressive law that tightens state controlover religious activity. Domestic violence against women remains rampant in Tajiksociety. The judiciary is neither independent nor effective.In September 2010, Islamist militants attacked a convoy of government troops inthe Rasht Valley, killing between 25 and 40 soldiers, and scattered clashes continuedthrough October. The troops had been sent to track down militants whohad escaped from a Dushanbe prison in August and were believed to have fledinto the valley. The violence marks the first major clash in a decade between governmentand insurgent forces, giving rise to concerns about creeping instability inTajikistan, especially in light of the war in neighboring Afghanistan.Justice SystemA report published in March 2010 by the Bureau on Human Rights and Rule ofLaw, a Tajik nongovernmental organization, revealed a judicial system with littleadvance notification of hearings, patchy explanations of process and rights, erraticaccess to interpreters, and efforts by judges to exclude observers.The politicization of the Tajik justice system was underscored by the treatment ofNematillo Botakozuev, a Kyrgyz human rights activist who had sought asylum inTajikistan. Botakozuev disappeared in late February 2010; his relatives onlylearned one month later that he was in the custody of the Tajik police for allegedlylacking identification. He was held without access to communications or alawyer. When a source known to Human Rights Watch finally saw him in mid-March, Botakozuev appeared to have been tortured. In May Tajikistan extradited474

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIABotakozuev to Kyrgyzstan, where he was held for two weeks, released, andwarned by state security to refrain from human rights work.Fair ElectionsThe Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitored theFebruary 28, 2010, parliamentary election and found it “failed to meet key… internationalstandards for democratic elections.”District electoral commissions were often staffed by local officials and membersof the ruling People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT). Registration fees wereonerously high. Free television time was allocated late in the campaign.In its final report on the election, the OSCE noted credible accounts of violationsof campaign rules by the authorities: “instances [in which] police preventedactivists of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan from campaigning and in somecases detained them for a short time” and “credible allegations of pressure ongovernment employees and voters to vote for or facilitate the victory of PDPT candidates.”On election day OSCE and other observers found widespread proxy voting,instances of attempts to influence voters, multiple voting, ballot-box stuffing,and premarked ballots, among other infractions. Furthermore, the OSCE foundthat vote-counting procedures “were not properly followed in half of the pollingstations observed.”Media FreedomsThe press in Tajikistan faced a clampdown in early 2010 in connection first withthe parliamentary elections, and later with the clashes in the Rasht Valley. InFebruary Reporters Without Borders issued a statement noting “an all-out drive tointimidate news media and get [independent media outlets] to [self-]censor theircoverage of state authorities.”While one independent researcher found the government did not formally shutdown any media outlets and even permitted the registration of new ones, debilitatingdefamation awards resulting from civil suits brought by government offi-475

WORLD REPORT 2011cials are threatening the livelihood of independent outlets and seem aimed atmuffling the media.In late January a Tajik court fined the newspaper Paykon 300,000 somonis(US$69,000) in a libel suit regarding a report on corruption. The case wasbrought by Tajikstandart, the state agency that monitors the quality of importedgoods. At around the same time two Supreme Court judges and one city courtfiled libel suits against three independent newsweeklies that ran stories about apress conference regarding alleged corruption within the Tajik judiciary. TheAgriculture Ministry brought a libel suit against the Millat newspaper, in which itis seeking 1 million somonis ($229,000) in damages.On October 29, 2010, United States and European ambassadors issued a jointstatement raising concern about the “deteriorating climate for independentmedia in Tajikistan.” The statement noted, among other things, that “three newspapers,Farazh, Paikon, and Nigoh, have been effectively shut down by beingunable to print their papers, reportedly on orders by government officials,” thatsenior government officials had made public statements “attacking independentmedia outlets,” and that a deputy minister had ordered the blocking of five majornews websites. The websites – Tojnews.tj, Avesta.tj, Tjknews.com, Centrasia.ru,and Ferghana.ru – were blocked in the wake of the violence in the Rasht Valley.Freedom of ReligionHewing to a new religion law adopted in 2009, the state continued its repressionof faith groups. Tajikistan has long curtailed freedom of religion and, under thepretext of battling terrorism, has banned several peaceful Muslim organizations.Certain Christian denominations, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, continue to bebanned in Tajikistan. At this writing the law bans all religious activity by unregisteredreligious groups. The government now determines where mosques can bebuilt and how many, and where Muslim sermons can be given, and it has censorshipauthority over religious literature (including material from abroad) and controlover children’s religious education; faith groups in Tajikistan must registerwith the state and get government permission to contact foreign religious groups.476

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAUnderscoring the importance of state control over religious activity, the new lawremoved oversight of religious groups from the Ministry of Culture and placed itwith the Committee for Religious Affairs, which reports directly to the president.The state has relied on investigations, arrests, and convictions to squelch certainkinds of Muslim religious activity. In January a Dushanbe criminal court convictedImam Sirojiddin Abdurahmonov (known as Mullo Sirojiddin), a leader of thebanned Salafi Muslim religious movement, and six other followers. An IslamicRevival Party leader told Forum 18, an independent religious news service, thatSirojiddin received a seven-year prison term, and his six co-defendants receivedprison terms of up to six years for “arousing national, racial, local or religioushostility.” In April 2009, about 92 followers of the banned Jamaat Tabligh Islamicgroup were arrested. In March 2010, according to Forum 18, a group of 56 of themwere convicted by the Supreme Court and were sentenced on charges of “organisationof banned extremist religious organizations.” 23 defendants were givenprison terms of between three and six years, and the other 33 defendants werefined between 25,000 somonis(US$5,340) and 50,000 somonis ($10,680), astronomicalsums for the average Tajik. In May the remaining 36 Jamaat Tablighdefendants were convicted and received comparable prison and financial penalties.Rights groups in Tajikistan maintain that Jamaat Tabligh is peaceful and theban on it was never published.In May 2010, criminal investigations by the state secret police against 17Jehovah’s Witnesses in Khujand were reopened. The group was arrested, interrogated,and threatened in September 2009, but the cases had been suspendedafter the group complained to the prosecutor general.Women’s RightsThe government took a few small steps forward to protect women from domesticviolence, but overall the rights of women remain precarious. A November 2009Amnesty International report estimated that one-third to one-half of Tajik women“may at some time experience physical, psychological or sexual violence at thehands of husbands or other family members.” The report said that given women’sseverely restricted access to law enforcement and the general practice within thepolice to blame the victim and preserve the family, perpetrators can harm womenwith near impunity.477

WORLD REPORT 2011Still, in August 2010 five special police stations with staff trained by the OSCE todeal specifically with domestic violence were opened in Dushanbe, the capital,and other cities. The stations are the only ones of their kind in Central Asia,according to the OSCE, which urged the Tajik government to pass a law on domesticviolence that has been pending since 2007. In August officials at a governmentalresearch center said that preliminary results of their research show an increasein polygamy, although the practice is technically illegal, and that at least 10 percentof Tajik men have more than one wife.In June 2010 President Rahmon signed a law that would raise the age of marriagefor girls from 17 to 18 and would also require children to attend school for a minimumof 11 years, starting at age 7.Key International ActorsThe European Union upgraded relations with Tajikistan in early 2010 by concludinga Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The EU describes the agreementas “enhanc[ing] bilateral relations and heighten[ing] the EU profile in Tajikistan.”Its stated aim is also to “promote bilateral trade and investments.” Meanwhile,the EU’s record in speaking out about abuses remained poor. Human rights concernsappeared to be largely relegated to once-yearly human rights dialogues,held at a relatively low level, with an obscure content and outcome.In a January report on Tajikistan, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child(CRC) commended the country on passing several important laws over the yearsto protect children. But the report went on to document that, in reality, childrenlack safeguards against abuse and neglect in almost every sphere of their lives.The UN CRC recommended that Tajikistan do more to protect children from institutionalization,violence, and child labor. It urged the state to take more seriousaction against polygamy, and to do more in general to protect women, girls, andchildren with disabilities.478

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIATurkeyTurkey’s human rights record remained mixed in 2010. Arbitrary detentions, prosecutions,and convictions under terrorism laws and for speech crimes persisted,while the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) partially amended the constitution.In September voters approved by referendum significant amendments to the 1982constitution, including lifting immunity from prosecution for military and publicofficials for crimes committed during and after the September 12, 1980 coup, areduced role for military courts, changes to judicial appointments, the right ofindividual petition to the constitutional court, and the creation of a newombudsperson institution. The amendments open the way for further reform. Theneed for complete revision of the 1982 constitution to further human rights hasbeen a recurring political discussion since the 2007 general election.The government made little concrete progress towards realizing its 2009 plan toimprove the human rights of Kurds in Turkey. The Constitutional Court inDecember 2009 closed down the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) foralleged separatist activities, and hundreds of officials from the DTP and its successor,the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), faced trial for membership of theUnion of Kurdistan Communities, a body connected with the armed KurdistanWorkers’ Party (PKK).There is increasing agreement across the political spectrum on the need for arights-based and non-military approach to ending the conflict with the PKK.Armed clashes between the Turkish military and the PKK continued. Disagreementerupted over whether the September attack on a minibus in Hakkari province,which killed nine civilians, was staged by the PKK, or by elements of the securityforces. The PKK was suspected of the August and September killings of twoimams in Hakkari and Sırnak.In July workplaces and property belonging to Kurds in negol, Bursa province, andin Dörtyol, Hatay province, were attacked. Following police investigations into theincidents–resembling similar ethnically-motivated attacks in recent years–four479

WORLD REPORT 2011people were tried for the Dortyol attacks and 21 are imprisoned pending trial forthe Inegol attacks at this writing.Freedom of Expression, Assembly, and AssociationDespite a climate of increasingly open debate, individuals continued to be prosecutedand convicted for non-violent speeches, writings, and participating indemonstrations. The practice of holding suspects charged with non-violent crimesin prolonged pre-trial detention continued.Journalists and editors remained targets for prosecution. Legitimate news reportingon trials was deemed “attempting to influence a judicial process,” reportingon criminal investigations was judged as “violating the secrecy of a criminalinvestigation,” and news reports on the PKK was deemed “terrorist propaganda.”Some editors and journalists faced scores of ongoing legal proceedings in 2010.The case of Vedat Kursun stands out among those convicted in 2010. The editorof Kurdish daily Azadiya Welat, Kursun received a 166-year prison sentence in Mayfor 103 counts of “terrorist propaganda” and “membership” in the PKK. At thiswriting he remained in prison pending an appeal.Long-term restrictions on access to websites, including YouTube, continued.Leftist and pro-Kurdish political newspapers and journals were subject to arbitraryclosure. In 2010 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) condemnedTurkey twice for using its Anti-Terror Law to ban publication of entire periodicals,saying the move was censorship that violated free expression. The court foundTurkey had violated free expression in at least 10 other rulings in 2010.Courts continued to use terrorism laws to prosecute hundreds of demonstratorsdeemed to be PKK supporters as if they were the group’s armed militants. Mostspent prolonged periods in pre-trial detention, and those convicted received longprison sentences. A legal amendment by parliament in July will mean that convictionsof children under the laws will be quashed. The laws remain otherwiseunchanged.Hundreds of officials and activist members of the pro-Kurdish party DTP and itssuccessor BDP (which has 20 parliamentary members) were prosecuted during480

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAthe year, including for links to the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK/TM), abody associated with the PKK’s leadership.In October seven mayors, several lawyers, and a human rights defender (seebelow) were among 151 officials and activists tried in Diyarbakir for alleged separatismand KCK membership. At this writing the mayors have spent 10 months -–and the 53 other defendants have spent 18 months–in pre-trial detention, whilearound 1,000 DTP/BDP officials and members suspected of KCK affiliation were inpre-trial detention nationwide, raising concerns about the right to political participation.Human Rights DefendersThe ECtHR ruled in September that Turkey had failed to protect the life of HrantDink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights defender, or to conduct aneffective investigation into his January 2007 murder. The three-year murder trial ofthe alleged killer and 19 others continued in Turkey. The ECtHR also found thatDink’s conviction for “insulting Turkishness” violated his right to free expression.Muharrem Erbey, vice-president of the Human Rights Association (HRA) and chairof its Diyarbakir branch, was arrested in December 2009 for alleged KCK/TMmembership and held in detention until his trial in October. He remains in detentionat this writing. Vetha Aydin, chair of HRA’s Siirt branch, was arrested in Marchfor alleged KCK membership. She remained in pre-trial detention at this writing.Torture, Ill-Treatment, and Use of Lethal Force by SecurityForcesPolice ill-treatment remained a problem, particularly during street stops, demonstrations,and arrests. Torture and ill-treatment in detention was less common,but at this writing there are at least four cases of deaths in custody in disputedcircumstances in 2010.In May police beat five transgender members of Ankara-based NGO Pembe Hayat(Pink Life Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Transsexual SolidarityAssociation) in the street in front of witnesses before detaining them. Following a481

WORLD REPORT 2011familiar pattern, the five were promptly charged with resisting police before theprosecutor had concluded an investigation into their ill-treatment, which remainsongoing at this writing. They were acquitted at their October trial. Use of firearmsby police and the gendarmerie remained a matter of concern, particularly againstunarmed suspects. There was no progress on tightening rules governing use offorce. Gendarmes shot dead at least nine suspected smugglers in the borderregions of Van, Sırnak, and Urfa during the year.ImpunitySeveral of the constitutional changes made in September have implications forending impunity. Restricting the jurisdiction of military courts is an important steptowards ensuring that trials of military personnel for human rights abuses takeplace in civilian courts. The repeal of a provision in the constitution grantingimmunity from prosecution to military and public officials for crimes committedduring and after the 1980 military coup is significant, although jurists debatewhether existing statutes of limitations for torture and murder will impede prosecution.In a landmark ruling on June 19 prison guards, gendarmes, police officers, and adoctor were convicted in connection with the October 2008 beating to death ofEngin Çeber, and the torture of three other political activists arrested with him inIstanbul. Nine guards, including a senior prison official, and police officersreceived sentences ranging from two-and-a-half years to life imprisonment.The verdict in the Çeber case remains an exception and impunity remains a formidableproblem in Turkey. In general, prosecutors failed to conduct effective, timely,and independent investigations of allegations against the police and gendarmerie,and prosecutions against state officials remained protracted. Twopolice officers who severely beat lawyer Muammer Öz in Istanbul in July 2007were given suspended sentences in January 2010, effectively escaping sanction.Three trials of alleged anti-government coup plotters (the “Ergenekon” gang, comprisingsenior retired military, police, mafia, journalists, and academics) continued.In related prosecutions, 69 naval officers faced trial for plotting a 2008 campaignof violent attacks aimed at destabilizing the government, and 196 retired482

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAand serving military personnel were due to stand trial starting in December 2010for a 2003 coup plot. Willingness to pursue these cases offers potential for widerefforts to end impunity.The most significant attempt at bringing to justice state perpetrators of extrajudicialkillings and “disappearances” continued with the ongoing trial in Diyarbakırof a now-retired colonel, village guards, and informers for the murder of 20 individualsbetween 1993 and 1995 in Cizre, Sırnak province.Key International ActorsDespite concerns about Turkey “turning east,” European Union membership andmaintaining good relations with the United States and other traditional alliesremain stated priorities for the government.The US failed in 2010 to build on the momentum of President Barack Obama’s2009 visit, focusing on Turkey’s foreign policy in the Middle East and Armeniarather than its domestic human rights record.The EU praised the constitutional reforms, and remains an influential actor inTurkey. But the stalemate over Cyprus stalled Turkey’s accession negotiations inmany areas, and leading member states such as France and Germany continuedto oppose Turkey’s membership bid. The European Commission’s Novemberprogress report on Turkey concluded that reforms made that year were “of limitedscope,” called for the wholesale revision of the constitution, and raised concernsabout freedom of expression, long pre-trial detention, gender equality, and use ofanti-terror laws.In its July review of Turkey, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discriminationagainst Women (CEDAW) recommended that Turkey “continue to accord priorityattention to the adoption of comprehensive measures to address violence againstwomen.”Following its Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in May,Turkey argued that it was already implementing many of the recommendationsmade, but notably refused those that would bring its definition of minorities in483

WORLD REPORT 2011line with international law, or to wave its reservations to international law thatupholds minority rights.484

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIATurkmenistanIn 2010 the Turkmenistan government continued a return to the repressive methodsof a previous era. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ruledTurkmenistan for nearly four years, since the 2006 death of dictator SaparmuradNiazov. During his first two years in office, Berdymukhamedov began to reversesome of Niazov’s most ruinous social policies. But then his course appeared toreverse. The government increasingly repressed NGOs and Turkmen activists, andprevented citizens from leaving the country; indeed freedom of movement sharplydeclined in 2009 and 2010. Instead of continuing needed reforms in education in2010, the government introduced burdensome requirements for students seekingto travel abroad for university, and allowed “Ruhnama” (The Book of the Soul),Niazov’s propaganda book, to remain a subject in university entrance exams.Instead of expanding access to the internet and other media, the governmentblocked websites and banned the import of some printed materials. Prisonsremained closed to the outside for observation. Turkmenistan continued toexpand relations with foreign governments and international organizations, butwith no meaningful outcomes for human rights.Civil SocietyThe repressive atmosphere makes it extremely difficult for independent NGOs tooperate. Almost no organizations have applied for registration in recent years.On September 30, 2010, Berdymukhamedov instructed the Ministry of NationalSecurity to lead an “uncompromising fight against those who slander our democratic…secular state.” His speech came the day after a satellite channel broadcastan interview with exiled Turkmen activist Farid Tukhbatullin, chair of theVienna-based Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR). In subsequent dayshackers disabled the website of the TIHR, and there were credible threats that theTurkmen security services planned to physically harm Tukhbatullin.In June 2010, the authorities in Turkmenistan began questioning the former classmatesand teachers of Tukhbatullin’s sons. At least three were threatened withtreason charges if they maintained ties with the family.485

WORLD REPORT 2011In December 2009 Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) decided to close itsTurkmenistan office after the Turkmen authorities repeatedly rejected project proposals,making it impossible for the organization to carry out its work in the country.MSF was the last remaining international humanitarian organization operatingin Turkmenistan.Within Turkmenistan, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) and the United Nations can carry out seminars and offer technical assistance,but little more.In 2010, for the third year in a row, the Turkmen delegation tried to bar exiledTurkmen activists from registering for the OSCE human dimension review conferenceand walked out when the activists were admitted to the conference.Media FreedomsThere continues to be a complete absence of media freedoms. Almost all printand electronic media are controlled by the state. Reporters from foreign mediaoutlets often cannot access the country and, in recent years, local stringers forforeign outlets have been beaten, harassed, and otherwise intimidated.Many websites are blocked, internet cafes require visitors to present their passports,and the government monitors electronic communications.It is extremely difficult to obtain foreign newspapers and magazines with anypolitical content. Border guards are known to confiscate foreign printed materials.In August 2010 Berdymukhamedov stated that there were enough publicationsissued in Turkmenistan to “satisfy domestic demand,” so “there is no need toimport any,” indicating that access to foreign publications would remain limited.Freedom of MovementTurkmen authorities arbitrarily interfere with people’s right to travel abroadthrough an informal and arbitrary system of travel bans, commonly imposed onactivists and relatives of exiled dissidents.486

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAOn July 16, 2010, Turkmen border officials stopped Umida Jumbaeva, an activist,from leaving the country for Kazakhstan. Jumbaeva had helped environmentalactivist Andrei Zatoka in 2009, when he was arrested on false charges, given anunfair trial, and expelled from Turkmenistan. On June 28, Turkmen authoritiesbarred civic activists Annamamed and Elena Miatiev from traveling abroad formedical treatment. Following an international outcry the couple was allowed todepart on July 10.For years Radio Liberty stringer Gurbansoltan Achilova and her family enduredvarious forms of harassment by the authorities and were barred from foreign travel.Her son Mukhammetmyrat, who had repeatedly been denied permission totravel abroad, committed suicide on June 12, 2010. One month later the familyreceived a letter from the Turkmen migration services granting him permission totravel.In 2009, the authorities prevented hundreds of students bound for foreign privateuniversities from leaving the country, and introduced new, burdensome requirementsfor studying abroad. By August 2010, many of the students were able todepart, except those pursuing their studies at the American University of CentralAsia in Kyrgyzstan (AUCA). Throughout 2010 the Ministry of Education, the borderservices, and the migration service failed explain why students could not leavefor study at AUCA; to written requests for information, students received a standardreply of “request declined.” By September 2010 the government bannedpeople from leaving the country if they had valid Kyrgyz visas in their passports.In July 2010 the Turkmen government barred Turkmen citizens who also heldRussian passports from traveling to Russia unless they had Russian visas.Turkmenistan abrogated its dual citizenship treaty with Russia in 2003, but hadallowed holders of Russian passports to use them for travel to Russia unitl July2010.Political Prisoners and the Penitentiary SystemAs in previous years, in 2010 it was difficult to determine the number of politicalprisoners because of the wall of secrecy that surrounds their detention. Wellknownpolitical prisoners include Annakurban Amanklychev and Sapardurdy487

WORLD REPORT 2011Khajiev, who worked with human rights organizations, and political dissidentGulgeldy Annaniazov.A report published jointly in February 2010 by two independent human rightsgroups in exile highlighted serious problems in Turkmenistan’s prison system,including overcrowding, degrading treatment of inmates, corruption, and lack ofpublic oversight. In an unprecedented move, Berdymukhamedov responded tothe report by acknowledging problems and promising reform. But amendmentssubsequently made to the criminal code did not address the report’s main concerns.No international agency—governmental or non-governmental—has accessto monitor Turkmen detention facilities.Interference with Family LifeTurkmenistan has an unwritten policy against registering marriages of foreignnationals, which, combined with the difficulty of obtaining Turkmen visas, separatesfamilies. In April 2010, the authorities expelled to Uzbekistan approximately30 female Uzbek nationals married to Turkmen men, along with their young children,who were born and raised in Turkmenistan.In October 2009 a group of 500 ethnic Turkmen from Iran issued a statementagainst the separation of families of mixed Turkmen-Iranian families. The Iraniannationals said that Turkmen authorities refused to issue long-term visas to non-Turkmen family members.Freedom of ReligionThe government’s undeclared campaign against terrorism has involved a crackdownon Muslims branded “Wahhabi,”a term the Turkmen government uses todefame followers of a more austere form of Islam and imply their association withterrorism. For example, in June a mullah in Dashagouz province received a threeyearprison sentence after security services searched his home and found a fakegrenade, which inexplicably vanished from the case materials. Police officerscompelled all of the mullah’s followers to shave their beards.488

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAIn April 2010 an Islamic cleric, Shiri Geldimuradov, was arrested with three of hissons, and all four were convicted on weapons possession charges.Geldimuradov’s other four sons are also in prison on unknown charges. In JuneGeldimuradov died in prison.The authorities raid sites of worship of unregistered religious groups. Forum 18,an independent, international religious freedom group, reported a raid on aBaptist congregation in Dashagouz in December 2009. Officials confiscated religiousbooks, and congregants were questioned and pressured to sign statementspromising to desist from worshipping with the congregation in the future. In June2010 the authorities again pressured several members of that church to sign similarstatements.On October 21, 2010, a court sentenced Ilmurad Nurliev, head of the Light to theWorld Pentecostal Church, to four years in prison on what appear to be bogusswindling charges. The prosecution argued that Nurliev had swindled four peoplewho visited a shelter run by the church, even though one of the alleged victimswas in prison for much of the time the swindling allegedly took place, and two didnot testify in court. The trial judge refused to allow all but three church membersto testify for the defense, and the court failed to provide the defense with thewritten verdict in time to appeal. Light to the World worship services were raidedin 2008, and Nuraliev and congregants have endured harassment by governmentagencies in recent years.On June 20 the security services detained a group of 47 Protestants who hadgathered in Geoktepe for two days of prayer and Bible study. The group was heldovernight in a police station, questioned, and released.The Turkmen government continues to imprison Jehovah’s Witnesses for refusingcompulsory military service on grounds of religious conscience, and at this writingholds at least eight in custody.Key International ActorsSeeking to leverage Turkmenistan’s energy wealth and strategic importance, severalkey international actors continued to mute criticism of the government’shuman rights record. The European Union in particular stood out for its failure to489

WORLD REPORT 2011use the prospect of enhanced relations to advance concrete human rightsimprovements, pressing forward with a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement(PCA), frozen since 1998 over human rights concerns, without requiring anyhuman rights reforms in exchange. At this writing, the PCA was pending approvalby the European Parliament. An initial draft opinion green-lighting the agreementstirred significant controversy.The PCA also requires ratification by two national EU member state parliaments—France and the United Kingdom—before it can enter into force. In a welcomemove, the French parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in April 2010 adopted aresolution requesting the government to refrain from submitting the agreementfor ratification until it had secured certain human rights improvements, includingthe release of political prisoners Amanklychev and Khajiev.During his early April visit to Turkmenistan, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonwas uncharacteristically outspoken about human rights concerns, highlighting inparticular the need to allow access to the country for UN special rapporteurs andaddress prison conditions.In a new country strategy for Turkmenistan, adopted in April, the European Bankfor Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) revised its policy of no public sectorinvestment by reserving the right to increase its engagement with Turkmenistan.In a welcome move, the EBRD set specific human rights benchmarks for the governmentto fulfill, and made clear the bank’s level of engagement would dependon Turkmenistan’s progress in meeting them.490

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAUkraineThe February 2010 presidential election ended the political turmoil that has characterizedUkraine in recent years. Viktor Yanukovich won the election over incumbentViktor Yushschenko in a contest that international observers declared generallyin accordance with international standards. Upon taking office PresidentYanukovich initiated far-reaching reforms, drawing criticism for pushing throughchanges without respecting democratic procedures or engaging the opposition.Ukraine’s relationship with Russia improved significantly in 2010. RussianPresident Dmitry Medvedev, who had clashed frequently with Yushschenko,voiced hope that the “black page” in relations between Russia and Ukraine followingthe Orange Revolution of 2005 would be turned. Yanukovich, widely-seenas pro-Russian, visited Moscow in March and agreed to extend the lease onRussia’s Black Sea fleet in the Crimea for another 25 years. Medvedev reciprocatedby discounting gas prices to Ukraine.The human rights situation in Ukraine remains marred by racial profiling; attacksagainst foreigners with non-Slavic appearances; government-imposed restrictionson freedoms of media; and migration issues including access to asylum, detentionconditions, and protection of vulnerable groups.Migration and AsylumThe European Union-Ukraine readmission agreement that provides for the returnof third-country nationals who enter the EU from Ukraine came into force inJanuary 2010, but implementing protocols has not yet gone into effect at this writing.A stalemate between the executive and legislature in 2009 led to a year-longbreakdown in the Ukrainian asylum system until the authority of the StateNational Committee on Nationalities and Religions to grant asylum was restoredin August 2010. Asylum seekers with pending cases, or those in the process ofappealing refugee status rejections, remain vulnerable to arbitrary detention,police harassment, and extortion.491


EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAApplying for asylum is riddled with obstacles, including lack of access to lawyersin detention, and failure by detaining authorities to transmit asylum applicationsto regional migration services. Ukraine’s asylum system continues to lack complementaryforms of protection. There are only two known cases of refugee statusgranted to Somalis and only one known case of an unaccompanied child receivingrefugee status. Unaccompanied children lack protection, access to stateaccommodation, and are often detained. Failure to appoint legal representativesin some regions leads to unaccompanied children being barred from entering asylumprocedures and forces them to remain undocumented.A Human Rights Watch fact-finding mission in June 2010 revealed many migrantsand asylum seekers apprehended in the border region between Ukraine,Slovakia, and Hungary—or returned from these neighboring EU countries—sufferill-treatment. In some cases, this includes torture with electric shocks, while inthe custody of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service and during interrogationsabout smugglers’ networks.Judicial ReformPresident Yanukovich pledged to undertake judicial reform in compliance withEuropean standards and in close consultation with relevant Council of Europebodies, particularly the European Commission for Democracy through Law (VeniceCommission). However, judicial reform, a central element of Ukraine’s commitmentto the Council of Europe, is being conducted hastily and without apparentconsideration of the commission’s opinions and recommendations. Authoritiessubmitted the controversial draft law “On the Judicial System and the Status ofJudges” for Venice Commission review in March 2010. The Venice Commissionand the Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council ofEurope recommended substantial changes to the draft law, some of which requireconstitutional reform. In July 2010 the government signed the bill into law withoutimplementing the Council of Europe’s recommendations. The law significantlyreduces the power of the Supreme Court and increases the authority of the HighCouncil of Justice, a body criticized for lacking independence. In July 2010Yanukovich appointed Valery Khoroshkovsky—head of the Security Service ofUkraine (SBU), media owner, and the president’s close ally—to the High Councilof Justice.493

WORLD REPORT 2011Hate Crimes and DiscriminationRacial profiling, non-violent harassment by police, and hate crimes against personsof non-Slavic appearance and ethnic and religious minorities continue to bea serious concern. The authorities’ commitment to combating hate crimes weakenedsignificantly in 2010. The Ministry of Interior Human Rights MonitoringDepartment, created in 2008 with a mandate to counter racism and xenophobia,was dissolved in June 2010. In August 2010 the same ministry disbanded its hatecrimes investigations unit. The government does not gather or publish data onhate crimes. Ukrainian law provides for sentencing enhancements for violentcrimes where racial, national, ethnic, or religious hatred is an aggravating circumstance,but this provision is generally not applied by judges due to lack of judicialtraining on hate crimes.Crimean Tatars continue to face discrimination and problems with integrating intosociety, including lack of education in their native language.Civil SocietyDespite Yanukovich’s vows to protect freedom and media pluralism, numerousnewspapers and independent journalists reported increased pressure by lawenforcement agencies and some television stations alleged censorship. 2010 alsosaw increased pressure and attacks on human rights activists.In August 2010 Vasyl Klymentyev, editor-in-chief of the Kharkiv-based Noviy Stilnewspaper known for its critical coverage of the authorities, went missing.Klementyev investigated several high-profile corruption cases involving local officials.Before disappearing, Klymentyev received threats and bribes not to releasecertain materials, increasing concerns that his disappearance is tied to his work.A national investigation into his disappearance has produced no results at thiswriting. The case echoes that of Georgy Gongadze, an online journalist who hadreported on high-level corruption and was killed in 2000. On September 16, 2010,10 years after his decapitated body was found, the Prosecutor General’s officeissued a statement identifying the late interior minister, Yuri Kravchenko, as themastermind behind Gongadze’s murder.494

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAIn May 2010 Ukrainian disability-rights activist Andrey Fedosov, who was documentingpoor living conditions at several governmental psychiatric institutions inthe Crimea region, was hospitalized after an attack by unknown assailants. Hehad previously received anonymous threats not to publicize his findings. InOctober Fedosov was informed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs that an inspectionwas underway into his organization’s economic affairs.On October 15, police searched the office of the Vinnytsya Human Rights Groupunder the pretext of investigating pornography distribution by the group’s coordinator,prominent human rights activist Dmytro Groisman. Police, who did nothave a warrant, seized the office’s computers and confidential materials relatedto current refugee cases and two pending cases at the European Court of HumanRights. At this writing, no one has been charged in connection with the allegedinvestigation and the group’s materials and equipment has not been returned.Health Issues and HIV/AIDS TherapyUkraine continued to expand provision of antiretroviral therapy for people livingwith HIV/AIDS. As of January 2010, 15,871 people were receiving medication. Italso expanded the number of people with opioid drug dependence receivingmediation-assisted treatment (MAT) with methadone and buprenorphine, fromnone in 2004 to about 5,550 in 2010.However, an increasing number of attacks by law enforcement agencies on drugtreatment clinics called into question the new government’s commitment to theHIV response.Police have raided drug treatment clinics; interrogated, fingerprinted, and photographedpatients; confiscated medical records and medications; and detainedmedical personnel in cities nationwide. Many raids appear to have been conductedwithout probable cause and in violation of Ukraine’s rules for police operations.The raids resulted in disrupted treatment, and two doctors face drug traffickingcharges punishable by up to 10 years in prison.Accessibility to palliative care continued to be limited, resulting in tens of thousandsof patients suffering unnecessarily. Human Rights Watch research foundthat Ukraine’s narcotics regulations severely limit the availability and accessibility495

WORLD REPORT 2011of morphine, essential for treating severe pain, and that most healthcare workersare not properly trained in internationally accepted pain treatment best practices.Key International ActorsIn 2010 the EU and Ukraine continued to seek a closer relationship on economic,trade, and energy issues. President of the European Commission José ManuelDurão Barroso and Yanukovich met in Brussels in September to discuss establishinga visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU, the vital role of media, and anindependent judiciary for Ukrainian democratic development.After a June 2010 fact-finding mission to Ukraine, the Monitoring Committee ofthe Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) commented on theincreased allegations of state pressure on freedom of assembly and media. In hisSeptember visit PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu raised issues of media freedom,minority rights, integration of Crimean Tartars, and the integration ofUkraine in the EU. He called on Ukrainian authorities to seek the opinion of theVenice Commission before adopting new legislation to ensure compliance withinternational standards.During the second session of the United States-Ukraine Strategic PartnershipCommission in July 2010, the sides agreed to establish working groups on nuclearpower cooperation, political dialogue and the rule of law. US Secretary of StateHillary Clinton met civil society and independent media leaders to discuss safeguardingmedia independence and strengthening civil society in Ukraine.The UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women reviewedUkraine during its January 2010 session and concluded that gender inequalityand women’s rights violations in Ukraine continue. The committee criticized theUkrainian government for not sufficiently addressing the roots of trafficking inwomen and girls in the country, and the lack of resources allocated to combatingthe problem.496

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAUzbekistanUzbekistan’s human rights record remains abysmal, with no substantive improvementin 2010. Authorities continue to crackdown on civil society activists, oppositionmembers, and independent journalists, and to persecute religious believerswho worship outside strict state controls. Freedom of expression remains severelylimited. Government-initiated forced child labor during the cotton harvest continues.The judiciary lacks independence, and the parliament is too weak to curtail thereach of executive power. In 2010 authorities continued to ignore calls for anindependent investigation into the 2005 Andijan massacre, when authorities shotand killed hundreds of mostly unarmed protestors. Authorities also harassed familiesof Andijan refugees and in April imprisoned a woman who returned toUzbekistan four-and-a-half years after fleeing.While Uzbekistan received praise for cooperating with international actors afterthe June 2010 ethnic violence in Southern Kyrgyzstan caused nearly 100,000 ethnicUzbek refugees to flee to Uzbekistan, genuine engagement on human rightsremained absent.Human Rights Defenders and Independent JournalistsUzbek authorities regularly threaten, imprison, and torture human rights defendersand other peaceful civil society activists. In 2010 the government furtherrestricted freedom of speech and increased use of spurious civil suits and criminalcharges to silence perceived government critics.The Uzbek government has at least 14 human rights defenders in prison, and hasbrought criminal charges against another, because of their legitimate humanrights work. Other activists, such as dissident poet Yusuf Jumaev, remain jailed onpolitically-motivated charges.In January 2010 Gaibullo Jalilov, a Karshi-based member of the Human RightsSociety of Uzbekistan, was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of anticonstitutionalactivity and disseminating religious extremist materials. In August497

WORLD REPORT 2011new charges were brought against him, and he was sentenced to two years, onemonth, and five days in prison after a seriously flawed trial.Members of the Human Rights Alliance were regularly persecuted and subjectedto arbitrary detention and de facto house arrest for their activism in 2010. OnFebruary 23 two men brutally assaulted Alliance member Dmitrii Tikhonov, leavinghim unconscious after choking and hitting him over the head with a metal object.On September 16 Alliance member Anatolii Volkov was convicted on fraudcharges after an investigation and trial marred by due process violations. He wasultimately amnestied. Another Alliance member, Tatyana Dovlatova, facestrumped-up charges of hooliganism.On February 10 photographer and videographer Umida Ahmedova was convictedof defamation and insulting the Uzbek people for publishing a book of photographsin 2007 and producing a documentary film in 2008 that reflect everydaylife and traditions in Uzbekistan, with a focus on gender inequality. Ahmedovawas amnestied in the courtroom.In October Vladimir Berezovskii, a veteran journalist and editor of the Vesti.uzwebsite, was convicted of similar charges based on conclusions issued by theState Press and Information Agency stating that articles on the website weredefamatory and “could incite inter-ethnic and inter-state hostility and createpanic among the population.”On October 15 Voice of America correspondent Abdumalik Boboev was convictedof defamation, insult, and preparation or dissemination of materials that threatenpublic security. A substantial fine was imposed.The Andijan MassacreThe government continues to refuse to investigate the 2005 massacre of hundredsof citizens in Andijan or to prosecute those responsible. Authorities continueto persecute anyone they suspect of having participated in or witnessed theatrocities. On April 30 Diloram Abdukodirova, an Andijan refugee who returned toUzbekistan in January 2010, was sentenced to 10 years and two months in prisonfor illegal border crossing and anti-constitutional activity despite assurances to498

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAher family she would not be harmed if she returned. Abdukodirova appeared atone court hearing with facial bruising, indicating possible ill-treatment in custody.The Uzbek government also continues to intimidate and harass families ofAndijan survivors who have sought refuge abroad. Police subject them to constantsurveillance, call them for questioning, and threaten them with criminalcharges or home confiscation. School officials publicly humiliate refugees’ children.Criminal Justice, Torture, and Ill-TreatmentTorture remains rampant in Uzbekistan. Detainees’ rights are violated at eachstage of investigations and trials, despite habeas corpus amendments that wentinto effect in 2008. The Uzbek government has failed to meaningfully implementrecommendations to combat torture that the United Nations special rapporteurmade in 2003.Suspects are not permitted access to lawyers, a critical safeguard against torturein pre-trial detention. Police use torture and other illegal means to coerce statementsand confessions from detainees. Authorities routinely refuse to investigatedefendants’ allegations of abuse.In June Yusuf Jumaev, serving a five-year prison sentence since 2008, was put in acell with men who regularly beat him. During a harsh beating on June 12 he waskicked in the chest and head, causing his ear to bleed. Prison authorities ignoredJumaev’s repeated requests to transfer cells.On July 20, 37-year-old Shavkat Alimhodjaev, imprisoned for religious offenses,died in custody. The official cause of death was anemia, but Alimhodjaev had noknown history of the disease. According to family, Alimhodjaev’s face bore possiblemarks of ill-treatment, including a swollen eye. Authorities returned his bodyto his family’s home at night. They insisted he be buried before sunrise andremained present until the burial. Authorities have not begun investigating thedeath.499

WORLD REPORT 2011Freedom of ReligionAlthough Uzbekistan’s constitution ensures freedom of religion, Uzbek authoritiescontinued their unrelenting, multi-year campaign of arbitrary detention,arrest, and torture of Muslims who practice their faith outside state controls orbelong to unregistered religious organizations. Over 100 were arrested or convictedin 2010 on charges related to religious extremism.Continuing a trend that began in 2008, followers of the late Turkish Muslim theologianSaid Nursi were harassed and prosecuted for religious extremism, leadingto prison sentences or fines. Dozens of Nursi followers were arrested or imprisonedin 2010 in Bukhara, Ferghana, and Tashkent: at least 29 were convictedbetween May and August alone.Christians and members of other minority religions holding peaceful religiousactivities also faced short-term prison sentences and fines for administrativeoffenses such as violating the law on religious organizations and illegal religiousteaching. According to Forum 18, at least five members of Christian minoritygroups are serving long prison sentences, including Tohar Haydarov, a Baptistwho received a 10-year sentence in March 2010 for drug-related charges that hissupporters say were fabricated in retaliation for his religious activity.Authorities continue to extend sentences of religious prisoners for alleged violationsof prison regulations or on new criminal charges. Such extensions occurwithout due process and can add years to a prisoner’s sentence.Child LaborForced child labor in cotton fields remains a serious concern. The governmenttook no meaningful steps to implement the two International Labour Organization(ILO) conventions on child labor, which Uzbekistan ratified in March 2008.The government continues to force hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren,some of them as young as ten, to help with the cotton harvest for two months ayear. They live in filthy conditions, contract illnesses, miss school, and work dailyfrom early morning until evening for little or no money. Hunger, exhaustion, andheat stroke are common.500

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIAHuman Rights Watch is aware of several instances when local authoritiesharassed and threatened activists who tried to document forced child labor.Key International ActorsThe Uzbek government’s cooperation with international institutions remains poor.It continues to deny access to all eight UN special procedures that have requestedinvitations, including those on torture and human rights defenders, andblocks the ILO from sending independent observers to monitor Uzbekistan’s compliancewith the prohibition of forced child labor in the cotton industry.A March 2010 review by the UN Human Rights Committee resulted in a highly criticalassessment and calls for the government to guarantee journalists and humanrights defenders in Uzbekistan “the right to freedom of expression in the conductof their activities,” and to address lack of accountability for the Andijan massacreand persisting torture and ill-treatment of detainees.During a visit to Tashkent in April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged theUzbek government to “deliver” on its international human rights commitments.The European Union’s position on human rights in Uzbekistan remained disappointinglyweak, with virtually no public expressions of concern aboutUzbekistan’s deteriorating record. The annual human rights dialogue between theEU and Uzbekistan, held in May, again yielded no known results and appeared tohave no bearing on the broader relationship. In October the EU Foreign AffairsCouncil reviewed Uzbekistan’s progress in meeting human rights criteria the EUhas set for it, noting “lack of substantial progress” on areas the council had outlinedthe previous year when remaining sanctions imposed after the Andijan massacrewere lifted. The council reiterated calls for the Uzbek government to takesteps to improve its record, including releasing all jailed human rights defenders,allowing NGOs to operate freely, and cooperating with UN special rapporteurs.However, it again stopped short of articulating any policy consequences for continuednon-compliance.The United States maintains a congressionally-mandated visa ban against Uzbekofficials linked to serious human rights abuses. However, its relationship withUzbekistan is increasingly dominated by the US Department of Defense (DOD),501

WORLD REPORT 2011which uses routes through Uzbekistan as part of the Northern DistributionNetwork to supply forces in Afghanistan. US military contracts with Uzbeks as partof this supply chain are potentially as lucrative for persons close to the Uzbekgovernment as direct US aid would be. Despite the US State Department’s re-designationin January 2009 of Uzbekistan as a “Country of Particular Concern” forsystematic violations of religious freedom, the US government retained a waiveron the sanctions outlined in the designation. The DOD’s prominence in the relationshipwith the Uzbek government raises concerns over mixed messages abouthuman rights issues among different US agencies.502


H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HWORLD REPORT2011MIDDLE EASTAND NORTH AFRICA505

WORLD REPORT 2011AlgeriaAlgeria continued to experience widespread human rights violations in 2010. Astate of emergency—imposed in 1992 and renewed indefinitely by decree in1993—created a backdrop for widespread restrictions on freedom of expression,association, and assembly. Authorities justify the measure as necessary to combatterrorism.Members of the security forces and armed groups continued to enjoy broadimpunity for atrocities committed during the violent internal conflict of the 1990s.The state offered compensation to families of persons forcibly disappeared in the1990s, but failed to provide answers about their fate. Militant groups continuedtheir deadly attacks, mostly targeting security forces, albeit on a lesser scale thanin previous years.Freedom of Expression and AssemblyThe state controls broadcast media, which provides live telecasts of parliamentarysessions but airs almost no critical coverage of government policies.Privately-owned newspapers enjoy freer scope, but repressive press laws anddependence on revenues from public sector advertising limit their freedom to criticizethe government and the military.Prosecutors constantly prosecute journalists and independent publications fordefaming or insulting public officials. Courts of first instance sometimes sentencethem to prison and heavy fines, which appeals courts often overturn or suspend.Rabah Lemouchi, correspondent for the national Arabic daily Ennahar in Tebessa,is among the journalists who have been jailed in recent years. While most haveremained provisionally free pending trial, Lemouchi was incarcerated from hisarrest until finishing his sentence six months later. A court of first instance convictedhim on July 14, 2009, of defamation and insulting state institutions, mainlydue to a personal letter he had addressed in 2006 to President Abdel AzizBouteflika. Details of the case indicate that his prosecution and imprisonmentwere politically motivated.506

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAIn the first half of 2010 at least two journalists received prison terms for defamationbut remained free pending appeal. On May 13 a court in the city ofMostaganem sentenced Belkacem Belhamideche, director of the French-languageReflexion and one of the daily’s reporters, to six months in prison for coverage ofa letter that a businessman wrote accusing a town mayor of soliciting a bribefrom him. A court in the town of Ain Boucif, in the governorate of Medea, sentencedSaleh Souadi of el-Khabar, Algeria’s leading independent Arabic-languagedaily, to six months in jail for defaming a local hospital director, even though hisarticles appeared before the director assumed his post and did not name him.A 2000 decree banning demonstrations in Algiers remained in effect in 2010.Despite the ban, SOS Disparu(e)s– an organization comprised of relatives of personsforcibly disappeared–has held small vigils in front of the Algiers headquartersof the state human rights commission for most Wednesdays since 1998, inspite of occasional police harassment. In August police dispersed the gatheringand briefly arrested the protesters, who were demanding the state provide informationregarding the fate of persons whom state security forces abducted in the1990s and were never seen again.Authorities require organizations to obtain authorization from the local governorbefore holding indoor public meetings, and frequently ban meetings organized byhuman rights organizations or rights organizations working on behalf of Algeria’sKabyle population. Authorities refused to allow the Algerian League for theDefense of Human Rights (LADDH) to hold its national congress on March 25-26 ata public venue in an Algiers suburb. The governorate of Algiers announced therefusal on the eve of the congress, even though the LADDH had formally requestedpermission a month earlier. The LADDH moved its congress to the Maison dessyndicats in Bachdjarrah, a privately owned venue; two months later, the authoritiesclosed that hall, one of the few in the capital where controversial civil societyorganizations had been able to meet.On July 23, police in the city of Tizi-Ouzou broke up a human rights seminarorganized by the World Amazigh Congress in collaboration with two local Amazigh(Berber) organizations. Police entered the meeting hall, confiscated materials,questioned attendees, and expelled two French participants from the country.Authorities did not explain their action.507

WORLD REPORT 2011Authorities frequently deny journalists and human rights workers entry visas. OnOctober 2, 2010, the Algerian embassy in Washington refused visas for HumanRights Watch to conduct general research, explaining they could visit only thePolisario-run refugee camps near Tindouf. The authorities told AmnestyInternational the same thing in 2010. Authorities expelled two journalists with theMoroccan weekly Assahrae al-Ousbouiya on September 22.Freedom of ReligionAlgeria’s constitution defines the state religion as Islam and requires the presidentto be a Muslim. Algerian laws criminalize non-Muslims proselytizing toMuslims but not the reverse, and forbid non-Muslims from gathering to worshipexcept in state-approved locations. In practice, authorities rarely authorizeAlgerian Protestant groups to use buildings for worship, subjecting worshippersto possible prosecution. A court in al-Arba Nath Irathen, Tizi-Ouzou province, triedMahmoud Yahou and three other Christians for “practicing religious rites withoutauthorization.” The trial is continuing at this writing. An appeals court in Jijel onJune 22 convicted another Christian, Abdelhamid Bouamama, from Grarem inMila province, of trying to convert Muslims and sentenced him to one year inprison, suspended.Impunity for Past AbusesOver 100,000 Algerians died during the political strife of the 1990s. Thousandsmore were “disappeared” by security forces or abducted by armed groups fightingthe government and never found. The 2006 Law on Peace and NationalReconciliation provides a legal framework for the continued impunity enjoyed byperpetrators of atrocities during this era. The law provides amnesty to securityforce members for actions they took in the name of combating terrorism and toarmed group members not implicated in the most heinous acts.The law promises compensation for families of “disappeared” persons, but simultaneouslymakes it a crime to denigrate state institutions or security forces for themanner in which they conducted themselves during the political strife.Organizations representing the families of the “disappeared” have criticized thestate’s failure to provide a detailed account of the fate of their missing relatives.508

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAIn one case dating to the civil strife of the 1990s, Malik Mejnoun and AbdelkaderChenoui have been in pre-trial detention since 1999 in connection with the assassinationone year earlier of Kabyle singer-activist Lounes Matoub. Both men claimthey are innocent and say they were tortured while in detention without access tocommunications. Eleven years later they have yet to be brought to trial.Algeria amended its penal code in 2004 to make torture an explicit crime. TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross regularly visits ordinary prisons inAlgeria, but not places of detention run by the powerful Department forInformation and Security (DRS), an intelligence agency within the military.Algerian courts pronounced death sentences during 2010, some of them againstdefendants in terrorism cases and most in absentia. Algeria has observed a defacto moratorium on executions since 1993.Terrorism and CounterterrorismMilitant attacks were down dramatically compared to the mid-1990s, but alQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) continued to launch fatal attacks, directedmostly—but not exclusively—at military and police targets. On June 25, gunmen—whom Algerian media linked to terrorists—fired on a wedding party in the easternwilaya (province) of Tebessa, killing the bridegroom, a young soldier, and fourguests.In July the United States for the first time sent home an Algerian who had beenheld at Guantanamo and opposed his repatriation, fearing persecution. The USgovernment said Algeria had given “diplomatic assurances” that Abdul Aziz Najiwould be treated humanely. Shortly after arriving, Naji, like other Algerianreturnees from Guantanamo before him, appeared before an investigative judgeto answer accusations of membership in a terrorist group abroad and wasreleased pending trial, which is continuing at this writing. On November 4 anAlgiers court acquitted an earlier Guantanamo returnee, Sofiane Hadarbache, ofsimilar charges. Eight Algerian detainees remain in Guantanamo at this writing, ofwhom at least five reportedly oppose their return.509

WORLD REPORT 2011Key International ActorsAlgeria in 2010 did not extend invitations to five special procedures of the UnitedNations Human Rights Council that had requested them, including the WorkingGroup on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and the special rapporteurson torture and on human rights while countering terrorism. Algeria announcedinvitations to visit during 2011 to seven other special rapporteurs, including thoseon violence against women and on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.Algeria and the European Union have an association agreement in effect since2005. In June they signed an agreement that provides Algeria €172 million(approximately US$234 million) in aid during 2011-2013. In 2009 the two sidesagreed to create a subcommittee of the Association Council on “PoliticalDialogue, Security and Human Rights.”According to the US government, Algeria “is a major partner in combating extremismand terrorist networks such as Al Qa’ida and is our second-largest tradingpartner in the Arab world.” The US provides almost no financial aid to Algeria, butis the leading customer of its exports, primarily gas and oil. Other than the annualCountry Reports on Human Rights Practices, the US said almost nothing publiclyon Algeria’s human rights record. In a visit to Algeria in October, Departmentof State Special Advisor Judith E. Heumann praised the government for ratifyingthe UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in December 2009.510

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICABahrainHuman rights conditions in Bahrain deteriorated sharply in the latter half of 2010.Starting in mid-August authorities detained an estimated 250 persons, includingnonviolent critics of the government, and shut down websites and publications oflegal opposition political societies.Authorities detained 25 of the most prominent opposition activists and accusedmany of them of “spreading false information” and “meeting with outside organizations.”Some rights activists were among those held and allegedly tortured.Authorities prevented detainees from meeting with their lawyers prior to the firstsession of their trial, and allowed only extremely brief meetings with some familymembers.This crackdown came after months of street protests, which often involved burningtires and throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. Among the first peoplearrested were activists who had just participated in a public meeting in Londonwhere they criticized Bahrain’s human rights record.The main exception to these dismal human rights developments involvedimproved protections for migrant workers.Torture and Ill-TreatmentAlmost all of the 25 prominent activists–whose trial began on October 28–toldthe court, some in considerable detail, that they had been subjected to torture.Lawyers able to attend the public prosecutor’s pretrial interrogations of clientssaid that in some cases they observed marks and wounds that appeared consistentwith the allegations.A Human Rights Watch report released in February 2010 concluded that in the2007-2009 period, the authorities regularly resorted to torture and ill-treatmentwhen interrogating security suspects. Officials denied these findings, but apparentlyconducted no criminal investigations and ordered no disciplinary measuresagainst alleged perpetrators.511

WORLD REPORT 2011On March 28 an appellate court convicted 19 men of the murder of a security officer,overturning their acquittal by a lower court in October 2009. The lower courtjudge determined that there was no evidence linking them to the crimes otherthan confessions that appeared to have been coerced.Counterterrorism MeasuresThe government charged at least 23 of those detained in August and Septemberunder Law 58/2006, Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts, which allows forextended periods of detention without charge or judicial review. The UnitedNations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism has criticizedthe law’s broad definitions of terrorism.Freedom of ExpressionIn September the Information Affairs Authority blocked websites and blogs associatedwith the opposition. On state-run Bahrain TV on September 20 AbdullahYateem, the general director of press and publications at the authority, said thatwebsites and bloggers had committed 12 crimes, and he specifically mentioned:offending the person of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, incitement to overthrowthe government, publishing information about bomb-making, and slander anddefamation. Yateem also banned publication of the newsletters of several oppositionpolitical societies, which are political groups the government allows, unlikeother opposition groups that have no legal status.On September 4 Ali Abdelemam, whose popular Bahrain online blog carried informationabout human rights developments, responded to a summons to appear atthe headquarters of the National Security Agency, a body that operates outsidethe criminal justice system and reports directly to King Hamad. Authoritiesrefused his request to contact a lawyer, even at his formal interrogation. At theopening session of the October 28 trial of 25 prominent activists, Abdulemamsaid he was subjected to torture and degrading treatment.Municipal officials ordered one Waad Party candidate in the National Assemblyelection scheduled for October 23 to remove billboards with the slogan “Enoughto Corruption,” saying it was “a breach of the law” but not indicating which law. A512

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAcourt ruled on October 4 that the banners did not violate the law, but the governmentappealed.The Ministry of Information suspended the satellite station Al Jazeera on May 18,the day after the channel broadcast a feature about poverty in Bahrain. On July 2,police summoned for questioning two volunteers with the Bahrain Women’sAssociation who had spoken with Al Jazeera about challenges they face beingmarried to non-Bahrainis.On August 16, 2010, Al-Wasat, Bahrain’s one independent newspaper, reportedthat the minister of information suspended its online audio reports. The suspensioncame after several of the reports featured persons alleging mistreatment ofinmates in Jaw prison.Freedom of AssociationIn April the minister of social development denied the request of the BahrainHuman Rights Society to hold a monitoring workshop for human rights defendersin the Gulf region, saying it would violate the association law, which prohibitsorganizations from involvement in political activities. The ministry subsequentlyallowed the workshop to take place in late May.In August the ministry wrote to the Migrant Workers’ Protection Society sayingthat the society’s shelter was not legally registered and would have to close. Thisfollowed an incident in which a migrant domestic worker fled to the shelter fromthe home of a high ministry official, claiming she had been abused. The societyresponded by providing a copy of the government’s 2005 authorization of theshelter, noting that in previous years the ministry had donated funds to supportthe shelter.The government continues to deny legal status to the Bahrain Center for HumanRights (BCHR), which it ordered dissolved in 2004 after the group’s then-presidentcriticized the prime minister for corruption and human rights violations.On April 5 Bahrain’s Lower Criminal Court fined Mohammad al-Maskati, presidentof the Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society (BYHRS), BD500 (US$ 1,325) for operatingan unregistered NGO. The BYHRS attempted in 2005 to register with the513

