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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people
who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our
vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights
standards.
Amnesty International’s mission is to conduct research and take action
to prevent and end grave abuses of all human rights – civil, political, social,
cultural and economic. From freedom of expression and association to
physical and mental integrity, from protection from discrimination to the
right to housing – these rights are indivisible.
Amnesty International is funded mainly by its membership and public
donations. No funds are sought or accepted from governments for
investigating and campaigning against human rights abuses. Amnesty
International is independent of any government, political ideology,
economic interest or religion. Amnesty International is a democratic
movement whose major policy decisions are taken by representatives from
all national sections at International Council Meetings held every two years.
Check online for current details.
First published in 2016 by
Amnesty International Ltd
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton
Street, London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
© Amnesty International 2016
Index: POL 10/2552/2016
ISBN: 978-0-86210-492-4
A catalogue record for this book
is available from the British
Library.
Original language: English
Except where otherwise noted,
content in this document is
licensed under a Creative
Commons (attribution, non-
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For more information please visit
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website:
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amnesty.org
This report documents Amnesty
International’s work and
concerns through 2015.
The absence of an entry in this
report on a particular country or
territory does not imply that no
human rights violations of
concern to Amnesty International
have taken place there during the
year. Nor is the length of a
country entry any basis for a
comparison of the extent and
depth of Amnesty International’s
concerns in a country.
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AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
REPORT 2015/16
THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS
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CONTENTS
ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16
ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................. ix
PREFACE .............................................................................................................................. xi
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................ 14
AFRICA REGIONAL OVERVIEW ........................................................................................... 18
AMERICAS REGIONAL OVERVIEW ....................................................................................... 26
ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 34
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA REGIONAL OVERVIEW ......................................................... 42
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGIONAL OVERVIEW ................................................ 50
AFGHANISTAN ................................................................................................................... 60
ALBANIA ............................................................................................................................. 63
ALGERIA ............................................................................................................................. 65
ANGOLA ............................................................................................................................. 67
ARGENTINA ........................................................................................................................
ARMENIA ............................................................................................................................
AUSTRALIA .........................................................................................................................
AUSTRIA .............................................................................................................................
AZERBAIJAN ......................................................................................................................
BAHAMAS ..........................................................................................................................
BAHRAIN ............................................................................................................................
BANGLADESH ....................................................................................................................
BELARUS ............................................................................................................................
BELGIUM ............................................................................................................................
BENIN ................................................................................................................................
BOLIVIA ..............................................................................................................................
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ..............................................................................................
70
71
73
74
76
78
79
82
84
86
87
88
90
BRAZIL ............................................................................................................................... 91
BULGARIA .......................................................................................................................... 95
BURKINA FASO .................................................................................................................. 97
BURUNDI ........................................................................................................................... 99
CAMBODIA ....................................................................................................................... 103
CAMEROON ...................................................................................................................... 106
CANADA ........................................................................................................................... 108
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC ......................................................................................... 110
CHAD ................................................................................................................................ 113
CHILE ............................................................................................................................... 115
CHINA .............................................................................................................................. 117
COLOMBIA ........................................................................................................................ 122
CONGO (REPUBLIC OF) .................................................................................................... 127
CÔTE D’IVOIRE ................................................................................................................. 129
CROATIA ........................................................................................................................... 131
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CUBA ................................................................................................................................ 132
CYPRUS ............................................................................................................................ 133
CZECH REPUBLIC ............................................................................................................ 134
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO ........................................................................ 136
DENMARK ........................................................................................................................ 140
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC .................................................................................................... 141
ECUADOR ......................................................................................................................... 143
EGYPT .............................................................................................................................. 145
EL SALVADOR ................................................................................................................... 149
EQUATORIAL GUINEA ...................................................................................................... 151
ERITREA ........................................................................................................................... 152
ESTONIA ........................................................................................................................... 154
ETHIOPIA .......................................................................................................................... 155
FIJI ................................................................................................................................... 156
FINLAND .......................................................................................................................... 157
FRANCE ............................................................................................................................
GAMBIA ............................................................................................................................
GEORGIA ..........................................................................................................................
GERMANY ........................................................................................................................
GHANA .............................................................................................................................
GREECE ............................................................................................................................
GUATEMALA .....................................................................................................................
GUINEA ............................................................................................................................
GUINEA-BISSAU ...............................................................................................................
GUYANA ...........................................................................................................................
HAITI ................................................................................................................................
HONDURAS ......................................................................................................................
HUNGARY ........................................................................................................................
158
161
163
165
166
168
170
172
174
175
176
178
179
INDIA ................................................................................................................................ 181
INDONESIA ....................................................................................................................... 186
IRAN ................................................................................................................................. 190
IRAQ ................................................................................................................................. 194
IRELAND ........................................................................................................................... 198
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES ............................................... 200
ITALY ................................................................................................................................ 204
JAMAICA ........................................................................................................................... 207
JAPAN .............................................................................................................................. 208
JORDAN ........................................................................................................................... 210
KAZAKHSTAN ................................................................................................................... 212
KENYA .............................................................................................................................. 214
KOREA (DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF) .............................................................
KOREA (REPUBLIC OF) ....................................................................................................
KUWAIT ............................................................................................................................
KYRGYZSTAN ...................................................................................................................
vi
217
220
222
224
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LAOS ................................................................................................................................. 226
LATVIA .............................................................................................................................. 227
LEBANON ......................................................................................................................... 228
LESOTHO .......................................................................................................................... 229
LIBYA ................................................................................................................................ 231
LITHUANIA ....................................................................................................................... 236
MACEDONIA ..................................................................................................................... 236
MADAGASCAR .................................................................................................................. 238
MALAWI ............................................................................................................................ 239
MALAYSIA ......................................................................................................................... 240
MALDIVES ......................................................................................................................... 242
MALI ................................................................................................................................. 243
MALTA .............................................................................................................................. 245
MAURITANIA .................................................................................................................... 247
MEXICO ............................................................................................................................ 249
MOLDOVA ......................................................................................................................... 253
MONGOLIA ....................................................................................................................... 254
MONTENEGRO ................................................................................................................. 255
MOROCCO / WESTERN SAHARA ....................................................................................... 256
MOZAMBIQUE .................................................................................................................. 260
MYANMAR ........................................................................................................................ 261
NAMIBIA ........................................................................................................................... 265
NAURU ............................................................................................................................. 266
NEPAL .............................................................................................................................. 267
NETHERLANDS ................................................................................................................ 269
NEW ZEALAND ................................................................................................................. 270
NICARAGUA ..................................................................................................................... 271
NIGER ............................................................................................................................... 272
NIGERIA ........................................................................................................................... 274
NORWAY .......................................................................................................................... 278
OMAN ............................................................................................................................... 279
PAKISTAN ......................................................................................................................... 280
PALESTINE (STATE OF) .................................................................................................... 284
PANAMA ........................................................................................................................... 286
PAPUA NEW GUINEA ....................................................................................................... 288
PARAGUAY ....................................................................................................................... 289
PERU ................................................................................................................................ 291
PHILIPPINES .................................................................................................................... 293
POLAND ........................................................................................................................... 295
PORTUGAL ....................................................................................................................... 297
PUERTO RICO ..................................................................................................................
QATAR ..............................................................................................................................
ROMANIA .........................................................................................................................
RUSSIAN FEDERATION ....................................................................................................
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299
300
302
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RWANDA .......................................................................................................................... 307
SAUDI ARABIA ................................................................................................................. 309
SENEGAL .......................................................................................................................... 313
SERBIA ............................................................................................................................. 315
SIERRA LEONE ................................................................................................................. 318
SINGAPORE ...................................................................................................................... 320
SLOVAKIA ......................................................................................................................... 321
SLOVENIA ......................................................................................................................... 323
SOMALIA .......................................................................................................................... 324
SOUTH AFRICA ................................................................................................................ 328
SOUTH SUDAN ................................................................................................................. 332
SPAIN ............................................................................................................................... 336
SRI LANKA ........................................................................................................................ 339
SUDAN ............................................................................................................................. 342
SWAZILAND ...................................................................................................................... 345
SWEDEN ...........................................................................................................................
SWITZERLAND ..................................................................................................................
SYRIA ...............................................................................................................................
TAIWAN ............................................................................................................................
TAJIKISTAN ......................................................................................................................
TANZANIA ........................................................................................................................
THAILAND ........................................................................................................................
TIMOR-LESTE ...................................................................................................................
TOGO ................................................................................................................................
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO ..................................................................................................
TUNISIA ............................................................................................................................
TURKEY ............................................................................................................................
TURKMENISTAN ..............................................................................................................
348
348
350
354
355
358
359
362
363
364
365
369
373
UGANDA ........................................................................................................................... 375
UKRAINE .......................................................................................................................... 378
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ................................................................................................. 382
UNITED KINGDOM ........................................................................................................... 384
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .......................................................................................... 387
URUGUAY ........................................................................................................................ 391
UZBEKISTAN .................................................................................................................... 392
VENEZUELA ...................................................................................................................... 395
VIET NAM ......................................................................................................................... 398
YEMEN ............................................................................................................................. 400
ZAMBIA ............................................................................................................................ 404
ZIMBABWE ....................................................................................................................... 405
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ABBREVIATIONS
ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
AU
African Union
CEDAW
UN Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW COMMITTEE
UN Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
CERD
International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination
CERD COMMITTEE
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination
CIA
US Central Intelligence Agency
ECOWAS
Economic Community of West African States
EU
European Union
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE
PREVENTION OF TORTURE
European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN
RIGHTS
(European) Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
ICC
International Criminal Court
ICCPR
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights
ICESCR
International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
ILO
International Labour Organization
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE
International Convention for the Protection of
All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
LGBTI
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO
Non-governmental organization
OAS
Organization of American States
OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe
UK
United Kingdom
UN
United Nations
UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
UN REFUGEE CONVENTION
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
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UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM
OF EXPRESSION
UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of the right to freedom of opinion
and expression
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE
Special Rapporteur on torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment
UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
Special Rapporteur on violence against
women, its causes and consequences
UNHCR, THE UN REFUGEE AGENCY
Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF
United Nations Children’s Fund
UPR
UN Universal Periodic Review
USA
United States of America
WHO
World Health Organization
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PREFACE
The
Amnesty International Report 2015/16
documents the state of the world’s human rights
during 2015.
The foreword, five regional overviews and a survey of 160 countries and territories highlight
the suffering endured by many, be it through conflict, displacement, discrimination or
repression. The Report also highlights the strength and extent of the human rights movement,
and surveys the progress made in the safeguarding and securing of human rights.
While every attempt is made to ensure accuracy, information may be subject to change
without notice.
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AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
REPORT 2015/16
FOREWORD AND REGIONAL OVERVIEWS
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FOREWORD
“The fact that we are seeing
so many new crises breaking
out without any of the old
ones getting resolved, clearly
illustrates the lack of
capacity and political will to
end conflict, let alone to
prevent it. The result is an
alarming proliferation of
unpredictability and
impunity.”
António Guterres, UN High Commissioner
for Refugees
The past year severely tested the international
system’s capacity to respond to crises and
mass forced displacements of people, and
found it woefully inadequate. More people are
currently displaced and seeking refuge
worldwide than at any point since the Second
World War. This is partly fuelled by the
continuing armed conflict in Syria, where
more than half of the population has now fled
beyond the country’s borders or been
internally displaced. So far attempts to resolve
the conflict have simply served to highlight
global and regional divisions.
Multilateral initiatives to respond to the
outpouring of refugees, including the UN
Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan, have
in recent months been jostled by the sheer
weight of the crisis into stronger co-ordination
across Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and
Turkey. Governments in Europe, Canada and
the USA, where public perceptions of
refugees were shaken by the gut-wrenching
media image of the drowned body of Syrian
toddler Alan Kurdi, were forced to react to the
public outcry and the calls to welcome
refugees and end the crisis.
Yet both in Syria’s regional neighbourhood
and in western countries, significant gaps in
institutional responses to crisis and conflict
were exposed. Although some countries in
the region accepted a large number of Syrian
refugees, many governments both within and
outside the Middle East and North Africa
region remained unwilling to increase their
intake of refugees to meaningful levels.
Burden- and responsibility-sharing continued
to be tremendously lopsided, and provision of
resources lagged well behind the rapidly
unfolding crisis. Meanwhile, the human rights
of many families and individuals on the move
were violated, including through
criminalization of asylum-seekers,
refoulement,
push-backs and removal to
other territories, and through various state
actions that amounted to denial of access to
an asylum process.
As the world struggled to respond to the
large numbers leaving Syria, the war raging
within the country crystallized urgent
concerns around the application of
international human rights and humanitarian
law that Amnesty International and others
have consistently raised for years. The Syrian
conflict has become a byword for the
inadequate protection of scores of civilians at
risk, and more broadly for the systemic failure
of institutions to uphold international law.
Even as we live in the hope that current
efforts will yield peace in Syria, over the years
the war in the country has also highlighted
the impunity gap that ensues when the five
permanent members of the UN Security
Council use their veto to block credible and
proportionate action to end war crimes and
crimes against humanity, and to impede
accountability when such crimes are being or
have been committed. Syria’s dire human
rights situation has demonstrated the
weakness of systems of civilian protection
during armed conflicts. In the Syrian crisis,
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and more widely with the actions of the
armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS),
we see the results of reckless arms trading
over decades, and the deadly impact this has
on civilians. The conflict has also highlighted
the retreat of responsibility for refugee
protection, as countries bickered about
“border protection” and “migration
management” rather than taking decisive
action to save lives.
Even then, emblematic as it might have
been, Syria’s civil war was but one of the
many conflicts that contributed to the
unprecedented global number of refugees,
migrants and internally displaced people.
Armed conflicts continued in countries
including Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan
and Yemen. Across several borders, IS
displayed a gross disregard for civilian lives,
forcing thousands to flee. In Africa, state and
non-state actors committed serious violations
and abuses of human rights in Burundi,
Cameroon, Central African Republic,
northeastern Nigeria, Somalia and South
Sudan, including in some cases attacks
directed at civilians and civilian infrastructure.
These situations have all led to significant
numbers of people fleeing their homes to
seek refuge elsewhere. Conflicts in Israel and
the Occupied Palestinian Territories and
Ukraine continued to claim civilian lives as all
parties violated international humanitarian
and human rights law. And while the
Americas welcomed positive developments in
the decades-old Colombian conflict – where,
even then, accountability might be sacrificed
in a political deal – violence continued to
subvert human rights and institutions in
countries including Brazil, Mexico and
Venezuela.
That we reached this nadir in the year
when the UN turned 70, its formation having
beckoned nations to come together to “save
succeeding generations from the scourge of
war” and to “reaffirm faith in fundamental
human rights”, poses a simple but grim
challenge: is the international system of law
and institutions adequate for the urgent task
of protecting human rights?
In the
Amnesty International Report
of
1977, we welcomed the first meeting of the
UN Human Rights Committee, and noted that
it represented one of “a number of
developments at the UN in areas important to
Amnesty International’s human rights
concerns”. We added to that developments in
areas such as the fight against torture. Over
the years, Amnesty International has helped
to foster a critical commitment to the system
of international human rights law and
international humanitarian law. Yet the
shortcomings of that system have never been
more apparent than they are today.
Among the various threats to human rights
surveyed in this year’s report, we highlight
here two related themes. The first clear theme
of the past year is that the international
system was not robust in the face of hard
knocks and challenges. As the cracks began
to show, we realized that the system of
international protection of human rights itself
needs to be protected.
In 2015, there were several threats to
mechanisms for human rights protection.
Regional human rights protection and
accountability in Africa and the Americas
came under internal threat. In addition,
governments in Africa hampered co-operation
with the ICC while claiming to be
strengthening African systems, even though
they continued to fail to ensure that domestic
and regional mechanisms brought justice.
Emerging mechanisms in the Middle East and
North Africa did not sufficiently promote a
vision of universal human rights. Asia’s
fledgling system remained largely ineffectual.
Meanwhile the European system was under
threat, both from the possibility of losing the
support of some states and from a massive
backlog of cases requiring justice and
accountability.
Multilateral protections such as the UN
Refugee Convention and the UN Convention
against Torture, and specialized mechanisms
such as those protecting people in peril at
sea, did not succeed in preventing or
containing humanitarian crises, nor in
protecting civilians against gross human
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rights violations, much less in fostering
accountability for atrocities.
Barbarous attacks on people from Beirut to
Bamako and Yola, from Tunis to Paris and
elsewhere, also raised questions about the
role of international human rights law to
counter threats posed by non-state actors –
violent armed groups in particular.
Amnesty International calls for a renewed
commitment to the protection of the
international human rights system. To make
the international system adequate for its task,
states must protect the system itself.
This must include voluntary restraint in the
UN Security Council members’ use of the
veto in situations of mass atrocity crimes;
effective implementation of human rights
norms across all instruments of international
human rights law; respect for international
humanitarian law; refraining from actions that
undermine human rights systems, including
attacks against or withdrawal of support from
them; and alignment of regional human rights
mechanisms with the universal standards of
the international system.
The second overriding theme of the past
year is closely related. At their roots, several
of the crises of the past year were set in
motion by the resentments and conflicts that
often follow the brutal crushing of dissent by
states, or when states repress that enduring
quest of every person to live in dignity with
their rights upheld.
Whether it be the Andaman Sea crisis in
May that saw thousands of refugees and
migrants adrift at sea without food or water, or
the killing and forcible disappearance of
human rights defenders working to protect
people’s rights to land and livelihoods in Latin
America and the Caribbean: in these and
many other cases, the brutal repression of
dissent and the denial of people’s basic rights
– including economic, social and cultural
rights – as well as the failure by states to
protect the human rights of all, often spawn
societal tensions, the by-products of which, in
turn, stretch international protection systems
beyond their limits. The most palpable recent
example of the link between system failure
and governments’ repression of dissent and
failure to protect human rights is the “Arab
Spring”, which half a decade ago changed
the face of the Middle East and North Africa
region.
Five years on from one of the most
dynamic demonstrations of people power the
world has ever seen, governments are using
increasingly calculated means to crush
dissent, not just in the Middle East, but
globally. Particularly disconcerting is the
ample evidence that repression has now
become as sophisticated as it is brutal.
While 2011 saw the deaths of more than
300 people at the hands of security forces
during Egypt’s “January 25 revolution”, and
more than 50 protesters killed in Yemen’s
“Bloody Friday”, the swing of the police
truncheon in the public square may not make
the news headline so readily today. Yet in this
report, Amnesty International documents the
continuing and widespread use of excessive
force against dissenters and demonstrators,
in addition to extrajudicial executions and
forced disappearances, across the globe. Five
years ago, systematic round-ups and torture
in the Syrian town of Tell Kalakh marked an
early manifestation of the backlash by states
in the region against dissent and popular
protest. In the intervening years, torture has
continued in that part of the world, and
elsewhere too, often finding cover in the
lingual sophistry of so-called “enhanced
interrogation techniques” – those dissembling
horrors hatched before the “Arab Spring” in
the context of the so-called “war on terror”.
Often, repression was almost routine and,
time and again, was packaged as a necessity
for achieving national security, law and order,
and the protection of national values. The
authorities in numerous countries repressed
freedom of expression online and cracked
down on dissenters using a range of tools,
including arbitrary arrests and detentions,
torture and other ill-treatment, and the death
penalty.
Meanwhile, a legal case by Amnesty
International uncovered Orwellian levels of
surveillance by some states, particularly
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focused on the lives and work of human
rights defenders. Today, states’ continuing
development of new methods of repression to
keep abreast of advancing technology and
connectivity is a major threat to freedom of
expression.
Following advocacy by organizations
including Amnesty International, the UN
mandated a new special procedure, the
Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy in
the digital age. The work of the Special
Rapporteur will be important in the coming
months to help develop clear human rights-
respecting norms in this area.
The crackdown by states on dissent,
protest and outspokenness has expanded
since those epoch-making popular
expressions of the people’s voice that began
five years ago. Amnesty International calls on
states to respect the human rights of
individuals and groups to organize, assemble
and express themselves, to hold and share,
through any medium, opinions that
governments may disagree with, and for all to
be protected equally before the law.
As well as being vital for individual
freedom, rights that protect the work and
space of human rights defenders do, in their
turn, protect the system of human rights
itself. The signs of hope that we saw in 2015
were the result of the ongoing advocacy,
organizing, dissent and activism of civil
society, social movements and human rights
defenders.
To give just three examples from the past
year: the presence of human rights and
accountability elements in the UN
Sustainable Development Goals; action in
May to prevent forced evictions on the
Regional Mombasa Port Access Road project
in Kenya; and the release of Filep Karma, a
Papuan prisoner of conscience in Indonesia,
as a result of 65,000 messages written on his
behalf by supporters from around the world.
These outcomes were not borne of the
benevolence of states. Nor will, in future,
such signs of hope be sustained by state
actors alone. But governments must allow the
space and freedom for human rights
defenders and activists to carry out their
essential work. Amnesty International
therefore calls upon states to ensure that the
resolution adopted in November by the UN
General Assembly to protect the rights of
human rights defenders is implemented with
accountability and transparency, including
the naming and shaming of states that fail to
uphold these rights.
Beyond the moment that the last full stop
was inked on that resolution, not one more
human rights defender, nor a member of their
family, should have their life taken by a state,
or be without the protection of a state. Not
one more should be harassed, nor be at risk.
As the world’s largest organization of
human rights defenders, we present to you
this report of the state of human rights during
the past year. While the report captures the
above themes and others, its pages cannot
convey the full human misery of the topical
crises of this last year, notably the refugee
crisis – even now exacerbated in this northern
winter. In such a situation, protecting and
strengthening systems of human rights and
civilian protection cannot be seen as optional.
It is literally a matter of life and death.
Salil Shetty, Secretary General
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AFRICA REGIONAL
OVERVIEW
With the African Union (AU) declaring 2016
as the Year of Human Rights in Africa, many
across the continent and beyond hoped that
Africa’s leaders, regional institutions and the
international community would show the
determination and political will to make
significant headway in addressing entrenched
human rights challenges.
Such hopes were not without foundation.
As conflict, political instability, authoritarian
regimes, poverty and humanitarian disasters
continued to deny many their rights, security
and dignity, Africa was also presented with
real opportunities. Social and economic
developments were evident in many countries
and relatively peaceful political transitions
were achieved in others. The adoption of
historic commitments regionally and globally
– including the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) –
offered the potential to realize the rights
enshrined in the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and
international human rights instruments.
Nevertheless, throughout 2015, serious
violations and abuses of international
humanitarian and human rights law in the
context of conflicts remained a major
challenge. Protracted conflicts in the Central
African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC), Sudan, South Sudan and
Somalia caused thousands of civilian deaths
and left millions living in fear and insecurity.
Burundi faced a political crisis and escalating
violence.
In west, central and east Africa – including
in Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria,
Niger and Somalia – armed groups such as
al-Shabaab and Boko Haram perpetrated
constant violence, with tens of thousands of
civilians killed, thousands abducted and
millions forced to live in fear and insecurity,
both within and outside conflicts.
Many governments responded to these
security threats with disregard for
international humanitarian law and human
rights. Military and security operations in
Nigeria and Cameroon were marked by mass
arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions,
extrajudicial executions, and torture and other
ill-treatment. Similar patterns of human rights
violations were observed in Niger and Chad.
Impunity remained a key cause and driver
of conflicts and instability. Despite some
progress, there was little or no accountability
for crimes under international law committed
by security forces and armed groups in
countries as disparate as Cameroon, CAR,
DRC, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and
Sudan. Internationally, some states and the
AU also continued their political efforts to
undermine the independence of the
International Criminal Court (ICC), and to
ensure immunity from prosecution for serving
heads of state, even when accused of crimes
against humanity and other crimes under
international law. South Africa failed to arrest
and surrender Sudan’s President al-Bashir to
the ICC in June, in a betrayal of the hundreds
of thousands of victims killed during the
Darfur conflict.