WORLD REPORT 2011Ministry of Social Development, as required by law, but received no response toits application.Human Rights DefendersThose detained in the wave of arrests in August and September and allegedly torturedincluded Abd al-Ghani al-Khanjar, spokesperson for the National Committeefor the Victims of Torture, and Muhammad Saeed al-Sahlawi, a BCHR board member.On September 1 the pro-government daily Al Watan featured a front-page articlealleging that BCHR president Nabeel Rajab and former president Abd al-Hadi al-Khawaja were linked to a “terrorist network” responsible for arson attacks andplotting sabotage. A similar article appeared on the official Bahrain News Agencywebsite on September 4, but was removed the following day.On September 6 Salman Kamaleddin resigned as the head of the newly establishedofficial National Institution for Human Rights to protest the institution’sfailure to criticize the recent arrests.On September 8–after the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) criticized thewidespread arrests and alleged torture of detainees–the Ministry of SocialDevelopment dismissed Abdullah al-Dirazi, the group’s secretary general, dissolvedthe group’s board of directors, and appointed a ministry official as “interimdirector.” The minister accused the organization of “only serving one segmentof society,” communicating with illegal organizations, and conducting “secrettraining” of regional rights defenders, referring to the May workshops that theministry expressly approved and that were well publicized at the time. The BHRShad been the main Bahraini organization permitted to monitor parliamentaryelections scheduled for October 23; the government refused to allow internationalobservers.Migrant Worker RightsOver 460,000 migrant workers, primarily from South Asia, work in Bahrain. Manyexperience prolonged periods of withheld wages, passport confiscation, unsafe514

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAhousing, excessive work hours and physical abuse. Government redress mechanismsremained largely ineffective.In August 2009 Bahrain adopted Decision 79/2009 allowing workers to changejobs more freely. The reform does not apply to domestic workers and many workersremain unaware that they have the right to change employment freely.A draft labor law circulated in May 2010 extends some rights to domestic workers,including annual vacation and end-of-term pay, but still excludes them from provisionsmandating maximum work hours and days off. The law also creates a new“case management” mechanism to ensure the adjudication of labor complaintswithin two months, potentially making litigation a more viable option for migrantworkers seeking redress for abuses.Women’s RightsBahrain’s first written personal status law (Law 19/2009), adopted in 2009,applies only to Sunnis. Shia religious leaders demand a constitutional guaranteethat, should a separate personal status law be passed for Shias, parliament willnot be able to amend any provision of the law. Women’s groups favor a unifiedlaw for all citizens in part because Sharia court judges—generally conservativereligious scholars with limited formal legal training—decide marriage, divorce,custody, and inheritance cases according to their own individual readings ofIslamic jurisprudence, which consistently favor men. It remains unclear to whatextent codification has alleviated these problems for Sunni women.Key International ActorsBahrain hosts the headquarters of the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet and provideslogistical support for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and theUS provides military aid to Bahrain. The US initially did not publicly criticize thegovernment’s crackdown on civil society or other serious abuses; on October 31Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement congratulating Bahrain for itsrecent parliamentary election, but also expressing concern about “efforts in thelead-up to the elections to restrict freedom of expression and association targetedat civil society.”515

WORLD REPORT 2011British officials expressed little concern publicly about the sharp deterioration ofhuman rights conditions. One of the activists arrested in August, Jaffar al-Hasabi,is a dual national, and it reportedly took a phone call from British ForeignSecretary William Hague to Bahrain’s crown prince before a British consular visitto al-Hasabi was permitted, about a month after his arrest. Bahrain publiclycalled on the United Kingdom to investigate and prosecute or extradite two ofthose indicted in the alleged terrorism case whom reside in London. The UKresponded that it would investigate if Bahrain provided evidence of criminal activity.At this writing, Bahrain has provided no such evidence.516

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAEgyptEgypt continued to suppress political dissent in 2010, dispersing demonstrations;harassing rights activists; and detaining journalists, bloggers, and MuslimBrotherhood members. Security officers used lethal force against migrantsattempting to cross into Israel and arbitrarily detained recognized refugees.Despite promising since 2005 to end the state of emergency, the governmentrenewed Law No. 162 of 1958 in May, but promised to restrict its use. Afterwardauthorities released at least 450 individuals detained under the emergency law,including Bedouin rights defender Mus’ad Abul Fagr and blogger Hany Nazeer.The government continues to refuse to disclose the number of persons detainedunder the emergency law, but Egyptian human rights organizations estimate thenumber at around 5,000.The June 1 elections for the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, weremarred by reports of fraud and voter intimidation. The High Elections Committeefailed to issue 2,600 of the 4,000 civil society permits requested by the NationalCouncil for Human Rights. People’s Assembly elections took place on November28 with ineffective judicial supervision.Freedom of ExpressionSecurity officers targeted bloggers and journalists who criticized government policiesand exposed human rights violations, and activists supporting Mohamed ElBaradei’s Campaign for Change. In March State Security Investigations (SSI)arrested Tarek Khedr, who had been gathering signatures for the Baradei petition,and detained him incommunicado at an unknown location for three months. InApril SSI officers arrested publisher Ahmed Mehni for publishing a book, “ElBaradei and the Dream of the Green Revolution.”In February military intelligence officers arrested Ahmad Mustafa, a blogger andactivist in the April 6 Youth Group, after he blogged about corruption in theMilitary Academy. The prosecutor charged Mustafa with “spreading false information”and transferred the case to a military tribunal, where a judge released himafter 10 days on the condition that he apologize.517

WORLD REPORT 2011In the run-up to the parliamentary elections, the government on October 13brought all live broadcasts by private companies under control of state television,and on November 1 issued directives requiring prior permission for every livebroadcast.Freedom of Assembly and AssociationIn April security officials cracked down on a peaceful protest–organized by theApril 6 Youth Group–calling for an end to the state of emergency; more than 100were arrested and 33 were brought before a prosecutor, who charged them withdemonstrating “to overthrow the regime” and released them. In June a number ofpeaceful demonstrations expressed outrage at the police killing of Khaled Said inAlexandria. Security officials beat and dispersed protestors, arresting at least 101in one day.In February SSI arrested 16 senior Muslim Brotherhood members, includingdeputy leader Mahmud Ezzat and prominent member Essam El Erian. A statesecurity prosecutor charged them with leading a Brotherhood faction that promotesviolence against the government. The prosecutor dropped all charges andreleased them two months later. After the changes to the emergency law cameinto effect, the Ministry of Interior released almost all Muslim Brotherhood membersdetained under the law. As of November 18, Egyptian security officers hadarrested 487 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in connection with campaigningfor the members of the group who are running as independents in the parliamentaryelections, and held 288 of them in preventive detention on charges of“membership in an illegal organization.”Arbitrary Detention and TortureOfficials of SSI appear to have “disappeared” more political detainees in 2010.Security officers “disappeared” those accused of membership in Islamic groupsfor up to three months and also “disappeared” young political activists for severaldays. SSI arrested Amr Salah on September 9 and detained him incommunicadoat an unknown location before releasing him 30 hours later. In a rare case of along-term disappearance, the whereabouts and well-being of Mohamed Tork, a23-year-old student, have been unknown since his arrest in July 2009. Family518

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAcomplaints to the prosecutions and the Interior Ministry have received noresponse.Police and security forces regularly engaged in torture in police stations, detentioncenters, and at points of arrest. In March SSI arrested Muslim Brotherhoodmember Nasr al-Sayed Hassan Nasr, detained him incommunicado for threemonths, and tortured him for 45 days during interrogation. They released himwithout charge in June. Also in June two policemen beat 28-year-old Khaled Saidto death on an Alexandria street, causing public outrage. Following widespreadprotests, a public prosecutor referred the two policemen to court on charges ofexcessive use of force, but failed to indict their superior officer; at this writing twosessions of the trial have taken place.Fair Trial and Special CourtsThe year 2010 saw increases in the number of trials of civilians before militarycourts and in reliance on special courts that do not meet fair trial standards. Atthis writing the ongoing trial of 25 defendants accused of membership in a terroristorganization, the so-called Zeitoun trial, has already been marred by theincommunicado detention of the defendants, their lack of access to counsel, andallegations of torture that prosecutors did not properly investigate. In Augustprosecutors referred former torture victim Imad al-Kabir to trial before a statesecurity court on charges of possession of an illegal weapon after a neighborhoodbrawl.Labor RightsEgypt witnessed waves of worker protests and unauthorized strikes throughout2010, and security officers dispersed several of these using excessive force. InAugust a military court tried eight civilian workers on charges of deliberately stoppingproduction, going on strike, and “disclosing military secrets.” The case followedan amendment to the Military Justice Code, after workers from the HelwanMilitary Factory participated in a protest against factory conditions followinganother worker’s death. The court acquitted three of the workers but gave twoothers suspended prison sentences and fines, and recommended disciplinarymeasures against a further three.519

WORLD REPORT 2011Freedom of ReligionAlthough Egypt’s constitution provides for equal rights without regard to religion,there is widespread discrimination against Egyptian Christians, as well as officialintolerance of heterodox Muslim sects. In January gunmen shot dead six CopticChristians as they left a Christmas Mass in Nag’ Hammadi, forcing the governmentto acknowledge increasing sectarian violence. Prosecutors charged threemen with premeditated murder in this incident, and transferred the case to aState Security Court. Authorities responded to a subsequent incident of sectarianviolence in March in Marsa Matrouh in a more typical fashion, merely urging theparties to drop complaints and not pursuing criminal investigations or holdingperpetrators accountable.In March SSI arrested at least nine members of the Ahmadi faith and detainedthem for 80 days on charges of “showing contempt for the Islamic faith.” Securityofficials continued to detain eight adherents of the Shia faith under successiveemergency law detention orders, despite government promises to release allthose detained under the law for reasons other than terrorism and drugs, anddespite successive court orders for their release.Refugees and MigrantsThe treatment of refugees and migrants in Egypt deteriorated further. At this writingEgyptian border guards have shot dead at least 27 migrants attempting tocross the Sinai border into Israel since the start of 2010. A government officialsaid that security forces had “only” killed 4 percent of those attempting to crossin 2009. Egypt denied the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) access to detained migrants, preventing them from making asylumclaims. Egypt also continues to detain UNHCR-recognized refugees and chargerefugees and migrants alike with illegal entry, bringing their cases before militarycourts that do not meet international fair trial standards.In January SSI officials arrested at least 25 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekersand detained many incommunicado for up to three months. Among them wasFaisal Mohamed Haroun, a recognized refugee from Darfur, who disappearedwhen SSI arrested him on January 7 and did not reappear until April 6, when offi-520

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAcials brought him before a state security prosecutor. A prosecutor dropped thecharges against Haroun and closed the investigation, but he and at least 14 otherrefugees and asylum seekers remain in detention. Egypt has made four attempts,one successfully, to deport refugees who have been recognized by UNHCR.Women’s and Girls’ RightsIn February the State Council, Egypt’s highest administrative court, voted to banwomen from serving as judges on the council. The decision was overturned byEgypt’s Constitutional Court, but women are still not represented on the StateCouncil and are extremely underrepresented in the Egyptian judiciary.In June a decision by Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court allowing Christiandivorcees to remarry prompted an outcry from the Orthodox Coptic Church, whichrefused to recognize the decision. In July the Supreme Constitutional Court overruledthe administrative court’s decision, and the Coptic Church approved a draftpersonal status law for non-Muslims that only allows for divorce under certainconditions, such as adultery, and denies Christian divorcees the right to remarry.In August officials arrested an Egyptian doctor for illegally performing female genitalmutilation on a 13-year-old girl who later died from complications arising fromthe procedure. The Egyptian government criminalized performing female genitalcircumcision in 2008.Egypt still lacks a legal environment to protect girls and women from violence,encourage them to report attacks, and deter perpetrators from committing abusesagainst them.Key International ActorsAt Egypt’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human Rights Council inFebruary, the government accepted 140 out of 165 recommendations, but rejectedkey ones related to abolishing the death penalty, eliminating the crime of “habitualdebauchery,” and permitting NGOs to receive funding without prior authorization.The United States condemned the renewal of the emergency law andpressed for the release of detainees. US Senators Russ Feingold and John McCain521

WORLD REPORT 2011introduced a Senate resolution with broad support calling for ending the state ofemergency and abuses by security officers, and establishing free elections inEgypt. Egyptian government lobbyists strenuously opposed the resolution.European Union Heads of Mission issued a statement in July calling for an impartialinvestigation into the police killing of Khaled Said.522

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAIranIran’s human rights crisis deepened as the government sought to consolidate itspower following 2009’s disputed presidential election. Public demonstrationswaned after security forces used live ammunition to suppress protesters in late2009, resulting in the death of at least seven protesters. Authorities announcedthat security forces had arrested more than 6,000 individuals after June 2009.Hundreds–including lawyers, rights defenders, journalists, civil society activists,and opposition leaders–remain in detention without charge. Since the electioncrackdown last year, well over a thousand people have fled Iran to seek asylum inneighboring countries. Interrogators used torture to extract confessions, on whichthe judiciary relied on to sentence people to long prison terms and even death.Restrictions on freedom of expression and association, as well as religious andgender-based discrimination, continued unabated.Torture and Ill-TreatmentAuthorities systematically used torture to coerce confessions. Student activistAbdullah Momeni wrote to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei inSeptember describing the torture he suffered at the hands of jailers. At this writingno high-level official has been prosecuted for the torture, ill-treatment, anddeaths of three detainees held at Kahrizak detention center after June 2009.On August 2, 2010, 17 political prisoners issued a statement demanding therights guaranteed to prisoners by law, including an end to their solitary confinementand access to medical facilities. They also complained of severely overcrowdedconditions. Reports by international human rights groups indicate thatprison authorities are systematically denying needed medical care to politicalprisoners at Tehran’s Evin Prison and other facilities.Freedom of ExpressionDozens of journalists and bloggers are currently behind bars or free on short-termfurloughs. On September 28 blogger Hossein Derakhshan received a nineteenand-a-halfyear prison sentence for espionage, “propaganda against the regime,”523

WORLD REPORT 2011and “insulting sanctities.” The judiciary sentenced numerous other journalists,including Isa Saharkhiz and Hengameh Shahidi who were sentenced to three andsix years respectively, for crimes such as “insulting” government officials. On June8 a revolutionary court sentenced Jila Baniyaghoub to a year in prison and barredher from working as a journalist for 30 years.The Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance continued shutting down newspapersand in August directed the press not to publish items about opposition leadersMir Hossein Moussavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Mohammad Khatami, the formerpresident.State universities prevented some politically active students from registering forgraduate programs despite undergraduate test scores that should have guaranteedthem access. The government initiated an aggressive campaign to“Islamicize” universities, in part by forcibly retiring professors in the social sciences.The government relied on plainclothes security forces and the Basij, a state-sponsoredparamilitary force, to target Shia clerics critical of the government, such asGrand Ayatollah Yusef Sanei, Mehdi Karroubi, and Ayatollah Seyed AliMohammad Dastgheib. Ayatollah Kazemini Boroujerdi—whose understanding ofIslam calls for the separation of religion and government—entered his fourth yearin prison following a Special Court for the Clergy conviction on unknown charges.After years under house arrest and government monitoring, Grand AyatollahHossein-Ali Montazeri died in December 2009. Security forces arrested scores ofmourners who attended his funeral.The government systematically blocks websites that carry political news andanalysis, slows down internet speeds, jams foreign satellite broadcasts, andemploys the Revolutionary Guards to target dissident websites.Freedom of Assembly and AssociationAuthorities continued a blanket policy of denying permits for opposition demonstrations.Security forces prevented the Mourning Mothers, whose sons anddaughters were killed by security forces during the 2009 unrest, from gathering atLaleh Park in Tehran. Authorities also prevented women’s rights activists from524

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WORLD REPORT 2011publicly petitioning against existing laws or legislation that discriminate againstwomen.The government increased restrictions on civil society organizations. OnSeptember 27 the general prosecutor and judiciary spokesman announced acourt order dissolving two pro-reform political parties, the Islamic IranParticipation Front and the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution.Repression of student groups was particularly harsh. Security forces detainedscores of members belonging to the Office for Consolidating Unity, including AliQolizadeh, Alireza Kiani, Mohammad Heydarzadeh, and Mohsen Barzegar, whowere arrested in early November 2010. The Office for Consolidating Unity is anational independent student association that authorities declared illegal inJanuary 2009. In 2010, revolutionary courts convicted Bahareh Hedayat, MajidTavakoli, and Milad Asadi, members of Tahkim’s alumni group, to prison termsranging from six to eight-and-a-half years on charges that include insulting governmentauthorities.Death PenaltyIn 2009, the last year for which figures are available, authorities executed 388prisoners, more than any other nation except China. Iranian human rights defendersbelieve that many more executions, especially of individuals convicted of drugtrafficking, are taking place in Iran’s prisons today.Crimes punishable by death include murder, rape, drug trafficking, armed robbery,espionage, sodomy, and adultery. Under intense international pressure,officials suspended the stoning-to-death sentence of Sakineh MohammadiAshtiani who was convicted of adultery in 2006. However, they alleged thatAshtiani helped murder her husband. She remains on death row at this writing.Iran leads the world in the execution of juvenile offenders. Iranian law allowsdeath sentences for persons who have reached puberty, defined as nine years oldfor girls and fifteen for boys. According to a human rights lawyer who defendedmany juvenile offenders on death row, authorities executed a juvenile offendernamed Mohammad on July 10, 2010. There are currently more than a hundredjuvenile offenders on death row, including Ebrahim Hamidi, whom a local court526

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAsentenced to death for the alleged rape of another boy in 2010. Hamidi was 16 atthe time of the alleged crime.Authorities have executed at least nine political dissidents since November 2009,all of them convicted of moharebeh (“enmity against God”) for their alleged tiesto armed groups. On January 28 the government hanged Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour. Although both were arrested prior to the June2009 presidential election, they were tried as part of the August 2009 mass trials,where they reportedly confessed to planning a deadly 2008 bombing in Shiraz,southwest Iran.Authorities executed Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heidarian, Farhad Vakili, Shirin AlamHoli, and Mehdi Eslamian by hanging on the morning of May 9 in Evin prisonwithout informing their lawyers or families. Another 16 Kurds presently face executionfor their alleged support of armed groups.Human Rights DefendersEfforts to intimidate human rights lawyers and prevent them from effectively representingpolitical detainees continued. In September authorities arrested NasrinSotoudeh, who represented numerous political prisoners. In November Sotoudehwent on a “dry” hunger strike, refusing to eat or drink anything to protest beingheld in solitary confinement since her arrest. Mohammad Mostafaei was forced toflee Iran after authorities repeatedly summoned him for questioning and detainedhis wife, father-in-law, and brother-in-law. Mostafaei represented high-profiledefendants such as Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman sentenced todeath by stoning, and numerous juvenile detainees on death row. In October2010, a revolutionary court sentenced Mohammad Seifzadeh, a colleague ofNobel-prize winner Shirin Ebadi and co-founder of the banned Center forDefenders of Human Rights, to nine years imprisonment and banned him frompracticing law for 10 years.Security forces routinely harassed and arrested human rights activists, often withoutcharge. Others were swept up in raids and face charges of attempting to overthrowthe government via “cyber-warfare.” On September 21 a revolutionary courtsentenced Emad Baghi to six years in prison for an interview he conducted with527

WORLD REPORT 2011dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Montazeri several years earlier. Another revolutionarycourt sentenced Shiva Nazar Ahari and Koohyar Goodarzi, both membersof the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, to six years and one year respectivelyafter months of “temporary detention” for alleged national security offenses.Treatment of MinoritiesThe government denies adherents of the Baha’i faith–Iran’s largest non-Muslimreligious minority–freedom of religion. In August the judiciary convicted sevenleaders of the national Baha’i organization to 20 years each in prison; their sentenceswere later reduced to 10 years each. The government accused them ofespionage without providing evidence and denied their lawyers’ requests to conducta prompt and fair trial.Iranian laws continue to discriminate against religious minorities, including SunniMuslims, in employment and education. Sunni Muslims, about 10 percent of thepopulation, cannot construct mosques in major cities. In 2010, security forcesdetained several members of Iran’s largest Sufi sect, the Nematollahi Gonabadiorder, and attacked their houses of worship. They similarly targeted converts toChristianity for questioning and arrest.The government restricts cultural and political activities among the country’sAzeri, Kurdish, and Arab minorities, including the organizations that focus onsocial issues.Sexual minorities also face a precarious situation. Law enforcement and judiciaryofficials discriminate, both in law and in practice, against Iran’s vulnerable lesbian,gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Iran’s penal code criminalizesconsensual same-sex acts, some of which are punishable by death. During thepast few years, a steady stream of LGBT Iranians has sought refugee status inTurkey and are awaiting resettlement in third countries.528

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAKey International ActorsIran’s nuclear program continued to be the center of attention for much of 2010,overshadowing serious concerns regarding the deepening human rights crisis inthe country. In June 2010 the United Nations Security Council passed a new roundof sanctions against Iran for its failure to comply with previous resolutions ontransparency regarding its nuclear program.During Iran’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human Rights Council(HRC) in March, Iran rejected 45 recommendations of member states, includingallowing the special rapporteur on torture to visit the country; prosecuting securityofficials involved in torturing, raping, or killing; implementing policies to endgender based violence; and halting the execution of political prisoners.In October 2010 the UN secretary-general’s office released its report on the situationof human rights in Iran, pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 64/176.The report noted “further negative developments in the human rights situation”in Iran, including “excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests, and detentions, unfairtrials, and possible torture and ill-treatment of opposition activists” following theJune 2009 election.In April Iran withdrew its bid to gain a seat on the HRC after strong internationalopposition. However, it did gain a seat on the Commission on the Status ofWomen. During the June session of the HRC, 56 states joined a statementexpressing concern over “the lack of progress in the protection of human rights inIran, particularly since the events surrounding the elections in Iran last June.” InDecember 2009 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution criticizing Iran’shuman rights record.On September 29, 2010, the Obama administration announced “human rightssanctions” against eight high-level Iranian officials, including individuals from theministries of intelligence and interior, the police, the Basij, the RevolutionaryGuards, and the judiciary, who were responsible for systematic and serioushuman rights violations.529

WORLD REPORT 2011IraqHuman rights conditions in Iraq remain extremely poor, especially for journalists,detainees, displaced persons, religious and ethnic minorities, women and girls,and persons with disabilities. The United States officially ended its seven-yearcombat operations in August 2010, reducing the number of troops to about49,700.On March 7, 2010, millions of Iraqis from every part of the country braved mortarshells and rockets to vote in the national legislative election. In a blow to theelection’s credibility, the Supreme National Commission for Accountability andJustice disqualified more than 500 candidates because of alleged Ba’ath Partylinks, including several prominent politicians who were expected to do well.Incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose State of Law Coalition won 89 ofthe 325 seats, remained in office pending the formation of a new government,while Ayad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya list won 91. The Iraqi National Alliance, a Shia coalitionformed by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and the followers of Muqtadaal-Sadr, won 70 seats and the Kurdish parties obtained 57. Overall, the electionresults reflected sectarian divisions.In November 2010 Iraq’s political parties agreed to form a new coalition governmenteight months after parliamentary elections. The deadlock had created apolitical vacuum that allowed armed groups to reassert themselves in someareas.Attacks on Civilians and DisplacementRepeated attacks by armed groups targeted civilians, exploiting the politicalstalemate and Sunni Arab discontent. Violence killed and injured hundreds ofcivilians each month, in one of the worst periods, more than 500 people died inAugust alone. Assailants targeted government buildings and officials, checkpoints,embassies, hotels, factories, markets, and mosques, as well as peoplegathered for religious pilgrimages, weddings, and funerals, mainly in Shia areas.Violent attacks have caused civilians to flee, creating internally displaced personsand refugees across borders.530

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICASome refugees who had fled to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon faced economic pressureand difficulties maintaining legal status abroad and returned home to Iraq.The Iraqi government has no adequate plan for the return of Iraqis who have beendisplaced internally or those who have fled to neighboring countries. Thousandsof displaced persons within Iraq reside in squatter settlements without access tobasic necessities such as clean water, electricity, and sanitation. Many are widowswith few employment prospects. Their desperate situation has contributed toan increase in sex trafficking and forced prostitution.The ongoing attacks, along with an abundance of abandoned landmines andcluster munitions, have created a disproportionately high number of persons withphysical and mental disabilities, many of whom have not received support forrehabilitation and re-integration into the community.Detention Conditions and TortureReports continued of widespread torture and other abuse of detainees in the custodyof the defense and interior ministries and police. Government-run detentionfacilities struggled to accommodate almost 30,000 detainees, and serious delaysin judicial review exacerbated overcrowding; some detainees have spent years incustody without charge or trial. The situation worsened in 2010 as the US militarytransferred most of its remaining prison sites and detainees to Iraqi custody. OnJuly 15, US forces handed over their last prison, Camp Cropper, which housedabout 1,700 detainees. US forces retained control over about 200 prisoners,including some former members of Saddam Hussein’s government.In April Human Rights Watch interviewed 42 detainees who had been torturedover a period of months by security forces at a secret prison in the old Muthannaairport in western Baghdad. The facility held about 430 detainees who had noaccess to their families or lawyers. The prisoners said security forces personnelkicked, whipped, and beat them, asphyxiated them, gave them electric shocks,burned them with cigarettes, and pulled out their fingernails and teeth. They saidthat interrogators sodomized some detainees with sticks and pistol barrels. Someyoung men said they were forced to perform oral sex on interrogators and guards,and that interrogators forced detainees to sexually molest one another. As ofNovember government officials had not prosecuted any officials responsible.531

WORLD REPORT 2011Gender-Based ViolenceViolence against women and girls continued to be a serious problem across Iraq.Women’s rights activists said they remain at risk of attack from extremists whohave also targeted female politicians, civil servants, and journalists. “Honor”crimes and domestic abuse remain a threat to women and girls, who also remainvulnerable to trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced prostitution due toinsecurity, displacement, financial hardship, social disintegration, and the dissolutionof rule of law and state authority.Female genital mutilation is practiced mainly in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq. InNovember the Ministry of Health completed a statistical study on the prevalenceof FGM and the data suggests that 41 percent of Kurdish girls and women haveundergone this procedure. On July 6, 2010, the High Committee for Issuing Fatwasat the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars Union — the highest Muslim authority in IraqiKurdistan to issue religious pronouncements and rulings — issued a religiousedict that said Islam does not prescribe the practice, but stopped short of callingfor an outright ban. At this writing the women’s rights committee of the Kurdistanparliament had finalized a draft law on family violence, including provisions onFGM, and the Ministry of Health announced plans to disseminate information onthe practice’s negative health consequences. But the government has not yetbanned FGM or created a comprehensive plan to eradicate it.Freedom of ExpressionIn 2010 Iraq remained one of the most dangerous countries in the world to workas a journalist. Extremists and unknown assailants continue to kill media workersand bomb their bureaus. On July 26, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehiclein front of the Al Arabiya satellite television station, killing six and destroying theBaghdad bureau. The Islamic State of Iraq, an armed umbrella group associatedwith al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, later claimed responsibility for this attack on the“corrupt” channel. In September unknown assailants assassinated two televisionpresenters and injured another in separate incidents in Baghdad and Mosul. OnMarch 12, gunmen opened fire in Baghdad on the car of Mu’aid al-Lami, head ofthe Iraqi Journalists’ Syndicate, killing his driver.532


WORLD REPORT 2011Journalists in Iraq also contended with emboldened Iraqi and Kurdish securityforces and their respective image-conscious central and regional governments.On May 4, assailants abducted, tortured, and killed Sardasht Osman, a 23-yearoldfreelance journalist and student in Arbil. Friends, family, and other journalistsbelieved Osman died because he wrote critical articles about the Kurdistanregion’s two governing parties, their leaders, and the ingrained patronage system.Security forces attached to government institutions and political partiesharassed, intimidated, threatened, arrested, and physically assaulted journalists.Senior politicians sued publications and journalists for unflattering articles.Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission enforced new restrictions aheadof the March 7 parliamentary elections, ostensibly to silence broadcasters whoencouraged sectarian violence, but the regulations encroached unduly on mediafreedoms. At this writing two pieces of legislation, the Access to Information Lawand the Journalists’ Protection Law, remain stalled in the Iraqi parliament.Freedom of AssemblyAfter thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in June to protest the government’sinability to provide sufficient electricity and other basic services, the authoritiescracked down on demonstrations. On June 25 the Interior Ministry issued onerousregulations about public protests, and the Prime Minister’s Office apparentlyissued a secret order the following day instructing the interior minister to refusepermits for demonstrations about power shortages. In the months that followedthe government refused to authorize numerous requests for public demonstrations,with no explanation. Authorities arrested and intimidated organizers andprotesters, and policing actions led to deaths and injuries. The clampdown createda climate of fear among demonstrators.Violence against MinoritiesArmed groups continued to persecute ethnic and religious minorities with impunity.In the three weeks leading up to the March 7 national elections, assailantskilled 10 Christians in the city of Mosul in attacks that appeared politically motivated.The violence prompted 4,300 Christians to flee to the Nineveh Plains, adisputed area in northern Iraq that is culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse.Iraqi and Kurdish government officials condemned the attacks and the govern-534

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAment of Iraq established an investigative committee, but as of October no perpetratorshad been identified or arrested.On October 31, gunmen identifying themselves as members of the Islamic Stateof Iraq attacked a church in Baghdad, taking more than a hundred hostages. Twopriests and 44 worshippers were killed when Iraqi forces stormed the building.Minorities remained in a precarious position as the Arab-dominated central governmentand the Kurdistan regional government struggled over control of disputedterritories running across northern Iraq from the Iranian to the Syrian borders.Leaders of minority communities complained that Kurdish security forces engagedin arbitrary detentions, intimidation, and in some cases low-level violence,against those who challenged Kurdish control of the disputed territories. In otherparts of Iraq, minorities have not received sufficient government protection fromtargeted violence, threats, and intimidation. Perpetrators are rarely identified,investigated, or punished.Key International ActorsAn agreement between the US and Iraq in 2008 calls for a complete US withdrawal—includingnon-combat military forces—from Iraq by the end of 2011. As ofSeptember 2010 the United States had about 49,700 troops in the country, downfrom 160,000 to 170,000 at the height of the 2007 “surge.”In October Wikileaks released thousands of documents, mostly authored by lowrankingUS officers in the field between 2004 and 2009, revealing many previouslyunreported instances in which US soldiers killed civilians, and the torture ofdetainees by their Iraqi captors.The UN Human Rights Council reviewed Iraq under its Universal Periodic Reviewmechanism in February 2010. The government accepted most of the recommendationsbut rejected abolishing the death penalty.In August the UN Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the UNAssistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for another year. The UNAMI Human RightsOffice monitors human rights violations as part of a plan aimed at developingIraqi mechanisms for addressing past and current abuses.535

WORLD REPORT 2011Israel/ Occupied Palestinian TerritoriesThe human rights crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) continued in2010, despite marginal improvements. After Israeli commandos enforcing thenaval blockade of Gaza killed nine civilians on a flotilla attempting to run theblockade, Israel announced it would ease the severe import restrictions on theterritory. Still, Israel continued to block exports, having a devastating impact onthe Gaza economy.Palestinian armed groups in Gaza launched far fewer rocket attacks than in 2009but continued to target Israeli population centers, killing one civilian, whileHamas claimed responsibility for the killing of four Jewish settlers in the WestBank. Hamas authorities carried out judicial executions for the first time in2010–in some cases after unfair military trials–and allegedly tortured scores ofdetainees.In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israel imposed severe restrictions onPalestinian freedom of movement, demolished scores of homes under discriminatorypractices, continued unlawful settlement construction, and arbitrarilydetained children and adults. The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security servicesarbitrarily detained hundreds of people and allegations of torture by the PA’ssecurity services increased.Gaza StripIsraelIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) attacks in Gaza, including against smuggling tunnelsand in response to rocket attacks, killed 21 Palestinian civilians as of October 1,the United Nations reported. The majority of reported cases involved IDF killingsof Palestinian civilians in the “no-go” zone along Gaza’s northern and easternborders, often as they were collecting construction material or farming.On May 31, Israeli naval commandos intercepted a flotilla attempting to break theGaza blockade, killing nine civilians. A UN Human Rights Council (HRC) committee536

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAof inquiry criticized Israeli forces for unlawful killings, abuse of detainees, andother violations; an Israeli inquiry is still ongoing at this writing.Another HRC committee reported in September that Israel’s investigations intodozens of cases of violations during “Operation Cast Lead,” including allegedintentional and reckless killings of civilians and wanton destruction of civilianproperty in 2008-2009, were incomplete, as the authorities failed to investigatesome cases of alleged wrongdoing and to examine the responsibility of “highleveldecision-makers.” The committee found a conflict of interest in the role ofthe Military Advocate General (MAG), who approved plans for the offensive butwas also responsible for prosecuting alleged violations by Israeli soldiers.As part of the MAG’s investigations, the IDF’s military justice system convictedthree soldiers for crimes during the conflict: one was sentenced to jail for stealinga credit card, while two others were demoted and given suspended sentences forusing a boy as a human shield. A fourth soldier was indicted for manslaughter forshooting a civilian waving a white flag. In January Israel paid US$10.5 million forits damage to UN facilities during the conflict.BlockadeIsrael’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed since Hamas’s takeover of Gaza inJune 2007, continued to have severe humanitarian and economic consequencesfor the civilian population.International pressure as a result of the May 31 flotilla killings led Israel to easeimport restrictions. However, as of September imports amounted to only onethirdof pre-blockade levels, the UN reported. Israel approved in principle importsof construction materials for designated UN projects worth $15 million, and workbegan on upgrading two waste water treatment plants, but as of October materialsneeded for new schools and health clinics had not yet entered Gaza. The UNRelief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that Israelirestrictions had prevented it from building new schools, and that in 2010 it had torefer 40,000 students to Hamas-run schools due to lack of classroom space in itsown schools.537

WORLD REPORT 2011Israel continued to impose near-total export restrictions. As of August more than65 percent of Gaza’s factories remained closed, and the rest were working at 20to 60 percent of their capacity, according to the Palestinian Trade Center. Thenumber of Gaza residents registered with UNRWA living in “abject poverty” tripledsince 2007 to 300,000, while unemployment in Gaza increased to 44 percent inthe second quarter of 2010.Israeli officials stated that the blockade, an unlawful form of collective punishmentagainst residents of an occupied territory, would remain in place untilHamas releases soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured in 2006. Israel is Gaza’smajor source of electricity (Egypt supplies some as well) and sole source of fuel,which Israel does not permit from other sources. In addition, Gaza’s sole powerplant operated at low capacity due to the PA’s failure to pay Israel for industrialfuel shipments. Gaza residents suffered daily blackouts lasting 8 to 12 hours.Israeli forces regularly shot at Gaza residents up to 1.5 kilometers from thearmistice line, creating a “no-go” zone that comprises 30 percent of Gaza’s agriculturalland. The Israeli navy regularly shot at Palestinian fishing boats thatsailed more than two nautical miles from the coast, prohibiting access to some 85percent of Gaza’s maritime area.Egypt shares responsibility for the blockade by restricting the movement of goodsand people at the Rafah crossing it controls on Gaza’s southern border. Egypteased movement restrictions in June for Palestinians needing medical care orwith foreign passports and visas, but not others, and continued to restrict importsand exports of goods.Hamas’s rocket attacks from Gaza greatly diminished since 2009. As of OctoberPalestinian armed groups in Gaza had fired 75 largely locally made rockets atpopulation centers in Israel during 2010. In March Ansar al-Sunna, a previouslyunknown armed group in Gaza, claimed responsibility for a rocket attack thatkilled a Thai migrant worker in Israel. Israeli police reported that at least four mortarscontaining white phosphorus were fired from Gaza.Hamas released two reports claiming that rocket attacks into Israel during“Operation Cast Lead” targeted military objectives, and that civilian casualtieswere unintended. These claims were belied by repeated attacks toward popula-538

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAtion centers by rockets that cannot be targeted with any precision and by statementsfrom Palestinian armed groups and leaders indicating an intent to harmcivilians as reprisals for Israeli attacks. Rocket, mortar, or other attacks on civiliansare never justified under the laws of war, even as reprisals. In September theUN found that Hamas had failed to conduct credible investigations into unlawfulrocket attacks or the killings or mistreatment of alleged collaborators or politicalrivals.The Hamas Interior Ministry carried out, for the first time, five judicial death sentences,all by firing squad. Three of the men executed had been sentenced todeath by military courts for collaboration with Israel, after detentions and trialsthat violated due process. Hamas civil and military courts also sentenced a furthersix men to death.The internal security service of the Interior Ministry and Hamas police in Gazaallegedly tortured 132 people as of August 31, according to complaints receivedby the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), a Palestinian rightsbody.Hamas continued to detain incommunicado Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, capturedin June 2006, subjecting him to cruel and inhuman treatment by refusing to allowhim to communicate with his family or receive visits by the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross.Hamas police continued to harass, detain, and in some cases torture people suspectedof “morality” offenses, including homosexuality and extra-marital sex, andto arbitrarily close or restrict businesses that allowed unmarried and unrelatedmen and women to “mix.” The Interior Ministry closed six NGOs in Rafah in June,and closed a French NGO that provided medical care in August.539

WORLD REPORT 2011West BankPalestinian AuthorityComplaints of torture committed by West Bank PA security services increased in2010, with the Independent Commission for Human Rights receiving 106 complaintsas of September.PA courts have not found any security officers responsible for torture or arbitrarydetention. In the one case brought to trial, concerning the death of Haitham Amr,33, after his arrest by the General Intelligence Service (GIS) in 2009, a PA militarycourt ordered the GIS to pay compensation to the family but acquitted all five officerscharged with Amr’s death due to “lack of evidence” of torture, despite anautopsy confirming the cause of death was “directly due to torture.”The PA’s security services arbitrarily prevented or violently dispersed numerousnonviolent protests and press conferences during the year, and assaulted andarbitrarily detained journalists covering the incidents.IsraelIsraeli forces in the West Bank killed at least seven Palestinian civilians as ofOctober. According to B’Tselem, those killed, including two young men collectingscrap metal and two children participating in a demonstration inside their village,posed no danger to Israeli military forces or civilians.Israeli settlers destroyed or damaged mosques, olive trees, cars, and otherPalestinian property, and physically assaulted Palestinians. In October the UNreported 204 attacks by settlers resulting in Palestinian injuries or property damage,almost double the previous year’s number. Israeli authorities arrestednumerous settlers but convicted few.Home Demolitions and EvacuationsAs of October Israeli authorities had demolished 285 Palestinian homes andother buildings in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), displacing 340 people,on the grounds that the structures were built without permits; in practice540


WORLD REPORT 2011such permits are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain, whereas a separateplanning process available only to settlers grants new construction permitsmuch more readily. Israeli authorities repeatedly demolished the community ofal-Farsiye in the northern Jordan Valley, displacing approximately 113 people forliving in a “closed military zone.” Some of the displaced families had been livingthere since at least the 1960s.Settlers also continued to take over Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, includingbased on laws that recognize Jewish ownership claims there from before 1948but that bar Palestinian ownership claims from that period in West Jerusalem.From November 26, 2009, to September 26, 2010, Israeli authorities “froze” newresidential construction in settlements, not including East Jerusalem or roughly2,000 homes that had already broken ground, or public buildings and infrastructure.Freedom of MovementIsrael maintained onerous restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in theWest Bank, especially in “Area C” which is under exclusive Israeli control. Itremoved some closure obstacles, but more than 500 remained.Israel continued construction of the wall or separation barrier. Some 85 percent ofthe barrier’s route falls within the West Bank, placing many settlements on the“Israeli” side of the barrier. The barrier’s confiscation of private land separatedmany farmers and pastoralists from their lands.Arbitrary Detention and Detention of Children as AdultsIsraeli military justice authorities arbitrarily detained Palestinians who advocatednon-violent protest against Israeli settlements and the route of the separationbarrier. In October a military court sentenced Abdallah Abu Rahme, from the villageof Bil’in, to one year in prison on charges of inciting violence and organizingillegal demonstrations, largely on the basis of coerced statements by children. InJanuary the Israeli military released anti-wall activist Muhammad Othman, afterdetaining him for 113 days without charge.542

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAWhile Israeli courts define Israelis under 18 years of age as children in accordancewith international standards, Israeli military courts continue to treat Palestiniansover the age of 16 as “adults,” and sentence them as adults according to theirage at sentencing even if they were children at the time of the offense. Israeldetained at least 286 children under 18, including 20 under the age of 15, as ofSeptember. Human rights groups reported dozens of cases in which Israeliauthorities detained and questioned Palestinian children without a family memberpresent or access to a lawyer, as required by law, and allegedly mistreatedthem in custody to coerce them to sign confessions in Hebrew, which they did notunderstand.As of September Israel held 189 Palestinians in administrative detention withoutcharge.IsraelBedouin citizens of Israel suffered discriminatory home demolitions. From July toOctober police and the Israel Land Administration destroyed the Bedouin villageof Al-Araqib six times, displacing 300 people. At the time residents were contestingin court the state’s claims that they had never owned lands in the area. Some90,000 Bedouin live in “unrecognized” villages with no basic services and at riskof demolitions.Israel also refused to recognize the legal status of thousands of homes owned byPalestinian citizens of Israel, including the 600-person village of Dahmash in centralIsrael, which without legal status lacks any basic services. While residentslegally own the land on which their homes sit, Israel refuses to rezone the landfrom its current agricultural status to residential, rendering their homes illegal.There are an estimated 200,000 migrant workers in Israel, many of whom work inabusive conditions; employers’ withholding of wages and underpayment is alsoreportedly common. The majority of workers are indebted to recruiting agenciesand beholden to a single employer for their livelihood, and are unable to transfertheir employment without their employer’s consent. The government has deportedmigrant workers and their children born in Israel, pursuant to policies thatrestrict migrant workers from forming families.543

WORLD REPORT 2011Key International ActorsIsrael is the largest overall recipient of foreign aid from the United States sinceWorld War II, receiving US$2.775 billion in military aid in 2010. The Obama administrationpushed for a resumption of direct peace negotiations between Israel andthe PA in September, and offered Israel additional aid to renew a partial “freeze”on settlement construction. The US continued to train and equip Palestinian securityforces, providing $350 million for security and program assistance and anadditional $150 million to the PA in direct budgetary support, while the EU gavethe PA €230 million ($315 million) as of October.Both the HRC and the UN General Assembly passed follow-up resolutions callingfor Israel and Hamas to investigate serious laws-of-war violations. The PA, apparentlydue to external pressure related to negotiations with Israel, conspicuouslyfailed to refer a Human Rights Council expert report on accountability measuresafter the Gaza war to higher-level UN bodies for consideration.544

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAJordanKing Abdullah dissolved parliament on November 24, 2009, halfway through itsfour-year term, setting political rights back in 2010. The government ruled bydecree through most of 2010, pending new elections scheduled for November 9.In a missed opportunity for refom, the government on May 18, 2010, issued a newelection law that maintained higher parliamentary representation for sparselypopulated rural areas– where mainly tribes loyal to the government live–at theexpense of urban population centers, where most Jordanians of Palestinian originlive.A new law decreed on June 16 increased the powers of the Ministry of Justice anddiminished judicial independence, over 100 judges said in a protest.For the first time, a Jordanian court accepted a civil case by an alleged victim oftorture demanding compensation, but at this writing has not yet ruled on it.Jordan retains the death penalty but since 2006 has observed a moratorium onits use.Jordan’s General Intelligence Department (GID) continued to influence decisionsin most aspects of Jordanian public life, including academic freedom, governmentappointments, and the issuing of residency permits to non-Jordanians and “goodconduct” certificates required for Jordanians seeking work abroad. The GIDharassed citizens, including one former senior government advisor, over their criticismof government policies by summoning them for interrogation and threateningthem with unspecified harm.On April 25 the GID re-arrested Jordanian citizen Samir al-Barq, and detained himuntil summarily deporting him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 11, whereIsraeli intelligence forces immediately arrested him. On July 18 al-Barq wascharged by an Israeli military court with membership in and training with anenemy organization and planning terrorist attacks. The GID had previouslydetained al-Barq for over two years between 2006 and 2008 without charge.545

WORLD REPORT 2011Deprivation of NationalityIn violation of Jordanian and international law, Jordan continued to arbitrarilywithdraw Jordanian nationality from Jordanians of Palestinian origin, renderingthem stateless and without rights to education, health care, property, or residencyin Jordan. Children of men stripped of their nationality automatically lost theirstoo, even if they were adults. The Interior Ministry said it withdrew the nationalityof 2,700 Jordanians between 2004 and 2008, but did not discuss numbers for2009 or 2010.Torture, Arbitrary Detention, and Administrative DetentionTorture, routine and widespread in recent years, continues, in particular at policestations, where complaints about ill-treatment increased in 2009 and again in2010, according to the National Center for Human Rights (NCHR).Perpetrators of torture enjoy near-total impunity, because the police run the systemfor accountability in places of detention. The process for redress begins witha deficient complaint mechanism, continues with lackluster investigations andprosecutions, and ends in Police Court, where two of three judges on the panelare police officers appointed by the police (in 2010 a change in law added onejudge from the regular courts, where judges are more independent). Police Courttends to impose lenient sentences, if any.Under the Crime Prevention Law, provincial governors can detain people administratively.The law requires governors to have evidence of criminal conduct, but inpractice, this is not always the case. Administrative detention is frequently usedto circumvent the obligation to present persons suspected of crimes, usually theftor disorderly conduct, to the prosecutor within 24 hours. It is also used to overrulejudges who have released suspects on bail. In January 2010, the NCHRreported 16,000 administrative detentions in 2009, up from 14,000 in 2008, andadding up to around one in five prison inmates over the year.546


WORLD REPORT 2011Freedom of Expression and AssemblyCriticism of the king, defamation of government officials and institutions, andcomments deemed to offend Islam or diminish the prestige of the state or harminternational relations carry heavy penalties under the penal code. A June 1 revisionof the penal code increased the penalties for some speech offenses. TheAugust 29 Law on Information System Crimes extends these provisions to onlineexpression. Article 5 of the 2007 Press and Publications Law requires publicationsto adhere to “Islamic values.”On July 28 the military prosecutor at the state security court detained universitystudent Hatim al-Shuli and charged him with insulting King Abdullah and “causingnational strife,” on the basis of a poem al-Shuli denied writing. On September8 al-Shuli was released and the charges dropped. In July, the state security courtsent Imad al-’Ash to prison for two years for insulting the king in electronic messagessent to a jihadist website.Under the Public Gatherings Law of 2008, the governor may denypermission–without providing a justification–to hold any meeting on publicaffairs, including demonstrations. On July 25, police briefly arrested Amina Tariqunder the Public Gatherings Law for conducting an unlicensed peaceful streetprotest to promote vegetarianism by covering herself in lettuce. Article 164 of thepenal code also prohibits unlawful gatherings of seven or more persons with theintention to commit a crime or to disturb public order. The State Security Court onJuly 27 used that provision to sentence Muhammad al-Sunaid, head of theCommittee of Day Laborers at Government Offices, to three months in prison forpeacefully demonstrating against the dismissal of day laborers at the AgricultureMinistry and heckling the minister at a May 10 event in Madaba.On December 16, 2010, the grace period ends for civic organizations of any typeto comply with a restrictive 2009 Law on Charitable Societies requiring groupsregistered as nonprofit companies under the less restrictive Companies Law toincorporate as charities under the new law, which grants the government discretionarypower to reject applications for new NGOs and to deny their requests forforeign funding, and wide powers to close existing NGOs.548

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAWomen’s and Girls’ RightsA new draft personal status law introduced in April abolishes a 2001 law providingwomen with the right to divorce their husbands without having to show fault(khul). It also continues to allow the marriage of girls as young as 15, if a committeeof Islamic judges approves. In the two years prior to July 2010, 14,000Jordanian girls under 18 were married, Agence France-Presse reported.On May 3, 2010, the government decreed amendments to the penal code toensure that perpetrators of so-called “honor” crimes receive the full penalty of thelaw for killing female relatives suspected of illicit relationships. The new article345 bis excludes consideration of mitigating circumstances for committing crimesin a “state of fury” (art. 98) if the victim is under 15 or female. According to RanaHusseini of The Jordan Times, there were 12 recorded “honor” killings in Jordanfrom January to November of 2010.Changes to the penal code also stiffened penalties for rape from 10 to 15 years inprison and, in a new provision, stipulated 20 years of hard labor if the victim wasbetween 15 and 18 years old. New penalties for physical assaults that result in thedeath of minors or women were set at a minimum of 12 years in prison.Labor RightsUnionized Jordanians may only strike with government permission; non-Jordanians, although allowed to join unions since 2008, are not allowed to strike.New regulations on migrant domestic workers, issued in August 2009 followingthe inclusion of domestic workers in the Labor Law in July 2008, restricted essentialrights, such as freedom of movement. A Ministry of Labor committee chargedwith solving labor disputes failed to secure unpaid salaries of domestic workers,or adequately protect workers from working long hours and from remainingtrapped in abusive households.Investigators pursued 34 cases under Jordan’s Anti-Human Trafficking Law ofMarch 2009 not all of which were prosecuted. The courts had not yet adjudicatedthe five cases filed by the Amman prosecutor as of July.549

WORLD REPORT 2011Key International ActorsThe United States concluded a five-year agreement, starting in 2010, to provideJordan with US$360 million in economic assistance annually, and $300 million inforeign military financing. This represents an increase over previous annualrequests by the US administration for aid to Jordan, but in the past those wereoften supplemented with ad hoc aid, which raised actual US aid to over $1 billionin 2008 (compared with the European Union’s €265 million, or $369 million for2007 to 2010).The EU in November 2009 affirmed its commitment to upgrade relations withJordan and in May 2010 signed a €223 million ($310million) aid package overthree years from 2011 to 2013. One of four priority areas is to address democracy,human rights, media, and justice. This 12 percent increase in EU aid comesdespite a lack of progress, and a number of reverses during 2010, in these areas.550

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAKuwaitKuwait’s human rights record drew increased international scrutiny in 2010, asproposed reforms for stateless persons, women’s rights, and domestic workersremained stalled. Freedom of expression deteriorated as the government continuedcriminal prosecutions for libel and slander, and charged at least one individualwith state security crimes for expressing nonviolent political opinions.Discrimination against women continues in nationality, residency, and familylaws, and in their economic rights, though women gained the right to vote andrun for office in 2005.Kuwait continues to exclude the stateless Bidun people from full citizenship,despite their longstanding roots in Kuwaiti territory. The Bidun also face discriminationaccessing education, health care, and employment, as well as violations oftheir right to marry and establish a family because they are not allowed to registerbirths, marriages, or deaths.Kuwait significantly advanced workers’ rights in 2010 through a new private sectorlabor law. Minister of Labor Mohammad al-’Afasi announced in September2010 the government would abolish the sponsorship system in February 2011 andsupervise migrant labor recruitment through a government authority. However thenew law continued to exclude domestic workers, who make up approximatelyone-third of the private sector workforce and face recurring abuses. Labor ministryofficials informed Human Rights Watch that plans for sponsorship reformalso exclude domestic workers.In May 2010, at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Kuwaitpromised to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and toestablish an independent human rights institution based on the Paris Principles.At this writing the government has not made definite progress towards eithermeasure.Women’s and Girls’ RightsKuwait’s nationality law denies Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaiti men theright to pass their nationality on to their children and spouses, a right enjoyed byKuwaiti men married to foreign spouses. The law also discriminates against551

WORLD REPORT 2011women in residency rights, allowing the spouses of Kuwaiti men but not ofKuwaiti women to be in Kuwait without employment and to qualify for citizenshipafter 10 years of marriage.In 2005 Kuwaiti women won the right to vote and to run in elections, and in May2009 voters elected four women to parliament. In April 2010 an administrativecourt rejected a female Kuwaiti law graduate’s application to become a publicprosecutor based on her gender. The advertisement for the position was open tomale candidates only. The presiding judge found that article two of Kuwait’s constitution,which cites Islam as the state religion and Islamic Sharia as “a mainsource of legislation,” prevented women from holding prosecutorial positions.Kuwaiti women are also denied the right to become judges.No government data exists on the prevalence of violence against women inKuwait, although local media regularly report incidents of violence.BidunKuwait hosts up to 120,000 stateless persons, known as the Bidun. The stateclassifies these long-term residents as “illegal residents,” maintaining that mostdo not hold legitimate claims to Kuwaiti nationality and hide “true” nationalitiesfrom Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or Iran.Due to their statelessness, the Bidun cannot freely leave and return to Kuwait; thegovernment issues them temporary passports at its discretion, mostly valid foronly one journey. Furthermore the Bidun face restrictions in their access to publicand private sector employment, as well as to healthcare. Bidun children may notenroll in free government schools. The Bidun also cannot register births, marriages,or deaths, obstructing their rights to family life.Lawmakers in December 2009 failed to reach the quorum required to discuss a2007 draft law that would grant the Bidun civil rights and permanent residency,but not nationality. In January 2010 the assembly tasked the Supreme Council forHigher Planning with reporting on the Bidun situation. Bidun from Kuwait continuedto seek and receive asylum abroad in countries including the UnitedKingdom and New Zealand, based upon their treatment by Kuwaiti governmentauthorities.552