Many civil society organizations, human
rights defenders, journalists and political
opponents operated in an increasingly hostile
environment, with laws aimed at restricting
civic space in the name of national security,
counter-terrorism, public order and regulation
of NGOs and media. Civic space remained
closed in countries such as Eritrea, Ethiopia
and The Gambia and deteriorated in others,
with freedoms of expression, association and
peaceful assembly increasingly restricted.
Peaceful assemblies were disrupted with
brutal and excessive force, including in
Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, the
Republic of Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Guinea,
South Africa, Togo and Zimbabwe. In South
Africa, excessive force was used as a “clean-
up” operation to remove undocumented
immigrants.
Elections and political transitions triggered
widespread violations and repression. Many
countries saw bans on protests, attacks on
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demonstrators by security forces, and
arbitrary arrests and harassment of political
opponents, human rights defenders and
journalists.
The humanitarian crisis endured by the
region continued as the Ebola epidemic that
spread across West Africa in 2014 continued
to claim lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra
Leone.
Yet there were signs of hope and progress.
Social and economic developments continued
to unfold in many countries and offered real
optimism in addressing some of the structural
causes of poverty, including inequality,
climate change, conflict and accountability
deficits. Several states achieved some of the
UN Millennium Development Goals and
Africa played a critical role in the adoption of
the SDGs.
Some measures taken by the AU Peace
and Security Council, as well as sub-regional
bodies, to address violent conflicts in the
region demonstrated a growing move from
indifference to engagement. Despite capacity
limitations, a lack of coherent approaches
and concerns about the adequacy of
measures to address human rights violations
and impunity, the AU and regional bodies
took notable steps – from mediation to
peacekeeping – in response to crises and
conflicts.
Several regional human rights norms and
standards were also developed. In November,
the African Commission on Human and
Peoples’ Rights (African Commission)
adopted a General Comment on Article 4
(right to life) of the African Charter. The AU
Special Technical Committee on Legal Affairs
(STC) also considered and approved the Draft
Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons in
Africa, initially developed by the African
Commission. Regrettably, the STC declined to
approve the Draft Protocol on the Abolition of
the Death Penalty in Africa.
More countries also opened up their
human rights records for review. Periodic
reports on implementation of the African
Charter were submitted by Algeria, Burkina
Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria and
Sierra Leone.
There were reforms and positive measures
in several countries. In Mauritania, a new law
defined torture and slavery as a crime against
humanity and banned secret detention. Sierra
Leone ratified the Protocol to the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on
the Rights of Women in Africa. There were
signs of improvement in Swaziland –
including the release of prisoners of
conscience and political prisoners – although
repressive legislation continued to be used to
suppress dissent.
A watershed moment for international
justice took place in Senegal when the trial
against former Chadian President Hissène
Habré opened in July – the first time a court
in one African state had tried the former
leader of another.
CONFLICT – COSTS AND VULNERABILITY
Violent conflicts and insecurity affected many
countries, resulting in large-scale violations
and characterized by lack of accountability for
atrocities. Ongoing conflicts in CAR, DRC,
Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan
were marked by crimes under international
law and persistent violations and abuses of
humanitarian and human rights law,
committed by both government forces and
armed groups. Gender-based and sexual
violence was widely reported and children
were abducted or recruited as child soldiers.
Despite coordinated military advances
against Boko Haram, the armed group
continued attacking civilians in Chad, Niger,
Nigeria and Cameroon. Its catalogue of
abuses included suicide bomb attacks in
civilian areas, summary executions,
abductions, torture and recruitment of child
soldiers.
The impact of Boko Haram’s abuses was
exacerbated by states’ unlawful and heavy-
handed response. Amnesty International
released a report during the year outlining war
crimes and possible crimes against humanity
committed by the Nigerian military during its
fight against Boko Haram – including more
than 8,200 people murdered, starved,
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suffocated or tortured to death – and calling
for senior members of the military to be
investigated for war crimes.
In the Far North region of Cameroon,
government security forces carried out mass
arbitrary arrests, detentions and extrajudicial
executions, as well as the enforced
disappearances of at least 130 men and boys
from two villages on the border with Nigeria.
In Niger – where the government decreed
and extended a state of emergency in the
entire Diffa region, which was still in place at
the end of the year – the authorities’ response
included extreme restrictions on movement,
as well as the forced return of thousands of
Nigerian refugees. In Chad, a restrictive anti-
terrorism law was passed, and the security
forces carried out arbitrary arrests and
detentions.
A major humanitarian crisis involving mass
displacement and civilian casualties
continued to unfold in Sudan’s armed
conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue
Nile, as all parties committed violations of
international humanitarian law and other
violations and abuses of international human
rights law. Government forces continued
indiscriminate bombings, destruction of
civilian settlements and obstruction of
humanitarian access to civilians.
Despite the signing of a peace agreement
in August, the conflict in South Sudan –
characterized by deliberate attacks against
civilians – continued. Both parties carried out
mass killings of civilians, destruction of
civilian property, obstruction of humanitarian
aid, widespread gender-based and sexual
violence, and recruitment of child soldiers.
The AU Commission of Inquiry on South
Sudan found evidence of systematic war
crimes and crimes against humanity, as well
as human rights violations and abuses
committed by both warring parties.
Despite a de-escalation of violence since
the deployment of the multidimensional UN
peacekeeping operation, renewed violence
and instability in CAR in September and
October resulted in civilian deaths,
destruction of property and displacement of
more than 42,000 people. At least 500
inmates, most of them detained in relation to
ongoing investigations into crimes committed
in the context of the conflict, escaped from
the prison in the capital, Bangui, in a mass
break in September.
In central and southern Somalia, civilians
continued to face indiscriminate and targeted
attacks amidst continuing armed conflict
between forces from the Somali Federal
Government and the AU Mission in Somalia
on one side and al-Shabaab on the other. All
parties to the conflict committed violations of
international humanitarian law and serious
violations and abuses of international human
rights law.
A CRISIS FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
The bloodshed and atrocities of Africa’s
conflict zones played a major role in fuelling
and sustaining a global refugee crisis, causing
millions of women, men and children to flee
from their homes in gruelling, risky and often
fatal bids to reach safety in their own country
or elsewhere.
The conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan
alone were responsible for millions of
displacements. During the year, around one-
third of South Kordofan’s population of
approximately 1.4 million people were
internally displaced, and an estimated
223,000 people were displaced in Darfur,
bringing the total number of those internally
displaced in the region to 2.5 million. An
estimated 60,000 people were additionally
displaced due to intermittent fighting between
the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)-
North and government forces in Blue Nile
state.
A further 2.2 million people were displaced
by the conflict in South Sudan during the
year, with 3.9 million people facing severe
food insecurity.
Huge numbers of people were internally
displaced or became refugees after fleeing
areas affected by violence from Boko Haram.
In Nigeria alone, more than two million people
have been forced to flee their homes since
2009. Hundreds of thousands of refugees
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from Nigeria and CAR were living in harsh
conditions in crowded camps in Cameroon
and Niger, where in May government forces
of Niger and Cameroon forced thousands of
refugees back to Nigeria, accusing them of
bringing Boko Haram attacks to the area. In
Chad, hundreds of thousands of refugees
from Nigeria, CAR, Sudan and Libya
continued to live in difficult conditions in
crowded refugee camps.
More than 1.3 million Somalis were
internally displaced during the year. Globally,
there were more than 1.1 million Somali
refugees. Yet states hosting Somali asylum-
seekers and refugees – including Saudi
Arabia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway,
the UK and Denmark – continued to pressure
Somalis to return to Somalia, claiming that
security had improved in the country.
Kenya’s government threatened to close
Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp,
presenting the move as a security measure
following an attack by al-Shabaab. Against a
backdrop of harassment of Somali and other
refugees by Kenyan security services, the
authorities threatened to forcibly return
around 350,000 refugees to Somalia. This
would put thousands of lives at risk and
violate Kenya’s obligations under international
law.
Countless numbers of refugees and
migrants – displaced not only by conflict but
also by political persecution or the need to
secure a better livelihood – faced intolerance,
xenophobia, abuses and violations. Many
languished in camps that failed to provide
proper access to water, food, health care,
sanitation or education, and many fell prey to
human trafficking networks.
More than 230,000 people fled Burundi’s
deteriorating political, social and economic
situation to neighbouring countries.
Thousands continued to flee Eritrea to escape
indefinite National Service, which amounts to
forced labour. Eritreans caught trying to
escape the country were arbitrarily detained
without charge or trial, frequently in harsh
conditions and without access to lawyers. A
“shoot to kill” policy was in place for anyone
evading capture and trying to cross into
Ethiopia. Those who managed to leave Eritrea
faced numerous dangers on routes through
Sudan, Libya and the Mediterranean to reach
Europe, including hostage-taking for ransom
by armed groups and criminal gangs.
In Malawi, unregistered migrants were kept
in detention beyond the expiry of their
custodial sentences, with limited prospect of
being released or deported. At least 100 such
detainees, mostly from Ethiopia, were held in
overcrowded prisons at the end of the year.
An ongoing failure by the South African
government to establish a systematic
programme of prevention and protection
resulted in widespread and violent
xenophobic attacks against migrants and
refugees, including on their businesses.
IMPUNITY FOR CRIMES UNDER
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Impunity for serious human rights violations
and abuses – especially those committed in
the context of armed conflicts – continued to
deprive people of truth and justice, and
contributed to further instability and abuses.
Most governments – including in Cameroon,
CAR, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and
Sudan – showed little progress towards
tackling the entrenched accountability gap,
with those suspected of responsibility for
crimes under international law rarely held to
account.
Despite promises by Nigeria’s new
President to investigate crimes under
international law and other serious human
rights violations and abuses committed by the
military and Boko Haram, no meaningful
action was taken. The government failed to
hold its own forces to account, and
prosecuted few people suspected of being
Boko Haram members. However, the Office
of the Prosecutor of the ICC identified eight
potential cases involving crimes against
humanity and war crimes: six involving Boko
Haram and two involving the Nigerian security
forces.
Despite the publication on 26 October of
the report by the AU Commission of Inquiry
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on South Sudan, and the signing of a peace
agreement in August which laid the
foundation for the AU’s decision to set up a
hybrid court, there was no progress towards
its establishment. The Hybrid Court on South
Sudan was announced as an African-led and
Africa-owned legal mechanism.
In April, CAR’s National Transitional
Council took a positive step towards
establishing an accountability mechanism by
adopting a law to establish a Special Criminal
Court. There was little progress in establishing
the Court, however, which is expected to
investigate and prosecute those responsible
for war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed in the country since 2003.
South Africa’s government failed to fulfil its
international legal obligations in June when
Sudan’s President al-Bashir – visiting
Johannesburg for an AU Summit – was
allowed to leave the country. Two open ICC
arrest warrants had been laid against him for
his alleged role in genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes in Darfur, and a
court order from South Africa’s high court
also prohibited him from leaving. South
Africa’s failure to act saw it join a long list of
states that have failed to arrest and surrender
President al-Bashir to the ICC to face trial. In
a worrying development, the African National
Congress was reported to have resolved in
October that South Africa should withdraw
from the ICC. No steps had been taken by the
end of the year.
President Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire stated in
April that there would be no more transfers to
the ICC, despite the ICC’s outstanding arrest
warrant for former First Lady Simone Gbagbo
for alleged crimes against humanity.
Some states and the AU continued with
political efforts to interfere with or undermine
the independence of the ICC, and to ensure
immunity from prosecution for serving heads
of state even when accused of crimes against
humanity and other international crimes. The
AU Assembly adopted a resolution in June
which reiterated its previous calls for
termination or suspension of ICC proceedings
against Deputy President Ruto of Kenya and
President al-Bashir of Sudan. In November,
Kenya’s government attempted to influence
the 14th session of the Assembly of States
Parties (ASP) – the political oversight body of
the ICC – as part of its attempt to undermine
the trial of Deputy President Ruto, by
threatening to withdraw from the ICC. The
government of Namibia also threatened to
withdraw from the ICC in November.
More positively, the DRC took a significant
step in November when the Senate voted in
favour of adopting domestic legislation for
implementation of the Rome Statute of the
ICC. During the 14
th
session of the ASP in
November, many African states parties to the
Rome Statute of the ICC voiced strong
commitment to the ICC and denied support to
proposals that could undermine its
independence.
A significant step towards justice for victims
of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was
achieved in January following the transfer of
Dominic Ongwen, alleged former LRA
commander, to the ICC. The beginning in July
of the trial of Hissène Habré in Senegal – with
the accused charged with crimes against
humanity, torture and war crimes committed
during his tenure between 1982 and 1990 –
was a major positive development in Africa’s
long fight against impunity.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT IN THE
CONTEXT OF ELECTIONS AND
TRANSITIONS
Fifteen general or presidential elections took
place across the continent during the year,
many forming the backdrop for human rights
violations and restrictions. In countries
including Burundi, the Republic of Congo,
Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Guinea, Sudan,
Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia there
were bans on protests, attacks on
demonstrators, and arbitrary arrests of
political opponents, human rights defenders
and journalists.
Ethiopia’s general election in May was
marred by restrictions on civil society
observing the elections, use of excessive force
against peaceful demonstrators, and
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harassment of political opposition observers.
Security officers beat, injured and killed
people at polling stations, and four members
and leaders of political opposition parties
were extrajudicially executed.
In Guinea, tensions around the electoral
process led to violence between supporters of
different political parties, and between
protesters and security forces, the latter often
using excessive and lethal force to police
demonstrations.
Presidential and parliamentary elections in
Sudan saw President al-Bashir re-elected
amid reports of fraud and vote-rigging, with
low voter turnout and opposition political
parties boycotting the elections. Sudan’s
authorities intensified their suppression of
freedom of expression as the elections
approached, repressing the media, civil
society and opposition political parties, and
arresting dozens of political opponents.
In countries including Burkina Faso,
Burundi, DRC and the Republic of Congo,
attempts by political incumbents to stay in
power for a third term sparked protests and
subsequent state violence. In Burundi,
protests were violently suppressed by the
security forces and there was a marked
increase in torture and other ill-treatment,
especially against those opposed to President
Nkurunziza’s re-election bid. From
September onwards, the situation
deteriorated even further; killings on a near-
daily basis, including extrajudicial executions,
and arbitrary arrests and disappearances
became routine. More than 400 people were
killed between April and December.
In Burkina Faso in September, members of
the Presidential Guard (RSP) attempted a
coup and took political leaders hostage,
including the President and Prime Minister,
triggering public protests. Before being forced
to withdraw by the army, the RSP used
excessive and sometimes lethal force in a bid
to suppress protests.
In The Gambia, relatives of those
suspected of involvement in a failed coup in
December 2014 were arbitrarily arrested and
detained by law enforcement agencies. Three
soldiers suspected of being involved were
sentenced to death. Political instability in
Lesotho continued following an attempted
coup in 2014.
Dissent and basic human rights were
suppressed in DRC and Uganda, linked to
presidential elections scheduled for 2016. As
pressure intensified on the DRC President
Kabila to not seek another term after 14 years
in power, the authorities increasingly targeted
human rights defenders and journalists and
violently disrupted demonstrations. In Uganda
– where President Museveni will seek a fifth
term in office in elections due in February
2016 – police arbitrarily arrested political
opposition leaders, including presidential
candidates, and used excessive force to
disperse peaceful political gatherings.
SHRINKING CIVIC SPACE AND ATTACKS
ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Outside the context of elections, many
governments stifled dissent and muzzled
rights to freedom of expression. Peaceful
assemblies were often disrupted with
excessive force. Many civil society
organizations and human rights defenders
faced an increasingly hostile environment,
including through use of laws aimed at
restricting civic space.
Such patterns of increasing restrictions
took place in a wide spectrum of countries,
including Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad,
the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire,
Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho,
Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In Angola, there was an increase in
crackdown on dissent and outright violations
of fundamental freedoms, including through
the arbitrary detention of activists peacefully
calling for public accountability of leadership.
In Eritrea, thousands of prisoners of
conscience continued to suffer arbitrary
detentions. There was no space for opposition
political parties, activism, independent media
or academic freedom.
In South Sudan, the space for journalists,
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human rights defenders and civil society to
operate without intimidation or fear continued
to decline significantly.
Restrictions on the rights to freedoms of
expression, association and assembly
increased in Mauritania, and activists were
jailed for holding anti-slavery rallies. Senegal’s
authorities continued to ban demonstrations
by supporters of political parties and human
rights defenders, and to prosecute peaceful
demonstrators.
In Tanzania, journalists faced harassment,
intimidation and arrests. Four bills were
introduced to Parliament that collectively
codified unwarranted restrictions to freedom
of expression.
In Zambia, police continued to implement
the Public Order Act, restricting freedom of
assembly. Zimbabwe’s authorities gagged
freedom of expression, including through
crackdowns involving arrests, surveillance,
harassment and intimidation of those
campaigning for the licensing of community
radio stations.
DISCRIMINATION AND MARGINALIZATION
Although 2015 was the AU’s “Year of
Women’s Empowerment and Development
towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”, women and
girls frequently suffered abuse, discrimination
and marginalization in many countries – often
because of cultural traditions and norms, and
the institutionalization of gender-based
discrimination through unjust laws. In
conflicts and countries hosting large numbers
of displaced people and refugees, women
and girls were subjected to rape and other
forms of sexual violence. Positively, countries
including Burkina Faso, Madagascar and
Zimbabwe launched national campaigns to
end child marriages.
Abuses – including persecution and
criminalization – of people who are or are
perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) were
ongoing in many countries, including
Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.
Malawi accepted a UN Universal Periodic
Review recommendation to take measures to
protect LGBTI people against violence and to
prosecute the perpetrators, and agreed to
guarantee effective access to health services.
However, it rejected recommendations to
repeal provisions in the Penal Code
criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct
between adults.
The African Commission granted observer
status to the South Africa-based LGBTI rights
organization, the Coalition of African Lesbians
(CAL), during its 56
th
Ordinary Session held in
The Gambia. However, at a subsequent AU
Summit in South Africa, the Executive Council
of the AU declined to approve the
Commission’s activity report until it withdrew
the observer status granted to CAL – raising
fears that the Commission may be forced to
withdraw the decision.
Despite condemnation by the President,
there was a sharp increase in killings and
other attacks on people with albinism in
Malawi by individuals and gangs seeking
body parts to sell for use in witchcraft. In
Tanzania, the government failed to ensure
adequate safety measures for people living
with albinism; a young girl was reportedly
killed for body parts, and reported cases
involved abduction, mutilation and
dismemberment.
LOOKING AHEAD
Events throughout the year demonstrated the
extent and depth of Africa’s human rights
challenges, as well as the urgent need for
international and regional institutions to
protect millions of lives and to address the
global refugee crisis by taking a stronger,
clearer and more consistent approach to
tackling conflict.
The year also underlined the desperate
need for African states to tackle impunity at
home and abroad – including by withdrawing
from politicized attacks on the ICC. Effective
accountability for human rights violations and
crimes under international law could be
transformative for countries across Africa.
Alongside the Year of Human Rights in
Africa, 2016 will mark the 35
th
anniversary of
the adoption of the African Charter, the 30
th
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anniversary of the Charter’s entry into force
and the 10
th
anniversary of the establishment
of the African Court. With such auspicious
anniversaries looming, the challenge for most
African leaders is to listen to and work with
the continent’s growing human rights
movement.
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AMERICAS
REGIONAL
OVERVIEW
Events in 2015 underscored the magnitude of
the human rights crisis facing the Americas
region. A mix of discrimination, violence,
inequality, conflict, insecurity, poverty,
environmental damage and failure to ensure
justice for violations of human rights
threatened the protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms in the region.
Although most states supported and ratified
human rights standards and treaties, the
promise of rights remained hollow for millions,
confirming a two-year trend of regression on
human rights.
A pervasive culture of impunity allowed
perpetrators of human rights abuses to
operate without fear of the consequences,
denied truth and redress to millions, and
weakened the rule of law. Impunity was
frequently sustained by weak, under-
resourced and corrupt security and justice
systems, compounded by a lack of political
will to ensure their independence and
impartiality.
Throughout the year, the authorities
repeatedly relied on a militaristic response to
social and political problems, including the
growing influence of criminal networks and
the impact of multinational corporations on
people’s rights.
At the same time, levels of lethal violence
across the region remained extremely high.
Latin America and the Caribbean were home
to eight of the 10 most violent countries in the
world, and four of these – Brazil, Colombia,
Mexico and Venezuela – accounted for one in
four violent killings worldwide. Only 20 out of
100 homicides in Latin America resulted in a
conviction; in some countries, the share was
even lower. Violent crime was particularly
widespread in El Salvador, Guyana,
Honduras, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and
Venezuela.
The increasing influence of transnational
corporations and their involvement in human
rights abuses – especially in the extractive
and other industries related to the
appropriation of territory and natural
resources, mainly in land claimed by and
belonging to Indigenous Peoples, other ethnic
minorities and peasant farmers – continued to
threaten human rights across the region.
A growing number of socio-environmental
conflicts bred violence and human rights
violations. Human rights defenders and
activists working to protect land, territory and
natural resources were increasingly exposed
to killings, enforced disappearance and other
criminal acts. In Honduras, local civil society
organizations faced violent attacks and
threats by private security guards with ties to
powerful landowners. In Brazil, dozens of
people were killed in conflicts over land and
natural resources.
Discussions at the Organization of
American States (OAS) to finalize a proposed
American Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples were hampered by
barriers to the effective participation of
Indigenous Peoples and by some states’
efforts to weaken the draft. Indigenous
representatives withdrew from negotiations
after several states insisted on the inclusion of
provisions that would, in practice, endorse
national laws that disregard the protection of
Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Meanwhile, insecurity, violence and
economic hardship in Mexico and Central
America drove a growing number of people,
in particular unaccompanied children, to
leave their homes and cross borders in
search of better living conditions and an
escape from violence.
Human rights defenders continued to be
targeted for their work. Standing up for
human rights was often a dangerous and
even lethal choice, as many governments
oversaw an erosion of civic space and the
criminalization of dissent.
Unfolding human rights crises at the
national level included Mexico, which was
plagued by thousands of complaints of torture
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and other ill-treatment and reports of
extrajudicial executions; the whereabouts of
at least 27,000 people remained unknown at
the end of the year. Although September
marked the first anniversary of the enforced
disappearance of 43 students from the
Ayotzinapa teacher training college, one of
Mexico’s most alarming human rights
violations in recent history, investigations
remained flawed.
In Venezuela, a year after huge
demonstrations that left 43 people dead,
hundreds injured and dozens tortured or
otherwise ill-treated, no one had been found
guilty of the crimes committed – nor had
charges been dropped against those
arbitrarily detained by the authorities. Despite
a reduction in protests at the end of the year,
the government’s intolerance of dissent often
led to human rights defenders facing threats,
harassment and attacks, and security forces
continued to use excessive force to suppress
protests. Attacks on opposition politicians and
activists raised concerns about the fairness of
congressional elections. Luis Manuel Diaz, a
local opposition politician in Guárico state,
was shot dead during a rally before the
elections.
The situation of sexual and reproductive
rights in Paraguay, particularly the case of a
10-year-old girl who became pregnant after
being repeatedly raped – allegedly by her
stepfather – attracted global attention,
underscoring the need to repeal the country’s
draconian anti-abortion law. The authorities
refused to allow an abortion, despite evidence
that the girl’s life was at risk from the
pregnancy.
The human rights situation in Cuba was at
a crossroads. The year was marked by
warming international relations – with the
country taking part in the Summit of the
Americas for the first time, as well as historic
meetings between the Cuban and US
presidents and a state visit by Pope Francis –
and advances such as the release of
prisoners of conscience. Yet the authorities
stifled dissent and continued to arbitrarily
detain thousands of people simply for
expressing their views peacefully.
In Brazil, infrastructure construction for the
2016 Olympic Games led to ongoing evictions
of people from their homes in Rio de Janeiro,
often without adequate notification, financial
compensation or resettlement.
The year saw positive developments too. In
Colombia, peace talks between the
government and the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC) continued to
make significant progress, raising
expectations that the country’s 50-year-long
armed conflict may soon end.