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAFreedom of Expression and MediaFreedom of expression markedly deteriorated in 2010. The government continuedcriminally prosecuting individuals based on nonviolent political speech, deniedacademics permission to enter the country for conferences and speeches, andcracked down on public gatherings. In April state security forces summarilydeported over 30 Egyptian legal residents of Kuwait after some of them gatheredto support Egyptian reform advocate Mohammed El Baradei.In May prominent writer and lawyer Mohammad al-Jassim was detained for over40 days and charged with “instigating to overthrow the regime, …slight to the personageof the emir [the ruler of Kuwait],… [and] instigating to dismantle the foundationsof Kuwaiti society” over his blog posts criticizing the prime minister. Ajudge released al-Jassim in June and adjourned the case until October.Sexual Orientation and Gender IdentityKuwait continues to criminalize consensual homosexual conduct, in contraventionof international best practices. Article 193 of Kuwait’s penal code punishesconsensual sexual intercourse between men over the age of 21, with up to sevenyears imprisonment (10 years, if under 21 years old). Article 198 of the penal codecriminalized “imitating the appearance of a member of the opposite sex,” imposingarbitrary restrictions upon individuals’ rights to privacy and free expression.The police continued to arrest and detain transgendered women on the basis ofthe law, many of whom have previously reported abuse while in detention.Migrant Worker RightsMore than two million foreign nationals reside in Kuwait, constituting an estimated80 percent of the country’s workforce. Many experience exploitative labor conditions,including private employers who illegally confiscate their passports or donot pay their wages. Migrant workers often pay exorbitant recruitment fees tolabor agents in their home countries and must then work off their debt in Kuwait.For the first time since 1954 the government passed a new private sector laborlaw in February, which provides workers with more protections on wages, working553

WORLD REPORT 2011hours, and safety. However, it does not establish monitoring mechanisms andcontinues to exclude the country’s 660,000 domestic workers who come chieflyfrom Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines and work and live inside employers’homes in Kuwait. No law provides them with a weekly rest day, limits theirworking hours, or sets a minimum wage. Many domestic workers complain ofconfinement in the house; long work hours without rest; months or years ofunpaid wages; and verbal, physical, and sexual abuse.A major barrier to redressing labor abuses is the kafala (sponsorship) system,which ties a migrant worker’s legal residence in Kuwait to his or her employer,who serves as a “sponsor.” Migrant workers who have worked for their sponsorless than three years can only transfer with their sponsor’s consent (migrantdomestic workers always require consent). If a worker leaves their sponsoringemployer, including when fleeing abuse, the employer can register the worker as“absconding”, a criminal offense that most often leads to detention and deportation.In September the government announced plans to abolish the sponsorshipsystem in February 2011, but provided no details about the system that wouldreplace it, or whether it would include migrant domestic workers.Key International ActorsThe United States, in the 2010 State Department Trafficking in Persons report,classified Kuwait as Tier 3—among the most problematic countries—for the fourthyear in a row. However, the US chose not to impose sanctions for Kuwait’s failureto combat human trafficking. President Barack Obama determined that sanctionswould affect US$2.4 billion in projected foreign military sales to Kuwait andwould restrict a US$4 million grant to the Middle East Partnership Initiative, considereda key tool for promoting democracy and respect for human rights in thecountry.In April 2010 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay visitedKuwait and spotlighted the sponsorship system and statelessness as pressinghuman rights concerns.554


WORLD REPORT 2011LebanonLebanese officials showed increased willingness to discuss human rights concernsin 2010, but failed to implement many of the reforms needed to improve thecountry’s record.The authorities rejected a proposed law that would grant women the right to passnationality to their husbands and children, and despite promises to the contrary,made no efforts to shed light on the fate of people who disappeared during the1975-1990 civil war. In August parliament enacted a long-awaited amendment toease Palestinian refugees’ access to the labor market, but the reform fell short ofexpectations.Tension increased in the second half of the year over the United Nations tribunaltasked with investigating the killing in 2005 of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,amid fears the country would again plunge into turmoil.Torture, Ill-Treatment, and Prison ConditionsLebanese law prohibits torture, but accountability for torture remains elusive. Anumber of detainees, especially suspected spies for Israel and armed Jihadists,told Human Rights Watch that their interrogators tortured them in a number ofdetention facilities, including the Ministry of Defense and the Information Branchof the Internal Security Forces. Lebanon has not yet established a national preventivemechanism to visit and monitor places of detention, as required underthe Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which it ratifiedin 2008.Conditions in prisons remain poor, with overcrowding and lack of proper medicalcare a persistent problem. According to the Internal Security Forces, pretrialdetainees represent around two-thirds of the total number of detainees.Lebanon maintained its de facto moratorium on executions, but at least fivedeath sentences were passed in 2010. Many political leaders called for the deathpenalty against persons convicted of spying for Israel. In July President Michel556

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICASuleiman, who under Lebanese law must approve every death sentence, said thathe would approve death penalties issued by military tribunals.Freedom of ExpressionDespite Lebanon’s vibrant media, 2010 saw increased harassment of bloggersand journalists who criticize the army and certain high-ranking officials. In MarchMilitary Intelligence briefly detained and interrogated a blogger, Khodor Salemeh,for posting a series of articles critical of the army and the three heads of state. InJune security forces detained Naìm Hanna, Antoine Ramia, and Shibel Kassab forposting comments critical of the president on Facebook. An investigative judgecharged them with libel, defamation, and insulting the president, but releasedthem on bail on July 2. In August Military Intelligence summoned Hassan Oleik, ajournalist with al-Akhbar newspaper, for writing about an alleged conversationbetween Defense Minister Elias Murr and the country’s army commander, JeanKahwaji, concerning a suspected Israeli spy. They released him a few hours later.In August Military Intelligence also briefly detained Ismael Sheikh Hassan, anurban planner, over an article he published criticizing public authorities and thearmy for their handling of the reconstruction of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp.RefugeesThe estimated 300,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in appalling socialand economic conditions. In August Lebanon’s parliament amended its labor lawto facilitate the ability of Palestinian refugees to obtain work permits by exemptingthem from reciprocity requirements, eliminating work permit fees, and givingthem limited social security benefits. However, the reform did nothing to removerestrictions that bar Palestinians from working in at least 25 professions requiringsyndicate membership, including law, medicine, and engineering. It also leavesin place a work permit system that relies on employer cooperation, a system thathas previously relegated most Palestinians to black market labor. Palestinianrefugees are still subject to a discriminatory law introduced in 2001 preventingthem from registering property.Palestinians from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp—destroyed in the 2007 battlebetween Lebanon’s army and the armed Fatah al-Islam group—continue to live in557

WORLD REPORT 2011dire conditions. Reconstruction efforts have been delayed, and UN Relief andWork Agency reported the first set of rebuilt houses will not be delivered beforeMarch 2011. The Lebanese army restricts movement to the camp by maintainingcheckpoints around it.According to government sources, the Ministry of Interior resumed issuing temporaryidentification papers to Palestinians in Lebanon who are without legal documentationas part of a plan to improve the legal status of at least 3,000 non-IDPalestinians who had previously lived in constant fear of arrest. The ministry hadstopped the process in early 2009, citing fraudulent applications.As of September 30 there were 9,768 non-Palestinian refugees and asylum-seekersregistered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),more than 80 percent of them from Iraq. Since Lebanon has not ratified the 1951Refugee Convention, it does not give legal effect to UNHCR’s recognition ofrefugees and generally treats most as illegal immigrants subject to arrest. As ofOctober 31, 54 recognized refugees or asylum seekers remained in detentionsolely for not holding proper residency papers.Migrant Workers’ RightsMigrant domestic workers (MDW) face exploitation and abuse by employers,including excessive work hours, non-payment of wages, confinement in the workplace,and in some cases physical and sexual abuse. MDWs suing their employersfor abuse face legal obstacles and risk imprisonment and deportation due tothe restrictive visa system. In June the Ministry of Labor instituted a hotline toreceive workers’ complaints. MDWs continue to die in high numbers, with eightdeaths in August alone. Most are classified as suicides.Male migrant workers—mostly from Syria and Egypt—working in construction andother manual jobs face hazardous working conditions and are regular targets forrobbery and violent attack. State authorities have not made any concerted effortto protect them or bring perpetrators to justice.558


WORLD REPORT 2011Detention of Foreigners after their SentenceAccording to the Internal Security Forces, around 13 percent of detainees inLebanese prisons were foreigners who had finished serving their sentence. Thegroup included asylum seekers and refugees who cannot safely return to theircountries. Their ongoing detention is illegal. In September 2010 Lebanon’sCouncil of Ministers adopted a decree with the stated purpose of reducing thenumber of foreigners detained beyond their sentence. However, the decree hasnot yet been implemented and will not address concerns about the detention ofasylum seekers and refugees who do not hold proper residency papers.Women’s and Girls’ RightsDiscriminatory provisions continue to exist in personal status laws, nationalitylaws, and penal laws relating to violence in the family. In May the Council ofMinisters issued a decree expanding the right of children and husbands ofLebanese women to reside in Lebanon, but Lebanese women, unlike Lebanesemen, still cannot pass pass their nationality to foreign husbands and children.In April the Council of Ministers submitted to parliament a new bill that aims tocriminalize domestic violence. The bill requires anyone who witnesses domesticviolence to report it and obliges perpetrators to provide the plaintiff with alternativeliving arrangements, an allowance, and to pay medical expenses.Legacy of Past Conflicts and WarsLebanon deposited its ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions withthe UN on November 5, 2010. The submunition “duds” left behind by Israel’s2006 bombardment of southern Lebanon continue to harm civilians: according tothe official Lebanon Mine Action Center, such duds have killed at least 45 andwounded more than 300 since 2006.Despite a 2009 pledge to work to uncover the fate of the Lebanese and othernationals who “disappeared” during and after the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil warand to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons fromEnforced Disappearances, the government took no steps on these issues in 2010.560

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAAn official joint Syrian-Lebanese committee established in May 2005 to investigatecases of Lebanese who “disappeared” at the hands of Syrian security forceshas not published any findings at this writing.Hariri TribunalTension over the intention of the UN’s international tribunal to try those responsiblefor killing former Prime Minister Hariri in 2005 and other politically motivatedassassinations increased in anticipation of possible indictments that may implicatemembers of Hezbollah. Hezbollah called for a boycott of the tribunal, accusingit of being an “Israeli project.”Key International ActorsMultiple international and regional actors compete for influence in Lebanon.Regionally, Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia maintain a strong influence on Lebanesepolitics through their local allies.France, the United States, and the European Union provide assistance for a widerange of programs, including armed forces training, torture prevention seminars,and civil society activities. However these countries have not fully used theirleverage to push Lebanon to adopt concrete measures to improve its humanrights record, such as investigating specific allegations of torture or adopting lawsthat respect the rights of refugees or migrant workers.UN peacekeepers are still present in large numbers at Lebanon’s volatile southernborder with Israel.561

WORLD REPORT 2011LibyaGovernment control and repression of civil society remain the norm in Libya, withlittle progress made on promised human rights reforms. While releases of largenumbers of Islamist prisoners continued, 2010 saw stagnation on key issues suchas penal code reform, freedom of association, and accountability for the AbuSalim prison massacre in 1996.Libya maintains harsh restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression,including penal code provisions that criminalize “insulting public officials” or“opposing the ideology of the Revolution,” although there has been slightly moremedia debate in recent years, particularly online.Arbitrary Detention and Prisoner ReleasesAn estimated 213 prisoners who have served their sentences or been acquitted byLibyan courts remain imprisoned under Internal Security Agency orders. Theagency, under the jurisdiction of the General People’s Committee for PublicSecurity, controls the Ain Zara and Abu Salim prisons, where it holds political and“security” detainees. It has refused to carry out judicial orders to free these prisoners,despite calls from the secretary of justice for their release.In March Libyan authorities released 214 prisoners, including 80 of a group of 330detained despite the fact that courts had acquitted them and ordered theirrelease. Some former prisoners have received compensation from the state foryears of arbitrary detention. Others are still struggling to receive compensation,and many are banned from travelling outside Libya.The 1996 Abu Salim Prison Massacre and EnforcedDisappearancesThe authorities have not made public any account of the June 1996 Abu Salimprison massacre in which 1,200 prisoners were killed, nor have they held anyoneresponsible. On September 6, 2009, the acting secretary of defense established aseven-judge investigation panel, headed by a former military tribunal judge, toconduct an investigation. The panel’s final report was due in March 2010, but it562


WORLD REPORT 2011remains unpublished at this writing. Libyan authorities offered compensation of200,000 dinars (US$162,000) to families who agree to relinquish all legal claims,but most of the victims’ families in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, refusedto accept compensation on those terms and continued to call for criminalaccountability. In June families reported that local authorities and security officialswere pressuring them to relinquish their compensation claims.There are still dozens of unresolved disappearance cases in Libya, includingthose of Libyan opposition members Jaballa Hamed Matar and Izzat al-Megaryef,whom Egyptian security arrested in 1990 in Cairo. Their families later learned thatEgypt had handed them over to Libyan security officials, who detained them inAbu Salim prison. Prominent Lebanese Shia cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr disappearedin Libya 32 years ago; his fate remains unknown.Freedom of Expression, Association, and AssemblyWhile there was a gradual opening for greater debate and discussion in themedia during the past five years, especially on the internet, 2010 saw a generalregression in freedom of expression, which remains severely curtailed. In Januarythe Libyan government blocked access to at least seven independent and oppositionLibyan websites based abroad, including Libya Al Youm, Al Manara, andLibya Al Mostakbal. Journalists face harassment for expressing criticism, and lawsuitsand criminal sanctions for defamation. In February security officers brieflyarrested four journalists from the radio station Good Evening Benghazi, andauthorities banned the program from airing. In November Internal Security officersarrested 20 journalists from the Libya Press agency for three days and suspendedthe publication of Oea, both established by Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, theLibyan leader’s son.In April the Libyan State Security Court acquitted dissident Jamal al-Haji of “insultingjudicial authorities” and freed him after four months in prison. Al-Haji’s arreststemmed from his public complaint about the torture and inhumane conditionsthat he endured during two years as a political prisoner from 2007 to 2009, andthe travel ban he has faced since his release. Article 178 of the penal code carriespenalties up to life imprisonment for disseminating information considered to“tarnish [the country’s] reputation or undermine confidence in it abroad.”564

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICANegative comments about Libyan leader Col. Muàmmar al-Gaddafi are frequentlypunished, and self-censorship is rife.Libya has no independent NGOs and Libyan laws severely restrict freedom ofassociation. Law 71 bans any group activity opposing the ideology of the 1969revolution, and the penal code imposes the death penalty on those who join suchgroups. The government has refused to allow independent journalists’ andlawyers’ organizations. The only organization able to criticize human rights violationspublicly is the Human Rights Society of the Gaddafi Foundation, which ischaired by Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi.Demonstrations are also illegal, although those by families of victims of the AbuSalim prison killings continued in Benghazi in 2010. While the governmentallowed the demonstrations, some of the organizers faced harassment, intimidation,and arrest.Treatment of ForeignersLibya continues to abuse and mistreat non-Libyan migrants caught trying to leavethe country by boat. Libya also refuses to recognize the presence of refugees inthe country. In April Libyan Foreign Secretary Moussa Koussa said that Libya“does not have any refugees but only illegal migrants who break the laws.” In Julythe government said that there were 3 million irregular migrants in Libya. A newlaw on “Illegal Migration” criminalizes trafficking of migrants, but does not provideprotections for refugees.On June 28 a group of detained Eritrean migrants tried to escape after Libyan officialsallowed Eritrean embassy officials to take their photos and forced them tocomplete forms, raising fear of deportation. In response, Libyan authorities transported245 detained Eritrean asylum seekers from Misrata to another detentioncenter in al-Biraq, north of Sabha, in an apparent attempt to deport them. At least11 of this group were Eritreans whom Italy had interdicted at sea and forced backto Libya without giving them an opportunity to claim asylum. After an internationaloutcry, Libya released this group but did not give them any support or protection.They remain in Libya.565

WORLD REPORT 2011Libya has no asylum law, has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, and hasno formal working agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR). Although UNHCR had partial and ad hoc access to detainedmigrants for two years, in June Libya ordered UNHCR to close its office andexpelled its representative, although it later allowed the agency to continue processingresettlement cases.Rights of the Amazigh MinorityThe Amazigh (Berbers), Libya’s main cultural and linguistic minority, face discriminationand harassment by security officials. Libyan authorities do not allowschools to teach, or media to use, the Amazigh language. Libyan law also bansuse of non-Arab Amazigh names on all official documentation. In January ColonelGaddafi criticized Amazigh New Year celebrations as un-Islamic and not recognizedby the state, saying they disrupted national unity; an Amazigh organizationreported that at least two people had been arrested in connection with trying toorganize celebrations. The Amazigh website Libya Imal was among those blockedby authorities in January. In August Internal Security officers arrested Amazighactivist Ali Abu al-Seoud and detained him incommunicado for eight days in connectionwith his online writing on Amazigh rights. They released him withoutcharge.Women’s RightsIn January the General People’s Committee adopted Law No. 24 of 2010 on theProvisions of Libyan Nationality, which permits the passing of Libyan nationalityto children born to Libyan mothers and foreign fathers, but leaves the interpretationof the provision to implementing regulations that the committee has not yetissued.The Libyan government continues to detain women and girls indefinitely withoutdue process in “social rehabilitation” facilities for suspected transgression ofmoral codes. Many women and girls detained in these facilities have committedno crime, or have already served a sentence. Some are there only because theywere raped, and are now ostracized for staining their family’s “honor.”566

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAKey International ActorsIn May member states elected Libya to a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.Libya’s election was uncontested because the African Group of States presentedthe same number of candidates as there were vacancies for this election. InNovember Libya’s human rights record came under review at the Council duringLibya’s first Universal Periodic Review. The government accepted 66 general recommendationsbut rejected 25 other concrete recommendations on revisingpenal code articles and publishing a list of the disappeared.In October the European Union and Libya concluded an agreement on an agendafor migration cooperation, which made no mention of the lack of an asylum law orprotection mechanisms in Libya. Negotiations over the EU-Libya Framework agreementresumed after Libya scrapped its ban on the entry of EU nationals.In December 2009 Human Rights Watch released its “Truth and Justice Can’tWait” report at a news conference in Tripoli, the first time an independent humanrights organization had been allowed to publicly criticize Libya’s human rightsrecord in the capital.567

WORLD REPORT 2011Morocco and Western SaharaIn 2010 human rights conditions in Morocco were mixed, and in some aspects,decidedly poor. The government used repressive legislation and complaisantcourts to punish and imprison peaceful opponents, especially those who violatedtaboos and laws against criticizing the king and the monarchy, questioningMorocco’s claim over Western Sahara, or “denigrating” Islam.The government particularly restricts rights in the restive Western Sahara region,over which Morocco claims sovereignty, and which it administers as part of itsnational territory. A Western Sahara independence movement based in exile, thePopular Front for the Liberation of Saguía al-Hamra and Río de Oro (the PolisarioFront), demands a public referendum that includes the option of independence.Over the years the Moroccan authorities have imprisoned many peaceful advocatesof this position while instead proposing autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.Terrorism and CounterterrorismHundreds of suspected Islamist extremists arrested in the aftermath of theCasablanca bombings of May 2003 remain in prison. Many were convicted inunfair trials after being held in secret detention and subjected to mistreatmentand sometimes torture. Some were sentenced to death, a punishment thatMorocco has not abolished even though it has not been carried out since 1993.Since further terrorist attacks in 2007, police have arrested hundreds more suspectedmilitants, many of whom were convicted and imprisoned for belonging toa “terrorist network” or preparing to join “the jihad” in Iraq or elsewhere.Intelligence agencies continued to interrogate terrorism suspects at an unacknowledgeddetention center at Temara, near Rabat, according to reports fromdetainees. Many suspects alleged that police tortured them under interrogation,while holding them in pre-charge custody for longer than the 12-day maximum thelaw provides for terrorism cases. For example, several men arrested in andaround Casablanca in March and April for suspected al Qaeda links told HumanRights Watch that plainclothes agents who showed no warrants or identificationarrested, blindfolded, and transported them to a secret location, which they568


WORLD REPORT 2011believe was the Temara facility, and held and interrogated them for up to 36 daysbefore transferring them to a regular police jail. Most said that they suffered torture.The government formally denied these allegations to Human Rights Watchand stated that the arrests and detentions in these cases were conducted accordingto the law.In August tapes recorded by the United States CIA were made public showing thatthe US had in 2002 transported terrorism suspect Ramzi Benalshibh to Moroccofor interrogation in a secret Moroccan-run facility, before flying him toGuantanamo. Moroccan authorities deny operating secret jails.Confronting Past AbusesFollowing the pioneering work Morocco’s Equity and Reconciliation Commission(ERC) completed in 2005, the government acknowledged responsibility for “disappearances”and other grave abuses in the past, and compensated some16,000 victims or their relatives. However, no Moroccan officials or security forcemembers are known to have been prosecuted for rights violations committed duringthe period from 1956 to 1999 that the ERC investigated, and the governmenthas yet to implement most of the institutional reforms the ERC recommended tosafeguard against future abuses. In September the government said it would convertsome notorious former secret prisons into memorials for the “preservationand rehabilitation of memory.”Police Conduct and the Criminal Justice SystemCourts seldom provide fair trials in cases with political overtones. Judges routinelyignore requests for medical examinations from defendants who claim to havebeen tortured, refuse to summon exculpatory witnesses, and convict defendantson the basis of apparently coerced confessions. On July 16 the Rabat Court ofAppeals upheld the 2009 conviction of all 35 defendants–in a trial known as theBelliraj case–on charges that included forming a terrorist network. The courtmaintained the life sentence imposed on alleged ringleader Abdelkader Bellirajwhile reducing the sentences for five codefendants who were political figures to10 years in prison. As in the first trial the appeals court based the guilty verdictsalmost entirely on the defendants’ “confessions” to the police, even though most570

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAof the defendants had repudiated these statements in court. The court refused toinvestigate the defendants’ allegations of torture, detention in secret jails, andthe falsification of confessions.The authorities jailed prominent nonviolent pro-independence Sahrawi activistsAli Salem Tamek, Brahim Dahane, and Ahmed Naciri after arresting them onOctober 8, 2009. Four other Sahrawi activists arrested at the same time were laterreleased pending trial. The police arrested the seven upon their return from anunprecedented public visit with the Polisario leadership in the Sahrawi refugeecamps near Tindouf, Algeria. A Casablanca judge initially referred the case againstthe seven to a military court on the grounds that the alleged offenses includedharming “external state security” by “causing harm to Morocco’s territorial integrity,”but nearly one year later the military judge sent the case back to civilian courton the lesser charge of “harming [Morocco’s] internal security.” The trial openedon October 15 and was immediately postponed as three of the defendantsentered their second year in provisional detention.Sahrawi students Abdellah Daihani and Ali Toumi left prison in April after servingsix months for “insulting state institutions.” Their offense consisted of proclaimingthat they recognized neither the Moroccan police nor the state during a politicalargument with other passengers on a train.Freedoms of Association, Assembly, and MovementMorocco boasts thousands of independent associations, but government officialsarbitrarily impede the legalization of some organizations, undermining their freedomto operate. Groups affected include some that defend the rights of Sahrawis,Amazighs (Berbers), sub-Saharan immigrants, and unemployed university graduates,as well as charitable, cultural, and educational associations whose leadershipincludes members of Justice and Spirituality, a nationwide movement thatadvocates for an Islamic state and questions the king’s spiritual authority.The government, which does not recognize Justice and Spirituality as a legal association,tolerated many of its activities but prevented others. On June 28 thepolice arrested seven movement members in Fez after an ex-member claimedthey had abducted and tortured him. According to the suspects, the police tor-571

WORLD REPORT 2011tured them and forced them to sign confessions without reading them first. Amedical examination conducted on one of the defendants noted that he hadinjuries that seemed to coincide with his period in police custody. The seven menare on trial for abduction and torture at this writing.The government generally tolerates the work of the many human rights organizationsactive in Rabat and Casablanca, but individual activists sometimes paid aheavy price for whistle-blowing. Chekib el-Khayari, president of the Associationfor Human Rights in the Rif, has been serving a three-year term since February2009 for “gravely insulting state institutions” and minor currency violations. Theauthorities arrested him after he accused certain Moroccan officials of complicityin narcotics trafficking. A Casablanca appeals court on November 24, 2009 confirmedthe verdict.Retired Col.-Maj. Kaddour Terhzaz, born in 1937, remains incarcerated after a militarycourt convicted him in a one-day trial in November 2008 for disclosing“national defense secrets,” solely because of a 2005 letter he had addressed tothe king that criticized what he saw as Morocco’s shabby treatment of pilots whohad been held as prisoners of war by the Polisario.Authorities generally do not hamper the activities of foreign human rights groupsvisiting Morocco. Surveillance is tighter in Western Sahara, although authoritiesin El-Ayoun eased the requirement they imposed in 2009 that foreigners notifythem before visiting Sahrawi activists at home.Sahrawi activists enjoyed more freedom to travel abroad than in 2009, with fewerreports of authorities confiscating or refusing to renew their passports or preventingthem from boarding flights.Most types of outdoor gatherings require authorization from the Interior Ministry,which can refuse permission if it deems them liable to “disturb the public order.”Although many public protests run their course undisturbed, baton-wieldingpolice have brutally broken up some demonstrations. Among the most frequenttargets are the protests organized across the country by chapters of the NationalAssociation of Unemployed University Graduates. For example, on March 31,security forces charged and dispersed a sit-in by the association in Nador, injuringseveral and briefly detaining four of the organizers.572

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAIn early October several thousand Sahrawi residents of El-Ayoun, Western Sahara,erected a tent camp outside the city to dramatize a list of economic grievances.Authorities negotiated with camp leaders but early on November 8 ordered theprotesters to leave and then dismantled their tent city by force, using mostlywater cannons and tear gas. They encountered some violent resistance and therewere casualties among the security forces and civilians. Sahrawis in the city of ElAyoun erupted in protest the same day, with further casualties on both sides,including scores of Sahrawi men and women whom the police beat brutally whilein custody. At this writing Human Rights Watch is investigating these events.Media FreedomMorocco’s independent print and online media investigate and criticize governmentofficials and policies but face prosecution and harassment when they crosscertain lines. The press law includes prison terms for “maliciously” spreading“false information” likely to disturb the public order or for speech that is defamatory,offensive to members of the royal family, or that undermines “Islam, theinstitution of the monarchy, or territorial integrity,” that is, Morocco’s claim onWestern Sahara.The independent, provocative Arabic daily Akhbar al-Youm was reborn as Akhbaral-Youm al-Maghrebiya after a court shut the newspaper down on October 30,2009 for publishing a cartoon that depicted a cousin of King Mohammed VI in anallegedly disrespectful fashion. However, the narrow field of serious independentnews media lost key publications in 2010 with the closures, for financial reasons,of Nichan and Le Journal weeklies and al-Jarida al-Oula daily. The latter two hadin recent years been the object of numerous prosecutions, some of them politicallymotivated, for defamation and other offenses.The king on June 12 pardoned the only journalist in prison during the first half of2010, Driss Chahtane, editor of al-Mish’al weekly. Chahtane had served eightmonths of a one year sentence for “maliciously” publishing “false news” aboutthe king’s health.Moroccan state television provides some room for investigative reporting but littlefor direct criticism of the government or for dissent on key issues. In May the573