Jamaica´s government finally established a
Commission of Enquiry into human rights
violations committed during the 2010 state of
emergency, when security forces killed 76
people, including 44 who were alleged to
have been extrajudicially executed. The
President of Peru ratified a national
mechanism for the prevention of torture and
set up a national register of victims of forced
sterilization during the 1990s.
The USA accepted many recommendations
made under the UN Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) process following an
examination of its human rights record,
repeating that it supported calls for the
closure of the US detention centre in
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for the ratification of
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
and the UN Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), and for accountability for torture.
However, none of the recommendations had
been implemented at the end of the year.
PUBLIC SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Increasing violence and influence of non-state
actors – including criminal networks and
transnational corporations operating with
impunity – continued to challenge
governments’ ability to protect human rights.
Efforts to control criminal networks, including
the occasional use of armed forces, led to
grave human rights violations and undue
restrictions on freedoms of expression and
peaceful assembly.
Excessive use of force by the police and
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other security forces was reported in
countries including the Bahamas, Brazil,
Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and
Venezuela.
Brazil’s security forces often used excessive
or unnecessary force to suppress protests.
Killings during police operations remained
high and were rarely investigated; a lack of
transparency often made it impossible to
ascertain the exact number of people killed.
Off-duty police officers reportedly carried out
unlawful killings as part of death squads
operating in several cities. In Mexico, a
number of reported shoot-outs involving the
police or military showed signs of extrajudicial
executions.
Nationwide anti-government protests in
Ecuador throughout the year were marked by
clashes between the security forces – who
reportedly used excessive force and made
arbitrary arrests – and protesters.
In Peru, people opposing extractive
industry projects were victims of intimidation,
excessive use of force and arbitrary arrests.
Seven protesters were shot and killed in
circumstances suggesting that security
officials used excessive force.
Across the USA, at least 43 people died
after police used Tasers on them. There were
protests at the excessive use of force by
police in a number of cities. The authorities
again failed to track the exact number of
people killed by law enforcement officials
each year.
In Venezuela, public security operations to
tackle high crime rates raised concerns of
excessive use of force, including possible
extrajudicial executions, as well as arbitrary
arrests and forced evictions of suspected
criminals and their families.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND THE FIGHT TO
END IMPUNITY
The denial of meaningful access to justice for
scores of people seriously undermined
human rights, particularly among deprived
and marginalized communities.
Impunity was pervasive in Honduras,
fostered by an ineffective criminal justice
system that – together with corruption and
human rights violations by police officers –
created a lack of trust in law enforcement and
justice institutions. The government
announced it would tackle corruption and
impunity by forming an initiative with the OAS
to reform the justice system.
In Chile, cases of police violence and
human rights violations involving members of
the security forces continued to be
investigated by military courts, despite
concerns about the impartiality and
independence of such tribunals and
commitments by the authorities to reform the
military justice system.
There was an ongoing lack of political will
to confront unresolved human rights
violations, including thousands of political
killings and enforced disappearances in the
second half of the 20
th
century, and to ensure
the rights to truth, justice and reparation.
In Bolivia, measures to ensure truth, justice
and full reparation for victims of human rights
violations during past military and
authoritarian regimes were limited, although
the authorities committed to creating a truth
commission. Public trials were held in
Argentina for crimes against humanity
perpetrated during the military regime of
1976-1983, with eight new convictions
handed down. However, those from the civil,
business and legal sectors who were
complicit in human rights violations and
crimes under international law had yet to be
brought to justice.
In Chile, there were over 1,000 active cases
of human rights violations committed in the
past; victims’ organizations condemned the
slow progress in establishing the truth about
thousands of victims of enforced
disappearance. However, charges were
brought against several former military
officers, including for the abduction and
killing of singer and political activist Victor
Jara in 1973.
A Guatemala City appeals court declared
that a 1986 amnesty decree did not apply to
crimes against humanity and genocide in
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Guatemala, meaning that a case against
former President and army commander-in-
chief José Efraín Rios Montt could proceed.
In Panama, the trial of former President
Manuel Noriega for the enforced
disappearance of Heliodoro Portugal was
suspended after Manuel Noriega’s lawyer
appealed against his charge, arguing that the
trial would violate the terms of his extradition.
It was unclear whether the trial would
proceed.
In Haiti, after the death in 2014 of former
President Jean-Claude Duvalier, an
investigation into allegations of crimes against
humanity committed during his tenure
(1971-1986) made little progress.
violence and a lack of food and water – were
particularly harsh in the Bahamas, Bolivia,
Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica, the USA and
Venezuela.
REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND
MIGRANTS
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Despite strong anti-torture laws and
mechanisms across the region, torture and
other ill-treatment remained widespread; the
authorities failed to prosecute perpetrators or
to provide adequate reparation to victims.
Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment was
common in prisons or at the time of arrest,
and was mainly used against criminal
suspects to inflict punishment or to extract
confessions.
In Argentina, reports of torture – including
beatings with cattle prods, near asphyxiation
with plastic bags, submersion and prolonged
isolation – were not investigated and there
was no system in place to protect witnesses.
Torture victims in Bolivia were deterred from
seeking justice and reparation due to the lack
of an independent mechanism to record and
investigate allegations of abuse.
Mexico came under international scrutiny
in March, when the UN Special Rapporteur
on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
presented a report to the UN Human Rights
Council, detailing the generalized nature of
torture and the impunity among police and
other security forces.
Torture and other ill-treatment were
endemic in Brazil’s prisons, including against
boys and girls.
Prison conditions – including overcrowding,
In an escalating humanitarian crisis, migrants
and refugees – especially large numbers of
unaccompanied children and adolescents –
crossing Central America and Mexico faced
serious human rights violations as they
attempted to gain entry to the USA, and were
often detained in harsh conditions. They were
frequently killed, abducted or faced extortion
by criminal gangs, who often operated in
collusion with the authorities. Women and
girls were at particular risk of sexual violence
and human trafficking.
In the USA, tens of thousands of families
and unaccompanied children were
apprehended when attempting to cross the
southern border during the year. Families
were detained for months – many in facilities
lacking proper access to medical care,
sanitation, water and legal counsel – as they
pursued claims to remain in the country.
Elsewhere, migrants and their descendants
faced pervasive discrimination, with states
doing little to tackle entrenched exclusion.
Despite the implementation of a law
intended to address their situation, many
people of Haitian descent in the Dominican
Republic remained stateless after their
Dominican nationality had been arbitrarily
and retroactively removed by a Constitutional
Court judgment in 2013. After the Dominican
authorities announced that deportations of
irregular migrants would resume in June, tens
of thousands of Haitian migrants decided to
return to Haiti, mainly for fear of violence,
expulsion or xenophobic behaviour from
employers or neighbours; hundreds settled in
makeshift camps at the border.
In the Bahamas, there were allegations of
arbitrary arrests and abuses against migrants.
Parliament approved migration reforms that
could potentially prevent the children of
irregular migrants born in the Bahamas from
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obtaining Bahamian nationality, at the risk of
rendering individuals stateless.
In July, the UN Human Rights Committee
called on Canada to report back within a year
on a range of human rights concerns relating
to migrants and refugees. In a positive
development, the new government
announced that cuts to the Interim Federal
Health Program for refugees and asylum-
seekers would be reversed and health
coverage restored.
Nearly 2,000 Colombian nationals –
including refugees and asylum-seekers –
were deported from Venezuela in August, with
no opportunity to challenge their expulsion or
gather their belongings. In some cases
children were separated from parents. Scores
of people were forcibly evicted or had their
houses destroyed, and some detainees were
ill-treated.
In December, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights expressed
concern over the vulnerability of more than
4,500 Cuban migrants stranded on the Costa
Rica-Nicaragua border, amid allegations of
abuses by Nicaraguan authorities; the
Commission called on Central American
states to allow safe and legal migration to
Cubans travelling overland to the USA.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Even though every state in the region has
endorsed the 2007 UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, human rights
violations – including attacks, excessive use
of force and killings – remained a daily reality
for Indigenous Peoples across the region,
threatening their rights over their land,
territory and natural resources, their culture
and even their own existence.
Poverty, exclusion, inequality and
discrimination continued to affect thousands,
including in Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru. State
and non-state actors – including businesses
and landowners – continued to forcibly
displace Indigenous Peoples from their own
lands in the pursuit of economic
development.
Development projects, including by the
extractive industry, saw Indigenous Peoples
repeatedly denied meaningful consultation
and free, prior and informed consent, which
threatened their culture and environment and
led to the forced displacement of entire
communities.
Attacks on members of Indigenous
communities in Brazil were widespread and
those responsible were rarely brought to
justice. An amendment to the Constitution
which transferred responsibility for
demarcating Indigenous land from the
executive to the legislative branch of the
government threatened to have a negative
impact on Indigenous Peoples’ access to
land. The amendment was pending approval
by the Senate at the end of the year.
Paraguay’s Supreme Court rejected a
second attempt by a landowner to nullify the
country’s 2014 expropriation law, which was
passed to return their land to the
Sawhoyamaxa community. A resolution to a
complaint filed by the community against the
occupation of their land by the landowner’s
employees was still pending at the end of the
year.
Ecuador’s authorities failed to fully
implement the 2012 ruling of the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights in favour of
the Kichwa People of Sarayaku, including the
complete removal of explosives left on their
land and the issuing of legislation to regulate
Indigenous Peoples’ right to free, prior and
informed consent over laws, policies and
measures that affect their livelihoods.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK
Across the region, a pattern of threats and
attacks against human rights defenders,
lawyers, judges, witnesses and journalists
continued, and there was an increasing trend
of judicial systems being misused to repress
human rights defenders. Progress in
investigating such abuses or bringing
perpetrators to justice was rare.
Being a human rights defender carried with
it the risk of abuses and violence in many
countries in the Americas. Those taking
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action to tackle impunity and defend women’s
and Indigenous Peoples’ rights were at
particular risk of reprisals.
Human rights defenders in Colombia were
at serious risk of attack, mainly by
paramilitaries.
In Venezuela, human rights defenders
routinely faced verbal attacks from the
authorities. Cuba’s authorities imposed severe
restrictions on basic freedoms, with
thousands of reported cases of harassment of
government critics as well as arbitrary arrests
and detentions. Human rights defenders and
others who openly criticized government
policies in Ecuador faced attacks, fines and
unfounded criminal charges; media outlets
continued to receive fines under a
communication law that was potentially being
used to undermine freedom of expression.
Authorities in Bolivia discredited the work of
NGOs, including human rights defenders,
and also applied strict regulation for NGOs to
obtain registration.
Human rights defenders in Guatemala –
especially Indigenous leaders and protesters
defending environmental and land rights and
opposing hydroelectric and mining
megaprojects – faced continuous attacks,
threats, harassment and intimidation.
In Honduras, against the backdrop of a
general climate of violence and crimes,
human rights defenders – particularly women
– faced threats and attacks which were rarely
investigated, as well as judicial harassment.
Congress approved a law which could be an
important step to protect human rights
defenders and journalists, among other
groups, although a group of civil society
organizations expressed concerns about the
vagueness and lack of transparency of the
draft implementation regulations, and asked
for the approval to be postponed by several
months.
Measures to protect human rights
defenders were often weakly applied or
ignored entirely. Brazil’s National Programme
for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
failed to deliver the protection promised in its
provisions, and its implementation was
hampered by insufficient resources. Cases of
threats, attacks and killings targeting human
rights defenders went largely uninvestigated
and unpunished. In Mexico, the federal
Mechanism for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders and Journalists lacked
resources and co-ordination, leaving human
rights defenders and journalists inadequately
protected; impunity for attacks and violence
remained.
RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS
A pattern of increasing violence against
women continued to be one of the principal
human rights challenges across the region.
Little progress was made in addressing this,
with states failing to prioritize the protection of
women and girls from rape, threats and
killings and to hold perpetrators to account.
Legislation was slow to be implemented.
High levels of gender-based violence were
reported in Guatemala, Guyana, El Salvador,
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, among
other countries. Implementation of 2007
legislation criminalizing such abuses in
Venezuela remained slow, due to a lack of
resources. In the USA, Native American and
Alaska Native women continued to
experience disproportionate levels of violence,
being 2.5 times more likely to be raped or
sexually assaulted than other women in the
country. In El Salvador, 475 women were
murdered between January and October – an
increase from 294 in 2014.
Violations of sexual and reproductive rights
had a significant impact on women’s and
girls’ health. By the end of the year, seven
countries in the region – Chile, the Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras,
Suriname and Nicaragua – still had a total
ban on abortion, or lacked an explicit legal
provision to protect the woman’s life. In Chile,
a bill to decriminalize abortion under certain
circumstances was pending before Congress
at the end of the year. In the Dominican
Republic, the Constitutional Court struck
down reforms to the Penal Code which
decriminalized abortion in certain cases. In
Peru, a bill to decriminalize abortion for
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victims of rape was rejected by a
congressional constitutional commission.
In Argentina, women and girls faced
obstacles in accessing legal abortion. In
Brazil, new legislation and constitutional
amendments threatened sexual and
reproductive rights and women’s rights. Some
bills proposed to criminalize abortion in all
circumstances, or would effectively prevent
access to safe and legal abortion.
Even when access to abortion services was
legal in certain cases in other countries,
protracted judicial procedures made access
to safe abortion virtually impossible,
particularly for those unable to pay for private
abortion services. Restricted access to
contraception and information on sexual and
reproductive issues remained a concern,
especially for the most marginalized women
and girls.
In Bolivia, high rates of maternal mortality,
particularly in rural areas, remained a
concern.
All parties to the conflict in Colombia –
security forces, paramilitaries and guerilla
groups – were responsible for crimes of
sexual violence; very few of the alleged
perpetrators were brought to justice.
against LGBTI people persisted. However, in
a positive development, a gay pride
celebration was held for the first time, with
the Minister of Justice calling for tolerance
during the event and expressing his support
for the right of LGBTI people to express
themselves peacefully.
ARMED CONFLICT
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people faced ongoing discrimination
and violence across the region, despite
progress in some countries on legislation
prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of
sexual orientation and gender identity.
There were violent and unresolved murders
of several transgender women in Argentina,
as well as reports of hate crimes – including
murder and rape – against LGBTI people in
the Dominican Republic. Violence and
discrimination towards LGBTI people
remained a concern in El Salvador, Guyana,
Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, and
Venezuela.
Consensual sex between men remained
criminalized in Jamaica, where homelessness
and displacement of LGBTI youths and a
failure to investigate threats and harassment
In Colombia, ongoing peace talks between the
government and the FARC offered the best
chance in more than a decade to put a
definitive end to the region’s longest-running
internal armed conflict. However, during the
year both sides committed crimes under
international law as well as serious human
rights violations and abuses, principally
against Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant
and peasant farmer communities, and human
rights defenders.
Security forces, guerrilla groups and
paramilitaries perpetrated unlawful killings,
forced displacement, enforced
disappearances, death threats and crimes of
sexual violence with almost total impunity.
Children continued to be recruited as
combatants by guerrilla groups and
paramilitaries. Relatives of victims of human
rights violations who campaigned for justice,
as well as members of human rights
organizations helping them, faced death
threats and other serious human rights
abuses.
A ceasefire by the FARC from July and the
government’s suspension of aerial
bombardments against FARC positions
seemed to alleviate some of the worst effects
of the conflict on civilians in rural areas.
In September, the two sides announced
they had reached an agreement on
transitional justice and announced that a
peace deal would be signed by March 2016.
However, doubts remained over whether the
agreement, which was not made public until
December – coupled with legislation that
could enable suspected human rights
abusers to evade justice – would guarantee
victims’ right to truth, justice and reparation in
line with international law.
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COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
By the end of the year, no one had been
brought to justice for human rights violations
– including torture and other ill-treatment as
well as enforced disappearance – committed
in the secret detention and interrogation
programme operated by the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) after the 11
September 2001 attacks in the USA.
Over a year after the publication of the
declassified summary of a report by the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into
the CIA programme, the full report remained
top secret, thus facilitating impunity. Most, if
not all, of the detainees held as part of the
programme were subjected to enforced
disappearance and to conditions of detention
and/or interrogation techniques which
violated the prohibition of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Detainees were still held at Guantánamo,
most of them without charge or trial and some
still facing trial by military commission, under
a system falling short of international fair trial
standards.
DEATH PENALTY
The USA was once again the only country in
the region to carry out executions. Yet there
were signs that the worldwide trend towards
abolition of capital punishment was slowly but
steadily gaining ground there too. The
Nebraska legislature voted to abolish the
death penalty, although the repeal was on
hold at the end of the year after opponents
petitioned to have the issue put to the popular
vote in 2016. Pennsylvania’s state governor
announced a moratorium on executions;
moratoriums also remained in force in
Washington State and Oregon.
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ASIA-PACIFIC
REGIONAL
OVERVIEW
Even as rapid social and economic change
continued in the Asia-Pacific region, the
human rights situation often remained bleak.
The increasing trend towards repression and
injustice threatened the protection of human
rights in the region.
A recurring and central threat to people’s
rights was states’ failure to ensure
accountability, with impunity often
entrenched and widespread, denying justice
and sustaining human rights violations
including torture and other ill-treatment.
Impunity also fuelled suffering in armed
conflicts, such as in Afghanistan and
Myanmar, and perpetuated injustice by failing
to ensure reparations for past conflicts, as in
Indonesia.
In many countries there was a serious
disconnect between governments and the
people. People, particularly youth, frequently
felt newly empowered to speak out for their
rights, often aided by affordable
communications technologies and platforms,
including social media. Governments, in
contrast, often sought to shield themselves
from accountability or criticism, while some –
such as those of China, Cambodia, India,
Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam – intensified
their crackdown on key freedoms. Severe
restrictions on the rights to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly continued in Laos, where
authorities further tightened control of civil
society groups.
Despite a global trend towards abolition,
the death penalty also continued in several
countries in the region, including extensively
in China and Pakistan. Indonesia resumed
executions, Maldives threatened to do so, and
there was a surge of executions in Pakistan
after a moratorium on the execution of
civilians was lifted in December 2014.
However, there were also some positive steps
as Fiji became the world’s 100
th
fully
abolitionist country and Mongolia’s parliament
passed a new criminal code removing the
death penalty for all crimes.
Millions of refugees and asylum-seekers
faced harsh conditions across the Asia-Pacific
region, and countries as disparate as
Australia and China violated international law
by forcibly returning people to countries
where they would face a real risk of serious
violations. A major humanitarian and human
rights crisis occurred in the Bay of Bengal
and Andaman Sea, where people smugglers
and traffickers abandoned thousands of
refugees and migrants at sea, with states
initially turning them away or being slow to
mount search and rescue operations.
Specifically, in Nepal the devastating
earthquake of 25 April and its aftershocks
caused more than 8,000 deaths and 22,000
injuries, and displaced more than 100,000
people. The government refused to waive
costly and time-consuming customs duties
and procedures for health and relief supplies,
leaving thousands in desperate need. A new
Constitution, rushed through in the
earthquake’s aftermath, was marked by
human rights shortcomings. A federalist
structure was rejected by ethnic groups,
leading to violent protests and confrontations.
The security forces resorted to excessive,
unnecessary or disproportionate force in
several clashes with protesters, leading to
dozens of deaths.
Extreme repression and systematic violation
of almost all human rights overshadowed life
in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(North Korea), and those who fled the country
reported an increase in arbitrary arrests.
Reduced daily rations severely threatened the
right to adequate food, and hundreds of
thousands of people continued to languish in
prison camps and detention facilities where
torture and other ill-treatment was widespread
and forced labour routine.
China’s geopolitical influence continued to
grow, but an appalling internal human rights
situation prevailed. Under the pretext of
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enhancing national security, the government
increased repression by drafting or enacting
an unprecedented series of laws and
regulations with the potential to silence
dissent and crack down on human rights
defenders. The authorities also stepped up
their controls over the internet, mass media
and academia.
The run-up to Myanmar’s general elections
in November – the first since a quasi-civilian
government came to power in 2011 after
almost five decades of military rule – was
marred by the political disenfranchisement of
minority groups, in particular the persecuted
Rohingya, and ongoing conflicts in northern
Myanmar. Nevertheless, the landslide
election victory for the National League for
Democracy, led by former prisoner of
conscience Aung San Suu Kyi, was a historic
moment offering hope for human rights
change. The real test of whether this will
happen is yet to come.
As the military rulers of Thailand delayed
their plans for political transition, the country
experienced a continuing backslide in
meeting its human rights obligations.
Restrictions on human rights – in particular
relating to freedoms of expression and
assembly – which the authorities had
promised would be temporary after taking
power in a military coup in 2014, were in fact
retained and strengthened.
A new government came to power in Sri
Lanka in January, bringing constitutional
reforms and promises of improved human
rights protection. Many serious challenges
remained, however, including the use of
arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and
other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances
and deaths in custody. A longstanding
climate of impunity for abuses by both sides
in Sri Lanka’s armed conflict that ended in
2009 was still largely unaddressed.
There were other smaller signs of progress
in the region, even if sometimes fragile and
halting. These included tentative steps
towards addressing widespread torture and
other ill-treatment in Afghanistan, India and
Sri Lanka.
INCREASING ACTIVISM AND
SUPPRESSION OF PUBLIC PROTESTS
A rise in human rights activism that had
emerged in the Asia-Pacific region in recent
years continued. Protests and other actions,
however, were frequently overshadowed by
authorities’ efforts to curtail freedoms of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly, including through force and
violence.
People were intimidated and harassed as
they exercised their right to freedom of
peaceful assembly in Viet Nam; in July,
security forces beat and intimidated peaceful
activists attempting to take part in a hunger
strike in solidarity with prisoners of
conscience. In Maldives, hundreds of political
opponents of the government taking part in
peaceful protests were arrested and detained,
and in Malaysia organizers of and participants
in peaceful protests were criminalized.
In Cambodia, a 2014 crackdown on the
right to freedom of peaceful assembly was
reinforced by criminal convictions for
demonstrators. In July, 11 opposition
members and activists were found guilty on
far-fetched charges of insurrection. They had
taken part in a demonstration in the capital,
Phnom Penh, in July 2014 that resulted in
clashes with security forces. No credible
evidence was produced that linked the men
to the violence.
Prison sentences imposed on two activists
in Thailand for staging a play were part of a
pattern in which the military authorities made
unprecedented use of the country’s Lèse-
Majesté Law to target freedom of expression.
The authorities continued to outlaw “political
meetings” of five or more people, and
introduced legislation requiring demonstrators
to seek permission from the police/authorities,
or face imprisonment. Students and activists
carrying out small-scale symbolic and
peaceful demonstrations often experienced
excessive force or arrests and charges.
A brutal police crackdown on largely
peaceful student protests in Myanmar was
subsequently followed by mass arrests and
widespread harassment of student leaders
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and all those associated with the protests.
They included Phyoe Phyoe Aung, leader of
the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.
A series of protests were held in the
Republic of Korea (South Korea) over the
government’s response to the 2014 Sewol
ferry disaster that caused more than 300
deaths. Although most protests were
peaceful, police blockaded street rallies in the
capital, Seoul, marking the tragedy’s first
anniversary in April, and used unnecessary
force against participants on a vigil walk in
memory of the victims.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
Many governments in the Asia-Pacific region
demonstrated an entrenched intolerance of
dissent and resorted to draconian restrictions
on human rights.
May marked the first anniversary of the
military declaring martial law and seizing
power in Thailand. The authorities adopted
harsh measures, abused the judicial system
and entrenched their powers to stamp out
peaceful dissent or criticism of military rule.
They displayed ongoing intolerance of
peaceful dissent, arbitrarily arresting students
and anti-coup activists, and holding
academics, journalists and parliamentarians
in secret detention or without charge or trial in
military camps. Individuals faced unfair trials
in military courts for speaking out against the
military takeover. Authorities penalized scores
of individuals for Facebook comments and
statements deemed to be insulting towards
the monarchy, with courts handing down
sentences of up to 60 years’ imprisonment.
North Korea’s government refused to allow
any political parties, independent newspapers
or independent civil society organizations to
operate, and barred almost all nationals from
international mobile telephone services. Yet
many people took risks to make international
calls. People living close to the border with
China took advantage of the unofficial private
economy and accessed smuggled mobile
phones connected to Chinese networks to
contact people outside North Korea –
exposing themselves to surveillance, arrest
and detention.
In Cambodia, human rights defenders were
jailed and the authorities exacerbated existing
arbitrary restrictions on the rights to freedom
of expression and peaceful assembly by
increasing arrests for online activity. The new
Law on Associations and Non-Governmental
Organizations was signed into law despite
protests from civil society that it threatened to
undermine the right to freedom of
association; it remained unclear how the law
would be implemented.
In Viet Nam, the state controlled the media
and judiciary as well as political and religious
institutions; dozens of prisoners of conscience
remained imprisoned in harsh conditions
after unfair trials. There was an increase in
reports of harassment, short-term arbitrary
detentions and physical attacks on members
of civil society.
In July, China’s authorities launched a
massive crackdown against human rights
lawyers that persisted throughout the rest of
the year. Activists as well as human rights
defenders and their families were
systematically subjected to harassment,
intimidation, arbitrary arrest and violence.
The space for civil society, human rights
defenders and freedom of expression also
shrank across South Asia. Pakistan remained
one of the world’s most dangerous countries
for journalists as targeted attacks, including
killings, by armed groups continued against
media workers, and the government failed to
provide adequate protection. Bangladesh
became increasingly dangerous for those
speaking their own minds, with a pattern of
repression of freedom of expression that
included the killing of several secularist
bloggers and publishers. NGOs also faced
legislative restrictions for criticizing the
authorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In
India, authorities used restrictive foreign
funding laws to repress NGOs critical of the
government.
Human rights defenders in Afghanistan
were targeted with impunity and suffered
violence by state and non-state actors. Non-
state actors were accused of involvement in
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grenade attacks, bombings and killings of
human rights defenders. Parliament
amended a mass media law that could further
limit freedom of expression. After the Taliban
seized control of Kunduz province in
September, there were reports of mass
killings, rapes and searches for media
workers and women human rights defenders
named on a hit list.
Elsewhere, governments demonstrating an
intolerance of public criticism included the
government of Japan, where a law on official
secrets that could excessively restrict the right
to access information held by the authorities
came into effect in December 2014. South
Korea’s government broadened the
application of the National Security Law to
additional groups such as politicians, a move
that could further curtail freedom of
expression. Indonesia’s authorities used an
internet law to criminalize certain forms of
freedom of expression, resulting in individuals
being convicted and imprisoned simply for
sharing their opinions online.
Restrictions on peaceful activism and
dissent in Myanmar intensified, with scores of
prisoners of conscience detained and
hundreds of people facing charges for
peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of
expression and assembly. They included
student protesters, political activists, media
workers and human rights defenders, in
particular land and labour activists.
Media outlets faced restrictions in Malaysia,
and activists were intimidated and harassed.
A Federal Court ruling confirming the
constitutionality of the repressive Sedition Act
– used to arbitrarily arrest and detain scores
of human rights defenders and others in
recent years – further undermined freedom of
expression.
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
widespread in China during detention and
interrogation.
Afghanistan’s government took steps
towards establishing a national action plan to
eliminate torture; the intelligence agency
issued an order reiterating a ban on its use,
although torture and other ill-treatment by
security officers remained prevalent
throughout the prison system.
In India, torture and other ill-treatment in
custody, including cases of deaths from
torture, were reported. In a positive move, the
Supreme Court directed states to install
closed-circuit television in all prisons to
prevent torture and other violations, while the
government stated it was considering
amending the Penal Code to specifically
recognize torture as a crime.
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees,
including sexual violence, continued to be
reported in Sri Lanka, as did suspicious
deaths in custody. Impunity persisted for
earlier cases. However, the new government
promised the UN Human Rights Council that
it would issue clear instructions to all security
forces that torture and other ill-treatment is
prohibited and that those responsible would
be investigated and punished.
ARMED CONFLICT
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment was reported
in numerous countries in the region,
including Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia,
Nepal, North Korea, the Philippines,
Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.
Impunity for those responsible was common.
Armed conflict in parts of the Asia-Pacific
region continued. Increasing insecurity,
insurgency and criminal activity in
Afghanistan saw civilians injured and killed by
the Taliban and other armed groups, as well
as by pro-government forces. Accountability
for unlawful killings by pro-government forces
and armed groups was virtually non-existent.
In October, US forces bombed a hospital
run by the NGO Médecins sans Frontières in
the city of Kunduz, killing 22 staff and
patients and triggering calls for an
independent investigation. The Taliban
targeted civilians or attacked indiscriminately,
and briefly took control of most of Kunduz
province.
Allegations of violations – including rape
and other crimes of sexual violence – were
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made against members of the Myanmar
army, particularly in Kachin and northern
Shan states, where the armed conflict entered
a fifth year. Both state and non-state actors
were accused of violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights abuses,
in a climate of impunity.
In India, armed groups continued to
perpetrate abuses against civilians, including
in Jammu and Kashmir as well as central
India. However, in August a historic peace
framework agreement was reached in
northeastern India between the government
and the influential armed group National
Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah
faction).
Armed violence continued in Thailand’s
three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and
Narathiwat, as well as parts of Songkhla.
IMPUNITY
A chronic and entrenched failure to ensure
justice and accountability for past and
present human rights violations and abuses
was a major problem in a wide range of
countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Impunity for violations by security forces in
India persisted, and legislation granting virtual
immunity from prosecution for the armed
forces remained in force in Jammu and
Kashmir and parts of northeastern India.
In Cambodia, impunity continued for
violations during policing of demonstrations,
including deaths caused by unnecessary or
excessive use of force in previous years.
Unresolved cases included 16-year-old Khem
Saphath, last seen in January 2014. He was
feared to have been the victim of enforced
disappearance and was reportedly among at
least five people shot during a government
crackdown. The Khmer Rouge tribunal heard
for the first time evidence on charges of
genocide in a case against Nuon Chea, the
former second-in-command of the Khmer
Rouge, and against Khieu Samphan, the
head of state during the Khmer Rouge era.
Indonesia marked the 50th anniversary of
the 1965 mass human rights violations, when
– following a failed coup – the military
systematically attacked members of the
Indonesian Communist Party and suspected
sympathizers. There was a continuing failure
to ensure truth, justice and reparation for
appalling human rights violations and the
deaths of an estimated 500,000 to one million
people. The year 2015 also marked the 10th
anniversary of the end of Indonesia’s
devastating decades-long Aceh conflict
between Indonesian government forces and
the pro-independence Free Aceh Movement
(Gerakan Aceh Merdeka), in which between
10,000 and 30,000 people were killed.
Despite evidence that violations by security
forces may amount to crimes against
humanity – and that both sides may have
committed war crimes – little has been done
to ensure justice.
There was, however, progress towards
accountability in Sri Lanka. A UN
investigation into alleged abuses committed
during the final years of the country’s armed
conflict, including enforced disappearances
and military attacks targeting civilians,
concluded that these abuses, if established
before a court of law, could amount to war
crimes and/or crimes against humanity. It
recommended reforms to address ongoing
violations and the establishment of a hybrid
court to address crimes under international
law, with which the government signalled
agreement.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Refugees and asylum-seekers continued to
face significant hardship in the Asia-Pacific
region and beyond. People smuggling and
human trafficking in the Bay of Bengal
exposed thousands of refugees and migrants
to serious abuse on board boats. Some
people were shot on the boats, thrown
overboard and left to drown, or died from
starvation, dehydration or disease. People
were beaten, sometimes for hours, for
moving, begging for food or asking to use the
toilet.
A crisis unfolded in the Bay of Bengal and
Andaman Sea in May, triggered by Thailand’s
crackdown on human trafficking and the
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smugglers’ and traffickers’ subsequent
abandonment of people at sea, causing an
unknown number of deaths and leaving
thousands of refugees and migrants stranded
for weeks and lacking food, water and
medical care.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand initially
pushed overcrowded vessels back from their
shores and prevented thousands of desperate
people from disembarking, while regional
governments were slow in setting up search
and rescue operations. Following international
criticism, Indonesia and Malaysia permitted
people to land and accommodated them on a
temporary basis. Nevertheless, hundreds or
even thousands of people remained
unaccounted for, and may have died or been
sold for forced labour. By the end of the year,
there were serious unanswered questions
about a long-term solution for the survivors,
as – despite Indonesia devoting resources to
housing thousands of refugees and asylum-
seekers, and helping to fulfil their basic needs
– the government had not clarified whether
they could stay beyond May 2016.
As a result of the ongoing insecurity and
armed conflict in Afghanistan, nearly 3 million
Afghans were refugees, mostly living in Iran
and Pakistan, and almost 1 million Afghans
were internally displaced in their own country,
often in harsh conditions in makeshift camps.
Australia displayed an ongoing harsh
approach towards refugees and asylum-
seekers. Measures included pushing back
boats,
refoulement,
and mandatory and
indefinite detention, including in off-shore
processing centres in Papua New Guinea and
Nauru. An independent review of the Nauru
centre documented allegations of rape and
other sexual assault. The government
accepted all the review’s recommendations
and announced in October that asylum-
seekers would no longer be detained at the
centre. Amnesty International gathered
evidence of the involvement of Australia’s
maritime border patrols in criminal activity,
including evidence that officials made
payments to boat crews to traffic refugees
and migrants found at sea to Indonesia.
Migrant workers were abused and
discriminated against in several countries.
North Korea dispatched at least 50,000
people to work in countries such as Libya,
Mongolia, Nigeria, Qatar and Russia, often in
poor safety conditions and for excessive
hours; they received wages via the North
Korean government, who made significant
deductions.
RISING RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC
INTOLERANCE
Some authorities colluded in, or failed to
address, an increasing trend of religious and
ethnic intolerance, exclusion and
discrimination. Abuses were reported in
countries in the Asia-Pacific region including
Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Viet
Nam.
The authorities in Indonesia failed to
ensure that all religious minorities were
protected and allowed to practise their faith
free from fear, intimidation and attack. A
community of Shi’a Muslims – forcibly evicted
in 2013 from temporary shelter in East Java –
remained in limbo throughout 2015; they had
previously been forcibly evicted from their
home village in 2012 after attacks by an anti-
Shi’a mob. Local authorities prevented them
from returning unless they converted to Sunni
Islam. Elsewhere, local authorities in Aceh
province tore down Christian churches, with
mob violence forcing around 4,000 people to
flee to North Sumatra province.
Freedom of religion was systematically
stifled in China. A government campaign to
demolish churches and take down Christian
crosses in Zhejiang province intensified and
persecution of Falun Gong practitioners
included arbitrary detention, unfair trials,
imprisonment and torture and other ill-
treatment. The government maintained
extensive controls over Tibetan Buddhist
monasteries. The regional government in the
predominantly Muslim Xinjiang Uighur
Autonomous Region enacted new regulations
to more tightly control religious affairs and
ban all unauthorized religious practice.
In India, authorities failed to prevent many
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incidents of religious violence, and sometimes
contributed to tensions through polarizing
speeches. Mobs attacked Muslim men they
suspected of stealing, smuggling or
slaughtering cows; and scores of artists,
writers and scientists protested against what
they said was a climate of growing
intolerance.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination remained a concern in
numerous countries, with the authorities
frequently failing to act effectively to protect
people.
Pervasive caste-based discrimination and
violence continued in India, and dominant
castes continued to use sexual violence
against Dalit and Adivasi women and girls.
There was some progress when the lower
house of Parliament passed an amendment
to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
recognizing new offences and requiring that
special courts be established to try them, and
stipulating that victims and witnesses receive
protection.
In Nepal, discrimination – including on the
basis of gender, caste, class, ethnic origin
and religion – was rife, while in Australia
Indigenous Peoples were jailed at a
disproportionate rate.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex (LGBTI) people faced widespread
discrimination and same-sex conduct
remained criminalized in many countries.
However, a ward in the capital Tokyo became
Japan’s first municipality to pass an
ordinance to distribute certificates that
recognize same-sex unions, while India’s
upper house of Parliament passed a bill to
protect transgender people’s rights.
resulted in a range of negative impacts on
women from marginalized groups. These
included limiting the ability of women and
girls to control their sexuality and make
choices related to reproduction, such as to
challenge early marriage or to ensure
adequate antenatal and maternal health care.
Stigma and discrimination by police officials
and authorities in India continued to deter
women from reporting sexual violence, and
most states still lacked standard operating
procedures for the police to address violence
against women.
Sexual and other gender-based violence
remained pervasive in Papua New Guinea,
where there were also ongoing reports of
violence and killing of women and children
following accusations of sorcery. The
government took little preventative action.
DEATH PENALTY
RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS
Women across the Asia-Pacific region were
frequently subjected to violence, abuse and
injustice, including gender-based
discrimination and violations and abuses of
sexual and reproductive rights.
In Nepal, gender-based discrimination
Despite some progress in the Asia-Pacific
region towards reducing the use of the death
penalty in recent years, several countries still
applied the punishment, including in ways
contrary to international human rights laws
and standards. Executions were resumed in
some countries.
Pakistan reached the shameful milestone
of executing more than 300 people since the
lifting of a moratorium on the execution of
civilians in December 2014, following a
terrorist attack.
In August, India’s Law Commission
recommended that the death penalty be
abolished for all crimes except terrorism-
related offences and “waging war against the
state”.
Amendments to China’s Criminal Law came
into effect, reducing the number of crimes
punishable by death. Although state media
claimed that this was in line with the
government’s policy of executing fewer
people, the changes failed to bring the law in
line with international human rights laws and
standards on use of the death penalty.
Statistics on how the punishment is used
continued to be classified as state secrets.
A new Criminal Code abolishing the death
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penalty for all crimes was adopted by
Mongolia’s Parliament, to take effect from
September 2016.
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EUROPE AND
CENTRAL ASIA
REGIONAL
OVERVIEW
2015 was a turbulent year in the Europe and
Central Asia region, and a bad one for human
rights. It opened with fierce fighting in eastern
Ukraine and ended with heavy clashes in
eastern Turkey. In the EU, the year was
bookended by armed attacks in and around
Paris, France, and dominated throughout by
the plight of the millions of people, most of
them fleeing conflict, who arrived on Europe’s
shores. Against this backdrop, respect for
human rights regressed across the region. In
Turkey and across the former Soviet Union,
leaders increasingly abandoned respect of
human rights altogether, as they strengthened
their control of the media and further targeted
their critics and opponents. In the EU, the
regressive trend took a different form. Fuelled
by lingering economic uncertainty,
disenchantment with establishment politics
and growing anti-EU and anti-immigrant
sentiment, populist parties made significant
electoral inroads. In the absence of principled
leadership, the place of human rights as a
cornerstone of European democracies looked
shakier than ever. Sweeping anti-terrorism
measures and proposals to restrict the inflow
of migrants and refugees were typically
announced with all the customary human
rights caveats, but they were increasingly
stripped of their content.
In the UK, the ruling Conservative Party put
forward proposals to repeal the Human Rights
Act; in Russia, the Constitutional Court was
given the power to overrule the decisions of
the European Court of Human Rights; in
Poland, the ruling Law and Justice Party
pushed through measures restricting the
oversight of the Constitutional Court within
months of its election. Increasingly
diminished on the international stage, EU
member states turned a blind eye to human
rights violations that they would once have
strongly condemned, as they sought to cut
economic deals and enlist the support of third
countries in their efforts to combat terrorism
and keep refugees and migrants at bay.
Although there was progress on equality for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex (LGBTI) people (in most Western
European countries at least) and the
European Commission continued to tackle the
systemic discrimination against Roma, almost
all underlying trends across the region offered
a bleak outlook for the state of human rights
in 2016.
THE REFUGEE CRISIS
The defining image of the year was that of
Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy, lying
on a Turkish beach. Either side of his tragic
death in September, over 3,700 refugees and
migrants lost their lives trying to reach
Europe’s shores, as EU member states
struggled to deal with the impact of a global
refugee crisis on Europe. While Turkey was
hosting over 2 million Syrian refugees, and
Lebanon and Jordan a further 1.7 million
between them, 1 million refugees and
migrants, many of them refugees from Syria,
entered the EU irregularly during the year.
However, the EU, the world’s richest political
bloc with a total population of over 500 million
people, singularly failed to come up with a
coherent, humane and rights-respecting
response to this challenge.
The year began inauspiciously, with
European leaders declining to replace the
Italian Navy’s Mare Nostrum search and
rescue operation with an adequate
alternative, despite ample evidence of
continuing migratory pressure on the central
Mediterranean route. It took the death of
more than 1,000 refugees and migrants in a
series of incidents off the Libyan coast over
one weekend in mid-April to finally prompt a
rethink. At a hastily convened summit, EU
leaders agreed to expand EU border agency
Frontex’s maritime border control Operation
Triton, while a number of countries, including
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the UK and Germany, dispatched additional
naval vessels to the region. The results were
positive: according to the International
Organization for Migration, death rates along
the central Mediterranean route declined by
9% compared to 2014, but still stood at 18.5
deaths for every 1,000 travellers. The number
of refugees and migrants dying in the Aegean
Sea increased considerably, however,
reaching over 700 by the end of the year; this
represented around 21% of all deaths in the
Mediterranean in 2015, compared to 1% in
2014.
The increase in deaths in the Aegean Sea
reflected the sharp rise in irregular sea
arrivals in Greece, from the summer onward.
In the absence of safe and legal avenues of
entry to EU countries, over 800,000 people,
overwhelmingly refugees fleeing conflict or
persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea,
Somalia and Iraq, made the dangerous
crossing to Greece. Only 3% of those entering
Greece irregularly crossed via the largely
fenced-off land border.
The logistical and humanitarian challenges
presented by such large numbers utterly
defeated Greece’s already ailing reception
system. As hundreds of thousands of
refugees and migrants left Greece and
marched on through the Balkans, most of
them aiming to reach Germany, the so-called
“Dublin regime” – the EU system for
allocating responsibility for the processing of
asylum applications across member states –
broke down too. The funnelling of refugees
and asylum-seekers to just a few external
border countries, essentially Greece and Italy,
made it impossible to uphold a system
allocating the primary responsibility for
processing asylum claims to the first EU
country the applicant entered. The Schengen
Agreement – which abolished border controls
across internal EU borders – also showed
signs of cracking, as Germany, Austria,
Hungary, Sweden and Denmark suspended
its provisions.
As the crisis grew, EU leaders organized
summit after summit, but to no avail. While
the European Commission vainly sought to
propose constructive measures for the
redistribution of asylum-seekers and the
organization of reception facilities along the
route, EU member states for the most part
vacillated or actively obstructed potential
solutions. Only Germany showed leadership
commensurate with the scale of the
challenge.
Little effort was made to increase safe and
legal avenues of entry for refugees into the
EU. Member states agreed to an EU-wide
resettlement scheme for 20,000 refugees
from across the globe proposed by the
European Commission in May. UNHCR, the
UN refugee agency, had put the number of
Syrian refugees in need of resettlement and
other forms of humanitarian admission at
400,000, but other than Germany, hardly any
EU countries offered to resettle more than a
few thousands of them.
European leaders also struggled to agree
on and implement an effective mechanism to
redistribute arriving refugees and migrants
across the EU. At a summit in May, EU
leaders voted to approve a relocation scheme
for 40,000 asylum-seekers from Italy and
Greece, in the face of fierce opposition from a
number of Central European countries. In
September, the scheme was extended by a
further 120,000, including the relocation of
54,000 asylum-seekers from Hungary. Never
enough in the first place, the scheme
foundered in the face of logistical challenges
and the reluctance of recipient states to meet
the targets they committed to: only around
200 asylum-seekers had been transferred
from Italy and Greece by the end of the year,
while Hungary declined to participate.
As pressure mounted, Balkan countries
alternated between closing their borders and
simply ushering refugees and migrants
through. Border guards used teargas and
batons to beat back crowds as Macedonia
briefly closed its border in August and
Hungary permanently sealed its border with
Serbia in September. By the end of the year,
a more or less orderly corridor, passing
through Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia
and Austria, was in place, amounting to an ad
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hoc response to the crisis that remained
entirely contingent on Germany’s continued
willingness to accept incoming asylum-
seekers and refugees. Thousands were still
sleeping rough, as authorities along the route
struggled to provide adequate shelter.
Hungary led the way in refusing to engage
with pan-European solutions to the refugee
crisis. Having seen a sharp increase in
arriving refugees and migrants at the start of
the year, Hungary turned its back on
collective efforts and decided to seal itself off.
It constructed over 200km of fencing along its
borders with Serbia and Croatia and adopted
legislation rendering it almost impossible for
refugees and asylum-seekers entering via
Serbia to claim asylum. “We think all
countries have a right to decide whether they
want to have a large number of Muslims in
their countries”, Hungarian Prime Minister
Viktor Orbán said in September.
Public opinion across Europe ranged from
indifference or hostility to strong shows of
solidarity. The shocking scenes of chaos and
need along the Balkan route prompted
countless individuals and NGOs to plug the
gaps in the humanitarian assistance provided
to refugees and migrants. However, European
leaders overwhelmingly chose to listen to
vocal anti-immigrant sentiment and concerns
over the loss of national sovereignty and
security threats. As a result, the only policies
they could agree on were measures to
strengthen “Fortress Europe”.
As the year progressed, European summits
increasingly focused on measures designed
to keep refugees and migrants out or hasten
their return. EU leaders agreed to create a
common list of “safe” countries of origin, to
which asylum-seekers could be returned after
expedited proceedings. They agreed to
strengthen the capacity of Frontex to carry out
expulsions. Most significantly, they started to
look to countries of origin, and especially
transit, to restrict the flow of refugees and
migrants to Europe. The outsourcing of the
EU migration controls to third countries
reached its peak with the signing of a Joint
Action Plan with Turkey in October. The deal
essentially involved Turkey agreeing to limit
the flow of refugees and migrants to Greece
by strengthening its border controls, in
exchange for 3 billion euros of aid for its
resident refugee population and, unofficially,
the turning of a blind eye to its growing list of
human rights indiscretions. It ignored the fact
that despite Turkey’s broadly positive
reception of over 2 million Syrian refugees,
many still lived in dire poverty, while those
from other countries had little prospect of
ever being recognized as refugees on account
of Turkey’s woefully inadequate asylum
system. Towards the end of the year,
evidence emerged of Turkey forcibly returning
refugees and asylum-seekers detained in its
western border provinces to Syria and Iraq,
further highlighting that the EU was limiting
the influx of refugees and migrants at the
expense of their human rights.
As the year drew to a close, around 2,000
people were still entering Greece daily. While
reception capacity on the Greek islands and
further along the Balkan route had increased
and reception conditions improved, they
remained woefully incommensurate with the
scale of the challenge. With no sign of the
number of arriving migrants and refugees
decreasing significantly in 2016, the EU was
no closer to finding sustainable, rights-
respecting solutions for those seeking
sanctuary within its borders than at the start
of the year.
ARMED VIOLENCE
In January and February, heavy fighting
resumed in Ukraine’s eastern region of
Donbass, as Russian-backed separatists in
the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s
Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic
sought to advance and straighten their
frontline. Amid heavy military losses,
Ukrainian forces ceded control over the long-
contested Donetsk airport and the area
around the town of Debaltseve, with heavy
shelling by both sides resulting in numerous
civilian casualties. By the end of the year, the
UN estimated that the death toll for the
conflict exceeded 9,000 people, including
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2,000 civilians, many of whom appeared to
have died as a result of indiscriminate rocket
and mortar fire. War crimes and other
violations of international humanitarian law
included the torture and other ill-treatment of
detainees by both sides, and the summary
execution of captives by separatist forces.