WORLD REPORT 2011Ministry of Communication announced that foreign stations, which have a largeviewership in Morocco, must obtain authorization before filming outside the capital.The ministry refused for the second straight year to accredit two local AlJazeera correspondents without providing a reason and then, on October 29,announced the suspension of the channel’s activities in Morocco on the groundsthat the channel “seriously distorted Morocco’s image and manifestly damagedits greater interests, most notably its territorial integrity,” an apparent allusion toWestern Sahara.Religious and Cultural FreedomsDuring 2010 Morocco summarily expelled over 100 Protestant foreign nationalsamong the several hundred living legally in the country. The authorities orallyinformed some that they had violated laws against proselytizing, but did notcharge them before forcing them to leave. In other cases, the authorities told thepersons their departures were “an urgent necessity for state or public security,” alegal formulation that allows immediate expulsions without charges or dueprocess.The Interior Ministry issued a circular in April 2010 that made it easier for parentsto register Amazigh (Berber) first names for their newborns. But civil registrarscontinued to reject Amazigh names in isolated cases, prompting calls fromAmazigh activists for the ministry to ensure that all civil registrars heed the newcircular.Human Rights Violations by the PolisarioOn September 21 the Polisario arrested Mostapha Selma Sidi Mouloud, a Sahrawirefugee residing in the Tindouf camps in Algeria, upon his return from MoroccancontrolledWestern Sahara, where he had publicly announced his support forMorocco’s proposal to maintain sovereignty over the region while granting it ameasure of autonomy. The Polisario said they had arrested Selma for “espionage”and “treason,” but on October 6 announced his release. At this writing heremains under Polisario auspices while the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees work to resettle him in a place of his choosing.574

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAKey International ActorsIn 2008 the European Union gave Morocco “advanced status,” placing it a notchabove other members of the EU’s “neighbourhood policy.” Morocco is the biggestMiddle Eastern beneficiary of EU aid after Palestine, with €580 million (approximatelyUS$808 million) earmarked for 2011-2013.France is Morocco’s leading trade partner and source of public development aidand private investment. France increased its Overseas Development Assistance to€600 million for 2010-2012. France rarely publicly criticized Morocco’s humanrights practices and openly supported its autonomy plan for Western Sahara.The US provides financial aid to Morocco, a close ally, including a five-year $697million grant beginning in 2008 from the Millennium Challenge Corporation toreduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. On human rights, the US continuedto publicly praise Morocco’s reform efforts and advances made by women.The State Department’s Counterterrorism Report for 2009 sent Morocco the wrongsignal by favorably noting its convictions of alleged terrorists without mentioningthe repeated fair-trial violations in such cases. Officials from the US embassy inRabat told Human Rights Watch that they urged Morocco to reform its press code,provide due process to expatriate Christians facing expulsion, and apply its lawon associations more consistently, including by recognizing Sahrawi human rightsNGOs that currently lack legal status.The UN Security Council in April 2010 renewed the mandate of the UN Mission forthe Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) for one year but once againdeclined to enlarge that mandate to include human rights observation and protection.Morocco opposes giving MINURSO such a mandate, whereas the Polisariosays it supports it.King Mohammed VI announced in 2008 that Morocco would lift its reservations tothe Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,but that has yet to happen at this writing. Morocco has not ratified the RomeStatute for the International Criminal Court or the Convention for the Protection ofAll Persons against Enforced Disappearances, although it helped to draft the latter.575

WORLD REPORT 2011Saudi ArabiaHuman rights conditions remain poor in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah has not fulfilledseveral specific reform promises; reforms to date have involved largely symbolicsteps to improve the visibility of women and marginally expand freedom ofexpression.Authorities continue to systematically suppress or fail to protect the rights of ninemillion Saudi women and girls, eight million foreign workers, and some two millionShia citizens. Each year thousands of people receive unfair trials or are subjectto arbitrary detention. Curbs on freedom of association, expression, andmovement, as well as a pervasive lack of official accountability, remain seriousconcerns.Women’s and Girls’ RightsSaudi Arabia continues to treat women as legal minors, allowing male guardiansto determine whether a woman may work, study, marry, travel, or undergo certainmedical procedures. The government has not fulfilled its 2009 pledge to theUnited Nations Human Rights Council to dismantle the male guardianship system.The Ministry of Interior since October 2009 has refused to issue a 43-year-olddivorced woman cardiologist a new passport without male guardian approval. In2010 the uncles and male guardians of a US-based adult woman with dual Saudiand US nationality did not allow her to obtain a Saudi passport. In May NaziaQuazi–the Indian father of 23-year-old dual Canadian and Indian national–finallypermitted his daughter to leave Saudi Arabia after luring her to the kingdom in2007 and keeping her there, as her guardian, against her will because he disapprovedof her fiance.A medical doctor in her forties lost a court appeal to remove her father as herguardian after he refused to give her hand in marriage and confiscated herincome. She lives in a women’s shelter. The brothers of two unrelated women—one in Buraida, the other in Riyadh—acting as their guardians, forced their sistersto marry five men each, for money and against their wills. In January 2010 a court576


WORLD REPORT 2011in Qasim province sentenced Sawsan Salim to 300 lashes and one-and-a-halfyears in prison for “appearing [in court] without a male guardian.”The Saudi Human Rights Commission did not respond to written requests fromHuman Rights Watch that it assist Nazia Quazi, Sawsan Salim, ‘A’isha Ali, or thewomen in Buraida and Riyadh. The woman in Riyadh said she had contacted thecommission but that it had failed to assist her.Women and children who are victims of domestic violence face societal and governmentalobstacles in obtaining redress. In September the appointed ShuraCouncil that fulfills some functions of a parliament discussed a law aimed at betterprotecting children from violence. In March officials in the Family ProtectionProgram said they had received 200 reports of child abuse in the previous sixmonths.Saudi Arabia strictly enforces gender segregation throughout the kingdom,including in work places, impeding women’s full participation in public life.Women make up 14.4 percent of the workforce, triple the rate in 1992, a March2010 study by Booz & Company found. Women’s unemployment rate is four timesthat of men. Panda Supermarket in August reassigned 11 designated womencashiers after prominent cleric Yusuf al-Ahmad called for a boycott.Women cannot work as judges or prosecutors. Promises by the Justice Ministry inFebruary to draft a law allowing women lawyers to practice in court remainedunmet.The government has not yet set a minimum legal age for marriage, but in Juneissued new marriage contracts noting the bride’s age. In January, a divorcedfather married off his 12-year-old daughter for 80,000 riyals (ca. US$21,300)because his ex-wife had gained custody, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.Migrant Worker Rights8.3 million migrant workers legally reside in Saudi Arabia; an unknown number ofother migrant workers are undocumented. They fill manual, clerical, and servicejobs, constituting more than half the national workforce. Many suffer multipleabuses and labor exploitation, sometimes rising to slavery-like conditions. Saudi578

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAArabia did not bring any prosecutions under a 2009 anti-trafficking law againstSaudis employing Nepali domestic workers trafficked from Kuwait.Saudi Arabia made no progress reforming the restrictive kafala (sponsorship) systemthat ties migrant workers’ residency permits to their employers; workers cannotchange employers or exit the country without written consent from their initialemployer or sponsor. The system fuels abuses such as employers confiscatingpassports, withholding wages, and forcing migrants to work against their will.On Saudi National Day, September 23, the king announced a six-month amnestyfor undocumented workers to return home without incurring immigration penalties.In 2010, illegal strike actions by migrant workers increased, typically because ofunpaid salaries. In May, 30 Nepalese cleaners were repatriated after striking inFebruary over pay and lack of accommodation. They spent two months homelessand three weeks in deportation detention. Also in May workers at the Dhahrancompound of Jadawel International–owned by Saudi Arabia’s third richest man,Shaikh Muhammad bin Issa Al Jaber–went on strike over unpaid salaries andexpired residency permits. Jadawel made a partial payment in August, but bySeptember salary payments were again three months in arrears. In Septemberworkers at the Mecca metro went on strike, as did over 200 Filipino workers atAnsar hospital in Jeddah in June.1.5 million migrant domestic workers remain excluded from the 2005 labor law.Although the Shura Council in July 2009 approved an annex to the law extendingthem limited labor protections, at this writing the government has not enacted it.Asian embassies report thousands of complaints each year from domestic workersforced to work 15-20 hours a day, seven days a week, and denied theirsalaries. Domestic workers frequently endure forced confinement; food deprivation;and severe psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. After returning homein August, a Sri Lankan domestic worker had dozens of metal nails extracted fromher body that she claimed her Saudi employers had hammered into her as punishmentfor complaining about long working hours. In September a Filipinadomestic worker was found dead with acid burns and stab wounds in her employers’home in Khobar.579

WORLD REPORT 2011Criminal Justice, Arbitrary Detention, Torture, and Ill-TreatmentDetainees, including children, are commonly the victims of systematic violationsof due process and fair trial rights, including arbitrary arrest and torture and illtreatmentin detention. Saudi judges routinely sentence defendants to thousandsof lashes.Judges can order arrest and detention, including of children, at their discretion.Children can be tried and sentenced as adults if physical signs of puberty exist. Itwas unclear whether the law setting the age of majority at 18, passed by theShura Council in 2008 but not yet enacted, would apply to criminal justice matters.Authorities rarely inform suspects of the crime with which they are charged, or ofthe supporting evidence. Saudi Arabia has no penal code and prosecutors andjudges largely define criminal offenses at their discretion. In April the Council ofSenior Religious Scholars in principle approved codification of Sharia. Duringinterrogation detainees are not assisted by lawyers; they face excessive pretrialdelays and difficulty examining witnesses or presenting evidence at trial. TheShura Council in January approved, but the government at this writing has notenacted, a law to provide defendants with legal assistance free of charge.In August a judge in Tabuk considered sentencing a man to be surgically paralyzedafter convicting him of paralyzing another man in a fight two years earlier. InMarch a Medina court reaffirmed Lebanese television presenter Ali Sibat’s deathsentence for “witchcraft” based on his fortune-telling show broadcast fromLebanon. In September a Qatif court sentenced two high school pupils to sixmonths in prison and 120 lashes for stealing exam questions.Secret police detained without trial or access to lawyers, in many cases for years,around 2,000 persons suspected of sympathies or involvement with armedgroups or for their peaceful political views. Muhammad al-’Utaibi and Khalid al-’Umair, two human rights activists arrested in January 2009 for trying to organizea peaceful Gaza solidarity demonstration, continued to be held in al-Ha’ir prisonwithout trial beyond the six-month limit allowed under Saudi law and despite aprosecution order for their release. In Saudi Arabia, prosecutors under theMinistry of Interior issue arrest and detention warrants and orders for release.580

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAOn January 20, Saudi authorities informed the family of Jordanian professorMuhammad al-Nimarat that he had died in Abha secret police prison onNovember 27, 2009. Al-Nimarat remained in detention after he finished his twoyearsentence in early 2009 for “issuing private religious rulings.”Prisoners and detainees in several facilities described inhumane conditions.Women twice rioted in Makka women’s prison in 2010. Five Ethiopian detaineesin Jizan deportation center died from alleged asphyxiation due to overcrowding inAugust, and Saudi websites in September published what they said were recentphotos showing overcrowded communal cells in Riyadh’s Malaz prison. InSeptember a number of detainees in the Jeddah deportation center rioted andthen escaped. Inmates in several prisons complained about ill-treatment andforced confessions extracted at police stations.Freedom of Expression and BeliefSaudi authorities continue to brook little public criticism of officials or governmentpolicies in 2010. The Ministry of Culture and Information approves newspaperand television editors and heavily censors print and broadcast media.Internet critics crossing vague “red lines” face arrest.Police in June arrested Sunni human rights activist Shaikh Mikhlif bin Dahham al-Shammari for “annoying others” with articles he wrote criticizing prominent Sunniclerics for their anti-Shia views. In August 2009, prosecutors charged Nasir al-Subai’i under unspecified articles of the Law against Cybercrimes with makingallegedly libelous comments against the Saudi consul in Beijing. Al-Subai’i hadwritten on his website about his ordeal trying to secure funding for his brother’smedical care abroad.In May Jamal Khashoggi, chief editor of the liberal Al-Watan newspaper, wassacked over articles questioning Saudi Arabia’s religious ideology. A judge inOctober sentenced journalist Fahd al-Jukhaibid to prison and public lashes for anews article describing a public protest against electricity cuts in the northerntown of Qubba. The books of Abdo Khal, a Saudi novelist and columnist, remainbanned even after he won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in March 2010.581

WORLD REPORT 2011A Ministry of Culture and Information spokesperson made conflicting statementsregarding the requirement that blogs and news websites obtain a license under aproposed law regulating online expression.Saudi Arabia does not tolerate public worship by adherents of religions otherthan Islam and systematically discriminates against its religious minorities, inparticular Shia in the Eastern Province and around Media, and Ismailis (a distinctbranch of Shiism) in Najran. Official discrimination against Shia encompassesreligious practices, education, and the justice system. Government officialsexclude Shia from certain public jobs and policy questions and publicly disparagetheir faith.Authorities have kept Munir Al Jassas, a Saudi Shia human rights activist, indetention without trial since November 2009 and Muhammad Al Libad, a youngShia from ‘Awwamiyya town, in detention since January 2010 for his alleged rolein March 2009 sectarian disturbances there. Authorities in Ahsa’ province continueto detain six Shia students arrested in January and February for publicly displayingreligious banners during Ashura, a Shia religious holiday, in December2009.Key International ActorsSaudi Arabia is a key ally of the United States and the United Kingdom and bothcountries continued in 2010 to laud Saudi counterterrorism cooperation. US pressurefor human rights improvements was imperceptible. In September thePentagon proposed for Congressional approval a US$60 billion arms sale toSaudi Arabia, the biggest-ever US arms sale. It is unknown whether the UK madeefforts through the Two Kingdoms Dialogue to promote human rights, but if sothey had no tangible effect.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navenathem Pillay, in a visit to theregion in April, called on Saudi Arabia to improve women’s rights; abolish thesponsorship system; address statelessness; and protect the rights to freedom ofexpression, assembly, and association. The Gulf Cooperation Council announcedthe establishment of a human rights committee in July 2010, but its mandate andworking methods remain unclear at this writing. Other Gulf countries made no582

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAhuman rights demands of Saudi Arabia, and the kingdom joined others in supportinga crackdown in Bahrain on peaceful political dissidents and human rightsactivists ahead of elections there in October.583

WORLD REPORT 2011SyriaThere was no significant change in Syrian human rights policy and practice in2010. Authorities continued to broadly violate the civil and political rights of citizens,arresting political and human rights activists, censoring websites, detainingbloggers, and imposing travel bans.Emergency rule, imposed in 1963, remains in effect and Syria’s multiple securityagencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants, holding them incommunicadofor lengthy periods. The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), anexceptional court with almost no procedural guarantees, regularly sentencesKurdish activists and Islamists to long prison terms.A positive development in 2010 was the adoption in January of a new comprehensiveanti-trafficking law.Arrest and Trial of Political ActivistsTwelve leaders of the Damascus Declaration, a prominent gathering of oppositiongroups, finished serving 30-month prison terms imposed in October 2008 for“weakening national sentiment.” All were released except writer Ali al-Àbdallah,who is facing new charges of “spreading false information” and “spoil[ing] Syria’srelations with another country” because of articles he wrote while in prison. Histrial is still pending at this writing.In February border police detained Ragheda Saìd Hasan, a former political prisonerwho was a member of the Communist Action Party. Three days later unidentifiedindividuals confiscated a copy of a manuscript she wrote about her pastdetention from her apartment, as well as other political publications. She remainsin detention.The SSSC sentenced dozens of Kurdish political activists to prison in 2010,including many members of the PYD political party, which is affiliated with theKurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). In April the SSSC sentenced four members of theKurdish Yekiti Party—Yasha Wader, Dilghesh Mamo, Ahmad Darwish, and NazmiMohammad—to five years in prison on the charge of undertaking acts “to cut off584


WORLD REPORT 2011part of Syrian land.” Three other prominent Yekiti members—Hassan Saleh,Muhammad Mustapha, and Ma`ruf Mulla Ahmad—face the same charges in theirongoing trial before the SSSC.In June a military judge sentenced Mahmud Safo, a member of the Kurdish LeftParty, to one year in prison for “inciting sectarian strife” and membership in anunlicensed organization.Dr. Kamal al-Labwani, a physician and founder of the Democratic LiberalGathering, who is serving a 15-year sentence for advocating peaceful reform,remains in prison.Freedom of Expression and Civil Society ActivismSyria’s press law provides the government with sweeping control over publications.The government has extended this control to online outlets. Internet censorshipof political websites is pervasive and includes popular websites such asBlogger (Google’s blogging engine), Facebook, and YouTube.In December 2009 State Security detained Tal al-Mallohi, a 19-year-old studentblogger, reportedly for a critical poem she wrote. At this writing the security servicesare holding her incommunicado and have not referred her to the judiciary.In January blogger Karim Àrbaji was released by presidential pardon. The SSSChad sentenced him in 2009 to three years in prison for moderating a popularonline youth forum, akhawia.net, which contained criticisms of the government.In January security forces detained a journalist, Ali Taha, and a photographer, AliAhmad, who work for the satellite TV station Rotana, which mainly focuses onsocial life topics. They were released in February, without charge. In Februarysecurity forces also released Maèn Àkel, a journalist at the official newspaperThawra, whom they had detained in November 2009 while he was investigatinggovernment corruption.In March Military Intelligence in Aleppo detained Àbdel Hafez Àbdel Rahman, aboard member of the unlicensed Kurdish human rights group MAF (“Right” inKurdish), and along with another MAF board member, Nadera Àbdo. The security586

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAservices released Àbdo and referred Àbdel Rahman to trial on charges of“undertaking acts to cut off part of Syrian land.”A military judge released him onbail on September 1. His trial is ongoing at this writing.In April authorities released on bail Ahmad Mustafa Ben Mohammad (known asPir Rostom), a Kurdish political activist and writer, whom they detained inNovember 2009 for articles he wrote online.In June a criminal court sentenced Muhannad al-Hasani, a human rights lawyerand president of the Syrian Human Rights Organization (Swasiah), to three yearsin prison for “weakening national sentiment” and “spreading false or exaggeratedinformation” in connection with his monitoring of the SSSC. In May al-Hasani wonthe prestigious Martin Ennals Award for his work as a human rights defender.In July a military tribunal sentenced Haytham al-Maleh, an 80-year-old prominenthuman rights lawyer and former judge, to three years in prison for “weakeningnational sentiment” and “spreading false information that weakens the nation’smorale” after an opposition television station aired a phone interview with him inwhich he criticized Syrian authorities.In June border security guards detained Kamal Sheikho, a member of Committeesfor the Defense of Democracy Freedoms and Human Rights in Syria (CDF). OnAugust 23, security forces detained another CDF member, Ismaìl Àbdi, a dualSyrian-German citizen who has lived in Germany since 1997 but was vacationingin Syria. A judge interrogated him in October on charges of “weakening nationalsentiment” and “membership in a prohibited group.”The government continues to prevent activists from traveling abroad, includingRadeef Mustapha, head of the Kurdish Human Rights Committee.All Syrian human rights groups remain unlicensed, as officials consistently denytheir requests for registration.Arbitrary Detention, “Disappearances,” and TortureSyria’s multiple security services continue to detain people without arrest warrantsand frequently refuse to disclose their whereabouts for weeks and some-587

WORLD REPORT 2011times months, in effect forcibly disappearing them. The fate of Nabil Khlioui,detained in 2008 from the region of Deir al-Zawr because of suspected ties toIslamists, remains unknown. The authorities have also kept silent about the fateof at least 20 Kurds detained since 2008 on suspicion of ties to a separatistKurdish movement.Human Rights Watch received numerous reports of ill-treatment and torture bysecurity agencies. The United Nations Committee against Torture said in May thatit was “deeply concerned about numerous, ongoing, and consistent allegationsconcerning the routine use of torture by law enforcement and investigative officials.”At least five detainees died in custody in 2010, with no serious investigations intothe deaths by the authorities. In June security services returned the body ofMuhammad Ali Rahman to his family. According to Syrian human rights activists,his corpse showed signs of torture. Syrian law provides Syrian security serviceswith extensive immunity for acts of torture.As in previous years, the government failed to acknowledge security force involvementin the “disappearance” of an estimated 17,000 persons, mostly MuslimBrotherhood members and other Syrian activists detained by the government inthe late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as hundreds of Lebanese and Palestiniansdetained in Syria or abducted from Lebanon.More than two years after security forces opened fire on rioting inmates inSednaya prison, killing at least nine, the government has not released any informationabout the casualties. The authorities have not released Nizar Rastanawi, aprominent human rights activist who completed his four-year sentence inSednaya on April 18, 2009, and there is no information about his well-being.Discrimination and Repression against KurdsKurds, Syria’s largest non-Arab ethnic minority, remain subject to systematic discrimination,including arbitrary denial of citizenship to an estimated 300,000Syria-born Kurds. Authorities suppress expressions of Kurdish identity and prohibitthe teaching of Kurdish in schools.588

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAIn March 2010, security forces shot at Kurds celebrating the Kurdish New Year inthe northern town of Raqqa to disperse them, killing at least one. In July a militarycourt sentenced nine Kurds alleged to have participated in the celebrations inRaqqa to four months for “inciting sectarian strife.”Women and Girls’ RightsSyria’s constitution guarantees gender equality, and many women are active inpublic life, but personal status laws as well as the penal code contain provisionsthat discriminate against women and girls. The nationality law of 1969 deniesSyrian women married to foreign spouses the right to pass on their citizenship totheir children or spouses.In January the government issued a comprehensive anti-trafficking law,Legislative Decree No. 3, which provides new grounds for prosecuting traffickingand protecting victims, and outlines a minimum punishment of seven years.Syria amended its penal code in 2009 to require a minimum two-year sentencefor so-called “honor” crimes; at least 10 honor crimes were documented by Syrianwomen’s rights groups in 2010.Migrant domestic workers, whose numbers have increased in Syria, reportedlyface exploitation and abuse by employers. The government enacted two decreesregulating the work of recruiting agencies to better protect the workers, butenforcement mechanisms are still lacking.Situation of Refugees Fleeing IraqSyria hosts more Iraqi refugees than any other country, with 210,000 registeredwith the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the beginning of 2010;the actual numbers are likely much higher. Syria gives Iraqi refugees, registeredor not, access to public hospitals and schools, but prohibits them from working.In February UNHCR closed the al-Tanf refugee camp—which is situated in the noman’s land between Iraq and Syria and has hosted Palestinians from Iraq fornearly four years—and relocated the last of the refugees to the al-Hol camp inside589

WORLD REPORT 2011Syria. However, a more permanent solution is still needed for the more than 600Palestinians in al-Hol camp.Key International ActorsThe international community’s interactions with Syria have focused almost exclusivelyon its regional role. Key European Union and US officials have condemnedthe arrest and trials of prominent activists, but their interventions have had noimpact on Syria’s actions. In July both US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton andthe EU High Representative Catherine Ashton publicly criticized Syria’s detentionand trial of Haytham al-Maleh, Muhanad al-Hasani, and Ali al-Abdallah. InSeptember the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Syria’scrackdown on human rights activists.590

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICATunisiaThe human rights situation remained dire in Tunisia, where President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and the ruling Democratic Constitutional Rally party (RCD) dominatepolitical life.The government frequently uses the threat of terrorism and religious extremismas a pretext to crack down on peaceful dissent, while state security agents usesurveillance, arbitrary detention, and physical aggression to intimidate and persecutethose whom the government deems to be a “threat.” Independent journalists,human rights defenders, and union activists risk prosecution on trumped-upcharges.Activists often resort to the internet as a space to disseminate and access informationwhen authorities deny them the physical space to do so. However, Tunisiaaggressively blocks access to websites containing critical political and humanrights information, and seems to be directly or indirectly involved in sabotagingthe email accounts of persons known to engage in human rights or oppositionpolitical activity.Criminalizing Contact between Tunisians and Foreign EntitiesOn June 15 the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, amendedarticle 61bis of the penal code to impose criminal penalties on persons who“directly or indirectly, have contacts with agents of a foreign country, foreign institutionor organization in order to encourage them to affect the vital interests ofTunisia and its economic security.” The amendment may threaten persons whofurnish information about human rights in Tunisia to foreign governments andmulti-lateral organizations, including the European Union and United Nations.Justice and Human Rights Minister Lazhar Bououni told parliament on June 15that “affecting the vital interests of Tunisia” includes “inciting foreign parties notto extend credit to Tunisia, not to invest in the country, to boycott tourism or tosabotage the efforts of Tunisia to obtain advanced partner status with theEuropean Union.” Parliament approved this provision on June 15 after Tunisian591

WORLD REPORT 2011human rights defenders held a meeting with EU officials in Madrid in April in thecontext of EU-Tunisia negotiations over granting Tunisia advanced partner status.Human Rights DefendersAuthorities have refused to grant legal recognition to every truly independenthuman rights organization that has applied over the past decade. After denyingrecognition, the authorities use the organization’s “illegal” status to hamper itsactivities.Human rights defenders and dissidents are subject to heavy surveillance, arbitrarytravel bans, dismissal from work, interruptions in phone service, physicalassaults, harassment of relatives, suspicious acts of vandalism and theft, andslander campaigns in the press. Members of unrecognized human rights organizations,such as the International Association in Support of Political Prisoners(AISPP) and the Tunisian Association to Combat Torture (ALTT), are regular targetsfor harassment by security forces. Plainclothes police harass lawyers who aremembers of these organizations and who take on politically sensitive cases.Radhia Nasraoui, a lawyer and spokesperson for the ALTT, reported that policeregularly question her clients about what they have discussed with her in confidence,which scares away potential clients.Prison authorities prevented Samir Ben Amor, a lawyer and secretary general ofAISPP, from visiting his clients in prison between August 2009 and March 2010,even though he had court authorization for the visits.Media FreedomDomestic print and broadcast media do not provide critical coverage of governmentpolicies, apart from a few low-circulation magazines–such as the oppositionweekly al-Mawkif–which are subject to occasional confiscation. Tunisia haslicensed private radio and television stations, but none that have an independenteditorial line. The government blocks access to certain domestic and internationalpolitical or human rights websites featuring critical coverage of Tunisia.592

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAOn July 6, 2010, the Gafsa Appeals Court sentenced journalist Fahem Boukadousin an unfair trial to four years in prison for “participating in a criminal associationwith the intention of harming people and their property” and “spreading informationliable to disrupt public order.” The apparent motive behind his prosecutionwas his coverage in 2008 for El-Hiwar el Tounsi, an Italy-based satellite televisionchannel, of demonstrations and social unrest in the Gafsa mining region that ledto the prosecution of about 200 persons, many of whom reported torture and illtreatmentin detention. During the July 6 hearing the presiding judge refused toinvestigate Boukadous’s allegations of torture and prevented defense lawyersfrom presenting their arguments in court. Police surrounded the courthouse anddenied access to many journalists and local observers. Boukadous’s wife saidthat he had not received adequate care in prison for his asthma and respiratoryproblems.On April 27 authorities freed dissident journalist Taoufik Ben Brik from prisonafter he served his six-month sentence for assaulting a woman. Ben Brik was sentencedby the Court of First Instance in Tunis, the capital, following an unfair trialin which he was convicted solely on the basis of the alleged victim’s testimonyand a confession that Ben Brik claims was forged. The trial followed a pattern ofprosecutions against journalists critical of the government on questionable criminalcharges.Counterterrorism Measures and Human RightsSince 1991 there has been one deadly terrorist attack in Tunisia: an April 2002truck bomb that targeted a synagogue on the island of Djerba, for which al-Qaedaclaimed responsibility. Security forces have also clashed once with armed militantsbetween December 2006 and January 2007 outside Tunis.The 2003 Law in Support of “International Efforts to Fight Terrorism and theRepression of Money Laundering” contains a broad definition of terrorism that theUnited Nations Human Rights Committee criticized on March 28, 2008 for its“lack of precision.” Authorities have charged many hundreds of men, and someminors, under the law. Nearly all of those convicted and imprisoned have beenaccused of planning to join jihadist groups abroad or inciting others to join,rather than of having planned or committed specific acts of violence. In July 2009593