While the conflict had subsided by the end of
year as a fragile ceasefire took hold, the
prospect of accountability for the crimes
committed remained remote. On 8
September, Ukraine accepted the jurisdiction
of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with
respect to alleged crimes committed in its
territory since 20 February 2014, but no
progress was made on the ratification of the
Rome Statute of the ICC. While a few criminal
investigations into suspected abuses by
Ukrainian forces – mostly by paramilitary
groups – were opened by Ukrainian
authorities, there had been no convictions by
the end of the year. Total impunity persisted
in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where a
more pervasive lawlessness took hold.
Accountability for the abuses committed in
the course of the 2013-2014 pro-European
demonstrations in the capital Kyiv
(“EuroMaydan”) also proved elusive. In
November, the Prosecutor General’s Office
reported that investigations into over 2,000
criminal incidents related to EuroMaydan
were ongoing, with criminal proceedings
instigated against 270 individuals. The trial of
two former riot police (Berkut) officers on
charges of manslaughter and abuse of
authority began but no convictions were
secured for EuroMaydan-related crimes
during the year. An International Advisory
Panel set up by the Council of Europe to
monitor investigations into EuroMaydan
published two reports in April and November,
both of which deemed the investigations
inadequate.
While accountability for past human rights
abuses continued to stall, some progress was
made in instituting structural reforms to
Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt and abusive law
enforcement agencies; a law backed by the
Council of Europe creating a new agency to
investigate offences by public officials,
including torture and other ill-treatment, was
finally adopted. Ukraine took its first tentative
steps towards institutional reform, but the
Donbass region remained far from stable and,
like Crimea, a black hole for unmonitored
human rights abuses.
While the conflict in Ukraine subsided,
heavy clashes erupted in Turkey as the ever
uncertain peace process with the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) collapsed in July. By the
end of the year, over 100 people were
reported killed in the course of law
enforcement operations in urban areas that
took on an increasingly militarized aspect.
There were numerous reports of excessive
use of force and extrajudicial executions by
Turkish forces. Law enforcement operations
were typically conducted under round-the-
clock curfews, often lasting several weeks,
during which residents had their water and
electricity cut and were unable to access
medical treatment or food. The significant
escalation in human rights violations largely
escaped international censure, as Turkey
successfully leveraged its crucial role in
relation to the Syrian conflict and the refugee
crisis to dampen criticism of its domestic
actions.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The respect for freedoms of expression,
association, and peaceful assembly
deteriorated across the former Soviet Union.
Government control over the media, internet
censorship, the curbing of protest and the
criminalization of the legitimate exercise of
these freedoms intensified almost
everywhere.
In Russia, the steady squeeze on
government critics gathered pace, as
repressive laws enacted in the aftermath of
Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency were
applied. By the end of the year, over 100
NGOs were included, most of them
compulsorily, on the Ministry of Justice’s list
of “foreign agents”. Not a single NGO
succeeded in legally challenging its inclusion
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on the list. The Human Rights Centre (HRC)
Memorial was one of a number of NGOs to be
fined for failing to brand its publications with
the toxic label “foreign agent”, paving the way
for criminal prosecution of its leaders in the
future. The law, whose purpose was to
discourage NGOs from receiving foreign
funding and discredit those that did, was
supplemented in May by a new law enabling
authorities to designate foreign organizations
as “undesirable” if deemed to pose a “threat
to the country’s constitutional order, defence
or state security”. The target appeared to be
foreign donor organizations, in particular US
ones. By the end of the year, four US-based
donors had been declared “undesirable”,
rendering their continued operations in
Russia – and any co-operation with them –
illegal. The authorities further extended their
control over the media and the internet.
Thousands of websites and pages were
blocked by government regulators, often in
violation of the right to freedom of expression.
Restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly
also intensified and the number of public
protests declined. For the first time, four
peaceful protesters were prosecuted under a
2014 law which criminalized the repeated
breach of the law on assemblies.
In Azerbaijan, the prominent NGO leaders
arrested in 2014 were predictably convicted
on a range of trumped-up charges. At the end
of the year, at least 18 prisoners of
conscience, including human rights
defenders, journalists, youth activists and
opposition politicians, remained behind bars.
Leyla Yunus, president of the Institute for
Peace and Democracy, and her husband and
co-worker Arif Yunus were released towards
the end of 2015, although they still faced
spurious treason charges.
The human rights situation in Kazakhstan
also regressed. The new Criminal Code that
came into effect in January retained the
offences of inciting social and other
“discord”. Four criminal investigations were
opened under the vaguely worded offence,
including against activists Yermek Narymbaev
and Serkzhan Mambetalin after they posted
extracts from an unpublished book deemed
to denigrate the Kazakh people on their
Facebook page. They remained in pre-trial
detention at the end of the year. Drawing
inspiration from Russia and sharing the same
suspicion of foreign NGO funding,
Kazakhstan adopted amendments to the Law
on Non-Profit Organizations, creating a
central “operator” to raise funding and
administer state and non-state funds to
NGOs, including foreign funding, for projects
and activities that comply with a limited list of
issues approved by the government.
Kyrgyzstan also toyed with adoption of a
“foreign agents” law along Russian lines; a
draft bill was put before Parliament with
strong backing from President Atambaev, but
was withdrawn “for further discussion” in
June. Parliament also got to a third reading
on a law criminalizing “fostering positive
attitude” towards “non-traditional sexual
relations”, before it too was withdrawn for
additional consultation.
Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon was
granted lifetime immunity from prosecution
and the title “leader of the nation”, while
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan remained
fundamentally unchanged in their deeply
repressive rules. Georgia and Ukraine
continued to offer broadly free environments,
but neither without their wobbles. In Ukraine,
it became increasingly dangerous to voice
pro-Russian views: pro-Russian journalist
Oles Buzina was shot dead by two masked
gunmen in April, while journalist Ruslan
Kotsaba became Ukraine’s first prisoner of
conscience for five years when he was
remanded in custody on charges of treason in
February. Following the adoption in May of
four so-called “decommunization laws”
banning the use of communist and nazi
symbols, the Ministry of Justice initiated
proceedings to ban the Communist Party of
Ukraine. In Georgia, the opposition party
United National Movement and several NGOs
accused the government of orchestrating a
protracted legal battle between an ousted
former shareholder and the current owners of
pro-opposition TV station Rustavi 2. In
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November, the Tbilisi City Court ordered the
replacement of the station’s director general
and chief financial officer.
Elsewhere in Europe, perhaps the most
significant human rights regression took place
in Turkey. Against the backdrop of two
successive parliamentary elections which
resulted in an outright majority for the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK), the
increasingly autocratic rule of its former
leader and current President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan, and the breakdown of the peace
process with the PKK, freedom of expression
suffered further. Countless unfair criminal
prosecutions under criminal defamation and
counter-terrorism laws targeted political
activists, journalists and other critics of public
officials or government policy. Particular
targets were pro-Kurdish commentators and
supporters of media outlets associated with
former AK Party ally Fethullah Gülen. People
expressing criticism of the President,
particularly through social media channels,
were increasingly prosecuted. Over 100 cases
of criminal defamation under article 299 for
“insulting the President” were initiated by the
President and sanctioned by the Ministry of
Justice.
Critical media outlets and journalists were
subjected to immense pressure. Journalists
were regularly dismissed by editors for their
critical reporting and comment. News
websites, including large swathes of the
Kurdish press, were blocked on unclear
grounds by administrative orders, aided by a
compliant judiciary. Journalists were harassed
and assaulted by police while covering stories
in the predominantly Kurdish south-east.
Media outlets linked to Fethullah Gülen were
systematically targeted, and either taken off
air or taken over by government
administrators.
Sensitive protests continued to be
disrupted. May Day demonstrations were
banned for the third year in a row and
Istanbul’s annual Gay Pride was violently
dispersed for the first time in over a decade.
Reports of excessive use of force by law
enforcement agents breaking up
protests were frequent, particularly in the
south-east.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The year began with violent attacks in Paris
against journalists at the satirical weekly
Charlie Hebdo
and against a Jewish
supermarket, resulting in 17 deaths and an
outpouring of solidarity both in France and
abroad. Another series of attacks in and
around Paris on 13 November killed a further
130 people. The attacks gave fresh impetus –
in France in particular, but also elsewhere in
Europe – to a raft of measures that threatened
human rights. These included measures
targeting those travelling or intending to travel
abroad to commit or otherwise pursue ill-
defined terrorism-related acts; sweeping new
surveillance powers; extended powers of
arrest with reduced procedural guarantees;
and “counter-radicalization” measures that
would potentially repress freedom of
expression and discriminate against certain
groups.
Some of the most significant developments
took place in the area of surveillance, as a
range of states adopted or tabled measures
granting intelligence and law enforcement
agencies almost unfettered access to
electronic communications. In France,
Parliament approved two laws on surveillance
that provided extensive executive powers to
monitor people’s communications and
internet use, including by way of
indiscriminate mass interception of internet
traffic. The second law, adopted in October,
paved the way for the use of mass
surveillance techniques on communications
in and out of the country, in the pursuit of an
undefined list of objectives, including
promoting foreign policy, economic and
scientific interests. None of the new
surveillance measures required prior judicial
authorization, instead granting limited and
occasional powers to an administrative
authority to advise the Prime Minister.
Switzerland adopted a new surveillance law
which granted sweeping powers to the
Federal Intelligence Service to intercept data
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on internet cables entering or leaving
Switzerland, access metadata, internet
histories and content of emails, and use
government spyware. The Dutch government
put forward a bill that would in effect legalize
the bulk collection of telecoms data, including
internal communications without prior judicial
approval. The UK government proposed a
new Investigatory Powers Bill which would
authorize intelligence services to intercept all
communications in and out of the country,
and oblige phone and internet companies to
hand over customers’ internet and phone
histories – all with insufficient judicial control.
While European governments threatened
the right to privacy, a number of key
international court decisions laid down
markers for what is likely to be a fiercely
contested and highly litigated issue in the
years ahead. In December, in
Roman
Zakharov v. Russia,
the Grand Chamber of
the European Court of Human Rights
highlighted the need for prior individual
suspicion and meaningful judicial scrutiny for
any surveillance-related interference with the
right to privacy to be considered necessary
and proportionate.
After the landmark Digital Ireland case
rendered in 2014, the Court of Justice of the
European Union also delivered another key
ruling. In October, it invalidated the 15-year-
old “safe harbour agreement” between the
USA and the EU, which allowed private
companies to transfer personal data between
the two, on the assumption of an essentially
equivalent level of protection of fundamental
rights relating to personal data in the USA
and in EU law. Following the revelations of the
extent of the US surveillance programme by
Edward Snowden, the Court concluded that
“the United States authorities were able to
access the personal data transferred from the
Member States to the United States and
process it in a way [that was] beyond what
was strictly necessary and proportionate to
the protection of national security.”
The increasing use of exceptional right-
threatening counter-terrorism measures since
the 11 September 2001 attacks on the USA
found particularly vivid expression in France
in the wake of the November attacks. A state
of emergency introducing a range of
measures including the ability to carry out
warrantless house searches, forcing people to
remain in specific locations and the power to
dissolve associations or groups broadly
described as participating in acts that breach
public order, was declared for an initial period
of 12 days and then extended by three
months. In the space of just a few weeks,
French authorities conducted 2,700
warrantless house searches, resulting in just
two terrorism-related investigations being
opened (but another 488 for unrelated
offences); assigned 360 people to fixed
residency; and closed down 20 mosques and
numerous Muslim associations. Throughout
the year, the authorities initiated a spate of
prosecutions under vague “apology for
terrorism” legislation, several of them in
apparent breach of the right to freedom of
expression.
France was not alone, however. Proposals
for new counter-terrorism laws in the
aftermath of the November attacks were
tabled in countries across the region,
including Belgium, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, and Slovakia. In all these
countries, new proposals included
lengthening the time period permitted for pre-
charge detention for persons suspected of
terrorism-related offences on a lower standard
of proof than “reasonable suspicion”.
Throughout the year, European states
worked on the adoption of legislation to curtail
and criminalize travelling or preparing to
travel abroad for the vaguely defined purpose
of committing or otherwise pursuing
terrorism-related acts, following on from the
adoption in 2014 of the UN Security Council
Resolution 2178. In December, the EU
Commission tabled a proposal for a new
directive that would introduce a prohibition on
travel and acts associated with travel for the
purpose of committing acts of terrorism
abroad into the national legislation of member
states. This followed and referred to the
adoption earlier in the year under the
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auspices of the Council of Europe of a treaty
containing similar measures. These laws, and
others introduced to tackle the so-called
“foreign fighters” phenomenon, threatened to
various extents a range of human rights
guarantees. In several countries, and the UK
in particular, these measures went hand in
glove with a wider set of measures designed
to prevent and identify “violent extremism”
that risked discriminating against and
stigmatizing Muslims.
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MIDDLE EAST AND
NORTH AFRICA
REGIONAL
OVERVIEW
For millions of people across the Middle East
and North Africa region, 2015 brought
calamity and unremitting misery. Armed
conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya
continued to cause countless civilian deaths
and injuries and forced displacement that in
the case of Syria was on a truly epic scale.
Elsewhere, government authorities clamped
down on dissent and tightened controls citing
the threat to public safety posed by armed
groups that carried out a rash of bomb and
other attacks in countries across the region
and beyond.
ARMED CONFLICT
In Syria, Yemen and large areas of Iraq and
Libya continuing armed conflicts saw
government and non-state forces repeatedly
commit war crimes and serious human rights
abuses with impunity, killing and injuring
thousands of civilians and driving millions
from their homes and into despair and
destitution. Fighting forces showed little or no
regard for the lives of civilians and ignored the
legal obligation of all parties – both state and
non-state – to spare civilians.
The most severe of these armed conflicts
continued to rage in Syria, causing
widespread devastation and loss of life, while
also severely impacting on Syria’s neighbours
and other countries in the region and beyond.
By the end of the year, according to the UN,
more than 250,000 people had been killed in
Syria since the government’s brutal
repression of popular protests and demands
for reform that began in 2011. Civilians
continued to bear the brunt of the conflict.
Millions continued to be forcibly displaced; by
the end of 2015, an additional 1 million
people had fled Syria, swelling the number of
refugees – mostly in Turkey, Lebanon and
Jordan – to 4.6 million. Thousands sought to
gain entry to Europe via perilous sea
crossings from Turkey, and more than 7.6
million people were internally displaced within
Syria. Some had been forcibly displaced
several times.
Throughout 2015, forces loyal to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad continued to bomb
and shell opposition-held civilian areas
without restraint, killing and injuring
thousands. They also reportedly used
chemical agents in some attacks. They
continued to target medical facilities and to
besiege civilian areas controlled by armed
opposition groups, trapping their remaining
civilian inhabitants and condemning them to
starvation and utter deprivation while
exposing them to repeated shelling and
bombing. At the same time, non-state armed
groups also carried out unlawful killings and
indiscriminately shelled government-held
areas. Large areas of Syria, like much of
northern Iraq, were controlled by the armed
group calling itself Islamic State (IS), whose
forces also continued to commit war crimes
and crimes against humanity, while brazenly
advertising their abuses over the internet as a
propaganda and recruitment tool. In areas it
controlled, such as al-Raqqa in Syria and
Mosul in Iraq, IS ruthlessly enforced its own
narrow interpretation of Islam and deterred
opposition with summary killings and other
cruel punishments. In Iraq, in particular, IS
continued to target Shi’a Muslims and
members of the Yazidi and other minorities;
more than a dozen mass graves were found
in areas of Iraq formerly held by IS that
contained the mortal remains of Yazidis
whom IS forces had summarily killed. Many
Yazidi women and girls remained missing
after being captured by IS fighters and forced
into sexual slavery. In Iraq, IS forces captured
Ramadi, capital of the predominantly Sunni
Anbar province, in May, driving out
government forces and causing thousands of
people to flee south towards the capital
Baghdad. After capturing the city, IS forces
conducted a wave of killings of civilians and
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members of the security forces, disposing of
bodies by dumping them into the Euphrates
River. They imposed strict dress and
behaviour codes and punished alleged
infractions with execution-style public killings;
IS forces reportedly killed dozens of men they
alleged were gay by throwing them from the
roofs of buildings. IS forces also destroyed
religious and cultural artefacts, including at
the UNESCO World Heritage site at Palmyra
in Syria.
The Iraqi government sought to recapture
Ramadi and other IS-controlled areas of the
north and east, initially augmenting its
security forces with mainly Shi’a militias
previously responsible for sectarian killings
and other serious human rights abuses, and
by calling in air strikes by a US-led
international coalition and assistance from
Iran. As they advanced, government forces
indiscriminately shelled areas held or
contested by IS, killing and injuring civilians.
In December, the Iraqi army, supported by
US-led international coalition air strikes and
Sunni tribal fighters, but not Shi’a militias,
recaptured Ramadi. The Iraqi authorities
continued to detain thousands of mostly
Sunni Muslims without trial as alleged
terrorism suspects and subjected them to
torture and other ill-treatment with impunity;
many others were sentenced to death or long
prison sentences after grossly unfair trials
before courts that commonly convicted
defendants on the basis of torture-tainted
“confessions”.
In Yemen, an array of contending forces
spread misery and mayhem throughout the
country. Early in the year, Huthi forces
belonging to the northern Zaidi Shi’a minority,
who took control of the capital Sana’a in
September 2014, swept southward,
supported by forces loyal to former President
Ali Abdullah Saleh, threatening Yemen’s
second and third largest cities, Taiz and the
Red Sea port city of Aden. Huthi forces fired
explosive weapons indiscriminately into
civilian areas of Yemen and across the border
into Saudi Arabia; attacked hospitals and
medical workers; recklessly exposed civilians
to risk by launching attacks from the vicinity
of homes, hospitals and schools; deployed
anti-personnel landmines that pose an
ongoing risk to civilians; used lethal force
against protesters; closed down NGOs, and
abducted and detained journalists and other
critics.
On 25 March, a military coalition of nine
Arab states led by Saudi Arabia intervened in
the conflict at the request of Yemeni
President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who
had taken refuge in the Saudi Arabian capital
Riyadh as Huthi forces advanced, and with
the aim of restoring President Hadi and his
government to power. The coalition launched
a campaign of air strikes against the Huthis
and areas that they controlled or contested,
imposed a partial air and sea blockade and
deployed ground troops in support of Yemeni
anti-Huthi forces. While some coalition
attacks targeted military objectives, many
others were indiscriminate, disproportionate
or appeared to be deliberately directed
against civilians and civilian objects, including
schools, hospitals and roads, particularly in
Yemen’s northern Sa’da governorate, the
Huthis’ main base. In some areas, coalition
aircraft also dropped US-made cluster
munitions, despite the international
prohibition on the use of these inherently
indiscriminate weapons, endangering
civilians’ lives.
Armed groups opposed to the Huthis,
including IS, summarily killed captured Huthi
fighters and carried out suicide and other
attacks targeting civilians. IS bomb attacks on
two Shi’a mosques on 20 March killed more
than 140 people, all or mostly civilians, and
wounded hundreds of others.
By the end of the year, Yemen’s armed
conflict had killed more than 2,700 civilians,
according to the UN, and forcibly displaced
more than 2.5 million people, creating a
humanitarian crisis.
The Yemeni conflict was not the only one in
which international forces became direct
participants. In both Iraq and Syria a US-led
international military coalition of Western and
Arab states used aircraft and drones to target
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IS forces and some other armed groups,
sometimes causing civilian casualties. In
Syria, Russia’s armed forces intervened to
support the al-Assad government, despite its
mounting record of human rights violations,
launching air strikes and cruise missile
attacks against areas held by opposition
forces as well as against IS targets; by the end
of the year, these attacks were reported to
have killed hundreds of civilians.
Libya, too, remained mired in armed
conflict four years after the fall of Mu’ammar
al-Gaddafi’s regime. Two rival governments
and parliaments vied for supremacy, one
based in the east that was internationally
recognized and backed by the Operation
Dignity military coalition, and the other,
supported by the Libya Dawn coalition of
Western-based armed militias and other
forces, in the capital Tripoli. Elsewhere,
armed groups pursuing their own ideological,
regional, tribal, economic and ethnic agendas
fought for control, including local affiliates of
IS and al-Qa’ida.
The various forces ranged against each
other committed serious violations of the laws
of war, including direct attacks on civilians,
including medical workers, and indiscriminate
or disproportionate attacks, as well as
unlawful killings, abductions, arbitrary
detention, torture and other serious abuses.
IS-affiliated forces in the Libyan cities of Sirte
and Derna carried out public killings,
floggings and amputations, and targeted
foreign nationals of other faiths. In February,
an IS-affiliated armed group published
graphic video footage on the internet showing
its mass killing of 21 mostly Egyptian Coptic
Christian migrants abducted several weeks
earlier, sparking a retaliatory air strike by
Egyptian war planes.
In December, representatives of Libya’s two
rival governments signed a peace deal
brokered by the UN, committing to end the
violence and form a national unity
government. It offered at least some hope to
Libya’s beleaguered population at the end of
a year that saw some 600 civilians killed in
the armed conflict and almost 2.5 million
people in need of humanitarian assistance
and protection, although the agreement
excluded various armed groups and militias
and did not bring an end to hostilities.
Elsewhere in the region, major, deep-rooted
problems remained. The year saw no
progress towards resolving the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict even if it did not again
flare into open warfare. Israel maintained its
relentless land, sea and air blockade of Gaza,
suffocating reconstruction there after the
devastation caused by the 2014 armed
conflict. In the occupied West Bank, Israel
continued to promote illegal settlements and
severely restricted the movement of
Palestinians using an array of military
checkpoints, barriers and a fence/wall
stretching hundreds of kilometres. Thousands
of Palestinians who opposed Israel’s military
occupation or engaged in protests against it
were arrested and detained, with hundreds
held under renewable administrative orders
that empowered the authorities to detain
them indefinitely without charge or trial;
others were shot by Israeli troops who
regularly used excessive force against
Palestinian protesters. Tension rose sharply in
the last quarter of the year amid a spate of
stabbing and other attacks on Israelis by lone
Palestinians. Israeli soldiers and police
responded with lethal force including, at
times, in circumstances when individuals
posed no imminent threat to life. Israeli forces
killed at least 156 Palestinians from the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, including
children, mostly in the last quarter of the year,
some in apparent extrajudicial executions.
In January, Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas declared Palestine’s
accession to the Rome Statute and accepted
the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes within its
mandate committed within the Occupied
Palestinian Territories since June 2014.
However, neither the Palestinian national
unity government under President Abbas nor
the Hamas de facto administration in Gaza
took any steps to investigate war crimes,
including indiscriminate rocket and mortar
attacks, summary killings, and other serious
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abuses by Palestinian armed groups during
the 2014 armed conflict with Israel, or to hold
to account Palestinian security officials
responsible for unlawful detentions and
torture. Israel, likewise, failed to conduct
independent investigations into the extensive
war crimes and other violations of
international law that its forces committed in
Gaza during the 2014 armed conflict, or to
hold to account those responsible for unlawful
killings in the West Bank and torture and
other ill-treatment of detainees.
REFUGEES, INTERNALLY DISPLACED
PEOPLE AND MIGRANTS
The human cost of the armed conflicts in
Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya in 2015 was
immeasurable, although the continuing surge
in refugees fleeing these countries and the
even greater number of people who were
internally displaced within them gave some
indication. By the end of the year, the four
conflicts had together created more than 5
million refugees and asylum-seekers and
more than 13.5 million internally displaced
persons (IDPs), according to UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency. Elsewhere, such as in Iran,
state repression also fuelled a continuing flow
of refugees seeking protection abroad.
The impact of the refugee crisis fell most
heavily on states within the Middle East and
North Africa region. At the end of the year,
Lebanon hosted well over 1 million refugees
from Syria – they comprised between a
quarter and a third of Lebanon’s total
population – and Jordan hosted in excess of
641,800 refugees from Syria. The presence of
so many refugees placed an enormous strain
on the host countries’ resources, a strain that
was only partly alleviated by faltering
international humanitarian assistance and
support, and presented huge social and
security challenges. In both Lebanon and
Jordan the authorities took measures to
staunch the flow of new arrivals, tightening
controls at official and informal border
crossing points, blocking the entry of certain
categories of people, notably members of
Syria’s long-standing Palestinian refugee
community, and toughening residency
requirements for those already admitted.
More than 12,000 refugees from Syria,
denied entry to Jordan, remained in a remote
desert area on the Jordanian side of the
border with Syria in desperate conditions.
Meanwhile, in December, Jordanian
authorities deported more than 500 Sudanese
refugees and asylum-seekers to Sudan,
where they were at risk of human rights
violations, in contravention of the international
principle of
non-refoulement.
Life remained very tough and uncertain
even for those who escaped Syria and the
other countries enmeshed in armed conflict,
due to the hardships and insecurity they
encountered as refugees. These difficulties
propelled hundreds of thousands of refugees
to expose themselves to new risks as they
sought to find greater security further afield,
particularly in EU countries. Huge numbers
departed, particularly from Libya and Turkey,
which alone hosted around 2.3 million
refugees from Syria, to attempt dangerous sea
crossings to Italy and Greece, often in
overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels provided
by extortionate people traffickers. Many made
it and gained entry to the relative safety of
Europe, where they faced a decidedly mixed
reception as EU states bickered about who
should bear responsibility for them and what
should be each state’s “fair share” of
refugees. Countless others, however, lost their
lives at sea attempting that stage of their
journey, including many infants and other
children.
In addition to the more than 1 million
refugees from Syria who swelled its
population, Lebanon also continued to host
several hundred thousand Palestinian
refugees, decades after the conflicts with
Israel that led them to flee their homes. They
were afforded protection by the Lebanese
authorities but remained subject to
discriminatory laws and policies that denied
them property inheritance rights, access to
free public education and certain categories
of paid employment.
Migrants, as well as refugees and those
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internally displaced, remained particularly
vulnerable to abuse in a number of countries.
In Algeria and Morocco, migrants from
countries in sub-Saharan Africa were liable to
arrest and summary expulsion. In Libya,
Tripoli-based authorities held up to 4,000
migrants and other undocumented foreign
nationals in indefinite detention in facilities
where they faced torture or other ill-treatment,
and other refugees, asylum-seekers and
migrants faced serious abuses, including
discrimination and labour exploitation. In
Israel, the authorities denied asylum-seekers
from Eritrea and Sudan access to a fair
refugee determination process, detained
more than 4,200 at desert detention facilities
by the end of the year, and pressured others
to leave Israel “voluntarily” or face indefinite
detention.
Migrant workers, many from South and
Southeast Asia, also continued to face severe
levels of exploitation and abuse in the oil and
gas-rich countries of the Gulf, where the
kafala
sponsorship system tied them to their
employers and they were inadequately
protected under labour law. In Qatar, where
90% of the workforce were migrant workers,
the government largely failed to implement
reforms it had promised in 2014; many
construction workers remained exposed to
unsafe living and working conditions and
thousands of domestic workers, mostly
women, faced numerous abuses ranging from
low pay and excessive working hours to
physical assault, forced labour and human
trafficking. In Kuwait, however, a new law for
the first time gave migrant domestic workers a
right to one rest day each week and 30 days’
annual paid leave.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
Governments across the Middle East and
North Africa region remained intolerant of
criticism and dissent and curtailed rights to
freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly. In Algeria and Morocco,
state authorities used widely drawn criminal
insult and/or defamation laws to prosecute
and imprison online and other critics, as did
the Egyptian authorities and the governments
of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United
Arab Emirates (UAE). In these Gulf states,
those targeted included individuals accused
of harming their countries’ relations with
Saudi Arabia by posting comments
considered disrespectful to Saudi Arabia’s
late King or criticizing its military intervention
in Yemen. In Qatar, a poet continued to serve
a 15-year prison term for writing and reciting
lines that the authorities deemed offensive to
the country’s Emir. In Jordan, dozens of
journalists and activists faced prosecution
under Penal Code provisions that prohibit
criticism of the King and government
institutions and under an anti-terrorism law
amended in 2014 that criminalized criticism
of foreign leaders or states.
In Iran, the international agreement relating
to the country’s nuclear programme and the
easing of financial and economic sanctions
did not yield any let-up in state repression.
The authorities continued to curtail freedom
of speech and rights to association and
assembly, blocking access to Facebook,
Twitter and other social media websites,
jamming foreign broadcasts, and arresting,
detaining and imprisoning journalists, human
rights defenders, trade unionists, artists and
others who voiced dissent, including three
opposition political leaders held without
charge or trial since 2009.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia also brooked no
criticism or dissent and harshly punished
those who dared advocate reform or speak
out in support of human rights. Blogger Raif
Badawi remained in prison serving the 10-
year sentence he received in 2014 after a
court convicted him of “insulting Islam” and
violating the Cyber-crime law by setting up
the Free Saudi Liberals Network website,
which the authorities closed. The court also
sentenced him to a flogging of 1,000 lashes.
Dr Zuhair Kutbi, arrested in July, was
detained for months, then tried and
imprisoned after he advocated constitutional
monarchy as a form of government in a
television interview.
In Egypt, the government continued the
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relentless crackdown on the Muslim
Brotherhood that began when the army
ousted Mohamed Morsi from the presidency
in July 2013, widening it to encompass their
other critics and opponents, as well as
advocates of human rights and political
reform. The authorities held thousands of
detainees on political grounds; by the end of
the year, at least 700 had been held without
sentence by courts for longer than the two-
year legal maximum. Thousands of others
faced unfair mass trials before criminal or
military courts, which handed down mass
prison sentences and death sentences. Some
detainees were subjected to enforced
disappearance. The authorities rejected any
criticism of the crackdown on dissent, noting
the threat posed by armed groups that
launched increasingly deadly attacks on
security forces, state officials and civilians.
All across the region, national judicial
systems were weak, lacked independence
and failed to ensure due process and uphold
the right to a fair trial, especially in cases
against those perceived to be government
critics or opponents. Throughout 2015, courts
in countries including Bahrain, Iran, Iraq,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia and UAE, as well as
those in Egypt, continued to hand down
sentences of imprisonment and death after
convicting defendants in unfair trials; rather
than being fearless upholders of justice, such
courts operated as mere instruments of state
repression.
loss of life or fell below the threshold of “most
serious crimes”. Juvenile offenders were
among those executed in Iran and facing
execution in Saudi Arabia.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
remained common and widespread
throughout the Middle East and North Africa
region. It was used to extract information and
“confessions” and to punish and terrorize
victims and to intimidate others. Those who
perpetrated torture almost always did so with
impunity; courts rarely took serious notice of
defendants’ allegations of torture in pre-trial
detention and governments rarely conducted
independent investigations into torture or took
measures to safeguard detainees, although
most countries have ratified the UN
Convention against Torture. In Syria,
government forces continued to use torture
systematically, causing countless further
deaths of detainees. In Egypt, security forces
frequently assaulted detainees at time of
arrest and thereafter subjected them to
beatings, electric shocks and painful stress
positions. Iranian courts continued to impose
punishments that violate the prohibition of
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, included flogging,
blinding, stoning and amputations.
IMPUNITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
DEATH PENALTY
The death sentence was widely used across
the region, including in states such as Algeria,
Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia that have not
carried out any executions for years. By
contrast, the governments of Iran, Iraq and
Saudi Arabia remained among the world’s
foremost executioners, with Iran being at the
forefront of a disturbing spike in executions.
Between them, they carried out hundreds of
executions despite clear evidence that many
of those executed had been sentenced to
death after unfair trials or for offences, such
as drugs-related crimes, that did not cause
Government forces and non-state armed
groups committed war crimes, other violations
of international humanitarian law and serious
human rights abuses with impunity in Syria,
Iraq, Yemen and Libya, and there was no
accountability for similar crimes and abuses
committed by Israeli forces and Palestinian
armed groups during their 2014 conflict and
in previous conflicts. In Algeria, it remained a
crime to campaign for justice for victims of
serious abuses by state forces during the
internal armed conflict of the 1990s. In
Lebanon, no progress was made in
ascertaining the fate of thousands who were
forcibly disappeared or went missing during
and in the aftermath of the civil war that
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ended two decades ago. In Egypt, the
authorities failed to investigate and ensure
accountability for the killings of hundreds of
protesters by the security forces since June
2013.
In May, Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity
Commission, appointed following the
“Jasmine Revolution” of 2011, began hearing
testimonies as part of its investigations into
past human rights violations. However, the
Commission remained weakened by
corruption allegations and resignations while
a new draft law threatened to scupper any
prospect that it could ensure accountability
for economic crimes committed during the
regime that held power until 2011. In Libya,
Tripoli authorities sentenced former Gaddafi-
era officials to long prison terms or death for
alleged war crimes and other offences
committed during the 2011 uprising and
ensuing armed conflict. Their trial was marred
by irregularities; the authorities failed to
comply with an ICC demand that they hand
over Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, son of
Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi; instead, they put him
on trial and sentenced him to death.
and Bidun rights activists faced arrest and
prosecution. In Israel, Palestinian citizens
faced discrimination in many areas, especially
housing and land rights.
FORCED EVICTIONS
Israeli authorities continued to demolish
Palestinian homes in the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem, that they said were
built without virtually unobtainable Israeli
permits, forcibly evicting their occupants, and
punished the families of Palestinians who
attacked Israelis by destroying their homes.
They also demolished the homes of
Palestinian citizens of Israel mostly in
Bedouin villages in the Negev/Naqab region.
In Egypt, the military carried out forced
evictions to create a security “buffer” zone
along the country’s border with the Gaza
Strip.
WOMEN AND GIRLS
DISCRIMINATION – MINORITIES
Religious and ethnic minorities continued to
face discrimination in several countries. In
Iran, Baha’is, Sufis, Yaresan (Ahl-e Haq),
Sunni Muslims, Christian converts from Islam,
and Shi’a Muslims who became Sunni were
imprisoned or prevented from freely
practising their faith. Minority rights activists
belonging to Iran’s disadvantaged ethnic
groups including Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani
Turks, Baluchis and Kurds, were given harsh
prison sentences, and remained
disproportionately subject to the death
penalty. In Saudi Arabia, discrimination
against the Shi’a minority remained
entrenched and Shi’a leaders and activists
were detained and, in some cases, sentenced
to death in unfair trials. In Kuwait, the
government continued to withhold citizenship
from over 100,000 Bidun, claiming that they
were illegal residents although many were
born and had lived all their lives in Kuwait,
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination under the law and in practice
in all countries in the Middle East and North
Africa region; in many, they also faced high
levels of sexual and other violence. Personal
status laws commonly accorded women fewer
rights than men in relation to divorce, custody
of children and inheritance, while several
countries’ nationality laws barred women
married to foreign spouses, unlike men with
foreign spouses, from passing on their
nationality to their children.
In Jordan, women continued to receive
inadequate protection against violence
including so-called “honour” crimes. The
government revised legislation that allowed
rapists to escape prosecution if they married
their victim, except in cases where the victim
is aged between 15 and 18. In Bahrain, a
new law afforded greater protection to victims
of domestic violence but only after the
country’s parliament voted down an article
that would have criminalized marital rape. In
Saudi Arabia, women were allowed for the
first time to vote and stand in municipal
elections but they continued to be prohibited
from driving. Iran’s Parliament approved the
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general principles of a draft law that
undermines women’s right to decide freely
whether and when to marry, divorce and have
children, and debated other draft laws that
threaten to further entrench discrimination
against women, including one that would
block access to information about
contraception and outlaw voluntary
sterilization. Women in Iran also remained
subject to compulsory “veiling” (hijab) laws
and to harassment, violence and
imprisonment by the police and paramilitary
forces that enforced such laws.
Women and girls comprised half the
population of the region and made an
enormous contribution to every society within
it, yet they were denied equality with men in
virtually all facets of life. No country had a
woman head of state, very few women held
high political office or senior diplomatic posts,
and women were totally or largely absent from
the judiciary, particularly its highest levels.
This was unsurprising given the continuing
prevalence of stereotypical and discriminatory
attitudes towards women and their human
rights. The most public and extreme
manifestation of such prejudice and misogyny
were the crimes, including rape, forced
marriage, sexual slavery and summary killing,
committed against women and girls by IS
forces, particularly in Iraq. But throughout the
region, the prevalence of gender-based
violence and lack of redress for survivors was
anything but exceptional.
By the end of 2015, the heady hopes of
political and human rights reform that the
mass popular uprisings of the Arab Spring
had aroused across the region four years
earlier had been all but totally dashed.
Instead of political and social reform,
economic advance and greater protection of
human rights, the region was gripped by
armed conflict, tightening state repression,
abuse of rights, and the threat of attack by
armed groups. Yet, amid the gloom and
despair, thousands of valiant individuals –
human rights defenders, medical workers and
volunteers, lawyers, journalists, community
activists and others – showed through their
actions that the hopes expressed in 2011
remain alive, deep-seated and anything but
an empty dream.
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AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
REPORT 2015/16
A-Z COUNTRY ENTRIES
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AFGHANISTAN
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Head of state and government:
Muhammad Ashraf
Ghani Ahmadzai
There was growing insecurity with
insurgency and criminal activity worsening
across the country. The first three months of
2015 were the most violent of any
equivalent period on record. The UN
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
recorded 1,592 civilians killed and 3,329
injured in the first six months of 2015,
while 70% of civilian casualties were
attributed to Taliban and other armed
insurgent groups, and 16% to pro-Afghan
government forces. The Taliban increasingly
attacked soft and civilian targets. In
September the Taliban took control of most
of Kunduz province, and the government
reported that some 20,000 people were
internally displaced due to the conflict. The
majority did not receive any humanitarian
assistance from the government. The
Ministry of Women’s Affairs registered
thousands of cases of violence against
women in the last nine months of the year.
Threats, intimidation and attacks by a range
of perpetrators against human rights
defenders continued in a climate of
impunity, with the government failing to
investigate cases and bring those suspected
of criminal responsibility to trial. The
Afghan Parliament amended the Mass
Media Law which journalists and human
rights groups feared would further restrict
freedom of expression. Afghanistan
continued to apply the death penalty, often
after unfair trials.
Security. It enshrined the government’s
pledges to increase women’s role in the four
pillars of Resolution 1325: participation,
protection, prevention, and relief and
recovery.
On 29 July the government proclaimed that
Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, died in April
2013 in Pakistan. Following this
announcement a string of attacks occurred in
the capital, Kabul, between 7 and 10 August.
Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, Mullah
Omar’s deputy since 2010, was announced
as his successor. In his first public statement
as the new leader on 1 August, he called for
Taliban unity and continued jihad, while
characterizing reports of a peace process as
enemy propaganda. In May, the Ministry of
Interior estimated that there were some 7,180
foreign fighters across Afghanistan, the
majority of whom were associated with armed
groups Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
There were reports of the emergence of the
group Islamic State (IS) in at least four
provinces of Afghanistan, although the extent
to which groups operating under its banner
had any affiliation to IS in Syria was unclear.
ABUSES BY INTERNATIONAL AND AFGHAN
FORCES, AND BY PRO-GOVERNMENT
ARMED GROUPS
BACKGROUND
On 19 April the unity government completed
its cabinet which received the Parliament’s
vote of confidence. On 30 June the
government launched its first National Action
Plan relating to UN Security Council
Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and
Civilian casualties resulting from operations
by international military forces decreased
considerably, owing to the withdrawal of
US/International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) combat forces.
However, attacks by pro-government
forces, particularly the Afghan national
security forces (ANSF), resulted in an
increasing number of civilian casualties in the
first six months of 2015, according to
UNAMA. Of a total of 4,921 civilian
casualties, 796 were allegedly caused by pro-
government forces – a 60% rise compared to
the same period in 2014.
There were reports of violations carried out
by the Afghan Local Police (ALP), including
intimidation, beatings, illegal detention,
targeted killings and child rape. In September
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the
New York Times
reported that the US
military ignored complaints by its personnel of
the sexual abuse of young boys by ALP
commanders on its bases.
Accountability for unlawful killings by pro-
government forces and groups was virtually
non-existent, although President Ghani
pledged to take steps to reduce civilian
casualties.
On 3 October US forces bombed a hospital
run by Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in
Kunduz province in the north, killing 40
people, including 14 hospital staff, and
destroying parts of the building. MSF called
for an independent investigation into the
bombing.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Attacks by the Taliban and other armed
insurgent groups continued to cause the
majority of civilian casualties. UNAMA
attributed 70% of civilian deaths and injuries
between 1 January and 30 June to attacks
carried out by armed groups (3,436 civilian
casualties, including 1,213 dead and 2,223
injured, representing a 3% decrease from the
same period in 2014). The Taliban claimed
responsibility for incidents causing over 1,000
civilian casualties, and UNAMA attributed an
additional 971 civilian casualties to Taliban-
affiliated commanders. UNAMA documented
10 civilian casualties caused by groups
associated with IS, primarily in the east.
Most civilian casualties attributed to the
Taliban and other armed groups were the
result of violations of international
humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes.
The Taliban and other armed groups
continued deliberate attacks on civilians and
civilian objects, using weapons such as
pressure plate improvised explosive devices
(IEDs). According to its official statements,
the Taliban reinstated their policy of
deliberately targeting individuals associated
with the government or seen by them as
“pernicious”.
Eleven NGO-run clinics and nine public
schools were closed down in Nangahar
province due to threats from IS, according to
the International NGO Safety Organization
(INSO). INSO recorded 150 attacks on aid
workers, resulting in 33 deaths, 33 injuries
and 82 abductions over nine months in 2015.
Civilians continued to be subject to killings,
hostage-taking and arbitrary punishments by
armed groups as a result of trials by
ad hoc
justice structures. These did not exhaust all
judicial guarantees, in violation of
international humanitarian law.
On 23 February, 30 civilians, mostly
members of the Hazara community, were
abducted by armed groups in Zabul province.
On 11 May, 19 were released in exchange for
relatives of Uzbek insurgents, held in
government prisons. The fate of the
remaining 11 was unknown at the end of the
year.
On 10 April the bodies of five Afghan
employees of the NGO Save the Children
were found in Uruzgan province. They had
been abducted on 1 March in an attempt to
exchange them for Taliban prisoners.
On 28 September, the Taliban took control
of Kunduz city, releasing nearly 700
prisoners, among them at least 100 Taliban
members. Much public and private property
was destroyed, including that of media
organizations. Reports of rapes and unlawful
killings were rife.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Threats, intimidation and attacks against
human rights defenders continued in a
climate of impunity, with the government
failing to investigate cases and bring those
suspected of criminal responsibility to justice.
Human rights defenders suffered bombings,
grenade attacks and assassinations by state
and non-state actors. Women participating in
public life were at greater risk of
discrimination and violence than men
because they were perceived as defying
cultural and social norms.
On 8 January Senator Rohgul Khairzad was
seriously injured when her car was fired upon
by unknown assailants. She was previously
attacked in 2013 by Taliban insurgents who
fired at her car, killing her seven-year-old
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daughter and brother; her 11-year-old
daughter was left paralyzed.
On 16 February Angiza Shinwari, a
provincial council member in Nangahar
province and defender of women’s rights,
died following a targeted bomb attack on her
vehicle which also killed her driver and
injured four others. No one claimed
responsibility and no arrests were made.
On 28 September the Taliban took control
of Kunduz province in a surprise attack.
There were reports of house-to-house
searches for media personnel and women
human rights defenders allegedly named on a
hit-list. Many women human rights defenders
fled the city, while others were forced into
hiding.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED
PEOPLE
Afghanistan continued to produce vast
numbers of refugees and internally displaced
persons, second only to Syria. According to
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, nearly three
million Afghans were refugees, the majority of
whom were living in Iran and Pakistan. Nearly
one million Afghans were internally displaced
in Afghanistan.
The armed conflict, insecurity and natural
disasters were the main causes of
displacement in Afghanistan. Despite the
launch by the government of the National
Internally Displaced People Policy in February
2014, at the end of 2015 many thousands of
people were still living in camps and
makeshift shelters, where overcrowding, poor
hygiene and harsh weather conditions
increased the prevalence of communicable
and chronic diseases such as malaria and
hepatitis.
According to the UN Office for Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in the first
six months of 2015 some 103,000 people
were reportedly displaced mainly because of
the armed conflict and insecurity across
Afghanistan. The government reported that
some 20,000 people were internally displaced
as a result of the conflict in Kunduz province
in September.
The government took steps to improve
women’s participation in governance. On 21
March President Ghani and Abdullah
Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of
Afghanistan, announced four women among
the nominees to lead the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education, the
Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and
Disabled, and the Ministry of Counter
Narcotics.
By 20 August, 75 police women councils
(PWCs) had been established – 45 in Ministry
of Interior directorates and Kabul police
districts, and 30 in provinces. The PWCs were
introduced in December 2014 by the Ministry
of Interior with the aim of strengthening and
building capacity among female police
officers. On 14 September the Afghan cabinet
approved the Regulation Against Sexual
Harassment of Women and Girls, which
criminalizes and penalizes certain acts of
sexual harassment of women. At the end of
the year the Ministry of Women’s Affairs
(MOWA) was drafting a further regulation to
prevent discrimination in the workplace, due
to be sent to the Ministry of Justice for review
in 2016. Following a presidential decree of 2
January, 144 women and girls who had been
detained for so-called “moral” crimes were
released.
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs registered
more than 4,000 cases of violence against
women in the last nine months of the year.
Violence against women was severely under-
reported in Afghanistan due to insecurity, lack
of a functioning government or judiciary, and
traditional practices which combined to
discourage victims and their families from
reporting violence.
On 12 February, police in Balkh arrested
six people in connection with the marriage of
an 11-year-old girl.
On 19 March, Farkhunda Malikzada was
killed by a mob near the Shah-e Du
Shamshira shrine in Kabul after being falsely
accused of burning a copy of the Qur’an. A
primary court in Kabul sentenced four men to
death for her murder, while others received
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prison sentences. On 2 July an appeal court
overruled the four death sentences and
reduced them to prison sentences of between
10 and 20 years.
On 9 August a woman accused of adultery
was hanged during a tribal court hearing by
the Taliban in Badakhshan province.
poor sanitation facilities.
While conflict-related detainees held in US
custody were transferred to the Afghan
authorities in December 2014, a lack of
accountability for illegal detentions, ill-
treatment and torture of detainees by US
personnel in Afghanistan persisted.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists in Afghanistan continued to face
violence and censorship by state and non-
state actors. Some journalists were killed
during attacks, while others were forced to
leave their homes and seek sanctuary
elsewhere. Nai, a media watchdog in
Afghanistan, reported 73 cases of attacks
against journalists and media workers, with
the majority being committed by government
representatives, including police and security
agencies, as well as elected officials. The
government failed to investigate those
suspected of responsibility for attacks against
journalists and media workers. On 28 January
Parliament amended the Mass Media Law
and limited media freedom, which journalists
and human rights groups feared would
further restrict freedom of expression.
DEATH PENALTY
Afghanistan continued to apply the death
penalty, often after unfair trials. By the end of
the year, results were still awaited of the
review of nearly 400 death row cases ordered
by President Ghani in 2014.
On 28 February Raees Khudaidad was
hanged at Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, after
being charged with murder, kidnapping and
armed robbery.
ALBANIA
Republic of Albania
Head of state:
Bujar Nishani
Head of government:
Edi Rama
Roma and Egyptian communities were
denied adequate housing and subjected to
forced evictions. Thousands of Albanians,
driven by poverty, sought asylum in the EU.
Protection against domestic violence
remained inadequate.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
On 4 May the government established a
working committee to launch a National
Action Plan for the elimination of torture. On
25 June the National Directorate of Security,
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, issued an
order reiterating the prohibition on torture,
particularly its use during police
interrogations. Despite these developments,
torture and other ill-treatment, as well as
incommunicado detention, remained
prevalent throughout the prison system, while
the authorities continued to arrest and detain
individuals arbitrarily without due process.
Individuals were frequently detained for acts
that were not offences under Afghan law.