WORLD REPORT 2011Tunisia’s parliament adopted an amendment narrowing the law’s definition of aterrorist act by restricting the extent to which “incitement to hatred” would meetthe definition.In January 2010 then-UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection ofhuman rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, MartinScheinin, visited Tunisia and noted that “the most disturbing experience duringmy mission was the existence of serious discrepancies between the law and whatwas reported to me as happening in reality.” He noted that “the frequent use ofconfessions as evidence in court without proper investigation into allegations oftorture or other ill-treatment,” and that there were a disproportionately low numberof prosecutions or other clear findings related to torture, compared to the frequencyof allegations.Prosecution of Student Union ActivistsMembers of the General Union for Tunisian Students (UGET) have faced persecutionfor their union activities. On February 3 the Court of First Instance in Mahdiasentenced five UGET members to 20 months in prison on charges of aggressionand destroying public property, despite lack of persuasive evidence of their guilt.The charges date to October 2007, when the students staged a two-day sit-in toprotest what they saw as their arbitrary expulsion from the university for holding ademonstration. The students remain free pending their appeal, which has beenpostponed four times and at this writing is set for early January 2011.Key International ActorsFrance is Tunisia’s leading trade partner and its fourth-largest foreign investor. InApril 2009 France concluded a nuclear energy cooperation deal and an €80 million(US$108 million) aid package for Tunisia. On July 16, 2010, French ForeignMinistry spokesperson Bernard Valéro noted France’s commitment to freedom ofexpression and the press, and said that France was “monitoring the situation ofMr. [Fahem] Boukadous, in particular his prison conditions and his ability toaccess proper medical care.” This statement was an exception to France’s overallreluctance to publicly pressure Tunisia to improve its human rights record. OnMarch 22, 2009, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner acknowledged, “It’s594


WORLD REPORT 2011true that there are human rights abuses in Tunisia, journalists who are harassed,sometimes imprisoned, and a general policy of firmness.” He then went on topraise Tunisia’s economic and social achievements, notably regarding the statusof women and the values of secularism.The European Union-Tunisia Association Agreement remains in force, despite thegovernment’s human rights record. On May 11 the 8th session of the Tunisia-European Union Association Council took place in Brussels, Belgium. The twosides agreed to work on a roadmap to grant Tunisia “advanced status” with theEU.At this writing, the United States 2011 Foreign Operations Appropriations billwould provide $15 million in Foreign Military Financing assistance to Tunisia. Forthe first time, the bill conditions $1 million of that sum on the Tunisian governmentmaking “significant efforts to respect due process and the rights of its citizensto peaceful expression and association and to provide access for its citizensto the internet.”While Tunisia allowed a visit during 2010 of the UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism(see above), at this writing it has not agreed to a request to visit fromthe special rapporteur on torture. The request, which has been pending since1998, was renewed in November 2009.596

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAUnited Arab EmiratesThe human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) worsened in 2010,particularly for migrant workers, as the construction slowdown in Dubai continued.Other pressing human rights issues include torture, restrictions on freedomsof expression and association, and violations of women’s rights. Authorities continueto prevent peaceful demonstrations and to harass local human rightsdefenders.Two prominent cases in 2010 highlighted ongoing concerns about the justice system:in January a court cleared a member of the royal family on torture chargesdespite video evidence against him; in March, 17 migrant workers in Sharjah wereconvicted of murder despite evidence their confessions were unreliable and theproduct of police torture. The latter decision remains on appeal at this writing.Migrant Worker RightsDuring six years of spectacular growth in the construction sector, mainly in Dubai,the UAE brought in hundreds of thousands of South Asian migrant workers.Immigration sponsorship laws grant employers extraordinary power over the livesof such workers. Workers do not have the right to organize or bargain collectivelyand face penalties for going on strike. The Labor Law of 1980 excludes from coveragedomestic workers employed in private households. Although the law callsfor a minimum wage, the Ministry of Labor has yet to adopt such a measure.Across the country, abuses include unsafe work environments, squalid living conditionsin labor camps, and the withholding of travel documents. Workers alsocomplain of nonpayment of wages, despite a mandatory electronic payment systemintroduced in 2009, that requires companies to pay salaries directly intolicensed banks to ensure timely payments without illegal deductions.The financial crisis that began in late 2008 cost tens of thousands of workerstheir jobs. Trapped in camps lacking basics such as food and sanitation, manywere unable to find new jobs or a way home. Other workers say that someemployers forced them to accept reduced pay and benefits or face dismissal.597

WORLD REPORT 2011Hundreds of laid-off migrant workers in 2010 were stranded in labor camps withoutelectricity or running water for months on end after their Dubai-based employersclosed; some had to fight off rats while sleeping amidst garbage heaps.In May hundreds of workers marched from their Sharjah labor camp to the LaborMinistry in Dubai demanding to be sent back home. The workers said they livedin squalor and their employer had not paid them in six months. That same weekabout 200 workers staged a sit-in at the Labor Ministry demanding unpaid wages.Police detained 95 Vietnamese workers who allegedly attempted to block theministry’s entry gates. In June three Asian workers suffocated to death in theirlabor accommodation in Dubai after inhaling carbon dioxide from a generator. InAugust a fire charred to death 11 sleeping workers. In September authorities finallybegan sending home 700 stranded workers from the al-Sajaa camp in Sharjah.In February 2010 New York University committed publicly to requiring all companiesbuilding and operating its Abu Dhabi campus to reimburse workers for anyrecruiting or other employment-related fees that they had to pay. The new termsalso bar companies from confiscating worker passports. In September theGuggenheim art museum followed suit, though its provisions do not require contractorsto reimburse workers for fees paid. Neither institution publicly committedto independent, third-party monitoring of labor conditions or to collective bargainingand a minimum wage. At this writing Le Louvre Abu Dhabi has not madeany specific public commitments.Many female domestic workers in the UAE suffer unpaid wages, food deprivation,long working hours, forced confinement, and physical or sexual abuse. TheIndonesian embassy registered a 24 percent increase in domestic workerexploitation incidents in Abu Dhabi in 2009 compared with 2008. In October2010, makeshift shelters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai housed more than 300 runawayFilipina domestic workers. The standard contract for domestic workers introducedin April 2007 calls for “adequate breaks” but does not limit working hours or providefor a weekly rest day, overtime pay, or workers’ compensation.In October, two weeks after Kuwait announced plans to scrap its kafala (sponsorship)system, UAE’s minister of labor said the UAE would not follow suit.However, the UAE government took some steps in 2010 to protect migrant work-598

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAers. In March the Labor Ministry announced the creation of a new unit to identifyand investigate potential labor trafficking cases. In May the Labor Ministryextended by an extra month the summer season midday break for individualsworking outside in sweltering heat.Torture and Suspicious DeathsOn January 10 an Emirati court cleared Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, a memberof the UAE ruling family, of torture charges despite video footage that showedhim abusing Afghan grain dealer Mohammed Shah Poor with whips, electric cattleprods, and wooden planks with protruding nails. The court convicted five codefendantsbut accepted the sheikh’s defense that he was under the influence ofdrugs, which diminished the responsibility for his actions. The public prosecutordid not appeal the ruling.On March 29 a Sharjah court sentenced 17 Indian men to death for the murder ofa Pakistani national during a brawl over control of the illicit alcohol trade. The 17men alleged that police tortured them over nine days to obtain confessions.Lawyers for Human Rights International (LFHRI), an Indian group, said police beatthe men with clubs, subjected them to electric shocks, deprived them of sleep,and forced them to stand on one leg for prolonged periods. As of October theirappeal against their convictions continued.In August 2010 criminal lawyer Abdul Hameed filed a public complaint withDubai’s public prosecutor urging an investigation into circumstances surroundingat least 20 suspicious deaths of inmates (19 Emiratis and one Afghan) in Dubai’scentral prison over the preceding two years. As of October, he had not receivedany response.Freedom of Association and ExpressionIn 2010 the government subjected the Jurist Association, an NGO established in1980 to promote the rule of law and raise professional standards, to mountingrestrictions. The government did not permit association representatives to attendmeetings abroad and cancelled symposiums that it deemed controversial athome. Members also complained of official pressure to quit the association.599

WORLD REPORT 2011Former association president Muhammad al-Mansoori, whom authorities haveharassed for years, was dismissed from his position as a legal advisor to thegovernment of Ras Al Khaimah in January after he gave a television interview inwhich he criticized restrictions on freedom of speech in the country. Authoritieshave refused to renew his passport since March 2008.Police arrested at least four young activists after they attempted to organize apeaceful protest march on July 15 in response to increasing oil prices.Authorities fired one of the organizers from his government job and Dubaipolice held him in detention for a week for “inciting the nation against the government,”even though the protest was cancelled. Another was imprisoned formore than a month and suspended from his work.The government monitors press content and journalists routinely exercise selfcensorship.Although Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad stated in 2007 that journalistsshould not face prison “for reasons related to their work,” a 1980 law stillin force provides jail terms for journalists and suspension of publications thatpublish “materials that cause confusion among the public.”On February 7, authorities blocked access to the online discussion forum UAEHewar (http://uaehewar.net/), a popular website that encourages debate on topicsranging from freedom of expression to political rights.Women’s RightsDespite the existence of shelters and hotlines to help protect women, domesticviolence remains a pervasive problem. The penal code gives men the legal rightto discipline their wives and children, including through the use of physical violence.In October the Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling that upheld a husband’sright to “chastise” his wife and children with physical abuse.In January a Dubai court charged 23-year-old British woman and her fiance withhaving illegal sex and drinking outside permitted premises after the womanreported to police that a hotel employee had raped her. In June the Abu Dhabicriminal court sentenced an 18-year-old Emirati woman to a year in prison for illicitsex after she complained that six men gang-raped her a month earlier.600

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAAccording to a survey conducted in January 2010 of 980 UAE residents, 55 percentof the female respondents said they would not report a sexual assault forfear of tarnishing their family’s reputation, and 49 percent would not do sobecause society would judge them harshly.The government made progress in law enforcement efforts against the traffickingof women and girls and successfully prosecuted several traffickers. In June theUAE announced it would establish two new shelters, in Ras Al Khaimah andSharjah, for trafficked women and girls.Key International ActorsIn April United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillaytoured Gulf countries. During her UAE visit she criticized the sponsorship system“that leaves migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation in an unequal powerrelationship with their employers” and urged the creation of national humanrights institutions that comply with international human rights standards.In August the United States expressed disappointment at the UAE’s planned cutoffof key BlackBerry services, noting that the ban would set a dangerous precedentin limiting freedom of information. In October the UAE government said itwould not go ahead with the ban. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authoritysaid Canadian manufacturer Research in Motion had brought its devices into linewith strict local guidelines on security and encryption but authorities did notrelease terms of the agreement.601

WORLD REPORT 2011YemenYemen’s human rights situation continued to deteriorate in 2010. Amid politicalunrest in the south, hundreds of arbitrary arrests and the use of lethal forceagainst peaceful demonstrators undermined advances in the rule of law.Skirmishes tested a truce in the conflict with Huthi rebels in the north, and governmentministries, the army, rebels, and “tribes” in various conflict affectednorthern areas obstructed humanitarian assistance. Accountability for laws of warviolations remained lacking. Yemen intensified counterterrorism efforts againstsuspected al Qaeda members in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), but some attackskilled and injured civilians.Friends of Yemen, a group of states and intergovernmental organizations establishedin January, failed to press for an end to human rights abuses as a conditionfor pledging financial and technical assistance.Terrorism and CounterterrorismThe United States increased military assistance and cooperation with Yemen’sgovernment following the failed AQAP attempt in December 2009 to blow up anairliner en route to Detroit. AQAP conducted numerous deadly attacks in 2010,particularly on state intelligence and security officials on its list of 55 Yemenis targetedfor assassination.In June four AQAP gunmen attacked a post of the Political Security Organization(one of Yemen’s several intelligence agencies) in Aden, killing at least 11 intelligenceofficers and soldiers, and freeing several suspected militants.In a September bus ambush in San’a AQAP killed 14 senior officers who hadrecently completed a US counterterrorism intelligence course. In October militantsin San’a fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a car carrying five British Embassystaff members, including the deputy ambassador, injuring three. In April a suicidebomber tried unsuccessfully to kill then British Ambassador Tim Torlot.The US government revealed it had targeted Yemeni-American preacher Anwar al-Awlaqi for assassination based on his alleged links to AQAP plots. In November a602

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAYemeni court indicted Al-Awlaqi, who is hiding in Yemen, on terrorism-relatedcharges and ordered his capture, dead or alive.The US reportedly assisted Yemen in at least four airstrikes on alleged AQAP targets.One—a cruise missile attack on suspected AQAP members on December 17,2009—resulted in at least 41 civilian deaths in the southern province of Abyan.The strike reportedly involved at least one cluster munition, a weapon that due toits indiscriminate nature poses unacceptable risk to civilians. Another US-assistedattack in central Marib province in May killed a deputy governor rather thanthe AQAP suspect, prompting the victim’s tribesmen to attack strategic oilpipelines.Yemen’s government arrested scores of terrorism suspects on weak evidence andunlawfully detained many for weeks or months without charge, according to reputableYemeni human rights activists. Concerns persisted that President AliAbdullah Saleh used the counterterrorism campaign as an excuse to target membersof Yemen’s separatist Southern Movement and independent media.For three weeks in August Yemeni security forces shelled suspected AQAP targetsin Lawdar, a town in Abyan province that is home to separatists. Media reportssaid the three dozen victims included al Qaeda members and security forces, butthat the attacks also damaged hundreds of homes and displaced tens of thousandsof people. In September the government’s three-day attack on suspected alQaeda hideouts in Hawta, southern Shabwa province, displaced thousands morefamilies.Campaign against Southern SeparatistsSecurity forces suppressed protests of the Southern Movement, establishingcheckpoints on days of announced demonstrations and arresting suspected participants.On September 23, security forces arrested at least 12 Yemenis in Adenwho were planning to demonstrate to draw attention to their grievances when theFriends of Yemen group of states met in New York to discuss aid to Yemen.Deputy Interior Minister Salih al-Zawari said there were 245 southern protests inMarch, involving 200 acts of violence. A southern human rights report listed 13dead, 31 wounded, and 61 arrested in separatists’ clashes with government603

WORLD REPORT 2011forces in May alone. In July police in Aden killed one man when they fired on apublic funeral march for Ahmad Darwish, who allegedly died from torture in lateJune following his arrest after AQAP’s attack on the Aden intelligence facility.Photographs appeared to show bruises covering Darwish’s body. From May to Julythe army blockaded southern areas of al-Dhali’, Lahj, and parts of Shabwa. SomeSouthern Movement activists erected road blocks and called for civil unrest, closinggovernment offices, schools, and shops. In June the army repeatedly shelledal-Dhali’ city center, leading to several civilian casualties.Conflict in the NorthOn February 12, Huthi rebels and government forces in the northern Sa’da governorateagreed to a truce, ending six months of heavy fighting, which was the sixthround of violence since June 2004. In August both sides agreed to a 22-point planto implement the truce, including releasing all prisoners. In June Yemeni NGOspresented a list of 249 persons they said the government had tried, or was trying,in connection with the Sa’da conflict, despite expectations under the truce thatthey would not face punishment. A further 86 remained detained without knowncharges. Despite the truce, skirmishes between Huthis and the army or armybackedtribal militias led to scores of civilian and fighter casualties.As of mid-August the conflict had displaced just under 330,000 people, almosthalf of whom fled between August 2009 and February 2010. Only a few displacedpersons went to official camps; more than 80 percent live with host families or inopen spaces, schools, and mosques. Aid agencies reported struggling to reachthem due to insecurity and access restrictions imposed by officials, local tribes,and rebels. By August over 16,000 displaced persons were known to havereturned home.Between November 2009 and January 2010 Saudi forces became a party to thearmed conflict and prevented persons seeking refuge from crossing its border,forcing thousands back to Yemen, according to media reports.Government forces and Huthi fighters recruited children for combat. Huthi fightersreportedly carried out summary executions and endangered civilians by firingfrom populated areas. Government forces reportedly conducted indiscriminate604


WORLD REPORT 2011aerial bombardment in civilian-populated areas, including a crowded market inal-Talh on September 14, and a gathering of displaced persons in al-’Adi onSeptember 16. Neither party took steps to investigate or address possible laws-ofwarviolations.Freedom of ExpressionOn May 22—the 20th anniversary of the unification of North and South Yemen—President Saleh declared an amnesty that freed many, but not all, detainees andprisoners arrested for peaceful expression. Political Security continued to detainpeaceful Southern Movement dissidents. On August 16, intelligence forces arrestedAbd al-Ilah Haidar al-Shayi’, a terrorism expert and journalist for the officialSaba News Agency, accusing him of being an al Qaeda spokesperson based onhis interviews with the group’s members.More than 16 journalists and peaceful activists received sentences ranging fromfines to 10 years in prison in 2009 and 2010, mostly for airing grievances felt bymany in the south of the country. The Specialized Criminal Court in March sentenceda professor of economic geography, Husain al-’Aqil, to three years inprison for publicly raising concerns about control of Yemen’s oil wealth. After al-’Aqil’s release in the May amnesty, Aden University in September “froze” his academicduties.On May 24 the Press and Publication Court, established in 2009 to try journalists,sentenced Sami Ghalib, chief editor of the weekly Al-Nida’, and four colleagues toa suspended three-month prison term for “undermining the unity” of Yemen. Theinformation minister banned newspapers, including Al-Watani, because of sympatheticcoverage of southern protests. Some have managed to republish, othershave been hauled to court or shut down.In April Minister of Justice Ghazi al-Aghbari proposed amending the penal code byadding vague language that would criminalize “undermining established nationalprinciples.” The proposals remained under parliamentary review at time of writing.606

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAWomen and Girls’ RightsChild marriages and forced marriages remain widespread, exposing young girls todomestic violence and maternal mortality, and truncating their education. Judgesare not obliged to ensure girls’ free consent before notarizing marriage contracts.In March a 12 or 13-year-old girl died from severe genital bleeding three days afterher marriage. Amid opposition from Islamic conservatives, President Saleh hasnot yet signed into law a measure parliament passed in February 2009 setting theminimum age for marriage at 17.Domestic violence and marital rape are not criminalized. A women’s shelteropened in 2009 in San’a housing women fleeing from violence and former prisonerswho have completed their sentences but are rejected by their families.Despite some improvements, Yemen still has a high maternal mortality rate of370 deaths per 100,000 live births. Approximately seven to eight women die eachday from childbirth complications. More than 70 percent of women deliver athome.Key International ActorsIn August Qatar mediated between the government and Huthi rebels. The UnitedKingdom in January assembled the Friends of Yemen group, including key Gulfcountries, the G8, and intergovernmental organizations. In March and Septembermeetings, the group discussed financial assistance to Yemen, but failed to tie aidto ending the human rights abuses fueling Yemen’s crises.Donors contributed only 49 percent of the requested US$187 million under theUnited Nations 2010 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. Saudi Arabia, Qatar,and other Persian Gulf states provide substantial amounts of assistance toYemen, including to tribal leaders, religious institutions, and the government.European Union states also gave humanitarian and development aid.The US more than doubled its military assistance to Yemen to $150 million, aswell as giving US$110 million in humanitarian and economic aid. The US publiclysupported Yemen’s unity, but urged peaceful resolution of its crises.607

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WORLD REPORT 2011United StatesUS citizens enjoy a broad range of civil liberties and have recourse to a strongsystem of independent federal and state courts, but continuing failures—notablyin the criminal justice and immigration systems and in counterterrorism law andpolicy—mar its human rights record. Although the Obama administration haspledged to address many of these concerns, progress has been slow; in someareas it has been nonexistent.There were positive developments in 2010, including a Supreme Court rulingabolishing the sentencing of children to life in prison without parole for nonhomicidecrimes; a new law that promises to reduce racial disparities in the sentencingof cocaine offenders; and a healthcare law promising health insurance toan estimated 32 million uninsured Americans.All of these topics were examined in November 2010 during the first-everUniversal Periodic Review of the US at the United Nations Human Rights Council,part of a larger process in which the Council examines the human rights recordsof all 192 UN member states.Extreme Criminal PunishmentsThe number of US states that impose the death penalty remained at 35 in 2010.At this writing 45 people have been executed in the US thus far in 2010; 52 wereexecuted in 2009.There are 2,574 youth offenders (persons under age 18 at the time they committedtheir offense) serving life without parole in US prisons. There are no knownyouth offenders serving the sentence anywhere else in the world. In a historicdecision in June 2010, Graham v. Florida, the US Supreme Court ruled that thesentence cannot be imposed on youth offenders convicted of non-homicidecrimes. While the ruling was a significant step forward, most youth offendersserving the sentence were convicted of homicide and were not affected by the ruling.610

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UNITED STATESPrison ConditionsAs of June 2009 the US continued to have both the largest incarcerated population(2,297,400, a decrease of 0.5 percent since December 2008) and the highestper capita incarceration rate in the world (748 inmates per 100,000 residents).17 months after the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission delivered itsproposals to eliminate prison rape to the Justice Department, Attorney GeneralEric Holder still had not promulgated final standards. Sexual violence, meanwhile,remains commonplace in US prisons. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reportedin August 2010 that 88,500 prison and jail inmates had experienced someform of sexual victimization between October 2008 and December 2009.According to a survey mandated by the Prison Rape Elimination Act and analyzedby the BJS, an estimated 12 percent of youth held in juvenile facilities reportedthat they had been sexually abused.There were advances in treatment of women in US prisons. In August theWashington Department of Corrections, following a court order, began to addressstaff sexual misconduct against women prisoners, including through revampingcomplaint and investigation procedures, installing additional surveillance cameras,and increasing training. The number of states restricting the shackling ofpregnant prisoners grew from six to ten with Colorado, Washington, Pennsylvania,and West Virginia joining New York, Illinois, California, Texas, Vermont, and NewMexico. But there were highly disturbing developments as well: in Colorado, forexample, women inmates were subjected to degrading, routine, suspicionlesssearches requiring them to open their labia for inspection by guards.In California legislation went into effect in January 2010 that is designed to reducethe prison population by, among other measures, giving more good time creditsand diverting certain parole and probation violators from prison. Nevertheless,California has appealed to the US Supreme Court a federal court order requiringthe state to reduce its prison population so that it can provide constitutionallyadequate medical and mental health care to inmates.Despite the large number of prisoners in the US with histories of substance useand addiction, evidence-based drug dependence treatment is rarely available tothem. HIV and hepatitis prevalence among prisoners is significantly higher than613

WORLD REPORT 2011in the non-incarcerated community, yet proven harm-reduction programs, such ascondom availability and syringe exchange, remain rare. The 2010 Human RightsWatch and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) report, Sentenced to Stigma,documented the harmful impact on prisoners and their families of prison policiesthat mandate HIV testing, breach confidentiality, and promote stigma and discrimination.Harsh US prison conditions were further exposed in July when the European Courtof Human Rights temporarily halted the extradition of four terrorism suspectsfrom the United Kingdom to the US due to concerns that their long-term incarcerationin a US “supermax” prison would violate Article 3 of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights, which prohibits “torture or… inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment.”Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice SystemThe burden of incarceration falls disproportionately on members of racial and ethnicminorities, a disparity which cannot be accounted for solely by differences incriminal conduct: black non-Hispanic males are incarcerated at a rate more thansix times that of white non-Hispanic males and 2.6 times that of Hispanic males.One in 10 black males aged 25-29 were in prison or jail in 2009; for Hispanicmales the figure was 1 in 25; for white males only 1 in 64.In August 2010 President Barack Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act, whichalters the federal government’s historically far more punitive approach to crackversus powder cocaine offenders that has led to racial disparities in sentencing.While symbolically important, the act does little to address the overwhelmingracial disparities in drug law enforcement: blacks constitute 33.6 percent of drugarrests, 44 percent of persons convicted of drug felonies in state court, and 37percent of people sent to state prison on drug charges, even though they constituteonly 13 percent of the US population and blacks and whites engage in drugoffenses at equivalent rates.614

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UNITED STATESRights of Non-CitizensThere are some 38 million non-citizens living in the US, of whom approximately12 million are undocumented. In 2009 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) detained between 380,000 and 442,000 non-citizens in some 300 detentionfacilities, at an annual cost of US$1.7 billion.In May 2010, reports surfaced that ICE was investigating allegations that a guardat a Texas immigration detention center had sexually assaulted several femaledetainees. This was the latest in a series of alleged sexual assaults, abuses, andepisodes of harassment that have come to public attention since ICE was createdin 2003.In a July report, Deportation by Default, Human Rights Watch documented barriersfacing persons with mental disabilities in immigration proceedings, including alack of legal safeguards and numerous cases of prolonged detention.ICE made useful proposals in 2010 for better addressing sexual abuse in immigrationfacilities and mistreatment of detainees with mental disabilities, but fewhave been implemented at this writing.In late 2009 Human Rights Watch reported on the problem of extensive transfersof immigrant detainees between facilities across the US. More than 1.4 milliondetainee transfers occurred between 1999 and 2008, interfering with detainees’rights to access counsel, witnesses, and evidence. In July 2010 ICE announced thelaunch of an online detainee locator system—an important reform—but Congresshas taken no steps to check ICE’s expansive transfer power and ICE has failed topromulgate a promised policy to reduce transfers.ICE also continues to have sweeping deportation powers. In June AssistantSecretary John Morton wrote of his desire to prioritize the deportation of “dangerousnon-citizen criminals.” If implemented, this would be an important reform—the largest numbers of deportations have been of non-violent and low-leveloffenders—but prospects for change in ICE practices remains unclear at this writing.617

WORLD REPORT 2011According to figures released in 2010 by the Center for Constitutional Rights andother groups, 79 percent of deportations under ICE’s “Secure Communities” programwere of nonviolent and low-level offenders. Human Rights Watch’s ownanalysis of government data showed that three-quarters of non-citizens deportedbetween 1997 and 2007 were nonviolent or low-level offenders. Under draconianlaws passed in 1996, judges in many deportation cases are given no discretion toallow immigrants convicted of such minor offenses to remain in the US, regardlessof their lawful presence in the country, status as a spouse or parent of a UScitizen, economic contributions, or service in the US military.Congressional efforts to overhaul the immigration system continued to flatline.No immigration reform bill moved in Congress, including the DREAMAct–designed to help immigrant children who grow up in the US–which was originallyintroduced in 2001. The current system has created a massive undergroundof persons who have lived undocumented in the US for many years. According tothe Pew Hispanic Center, 5.9 million undocumented persons (53 percent of allundocumented persons) have lived in the US for more than 10 years, and 1.4 millionhave lived in the country for more than 20 years. A July 2010 Human RightsWatch report,Tough, Fair, and Practical, describes how lawmakers’ failure toreform US immigration law violates basic human rights principles.Individual US states continued to propose problematic immigration laws in 2010.An Arizona law, SB 1070, authorized police to interrogate anyone they reasonablysuspect to be undocumented. In July a federal court enjoined enforcement of themost controversial sections of SB 1070, including “reasonable suspicion” interrogations,on grounds that federal immigration law preempts the Arizona statuteand that lawfully-present aliens would be impermissibly burdened by the law. Thecourt’s decision is under appeal.Labor RightsUS workers continue to face severe obstacles in forming and joining trade unions,and the US government is failing to meet its international obligation to protecttheir exercise of these rights. Human Rights Watch supported the Employee FreeChoice Act, a modest legislative proposal to reduce some of these obstacles, buta Senate filibuster threat has blocked the bill for two years.618