They included so-called “moral” crimes such
as “running away”, which affected mainly
women and girls. Prison conditions remained
below international standards with
overcrowding, insufficient food and water and
BACKGROUND
The European Commission in November
required Albania to protect fundamental
rights, reform the judiciary and combat
corruption and organized crime before talks
on EU membership could commence. In
June, a parliamentary committee reported
widespread corruption among police,
prosecutors and the judiciary. In December
around 50,000 people joined opposition-led
protests against government corruption and
rising poverty.
A law introduced in May enabled the
subjects of surveillance by the communist-era
state security service (Sigurimi) to access
their files.
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ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
The authorities made no progress in bringing
to justice those responsible for the enforced
disappearance in 1995 of Remzi Hoxha, an
ethnic Albanian from Macedonia, or in
establishing the whereabouts of his remains.
Former state security agent Ilir Kumbaro,
convicted in 2012 for the torture and
subsequent death of Remzi Hoxha, remained
at large after absconding from an extradition
hearing in the UK.
In March, an Office of Missing Persons was
established to locate the remains of Albanians
forcibly disappeared under the communist
government between 1944 and 1991.
between January and June, defendants were
convicted of family violence in 185 out of 190
prosecutions; most had pleaded guilty.
HOUSING RIGHTS
Many Roma and Egyptians, as well as young
people leaving social care, failed to meet the
income threshold required to access social
housing. Many Roma were unable to
regularize their homes under the 2014 law on
the legalization of property, which allowed
“illegal constructions” to be demolished. In
July, 70 mainly Romani families’ houses were
demolished in Selita, Tirana, during a forced
eviction in advance of road construction.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
IMPUNITY
Media independence was compromised by
self-censorship, government pressure on
media outlets and threats against journalists.
Journalist Aurora Koromani received police
protection in June after receiving threats
believed to originate from the armed group
Islamic State (IS), following her investigations
into IS recruitment in Albania. Several other
journalists sought asylum in the EU and
Norway on the basis that the authorities were
unable to protect them.
Civil society activist Nderim Lushi was
convicted in December of organizing an illegal
assembly and inciting violence “against the
constitutional order” after a peaceful
demonstration in May in Kukës which called
on the government to cancel electricity debts
and encouraged citizens not to leave Albania.
Police had used excessive force against
demonstrators.
In June the prosecutor found that the failure
of former State Police director Hysni Burgaj
and his deputy Agron Kuliçaj to execute arrest
warrants for members of the Republic Guard,
who were alleged to have shot and killed four
protesters in an anti-government
demonstration in January 2011, was not a
criminal offence. Despite convictions for the
deaths of three protesters, impunity persisted
in the case of the fourth, Aleks Nika.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Ill-treatment of suspects in police stations was
widespread; police and medical staff failed in
their duty to report such incidents.
In July, the Ombudsperson reported on
chronic overcrowding and inadequate
conditions and health care in places of
detention.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
State police reported 1,696 cases of family
violence in the first six months of the year,
giving rise to 993 requests for civil protection
orders. Of 406 requests submitted to courts
in the capital Tirana between January and
August, only 118 were granted, with 251
applicants withdrawing their application, or
not attending court due to pressure from their
abusers or family members. In Tirana
Albania remained a transit country for
migrants and refugees. Thousands of
Albanians applied for asylum in EU countries,
including 54,762 in Germany, which rejected
99% of their claims; thousands were
deported back to Albania from Germany and
Sweden.
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ALGERIA
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Head of state:
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Head of government:
Abdelmalek Sellal
The authorities restricted freedoms of
expression, association and assembly,
arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning
peaceful protesters, activists and
journalists. Legislators amended the Penal
Code to protect women from violence.
Perpetrators of torture and other serious
human rights abuses in the 1990s
continued to evade justice. Courts handed
down death sentences; no executions were
carried out.
BACKGROUND
In January, unprecedented protests took
place in southern Algeria against fracking –
the hydraulic fracture of rock to extract shale
gas.
In July, at least 25 people were killed and
others were injured in communal violence in
the M‘zab Valley, 600km south of the capital
Algiers.
There were clashes between the security
forces and armed opposition groups in
various areas, according to media reports.
The authorities stated that the security forces
killed 109 alleged members of armed groups
while disclosing few details of the
circumstances in which they were killed. The
armed group al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM) said it carried out an attack in the
northern province of Ain Defla in July that
killed 14 soldiers.
The authorities persisted in their refusal to
allow visits to Algeria by some UN human
rights bodies and experts, including those
with mandates on torture, counter-terrorism,
enforced disappearances and freedom of
association.
1
southern city of Laghouat by arresting
peaceful activists and protesters, including
those protesting in solidarity with detained
activists. Some of those arrested were
prosecuted on charges including participation
in “unarmed gatherings”, including Mohamed
Rag, Belkacem Khencha and other members
of the National Committee for the Defence of
the Rights of the Unemployed (CNDDC), who
received prison terms of between one and two
years, some of which were reduced on
appeal. In March, a court in the southern city
of El Oued sentenced five peaceful protesters
to prison terms of up to four months. At the
end of the year, they remained at liberty
pending an appeal to Algeria’s High Court.
2
In
October, a court in Tamanrasset sentenced
seven protesters to one-year prison terms; six
had their prison terms suspended on appeal.
3
The authorities continued to enforce a ban
on all demonstrations in Algiers. In February,
security forces prevented a peaceful
gathering in support of anti-fracking
demonstrators by arresting people as they
arrived at the protest location and detaining
them for several hours.
In June, police forcibly dispersed a
peaceful protest by members of SOS
Disparus, a group campaigning on behalf of
victims of enforced disappearance during the
internal armed conflict of the 1990s,
including elderly relatives of those who
disappeared and whose fate the authorities
have never disclosed.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
In January, the authorities responded to
protests against unemployment in the
The authorities prosecuted journalists,
cartoonists, activists and others on insult,
defamation and other similar charges.
In February, a court in Oran convicted
Mohamed Chergui of insulting the prophet
Muhammad after Mohamed Chergui’s
employer, the newspaper
El Djoumhouria,
complained about an article he submitted
based on foreign academic research about
Islam. He received a three-year prison term
and a fine of 200,000 Algerian dinars (around
US$1,900) in his absence. His prison term
was later reduced to a one-year suspended
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sentence, against which he appealed.
In March, a court in El Oued sentenced
anti-corruption and CNDDC activist Rachid
Aouine to a fine of 20,000 Algerian dinars
(around US$190) and six months’
imprisonment – reduced to four months on
appeal – after it convicted him of “incitement
to an unarmed gathering”. The charge related
to a sarcastic comment that he had posted on
Facebook.
4
Journalist, Abdelhai Abdessamia was
released on bail in September after more than
two years in pre-trial detention. He worked for
the
Djaridati
and
Mon Journal
newspapers
until the authorities shut them down in 2013
for reporting on President Bouteflika’s health.
Authorities accused him of helping to
smuggle the newspapers’ editorial director out
of Algeria to Tunisia. Following his arrest in
2013, judicial police held Abdelhai
Abdessamia in arbitrary detention for six
days, in breach of Algerian law, before
handing him over to the national gendarmerie
and military security for interrogation.
In October, security forces arrested activist
Hassan Bouras, a leading member of the
Algerian League for the Defence of Human
Rights (LADDH), in the western city of El
Bayadh. He remained in detention at the end
of the year while under investigation for
“insulting a public institution” and “inciting
citizens or inhabitants to take up arms against
the authority of the state or against each
other”, charges that could incur the death
penalty.
5
In November, a court in El Oued sentenced
cartoonist Tahar Djehiche to a six-month
prison term and a fine of 500,000 Algerian
dinars (around US$4,600) for “insulting”
President Bouteflika and “inciting” others to
join a shale gas protest in a comment Tahar
Djehiche made on his Facebook page. He
had previously been cleared by a court of first
instance. At the end of the year, he remained
at liberty pending an appeal before the High
Court.
6
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Associations seeking legal registration under
Law 12-06, including Amnesty International
Algeria, were left in limbo by the authorities,
who failed to respond to registration
applications. The law, which took effect in
2012, imposes wide-ranging and arbitrary
restrictions on the registration of associations
and makes it a crime, punishable by up to six
months’ imprisonment and a fine, to belong
to an unregistered, suspended or dissolved
association.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In August, Italian authorities arrested Algerian
human rights lawyer Rachid Mesli, founder of
the Geneva-based human rights NGO
Alkarama and a political refugee in
Switzerland. His arrest came after Algerian
authorities requested his extradition on
charges of providing phones and cameras to
terrorist groups, for which they had convicted
him in his absence based on a previous
“confession” that he said had been obtained
by torture. Italy’s judicial authorities placed
him under house arrest for more than three
weeks before lifting the restriction and
7
allowing him to return to Switzerland.
In December, local authorities banned a
training event in Algiers for members of the
Maghreb Co-ordination of Human Rights
Organizations, including human rights
defenders from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and
Mauritania.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In July, the government decreed
amendments to the Code of Criminal
Procedure, broadening the range of
alternatives to pre-charge and pre-trial
detention. Suspects were granted a specific
right of access to lawyers during pre-charge
detention, but not during interrogation.
Following deadly clashes in the northern
Saharan region, the security forces arrested
25 people in Ghardaia in July, including
Kameleddine Fekhar and other activists
supporting the autonomy of the M’zab region,
and placed them in pre-trial detention for
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investigation on suspicion of terrorism and
inciting hatred. They remained in detention at
the end of the year.
DEATH PENALTY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In December, legislators amended the Penal
Code, criminalizing physical violence against
a spouse and indecent assaults on women
carried out in public.
8
However, women
remained inadequately protected against
gender-based violence in the absence of a
comprehensive law, while the Penal Code
continued to give immunity from criminal
prosecution to men who rape girls under the
age of 18 if they marry their victim.
Courts imposed dozens of death sentences,
mostly on murder and terrorism charges,
including in cases dating back to the internal
armed conflict of the 1990s. No executions
have been carried out since 1993.
1. The UN Human Rights Council needs to put in place effective
measures to evaluate and follow up on non-co-operation with Special
Procedures (IOR
40/1269/2015)
2. Algeria: Halt repression of fracking and unemployment protesters
(MDE
28/2122/2015)
3. Algeria: End relentless targeting of government critics (MDE
28/2951/2015)
4. Algeria: Halt repression of fracking and unemployment protesters
(MDE
28/2122/2015)
5. Algeria: End relentless targeting of government critics (MDE
28/2951/2015)
6. Algeria: End relentless targeting of government critics (MDE
28/2951/2015)
7. Algerian human rights defender at risk of extradition must be
released immediately (MDE
28/2313/2015)
8. Algeria: Global reform needed to combat gender-based violence (MDE
28/3044/2015)
IMPUNITY
2015 marked the 10th anniversary of the
Charter on Peace and National
Reconciliation, under which the security
forces obtained immunity from prosecution
for crimes committed during the internal
armed conflict of the 1990s and
subsequently, and public criticism of their
conduct during the conflict was criminalized.
The authorities continued to fail to investigate
thousands of enforced disappearances and
other serious human rights violations and
abuses, bring perpetrators to justice, and
provide effective remedies to victims’ families.
Families of those forcibly disappeared who
continued to seek truth and justice were
subject to surveillance and repeated
summons for questioning by the security
forces.
ANGOLA
Republic of Angola
Head of state and government:
José Eduardo dos
Santos
Freedoms of expression, association and
assembly were severely restricted. At least
16 prisoners of conscience were in
detention; 15 of them were placed under
house arrest on 18 December. The
authorities used criminal defamation laws
and state security legislation to harass,
arbitrarily arrest and detain individuals for
peacefully expressing their views, and to
restrict press freedom. The government
passed a new law restricting the activities of
NGOs.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Sub-Saharan African refugees and migrants
continued to enter Algeria irregularly, mostly
through the southern borders. Algerian
security forces arrested migrants and asylum-
seekers, in particular at the southern borders.
In April, the Algerian army arrested around
500 sub-Saharan migrants near the border
with Niger, according to press reports. The
Algerian authorities reported that nationals of
Niger within the group were then “voluntarily”
returned to Niger in co-operation with
Nigerien authorities.
BACKGROUND
The global drop in the price of oil during 2015
negatively affected the economy.
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Security forces used excessive force
against people who criticized the government,
exposed corruption or denounced human
rights violations. The space for the exercise of
the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful
assembly and association shrank as human
rights defenders and government critics were
arrested and subjected to criminal
prosecutions by an increasingly politicized
judiciary.
When its human rights record was
assessed under the Universal Periodic Review
(UPR) in 2014, Angola had accepted 192 of
the 226 recommendations made and stated
that it would give further consideration to the
remaining 34 recommendations, including
many related to freedoms of expression,
association and peaceful assembly. In March
2015, Angola rejected these
recommendations, including
recommendations to refrain from using
criminal defamation laws to restrict the right
to freedom of expression.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
The authorities continued to imprison
government critics, human rights defenders,
political activists and journalists. At the end of
the year, at least 16 prisoners of conscience
were in detention, 15 under house arrest.
On 14 September human rights defender
José Marcos Mavungo was sentenced to six
years’ imprisonment on charges of rebellion,
a state security crime. He had been involved
in organizing a peaceful demonstration on 14
March, the day he was arrested, and was
accused of association with a group of men
found with explosives and flyers the day
before the demonstration. No evidence of this
association or of José Marcos Mavungo’s
involvement in producing the flyers was
presented, nor were the other men brought to
trial.
Fifteen male youth activists were arrested
and detained by security forces between 20
and 24 June in the capital, Luanda, in
connection with a peaceful meeting they
attended to discuss politics and governance
concerns under the presidency of José
Eduardo dos Santos.
1
They were formally
charged on 16 September with preparatory
acts of rebellion and of plotting against the
President. Two women activists were charged
with the same crimes, but were not detained.
Lawyers for the 15 were only officially
informed of the charges on 30 September,
beyond the 90 days’ pre-trial detention period
permitted by law. The charges, which are
considered state security crimes, each carry a
penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment.
Three activists faced additional charges:
Manuel Nito Alves, for illegal change of name
(maximum penalty one month’s
imprisonment); Luaty Beirão for falsification of
documents (maximum penalty eight years’
imprisonment); and Osvaldo Caholo for theft
of documents (maximum penalty eight years’
imprisonment).
Four of the 15 activists went on hunger
strike on 20 September for several days to
protest against their unlawful detention. On 9
October, Luaty Beirão, who had remained on
hunger strike, was transferred to the prison
hospital of São Paulo, where he accepted an
intravenous saline drip on 11 October but no
solid food.
2
On 15 October, he was
transferred to a private hospital in Luanda. He
ended his hunger strike after 36 days.
The trial of the activists started on 16
November and breached numerous
international fair trial standards, including the
right to a public hearing and the right to be
3
tried without undue delay. On 18 December,
the 15 activists were placed under house
arrest. The trial was scheduled to continue on
11 January 2016.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Although by law demonstrations do not
require authorization, the authorities
frequently refused to allow them to take
place. When demonstrations did take place,
police often arbitrarily arrested and detained
peaceful protesters. On a number of
occasions police detained and beat protesters
before leaving them many kilometres away
from where they were seized.
On 29 July, police in Luanda beat and
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arrested participants at a peaceful protest
calling for the release of the 15 youth activists
detained in June.
On 8 August, protesters peacefully
demanding the release of the 15 youth
activists were assaulted by armed police who
used batons and dogs against them and beat
several of the protesters. Several people were
briefly detained before being released without
charge. Those protesting included the
mothers and wives of some of the detained
activists.
On 11 October, supporters of the 15 youth
activists held a vigil at Sagrada Família
Church in Luanda. According to those who
took part, the police arrived at the vigil with
guns, water cannons and dogs. To avoid
conflict with the police, the participants cut
the vigil short. The next day another vigil was
held, and several people were briefly detained
by the police before being released without
charge.
Attorney Arão Bula Tempo, Chair of the
Cabinda Bar Association, was detained on 14
March in the province of Cabinda and
conditionally released on 13 May. On 22
October he was formally charged with
attempting to collaborate with foreigners to
constrain the Angolan state (maximum
penalty five years’ imprisonment) and
rebellion (maximum penalty 12 years’
imprisonment). Both offences are classified
as crimes against the security of the state.
The charges were based on an allegation that
Arão Bula Tempo had invited journalists from
the Republic of Congo to cover a
demonstration organized by José Marcos
Mavungo (see above). Arão Bula Tempo’s
health deteriorated towards the end of the
year and he wished to seek health care
outside Cabinda province. However, he was
not allowed to leave Cabinda. These
restrictions violated Arão Bula Tempo’s right
to freedom of movement and his right to the
highest attainable standard of health.
4
No
date had been set for his trial by the end of
the year.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to use criminal
defamation laws and state security laws to
suppress peaceful expression of opinions,
especially those critical of the government.
Rafael Marques de Morais, an anti-
corruption and human rights journalist, was
convicted of slanderous denunciation in May.
The conviction was based on allegations of
criminal conduct he made after the
publication of his 2011 book,
Blood
Diamonds,
in which he accused military
generals and two mining companies of
complicity in human rights abuses committed
in the diamond fields of Lundas province. He
was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment,
suspended for two years. His lawyers lodged
an appeal before the Supreme Court in June,
but it had not been heard by the end of 2015.
(The average time for an appeal to be heard
is two years.)
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
The government enacted a new law covering
the registration of NGOs, Presidential Decree
74/15 of 23 March. The law imposed rigorous
restrictions on how organizations must
register and report their finances. The new
law’s provisions could stifle the ability of
NGOs and other civil society organizations to
organize and operate. Under the new decree,
the Public Prosecutor’s Office is empowered
to suspend the activities of national and
international NGOs on suspicion of money
laundering, or illegal or harmful acts against
Angola’s sovereignty and integrity. In addition,
Article 15 limits the ability of NGOs to receive
and utilize resources and to carry out their
activities as they determine best to achieve
their objectives. The ability to seek, receive
and utilize funding is a critical component of
the right to freedom of association.
1. Angola: Detained activists must be immediately released (News
story,
22 June)
2. Angola: Prisoner of conscience in critical condition must be released
immediately (News
story,
20 October)
3. Angola: Kangaroo court undermines judicial independence as trial of
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activists enters fourth week (News
story,
8 December)
4. Urgent Action, Angola: Further information: Two activists still face
10-15 years in jail (AFR
12/2039/2015)
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
ARGENTINA
Argentine Republic
Head of state and government:
Mauricio Macri
(replaced Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in
November)
Women and girls faced obstacles in
accessing legal abortions. Discrimination
against Indigenous Peoples remained a
concern. People suspected of committing
crimes during the military dictatorship
(1976 to 1983) stood trial. Reports of
torture and other ill-treatment were not
investigated.
In September, a well-known Argentinian
LGBTI activist, Daiana Sacayán, was found
dead in her apartment. She was the third
transgender woman – after Marcela Chocobar
and Coty Olmos – to have died in violent
circumstances in one month. By the end of
the year nobody had been charged over their
deaths.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
BACKGROUND
The presidential elections dominated the
political landscape during the year. Mauricio
Macri was elected President after a second
ballot on 22 November.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The Ministry of Health published a new
protocol for the implementation of legal
abortions in line with a 2012 ruling by the
Supreme Court. The protocol had not
received ministerial endorsement by the end
of the year. More than half of jurisdictions
lacked comprehensive hospital protocols that
would guarantee access to legal abortion
when a pregnancy is the result of rape or
poses a risk to the health or life of the woman
or girl.
A woman from a deprived neighbourhood
in Tierra del Fuego was released on bail after
being charged in 2013 with having a
clandestine abortion. She had faced
restrictions in accessing a legal abortion in
her locality. The outcome of the trial was
pending at the end of the year.
Although the Constitution recognizes the
rights of Indigenous Peoples to their ancestral
lands and to participate in the management
of natural resources, these rights were rarely
respected.
Félix Díaz, leader of La Primavera
community (Potae Napocna Navogoh) in
Formosa Province, continued to face criminal
proceedings in three separate cases on
charges dating from 2010 of illegal
occupation of land, resistance to authority
and theft. He denied the allegations. In June
the defence called for the decision to try him
for allegedly seizing land to be overturned.
However, by the end of the year the decision
was still pending.
In October, Relmu Ñamku, leader of the
Mapuche community of Winkul Newen in
Neuquén Province, was tried on
disproportionate charges for resisting unlawful
eviction from her ancestral territory. She was
acquitted of the charge of attempting to
murder a police officer. It was the first
criminal trial in the region to include an
intercultural jury and a simultaneous
interpretation into Mapuzungun, the native
language of the Mapuche.
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Public trials were held for crimes against
humanity perpetrated during the military
regime between 1976 and 1983. There were
eight new convictions, bringing the total
number of those sentenced between 2006
and 2015 to 142.
There was little progress in bringing to
justice those from the civil, business and legal
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sectors. According to the Public Prosecutor’s
Office, questions about responsibility
remained even in cases where significant
evidence had been gathered. To date, only
one member of the judiciary and two
businessmen have been convicted.
On 23 September, the Chamber of
Deputies passed a bill to the Senate
proposing the creation of a commission, with
representatives from both the Chamber and
Senate, to identify economic and financial
interests that had colluded with the military
dictatorship.
witnesses to torture. There were further
delays in establishing the National System for
the Prevention of Torture.
ARMENIA
Republic of Armenia
Head of state:
Serzh Sargsyan
Head of government:
Hovik Abrahamyan
Largely peaceful protests were repeatedly
disrupted, including with the use of
excessive force by police, which led to yet
more and larger protests. Protest organizers
faced arrest and criminal prosecution on
questionable charges. An anti-government
protester was reported attacked and beaten.
Torture and other ill-treatment, and
impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators,
remained a concern. New provisions for
alternative civilian service, introduced into
law in 2013, were made available for
conscientious objectors.
IMPUNITY
The investigation into the death in January of
Alberto Nisman, prosecutor in the case of the
1994 attack on the Jewish Mutual Association
of Argentina (AMIA) building in the capital,
Buenos Aires, in which 85 people were killed,
continued at the end of the year.
In August, the public hearing into the
cover-up of the investigation into the 1994
AMIA attack began. Among those accused of
the cover-up were a former judge and
prosecutor and high-ranking officials,
including former President Carlos Menem.
The main case relating to the attack has been
stalled since 2006 when a judge issued
orders for the capture and extradition of eight
Iranian nationals and a Lebanese national for
questioning. Four of these orders remained in
force and the subject of an Interpol “red
alert”. Iran refused the extradition requests
for the eight Iranians.
BACKGROUND
In a referendum on 6 December, Armenians
voted for constitutional amendments that
transferred executive power from the
presidency to parliament. However, concerns
were raised by the opposition that this could
also allow the incumbent President to remain
in power after his second term.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
There were reports of the use of torture
during arrest and in prisons in the provinces
of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Chubut.
Methods included the use of electrified cattle
prods, near-asphyxiation with a plastic bag or
by submersion in water, and prolonged
isolation.
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment
were not investigated and Argentina still
lacked a national system for recording
information relating to reports of torture.
There was no system in place to protect
The year was marked by growing public
discontent and widespread protests around a
range of social and political issues, and the
authorities’ attempts to clamp down on their
organizers and participants. The two issues
prompting the strongest protests across the
country were a planned rise in electricity
prices, and the constitutional amendments
that would allow the President to remain in
power beyond the second term, in June and
in October respectively.
On 21 September, Smbat Hakobian, a
member of a political group critical of the
government, was severely beaten after
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returning from an anti-government
demonstration in Yerevan, sustaining head
injuries and broken ribs. Police opened an
investigation and detained three men as
suspects. An investigation into a similar attack
against three protesters in 2014 reached no
conclusion in 2015.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Excessive use of force
On repeated occasions, police targeted
peaceful protesters and largely peaceful
gatherings with excessive force and arrests.
Activists taking part in anti-government
protests continued to face risk of violence
from police and pro-government groups.
On 15 January, police blocked thousands
from marching towards the Russian
Consulate in Gyumri, to protest against the
murder of a family of six by a Russian soldier.