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WORLD REPORT 2011Human Rights Watch’s September 2010 report, A Strange Case, focused on violationsof US workers’ organizing and bargaining rights by European-based multinationalcorporations operating in the US. European firms that claim to comply withInternational Labor Organization core labor standards and other human rightslaws too often violate these norms in their US operations, where labor laws offersubstandard protections in key areas.A May 2010 Human Rights Watch report, Fields of Peril, reported on the workingconditions faced by hundreds of thousands of children who work on US farms.The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act specifically exempts farmworker children fromthe minimum age and maximum hour requirements that apply to all other workingchildren, exposing them to work at far younger ages, for far longer hours, andunder far more hazardous conditions. Federal protections that do exist are oftennot enforced, and state child labor laws vary in strength and enforcement. As aresult, child farmworkers, most of whom are Latino, often work 10 or more hours aday and risk pesticide poisoning, heat illness, injuries, and life-long disabilities.Many drop out of school and girls are sometimes subject to sexual harassment.Health PolicyIn March 2010 President Obama signed the Patient Protection and AffordableCare Act, which will provide health insurance to some 32 million uninsuredAmericans. However, the act’s restrictions on how insurance companies may providecoverage for abortions are expected to impede abortion access.In July 2010 the Obama administration issued the first National AIDS Strategy forthe US. HIV infections in the US continue to rise at an alarming rate, particularlyin minority communities, and many states continue to undermine both humanrights and public health with abstinence-only restrictions on sex education, inadequatelegal protections for HIV-positive persons, resistance to harm-reductionprograms such as syringe exchange, and failure to fund HIV prevention and care.Women’s and Girls’ RightsDespite the Obama administration’s stated support for ratification of the globalwomen’s rights treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of620

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UNITED STATESDiscrimination against Women, neither the administration nor the Senate movedtoward ratification. The US now stands as one of only seven nations that have notjoined the treaty. A bill to enhance US efforts to combat violence against womenglobally gained momentum in 2010, but remained pending in Congress at thiswriting.In the workplace, women continue to make 77 cents for every dollar earned bymen. The US is one of only a handful of countries that have no guarantee of paidmaternity leave and pregnancy discrimination claims have risen sharply. Womenremain significantly underrepresented at all levels of government, including in theUS Congress, where they constitute just over 17 percent of members.Women experiencing violence in the US face barriers to safety and justice.Thousands of requests for emergency shelter and transitional housing fromdomestic violence survivors go unmet every year, with federal funding for suchservices falling short of targeted levels. In July Human Rights Watch released areport showing that up to 80 percent of rape kits (DNA evidence collected from avictim’s body) in the state of Illinois may never have been tested. The state isattempting to address this problem: Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill contemporaneouslywith the release of the Human Rights Watch report requiring local lawenforcement officials to send rape kit evidence for testing, making Illinois the firststate in the nation to do so.Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and GenderIdentityUS law offers no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation orgender identity. The Uniting American Families Act, which would allow same-sexrelationships between a US citizen and a foreign national to be recognized forimmigration purposes, did not advance in Congress. The Defense of Marriage Act(DOMA), which prohibits the federal government from recognizing the relationshipsformed by same-sex couples, remains in force.There have been steps at the state level to better protect the rights of lesbian,gay, bisexual, and transgender people. A federal district court in Massachusettsdeclared unconstitutional the DOMA provision that prohibits the federal govern-623

WORLD REPORT 2011ment from recognizing same-sex marriages valid in other jurisdictions. Separatedistrict courts in California ruled that the California constitutional amendmentbarring same-sex couples from marrying (Proposition 8) and the federal policybarring lesbian, gay, and bisexual people from serving openly in the military(Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) violate the US Constitution.A move in Congress in May to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell remains pending at thiswriting. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act—a bill that would prohibit discriminationin employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity at thefederal level—is also pending before Congress.CounterterrorismDespite overwhelming evidence that senior Bush administration officialsapproved illegal interrogation methods involving torture and other ill-treatment,the Obama administration has yet to pursue prosecutions of any high-level officialsor to establish a commission of inquiry. In January the Justice Department’sOffice of Professional Responsibility released a report concluding that top lawyersin the Bush-era Office of Legal Counsel did not violate legal ethics rules whenthey wrote memos authorizing so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, butrather “exercised poor judgment.”Although Attorney General Eric Holder appointed a federal prosecutor in 2009 toreview post-9/11 interrogation practices, the prosecutor has yet to issue a reportand, by all indications, the investigation is unlikely to examine the responsibilityof senior officials who set the policies in place and authorized the abuses. TheObama administration’s continued invocation of an overly broad understandingof the “state secrets” privilege was accepted by several courts, cutting off anotherpossible avenue for redress for victims of torture and other abuses.In transferring counterterrorism detainees abroad, the Obama administration saidthat it would continue to rely on “diplomatic assurances”: non-binding and oftenunreliable promises from the receiving country that detainees would be treatedhumanely. In July the Obama administration transferred a detainee fromGuantanamo to his native Algeria on the basis of such assurances, despite his624

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UNITED STATESclaims that he would face torture or ill-treatment by the Algerian government ornon-state actors.The Obama administration missed its self-imposed deadline to shut downGuantanamo and failed to provide any real indication of when the facility wouldactually be closed. Although the administration did not seek to enact preventivedetention legislation, it continues to hold suspects without charge atGuantanamo based on wartime detention authority. In May the administrationannounced its plans to continue to hold indefinitely at least 48 detainees whohave already been in US custody for approximately eight years. Following anattempted attack on a US jetliner in December 2009 by a Nigerian man whoallegedly trained with al Qaeda in Yemen, the administration stopped transferringdetainees to Yemen, leaving 57 Yemeni detainees whose transfers had beenapproved stuck at Guantanamo indefinitely.The political uproar that followed Attorney General Holder’s announcement inNovember 2009 that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other “high-value”detainees would be tried in federal criminal court led the administration to reconsiderits decision. At this writing no decision has been made as to where and howthey would be tried.Meanwhile the administration pursued other cases in military commissions,including the prosecution of Ibrahim al Qosi, a Sudanese man who pled guilty butwhose sentence was kept secret. The Obama administration also pursued themilitary commission prosecution of child soldier Omar Khadr, even though Khadrwas only 15 years old when he was captured, and he was charged with an offensenot considered to be a war crime. Despite some improvements to the militarycommissions, they continue to lack the basic guarantees of fairness found in USfederal courts, allow certain evidence obtained coercively, discriminate againstnon-citizens, and are used to prosecute people for conduct that has never beforebeen considered a violation of the laws of war, raising serious retroactivity concerns.627

H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HWORLD REPORT20112010HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHPUBLICATIONS629

WORLD REPORT 2011By CountryAfghanistanThe “Ten-Dollar Talib” and Women’s Rights: Afghan Women and the Risks of Reintegrationand Reconciliation, July 2010, 65pp.AngolaTransparency and Accountability in Angola, April 2010, 31pp.ArgentinaIllusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina, August 2010, 52pp.AzerbaijanBeaten, Blacklisted, and Behind Bars: The Vanishing Space for Freedom of Expression inAzerbaijan, October 2010, 94pp.BahrainSlow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East, April 2010,26pp.Torture Redux: The Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain, February 2010,89pp.Bangladesh“Trigger Happy”: Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border, December2010, 81pp.Burma“I Want to Help My Own People”: State Control and Civil Society in Burma after Cyclone Nargis,April 2010, 102pp.BurundiClosing Doors?: The Narrowing of Democratic Space in Burundi, November 2010, 69pp.“We’ll Tie You Up and Shoot You”: Lack of Accountability for Political Violence in Burundi,May 2010, 47pp.Mob Justice in Burundi: Official Complicity and Impunity, March 2010, 105pp.630

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONSCambodiaOff the Streets: Arbitrary Detention and Other Abuses against Sex Workers in Cambodia,July 2010, 76pp.“Skin on the Cable”: The Illegal Arrest, Arbitrary Detention and Torture of People WhoUse Drugs in Cambodia, January 2010, 93pp.CameroonCriminalizing Identities: Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and GenderIdentity, November 2010, 62pp.China“I Saw It with My Own Eyes”: Abuses by Chinese Security Forces in Tibet, 2008-2010,July 2010, 73pp.“Where Darkness Knows No Limits”: Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as DrugRehabilitation in China, January 2010, 37pp.ColombiaParamilitaries’ Heirs: The New Face of Violence in Colombia, February 2010, 122pp.Cote d’IvoireAfraid and Forgotten: Lawlessness, Rape, and Impunity in Western Côte d’Ivoire,October 2010, 72pp.Croatia“Once You Enter, You Never Leave”: Deinstitutionalization of Persons with Intellectual orMental Disabilities in Croatia, September 2010, 74pp.Democratic Republic of CongoTackling Impunity in Congo: Meaningful Follow-up to the UN Mapping Report, October 2010,16pp.Always on the Run: The Vicious Cycle of Displacement in Eastern Congo, September 2010, 88pp.Trail of Death: LRA Atrocities in Northeastern Congo, March 2010, 67pp.“You Will Be Punished”: Attacks on Civilians in Eastern Congo, December 2009, 183pp.631

WORLD REPORT 2011EgyptElections in Egypt: State of Permanent Emergency Incompatible with Free and Fair Vote,November 2010, 24pp.EthiopiaDevelopment without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia, October 2010,105pp.“One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure”: Violations of Freedom of Expression and Associationin Ethiopia, March 2010, 59pp.France“No Questions Asked”: Intelligence Cooperation with Countries that Torture, June 2010, 62pp.Germany“No Questions Asked”: Intelligence Cooperation with Countries that Torture, June 2010, 62pp.GuineaBloody Monday: The September 28 Massacre and Rapes by Security Forces in Guinea,December 2009, 108pp.HondurasAfter the Coup: Ongoing Violence, Intimidation, and Impunity in Honduras,December 2010, 79pp.IndiaDignity on Trial: India’s Need for Sound Standards for Conducting and Interpreting ForensicExaminations of Rape Survivors, September 2010, 54pp.Back to the Future: India’s 2008 Counterterrorism Laws, July 2010, 20pp.IndonesiaPolicing Morality: Abuses in the Application of Sharia in Aceh, Indonesia, December 2010, 10pp.Prosecuting Political Aspiration: Indonesia’s Political Prisoners, June 2010, 43pp.Turning Critics into Criminals: The Human Rights Consequences of Criminal DefamationLaw in Indonesia, May 2010, 91pp.“Unkept Promise”: Failure to End Military Business Activity in Indonesia, January 2010, 20pp.632

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONSIranIran: Abuses against LGBT People, December 2010, 77pp.The Islamic Republic at 31: Post-election Abuses Show Serious Human Rights Crisis,February 2010, 19pp.Iraq“They Took Me and Told Me Nothing”: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan, June 2010,80pp.IrelandA State of Isolation: Access to Abortion for Women in Ireland, January 2010, 57pp.Israel and the Occupied Territories“I Lost Everything”: Israel’s Unlawful Destruction of Property during Operation Cast Lead,May 2010, 116pp.Turning a Blind Eye: Impunity for Laws-of-War Violations during the Gaza War, April 2010, 62pp.JordanSlow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East, April 2010,26pp.Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality,February 2010, 60pp.Kazakhstan“Hellish Work”: Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan, July 2010, 115pp.KenyaNeedless Pain: Government Failure to Provide Palliative Care for Children in Kenya, September2010, 78pp.“I Am Not Dead, But I Am Not Living”: Barriers to Fistula Prevention and Treatment in Kenya,July 2010, 82pp.“Welcome to Kenya”: Police Abuse of Somali Refugees, June 2010, 99pp.633

WORLD REPORT 2011KosovoRights Displaced: Forced Returns of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from Western Europeto Kosovo, October 2010, 77pp.KuwaitWalls at Every Turn: Abuse of Migrant Domestic Workers through Kuwait’s Sponsorship System,October 2010, 97pp.Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.Kyrgyistan“Where is the Justice?”: Interethnic Violence in Southern Kyrgyzstan and its Aftermath,August 2010, 91pp.LebanonWithout Protection: How the Lebanese Justice System Fails Migrant Domestic Workers,September 2010, 54pp.Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.LibyaLibya: Silencing Civil Society: Draft Association Law Fails to Protect Freedom of Association,December 2010, 18pp.MalaysiaSlow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.MoroccoMorocco: “Stop Looking for Your Son”: Illegal Detentions under theCounterterrorism Law, October 2010, 56pp.Nigeria“Everyone’s in on the Game”: Corruption and Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police Force,August 2010, 102pp.634

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONSPakistanTheir Future is at Stake: Attacks on Teachers and Schools in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province,December 2010, 40pp.Philippines“They Own the People”: The Ampatuans, State-Backed Militias, November 2010, 96pp.RwandaGenocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: A Digest of the Case Law of theInternational Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, January 2010, 500pp.São Tomé e PríncipeAn Uncertain Future: Oil Contracts and Stalled Reform in São Tomé e Príncipe, August 2010,23pp.Saudi ArabiaLooser Rein, Uncertain Gain: A Human Rights Assessment of Five Years of King Abdullah’sReforms in Saudi Arabia, September 2010, 52pp.Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East, April 2010,26pp.SenegalFear for Life: Violence against Gay Men and Men Perceived as Gay in Senegal,November 2010, 95pp.“Off the Backs of the Children”: Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal,April 2010, 114pp.SingaporeSlow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.SomaliaHarsh War, Harsh Peace: Abuses by al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government,and AMISOM in Somalia, April 2010, 62pp.635

WORLD REPORT 2011SpainEternal Emergency: No End to Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Institutionalizationin Canary Islands Emergency Centers, June 2010, 40pp.Sri LankaLegal Limbo: The Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE Suspects in Sri Lanka, February 2010, 30pp.SudanDemocracy on Hold: Rights Violations in the April 2010 Sudan Elections, June 2010, 32pp.SyriaA Wasted Decade: Human Rights in Syria during Bashar al-Asad’s First Ten Years in Power,July 2010, 35pp.Thailand“Targets of Both Sides”: Violence against Students, Teachers, and Schools in Thailand’sSouthern Border Provinces, September 2010, 111pp.From the Tiger to the Crocodile: Abuse of Migrant Workers in Thailand, February 2010, 124pp.TunisiaThe Price of Independence: Silencing Labor and Student Unions in Tunisia, October 2010, 62pp.Repression of Former Political Prisoners in Tunisia: “A Larger Prison”, March 2010, 42pp.TurkeyProtesting as a Terrorist Offense: The Arbitrary Use of Terrorism Laws to Prosecute andIncarcerate Demonstrators in Turkey, November 2010, 74pp.Uganda“As if We Weren’t Human”: Discrimination and Violence against Women with Disabilities inNorthern Uganda, August 2010, 73pp.A Media Minefield: Increased Threats to Freedom of Expression in Uganda, May 2010, 60pp.Making Kampala Count: Advancing the Global Fight against Impunity at the ICC ReviewConference, May 2010, 102pp.636

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONSUnited Arab EmiratesSlow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.United KingdomWithout Suspicion: Stop and Search under the Terrorism Act 2000, July 2010, 64pp.“No Questions Asked”: Intelligence Cooperation with Countries that Torture, June 2010, 62pp.Fast-Tracked Unfairness: Detention and Denial of Women Asylum Seekers in the UK,February 2010, 69pp.United StatesThe Price of Freedom: Bail, Pretrial Detention, and Nonfelony Defendants in New York City,December 2010, 75pp.A Strange Case: Violations of Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States byEuropean Multinational Corporations, September 2010, 130pp.Detained and at Risk: Sexual Abuse and Harassment in United States Immigration Detention,August 2010, 24pp.Deportation by Default: Mental Disability, Unfair Hearings, and Indefinite Detention in theUS Immigration System, July 2010, 98pp.“I Used to Think the Law Would Protect Me”: Illinois’s Failure to Test Rape Kits, July 2010, 42pp.“Tough, Fair, and Practical”: A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in theUnited States, July 2010, 24pp.Costly and Unfair: Flaws in US Immigration Detention Policy, May 2010, 11pp.Fields of Peril: Child Labor in US Agriculture, May 2010, 99pp.My So-Called Emancipation: From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth,May 2010, 70pp.Sentenced to Stigma: Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina,April 2010, 45pp.Jailing Refugees: Arbitrary Detention of Refugees in the US Who Fail to Adjust toPermanent Resident Status, December 2009, 40pp.YemenAll Quiet on the Northern Front?: Uninvestigated Laws of War Violations in Yemen’s Warwith Huthi Rebels, April 2010, 54pp.637

WORLD REPORT 2011Hostile Shores: Abuse and Refoulement of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Yemen,December 2009, 53pp.In the Name of Unity: The Yemeni Government’s Brutal Response to Southern MovementProtests, December 2009, 73pp.ZambiaUnjust and Unhealthy: HIV, TB, and Abuse in Zambian Prisons, April 2010, 135pp.ZimbabweDeliberate Chaos: Ongoing Human Rights Abuses in the Marange Diamond Fields of Zimbabwe,June 2010, 16pp.Sleight of Hand: Repression of the Media and the Illusion of Reform in Zimbabwe,April 2010, 26pp.638

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONS639


HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONSBy ThemeArms IssuesMeeting the Challenge: Protecting Civilians through the Convention on Cluster Munitions,November 2010, 224pp.Business and Human Rights IssuesA Strange Case: Violations of Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States byEuropean Multinational Corporations, September 2010, 130pp.An Uncertain Future: Oil Contracts and Stalled Reform in São Tomé e Príncipe, August 2010,23pp.“Hellish Work”: Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan, July 2010, 115pp.Deliberate Chaos: Ongoing Human Rights Abuses in the Marange Diamond Fields of Zimbabwe,June 2010, 16pp.Transparency and Accountability in Angola, April 2010, 31pp.“Unkept Promise”: Failure to End Military Business Activity in Indonesia, January 2010, 20pp.Children’s Rights IssuesTheir Future is at Stake: Attacks on Teachers and Schools in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province,December 2010, 40pp.Needless Pain: Government Failure to Provide Palliative Care for Children in Kenya,September 2010, 78pp.“Targets of Both Sides”: Violence against Students, Teachers, and Schools in Thailand’sSouthern Border Provinces, September 2010, 111pp.“Hellish Work”: Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan, July 2010, 115pp.“Tough, Fair, and Practical”: A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in the UnitedStates, July 2010, 24pp.Eternal Emergency: No End to Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Institutionalization inCanary Islands Emergency Centers, June 2010, 40pp.Fields of Peril: Child Labor in US Agriculture, May 2010, 99pp.“I Lost Everything”: Israel’s Unlawful Destruction of Property during Operation Cast Lead,May 2010, 116pp.My So-Called Emancipation: From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth,May 2010, 70pp.641

WORLD REPORT 2011“Off the Backs of the Children: Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal,April 2010, 114pp.“Skin on the Cable”: The Illegal Arrest, Arbitrary Detention and Torture of People Who Use Drugsin Cambodia, January 2010, 93pp.Disability Rights Issues“Once You Enter, You Never Leave”: Deinstitutionalization of Persons with Intellectual or MentalDisabilities in Croatia, September 2010, 74pp.“As if We Weren’t Human”: Discrimination and Violence against Women with Disabilities inNorthern Uganda, August 2010, 73pp.Deportation by Default: Mental Disability, Unfair Hearings, and Indefinite Detention in theUS Immigration System, July 2010, 98pp.Health and Human Rights IssuesDevelopment without Freedom: How Aid Underwrites Repression in Ethiopia, October 2010,105pp.Needless Pain: Government Failure to Provide Palliative Care for Children in Kenya, September2010, 78pp.Illusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina, August 2010, 52pp.“I Am Not Dead, But I Am Not Living”: Barriers to Fistula Prevention and Treatment in Kenya, July2010, 82pp.“I Used to Think the Law Would Protect Me”: Illinois’s Failure to Test Rape Kits, July 2010, 42pp.Unaccountable: Addressing Reproductive Health Care Gaps, May 2010, 10pp.Sentenced to Stigma: Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina,April 2010, 45pp.Unjust and Unhealthy: HIV, TB, and Abuse in Zambian Prisons, April 2010, 135pp.“Skin on the Cable”: The Illegal Arrest, Arbitrary Detention and Torture of People Who Use Drugsin Cambodia, January 2010, 93pp.“Where Darkness Knows No Limits”: Incarceration, Ill-Treatment and Forced Labor as DrugRehabilitation in China, January 2010, 37pp.International Justice IssuesMemorandum for the Ninth Session of the International Criminal Court Assembly of StatesParties, November 2010, 37pp.642



HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PUBLICATIONSTackling Impunity in Congo: Meaningful Follow-up to the UN Mapping Report,October 2010, 16pp.Making Kampala Count: Advancing the Global Fight against Impunity at the ICC ReviewConference, May 2010, 102pp.Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: A Digest of the Case Law of theInternational Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, January 2010, 500pp.LGBT Rights IssuesCriminalizing Identities: Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and GenderIdentity, November 2010, 62pp.Fear for Life: Violence against Gay Men and Men Perceived as Gay in Senegal,November 2010, 95pp.“Tough, Fair, and Practical”: A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in theUnited States, July 2010, 24pp.Migrant Worker IssuesUkraine: Buffeted in the Borderland: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers and Migrants in Ukraine,December 2010, 123pp.Walls at Every Turn: Abuse of Migrant Domestic Workers through Kuwait’s Sponsorship System,October 2010, 97pp.Without Protection: How the Lebanese Justice System Fails Migrant Domestic Workers,September 2010, 54pp.Deportation by Default: Mental Disability, Unfair Hearings, and Indefinite Detention in the USImmigration System, July 2010, 98pp.“Hellish Work”: Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan, July 2010, 115pp.“Tough, Fair, and Practical”: A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in theUnited States, July 2010, 24pp.Eternal Emergency: No End to Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Institutionalization in CanaryIslands Emergency Centers, June 2010, 40pp.Fields of Peril: Child Labor in US Agriculture, May 2010, 99pp.“Off the Backs of the Children: Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal,April 2010, 114pp.Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.645

WORLD REPORT 2011Unjust and Unhealthy: HIV, TB, and Abuse in Zambian Prisons, April 2010, 135pp.From the Tiger to the Crocodile: Abuse of Migrant Workers in Thailand, February 2010, 124pp.Refugees/Displaced Persons IssuesRights Displaced: Forced Returns of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians from Western Europe toKosovo, October 2010, 77pp.Always on the Run: The Vicious Cycle of Displacement in Eastern Congo, September 2010, 88pp.“Where is the Justice?”: Interethnic Violence in Southern Kyrgyzstan and its Aftermath,August 2010, 91pp.“Tough, Fair, and Practical”: A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in the UnitedStates, July 2010, 24pp.“Welcome to Kenya”: Police Abuse of Somali Refugees, June 2010, 94pp.Costly and Unfair: Flaws in US Immigration Detention Policy, May 2010, 11pp.Fast-Tracked Unfairness: Detention and Denial of Women Asylum Seekers in the UK,February 2010, 69pp.Terrorism and Counterterrorism IssuesProtesting as a Terrorist Offense: The Arbitrary Use of Terrorism Laws to Prosecute andIncarcerate Demonstrators in Turkey, November 2010, 74pp.Morocco: “Stop Looking for Your Son”: Illegal Detentions under the Counterterrorism Law,October 2010, 56pp.Back to the Future: India’s 2008 Counterterrorism Laws, July 2010, 20pp.Without Suspicion: Stop and Search under the Terrorism Act 2000, July 2010, 64pp.“No Questions Asked”: Intelligence Cooperation with Countries that Torture, June 2010, 62pp.Harsh War, Harsh Peace: Abuses by al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government, and AMI-SOM in Somalia, April 2010, 62pp.Women’s Rights IssuesPolicing Morality: Abuses in the Application of Sharia in Aceh, Indonesia, December 2010, 10pp.Criminalizing Identities: Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and GenderIdentity, November 2010, 62pp.Afraid and Forgotten: Lawlessness, Rape, and Impunity in Western Côte d’Ivoire,October 2010, 72pp.646


WORLD REPORT 2011Dignity on Trial: India’s Need for Sound Standards for Conducting and Interpreting ForensicExaminations of Rape Survivors, September 2010, 54pp.Detained and at Risk: Sexual Abuse and Harassment in United States Immigration Detention,August 2010, 24pp.Illusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina, August 2010, 52pp.“I Am Not Dead, But I Am Not Living”: Barriers to Fistula Prevention and Treatment in Kenya,July 2010, 82pp.“I Used to Think the Law Would Protect Me”: Illinois’s Failure to Test Rape Kits, July 2010, 42pp.The “Ten-Dollar Talib” and Women’s Rights: Afghan Women and the Risks of Reintegration andReconciliation, July 2010, 65pp.“Tough, Fair, and Practical”: A Human Rights Framework for Immigration Reform in the UnitedStates, July 2010, 24pp.“They Took Me and Told Me Nothing”: Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan,June 2010, 80pp.“Welcome to Kenya”: Police Abuse of Somali Refugees, June 2010, 94pp.Unaccountable: Addressing Reproductive Health Care Gaps, May 2010, 10pp.Slow Reform: Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East,April 2010, 26pp.Fast-Tracked Unfairness: Detention and Denial of Women Asylum Seekers in the UK,February 2010, 69pp.A State of Isolation: Access to Abortion for Women in Ireland, January 2010, 57pp.All reports can be accessed online and ordered atwww.hrw.org/en/publications.648


H U M A NR I G H T SW A T C HHUMAN RIGHTS WATCH350 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10118-3299www.hrw.orgFront cover: Former Burmese political prisoner© 2010 Platon for Human Rights WatchBack cover: Child worker in Kazakhstan© 2009 Moises Saman/Magnum for Human Rights WatchCover Design by Rafael JiménezWORLD REPORT | 2011This 21st annual World Report summarizes human rights conditions in more than90 countries and territories worldwide. It reflects extensive investigative workundertaken in 2010 by Human Rights Watch staff, usually in close partnership withdomestic human rights activists.With increasing frequency, governments that might exert pressure for human rightsimprovement are accepting the rationalizations and subterfuges of repressivegovernments, favoring private “dialogue” and “cooperation” over more hard-nosedapproaches. In principle there is nothing wrong with dialogue, but it should not be asubstitute for public pressure when the government in question lacks the political willto respect rights. Human Rights Watch calls on governmental supporters of humanrights to ensure that the quest for cooperation does not become an excuse for inaction.SEVEN STORIES PRESS140 Watts StreetNew York, NY 10013www.sevenstories.com$25.00 U.S.

World Report 2011 - Human Rights Watch

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