According to eyewitness reports, clashes
ensued after police in riot gear used
truncheons and fired tear gas and stun
grenades, while the protesters threw stones in
response. Police detained 21 people and
released them the following day. Nine
protesters and three police officers were
reported wounded. Investigation into the
incident was opened but was still ongoing at
the end of the year.
On 19 June, thousands started a multi-day
sit-in protest in the centre of the capital,
Yerevan, prompted by the government’s
announcement of a planned increase in
electricity tariffs. On 23 June, approximately
500 demonstrators marched towards the
Presidential Administration building, and
blocked the road in front of the police cordon.
Police used excessive force to disperse them,
including dousing people with water cannon.
In response, some protesters threw water
bottles but otherwise the crowd remained
peaceful; 237 people were detained and then
released without charge. Police also used
excessive force against several journalists,
confiscating and damaging their equipment,
for which they later issued an official apology.
Investigation into the incident was still
ongoing at the end of the year.
1
Five members of the Founding Parliament
opposition movement were arrested on
charges of planning mass unrest after they
announced their plans to hold an anti-
government rally on 24 April, the day which
Armenians marked as the centenary
anniversary of the Armenian genocide. This
was despite the fact that the organizers had
secured official permission to hold the rally.
On 9 April, a court in Yerevan ruled to
remand them for two months. They were
released on 4 May, following mass protests in
Yerevan, but the criminal proceedings against
them were not closed.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment in police
custody and in prisons, as well as impunity
for the perpetrators, remained a concern.
Local human rights groups highlighted the
practice by which law enforcement officials
suspected of using torture were often
removed temporarily from their positions and
later re-appointed to the same, or higher,
position in a different police department.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 17 May, some 100 activists marked the
International Day against Homophobia and
Transphobia in a closed venue.
Discrimination against LGBTI individuals
remained a concern, in the absence of
gender-specific anti-discrimination legislation
and amid widespread reports of hate speech.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
Armenia started implementing the legal
amendments from 2013 on alternative civilian
service, allowing conscripted conscientious
objectors to work in public service instead of
serving in the armed forces.
1. Armenia: Investigate alleged police abuses after protesters doused
with water cannon and arrested (News
story,
23 June)
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AUSTRALIA
Australia
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Sir
Peter Cosgrove
Head of government:
Malcolm Turnbull (replaced Tony
Abbott in September)
Australia jailed Indigenous people at a
disproportionate rate to non-Indigenous
people; some children were detained with
adults. Australia continued its hard-line
policies towards asylum-seekers, including
pushing back boats,
refoulement,
and
mandatory and indefinite detention, as well
as offshore processing on Nauru and in
Papua New Guinea. Those assessed as
refugees on Nauru were denied the right to
settle in Australia and offered temporary
visas or residency in Cambodia. Papua New
Guinea had yet to finalize a temporary visa,
to be granted to those recognized as
refugees, leaving many people in a legal
limbo unable to leave Manus Island. Staff
and contractors who complained about
human rights violations at immigration
detention facilities could face criminal
proceedings under new legislation. New
“security” legislation extended data
interception powers and a law was passed
stripping dual nationals of their Australian
citizenship for terrorism-related activities.
aggravated home burglaries for adults and
children aged 16 and 17, and by tightening
the mandatory sentencing counting rules for
non-violent home burglaries.
Indigenous adults were 14 times more
likely than non-Indigenous adults to be
incarcerated and deaths in custody
continued. In May, an Indigenous man in the
Northern Territory died of heart failure in a
police watch house, three hours after being
taken into custody on suspicion of drinking
alcohol in a regulated place. The coroner
criticized the paperless arrest system under
which the man was taken into custody as
“manifestly unfair” in its disproportionate
impact on Indigenous people, who were more
likely to be targeted by the laws. Three
prisoners died in two Western Australia
prisons during September, November and
December, adding to the list of deaths in
custody yet to be heard by the Western
Australian Coroner. One prisoner died in a
New South Wales prison in December.
In June, the Federal government handed
responsibility for essential and municipal
services in remote Indigenous communities to
state governments. The Western Australian
Premier stated that up to 150 communities
may be closed as a result; widespread
protests ensued. Following the protests the
Western Australian government initiated a
consultation process.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Indigenous children were 24 times more likely
to be detained than non-Indigenous children.
As the age of criminal responsibility in
Australia is 10, laws allowed for children aged
10 and 11 to be detained in every jurisdiction
in violation of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Australia detained
children with adults in Queensland and
provided limited separation between detained
children and adult prisoners in at least one
detention centre in the Northern Territory.
The Western Australian government
widened existing mandatory sentencing by
introducing mandatory sentences for
Australia continued its punitive approach to
asylum-seekers arriving by boat by pushing
them back at sea, returning them to countries
of origin without proper assessment of asylum
claims, creating a risk of
refoulement,
or by
transferring them to Australian-run facilities in
Nauru or Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.
By 30 November, 926 people were
detained in Papua New Guinea and 543
people remained in the “open” facility on
Nauru, including 70 children.
In March, the government released an
independent review of the Nauru centre,
which documented allegations of rape and
sexual assault – including of children – as
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well as cases of harassment and physical
assault (see Nauru entry). The Australian
government accepted all of the
recommendations but despite this in August a
Senate report stated conditions were “not
adequate, appropriate or safe”. In October
the Nauru government announced that
asylum-seekers would no longer be detained
in the centre, which would become an open
facility. It also announced that the remaining
600 asylum claims would be processed
“within a week”. By the end of December
processing still had not been completed.
In June, four refugees were transferred to
Cambodia as part of a deal signed in
September 2014 where Australia paid an
additional A$40 million (US$28 million) in aid
to Cambodia, as well as a further A$15 million
(US$10.5 million) for specific expenses, to
relocate refugees there from its offshore
immigration processing centre on Nauru.
While one of the four agreed to return from
Cambodia to Myanmar in October, a fifth man
was transferred to Cambodia from Nauru in
November.
Also in June, Indonesian officials alleged
Australia paid people-smugglers US$31,000
in May to return to Indonesia a boat carrying
65 asylum-seekers. A Senate Inquiry was
ongoing at the end of the year.
Australia continued its policy of indefinite
mandatory detention, with 1,852 people
detained in onshore immigration detention
centres as of 1 December. They included 104
children, despite the government’s pledge in
August 2014 to end the detention of children.
In July the government introduced the
Border Force Act 2015, which includes
prison sentences for government staff and
contractors, including health and child
welfare professionals, who speak out about
human rights abuses in immigration
detention.
It also proposed legislation that would allow
immigration detention employees to use
force, including lethal force, against any
individual in detention, while removing
judicial oversight.
In August the government announced that
since December 2013 it had pushed back 20
boats, carrying a combined total of 633
people, including one directly to Vietnam in
July. In November, another boat carrying 16
asylum-seekers was reportedly pushed back
to Indonesia.
In September the government announced
that it would resettle an additional 12,000
Syrian refugees in response to the crisis in the
Middle East.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Parliament passed legislation stripping those
with dual nationality of their Australian
citizenship on the basis of suspicion of
involvement in terrorist-related activities.
Australian dual nationals risked losing
citizenship without any criminal conviction
and with limited procedural safeguards.
Legislation was passed authorizing the
mass surveillance of personal metadata.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In November, Australia’s human rights record
was assessed for the second time under the
UN Universal Periodic Review. Australia
received criticism for its failure to ratify the
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention
against Torture and its failure to address
Indigenous incarceration rates. Australia
received recommendations to introduce a
Human Rights Act and to end mandatory
detention of asylum-seekers.
AUSTRIA
Republic of Austria
Head of state:
Heinz Fischer
Head of government:
Werner Faymann
Over 85,000 people sought asylum in the
country by the end of November – a
remarkable increase on previous years.
Thousands of asylum-seekers in the
reception centre of Traiskirchen were left to
sleep in inadequate facilities, with poor
medical care and a lack of protection for
unaccompanied minors. The government
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took insufficient steps to address ill-
treatment and neglect in the penal and
preventive detention systems. The
authorities’ failure to respond adequately to
reports of ill-treatment by the police
persisted. Gaps in the Anti-Discrimination
law remained.
REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND
MIGRANTS
Tens of thousands of refugees, asylum-
seekers and migrants entered Austria during
the year, the majority of whom then travelled
to Germany. In one weekend in September,
more than 15,000 refugees and migrants
entered Austria from Hungary. As of the end
of November, approximately 85,500 people
had requested asylum in Austria in 2015,
compared with 23,861 in the same period in
2014.
The authorities struggled to offer adequate
reception conditions. By mid-August, over
4,000 asylum-seekers were hosted in the
reception centre of Traiskirchen in extremely
poor conditions, with over 2,000, including
children, sleeping outdoors. Access to
medical care was insufficient. Many
unaccompanied minors were left without
protection. In October, a constitutional law
came into force, expanding the government’s
powers and allowing it to identify sites to host
asylum-seekers should provincial authorities
fail to do so in a timely manner. Amendments
to the asylum law, which were proposed by
the government in November to introduce
temporary asylum and limit family
reunification, were pending at the end of the
year.
The length of the asylum procedure, often
lasting several years, remained a problem.
prison of a 74-year-old man. Related
disciplinary proceedings were dropped in
June. A taskforce on preventive detention
established in 2014 by the Minister of Justice
published its report in January,
recommending measures to address the
growing number of people in preventive
detention, and its increasing length and
frequent imposition for minor offences.
In July, the European Court of Human
Rights found that a 16-month delay in dealing
with an application for release from a
psychiatric institution submitted by a
convicted offender in May 2006 constituted a
violation of the right to liberty.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
There were reports that police used excessive
force on several occasions. Victims of torture
and other ill-treatment continued to
experience difficulties in obtaining justice and
reparation. Complaints of ill-treatment by the
police were often followed by an inadequate
response by both the police and the judicial
system.
The government continued to refuse to
create a compulsory identification system for
police officers.
DISCRIMINATION
PRISON CONDITIONS
The authorities failed to promptly and
effectively respond to cases of ill-treatment
and neglect of detainees in penal and
preventive detention systems. Medical and
mental health care remained inadequate. In
March, criminal proceedings were dropped
against staff for the prolonged neglect in Stein
Following a ruling by the Constitutional Court
in December 2014, legislation banning same-
sex couples from adopting children other than
each other’s biological children, ceased to be
in force at the end of the year. In February,
new legislation was enacted to allow women
in a same-sex relationship to access
reproductive medicine.
Discriminatory differences remained
between marriage and registered partnerships
regarding the minimum age, naming rights
and separation, among others. Marriage
remained exclusively reserved for
heterosexual partners, and registered
partnerships for same-sex couples.
The government failed to amend the Anti-
Discrimination Law to ensure equal protection
against all forms of discrimination in the
access to goods and services – including on
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the basis of religion and belief, age and
sexual orientation.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In March, a Police State Protection bill was
proposed, expanding the powers of the
Federal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism,
without adequate oversight by independent
authorities. The adoption of the bill was
pending at the end of the year.
AZERBAIJAN
Republic of Azerbaijan
Head of state:
Ilham Aliyev
Head of government:
Artur Rasizade
The crackdown on civil society and
persecution of political dissent continued.
Human rights organizations remained
unable to resume their work. At least 18
prisoners of conscience remained in
detention at the end of the year. Reprisals
against independent journalists and activists
persisted both in the country and abroad,
while their family members also faced
harassment and arrests. International
human rights monitors were barred and
expelled from the country. Reports of torture
and other ill-treatment persisted.
comfortably won Parliamentary elections on 1
November. The main opposition parties
boycotted the elections due to constant
harassment by the authorities. The OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR) cancelled its election
monitoring mission because of restrictions
imposed by the government, while the OSCE
representation in Baku had discontinued its
operations in July.
International human rights monitors were
barred and expelled from the country. Human
Rights Watch and Amnesty International
delegates were refused entry and expelled on
arrival, as were several international
journalists during the European Games. In
September, the government cancelled a visit
planned by the European Commission to the
country, after the European Parliament called
on the government to release imprisoned
human rights defenders. In October, the
Council of Europe withdrew from the joint
working group on human rights issues in
Azerbaijan, in protest at the deteriorating
human rights situation.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
BACKGROUND
The national currency lost a third of its value
in US dollar terms after the government
devalued it in response to plummeting oil
prices. The economy remained heavily
dependent on oil, leading to considerable
price hikes and falling real income.
In June, the first European Games, a major
international sporting event intended to
showcase Azerbaijan, were held in the
capital, Baku. They came at considerable
economic cost, amid reports of the
government pressuring businesses for
financial contributions and salary reductions
for public sector employees.
The ruling New Azerbaijan party
Leading human rights NGOs were unable to
resume their work, as a result of the freezing
of their assets and ongoing harassment –
including criminal prosecution – of their
members. Several NGO leaders remained in
prison while others were forced into exile for
fear of persecution.
After 10 months spent inside the Swiss
Embassy to avoid prosecution on trumped-up
charges, the founder and leader of the
Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
(IRFS), Emin Huseynov, was allowed to leave
the country on 12 June but was stripped of
his citizenship. The IRFS office had been
raided and sealed off by the authorities in
2014, and its online broadcasting channel,
Obyektiv TV, taken off air.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
At least 18 government critics, including
prominent human rights defenders, remained
behind bars on fabricated charges at the end
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of the year.
Following their arrest in 2014, four NGO
leaders were sentenced to lengthy prison
sentences on trumped-up charges of
embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax
evasion and abuse of authority. Rasul Jafarov,
founder of the Human Rights Club, was
sentenced to six and a half years’
imprisonment on 16 April; Intigam Aliyev,
head of the Legal Education Society, to seven
and a half years on 22 April; Leyla Yunus,
president of the Institute for Peace and
Democracy, and her husband and co-worker
Arif Yunus to eight and a half and seven years
respectively on 13 August. Leyla and Arif
Yunus were given conditional sentences on
appeal on 9 December, and both released.
Investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, also
under arrest since 2014, was sentenced to
seven and a half years’ imprisonment on 1
September.
Prisoners of conscience Bashir Suleymanli,
co-founder of the Election Monitoring and
Democracy Studies Centre, and opposition
activist Orkhan Eyyubzade were released
under a presidential pardon on 18 March.
Facebook post on a famous footballer. Six
men were arrested and charged in
connection with his death.
On 16 September, police apprehended two
reporters from Meydan TV, an independent,
online Azeri-language media outlet. Aytaj
Ahmadova was released after questioning but
Shirin Abbasov was held incommunicado for
two days and sentenced to 30 days’
administrative detention for allegedly resisting
police; he served his full sentence.
On 8 December, Fuad Gahramanli, deputy
chairman of the opposition Popular Front
Party, was arrested in connection with his
posts on Facebook criticizing the government
and calling for peaceful protest and
resistance. He was remanded for three
months as a criminal suspect, accused of
calling for government overthrow and
incitement of religious hatred.
Arrests of journalists’ relatives
Relatives of media workers who work from
abroad and are critical of the government
faced harassment by the authorities. On 13
February, police detained Elgiz Sadigli,
brother of Tural Sadigli, a blogger who had
participated in a street protest in Berlin during
President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Germany.
Elgiz Sadigli was remanded for two months on
drug-related charges and then released
following international outcry.
In June, Meydan TV exiled director and
former prisoner of conscience Emin Milli
reported receiving threats from the authorities
following his disapproving coverage of the
European Games. On 23 July, his brother-in-
law Nazim Aghabayov was arrested on drug-
related charges and placed in detention. His
cousin, Polad Abdullayev, was arrested on 27
July and released within a few days after
several relatives wrote an open letter
repudiating Emin Milli’s work.
In July, police arrested three relatives of
Ganimat Zahid, an exiled journalist and
former prisoner of conscience, who runs the
Turkey-based TV SAAT, a broadcasting
channel available online. His nephew and
cousin were arrested on 19 and 22 July for
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
All mainstream media remained under
government control; independent outlets
faced harassment and closure. Independent
journalists continued to face intimidation,
harassment, threats and violence.
On 26 January, deputy chair of the IRFS
Gunay Ismayilova was attacked by an
unidentified man in the lobby of her
apartment building in Baku. An investigation
into the incident was still ongoing at the end
of the year.
In May, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
decided to close its office in Baku. It had
been raided and searched by the authorities
in December 2014, and remained sealed
since.
On 8 August, Rasim Aliyev, journalist and
chair of the IRFS, was severely beaten by a
group of men in Baku and died in hospital the
following day. He had reported receiving
threats on social media related to his
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resisting police orders and released after
serving 25 and 30 days respectively of
administrative detention. Another nephew
was arrested on 22 July and charged with
drug possession.
On 13 October, police arrested and
remanded Vakil and Raji Imanovs, brothers of
Meydan TV exiled editor Gunel Movlud, in two
separate raids in different parts of the
country, also on drug-related charges.
BACKGROUND
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
A controversial migratory reform was adopted,
putting thousands of migrants and their
children born in the Bahamas at risk of
human rights abuses.
The homicide rate steadily increased in
recent years, in a context of high
unemployment and a weak justice system.
According to the local press, 110 murders
were recorded in 2015 as of September, a
25% increase compared with the same
period in 2014.
Peaceful street protests were prevented or
dispersed by police using violence.
On 22 August, several hundred residents of
the city of Mingechevir gathered peacefully to
protest against the death of a man in police
custody. They were violently dispersed by tear
gas and sound bombs, and chased and
beaten by baton-wielding riot police.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment continued to
be committed with impunity for the
perpetrators, in the absence of effective
investigations and prosecutions.
Prisoner of conscience Ilgar Mammadov
told his lawyer that on 16 October he had
been knocked onto the floor, kicked and
punched by two prison guards and the head
of prison, who warned that he would not leave
prison alive. His lawyer noticed injuries and
bruises on his head and neck when visiting
him the next day.
Excessive use of force, including killings, by
security forces continued to be reported,
often in circumstances suggesting that they
may have been extrajudicial executions.
On 14 August, Bahamian-Haitian Nixon
Vaximar was killed by police at his home in
the Gamble Heights community on the island
of New Providence. According to his family,
he was sleeping and unarmed when police
burst into his house and shot him dead.
MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
BAHAMAS
Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Marguerite Pindling
Head of government:
Perry Gladstone Christie
There were allegations of arbitrary arrests
and abuses against migrants. Deaths in
custody were reported. Impunity for
allegations of police abuses remained the
norm.
In March, the Ministry of Education issued a
school registration policy requiring every child
to prove their regular status in the country to
attend school, in violation of the Bahamas’
human rights obligations.
1
On 20 March, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held
a hearing to discuss the situation of migrants’
rights in the Bahamas.
Local activists working with migrants
reported regular round-ups of migrants by
immigration officials, raising concerns over
arbitrary arrests, detention and deportation of
migrants and their descendants.
In June, Haitian migrant Jean-Marie
Justilien was shot in the neck by an
immigration officer during an attempt to arrest
undocumented migrants, and was detained
and charged with illegal entry into the
country. On 2 December, a court found him
not guilty; his lawyer reported that he was
arbitrarily deported to Haiti on 7 December,
without having been issued a deportation
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order and with no possibility to challenge the
decision in court.
Discrimination – stateless persons
In May, the Parliament approved migration
reforms that could potentially prevent the
children of undocumented migrants born in
the Bahamas from accessing Bahamian
nationality, at the risk of rendering individuals
stateless.
online and other dissent. Opposition leaders
remained imprisoned; some were prisoners
of conscience. Torture and other ill-
treatment remained common. Scores were
sentenced to long prison terms after unfair
trials. Authorities stripped at least 208
people of their Bahraini nationality. Eight
people were sentenced to death; there were
no executions.
PRISON CONDITIONS
BACKGROUND
In February, the IACHR requested the
adoption of precautionary measures for
persons held in the Carmichael Road
Detention Centre. This followed concerns on
inhumane conditions of detention, including
extreme overcrowding and a lack of
appropriate medical attention that could
affect prisoners’ right to life and physical
integrity.
Deaths in custody continued to be
reported, raising further alarms over the lack
of appropriate oversight mechanisms, in
particular in police lock-ups.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Despite the authorities’ efforts to reform the
justice system in recent years, the capacity of
the Bahamas to prosecute and convict in
criminal cases remained a concern. In June,
the Attorney General reported that 600 cases
were backlogged in the Supreme Court.
1. Bahamas: Amnesty International seeks clarification to the authorities
on migration reforms (AMR
14/1264/2015)
BAHRAIN
Kingdom of Bahrain
Head of state:
King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa
Head of government:
Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al
Khalifa
The government continued to curtail
freedoms of expression, association and
assembly and cracked down further on
Tension remained high between the minority
Sunni-dominated government and the
opposition, which was supported mainly by
the Shi’a majority population. There were
frequent protests by Shi’a demanding the
release of imprisoned opposition leaders, to
which the security forces often responded
with excessive force. The police were targeted
in several bomb explosions; one killed two
police officers on the island of Sitra in July,
and another killed an officer in the village of
Karannah in August.
In March, Bahrain joined the Saudi Arabia-
led coalition that engaged in the armed
conflict in Yemen (see Yemen entry).
The authorities constructed new facilities in
Dry Dock Prison to hold children aged 15 to
18, transferring 300 juvenile offenders from
Jaw Prison to Dry Dock in May.
In June, the US government lifted its
embargo on arms sales to the Bahrain
National Guard and Bahrain Defence Forces,
and in August approved a US$150 million
deal to supply military aircraft parts,
ammunition and communications equipment
to Bahrain.
A joint statement signed by 35 countries at
the UN Human Rights Council in September
expressed serious concern about human
rights violations in Bahrain including
imprisonment of those exercising their rights
to freedom of expression, assembly and
association, and lack of accountability.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
The authorities severely curtailed the rights to
freedom of expression and association, and
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arrested and prosecuted political and
religious activists who criticized the
government through social media or at public
gatherings. Others were prosecuted and
convicted for criticizing the late King Abdullah
of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi-led air strikes
in Yemen. The authorities continued to detain
prisoners of conscience sentenced after
unfair trials in previous years. Several
prisoners of conscience were released after
completing their sentences.
In March, the Shura Council approved
amendments to Article 364 of the Penal Code
which would increase the penalty for
“insulting parliament, the Shura Council,
security forces, judges or public interest” to
two years’ imprisonment, and increase the
maximum prison sentence for publicly
encouraging others to “defame” to three
years’ imprisonment, or longer for defamation
in the media; the amendments had not been
enacted by the end of the year. In September,
the Cabinet approved regulations which
would penalize media outlets for “spreading
false or damaging information that could
affect foreign relations”.
Police rearrested prominent human rights
defender Nabeel Rajab in April for posts on
Twitter about torture in Jaw Prison and Saudi-
led air strikes in Yemen, and in May an
appeal court confirmed his earlier six-month
sentence for “publicly insulting official
institutions”. In July, the authorities released
him under a royal pardon, four days after the
European Parliament adopted a resolution
urging the government to release him and
other prisoners of conscience. He remained
banned from leaving Bahrain.
In October, a court upheld the conviction of
activist Zainab al-Khawaja and reduced her
three-year prison sentence to one year for
“insulting the King” by ripping up a photo of
the King in court in October 2014. A court
also upheld her convictions for “destroying
government property” and “insulting a public
official”.
The authorities summoned and
interrogated some political opposition leaders,
and prosecuted and imprisoned others on
vague charges. In June, Sheikh ‘Ali Salman,
Secretary General of the main opposition
party, Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society,
received a four-year prison term after an
unfair trial on charges that included “public
incitement to loathing and contempt of a sect
of people which will result in disrupting public
order”.
In July, a month after his release from
prison under a royal pardon, security
authorities arrested Ebrahim Sharif, the
former Secretary General of the National
Democratic Action Society (Wa’ad) party, and
charged him with “inciting hatred and
contempt of the regime” and attempting to
overthrow the regime “by force and illegal
means”. His trial was ongoing at the end of
the year.
A court sentenced Fadhel Abbas Mahdi
Mohamed, Secretary General of the Unitary
National Democratic Assemblage (al-
Wahdawi) party, to five years in prison in June
for “spreading false information” after the
party said the Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen
were a violation of international law.
The authorities continued to prevent or
restrict visits to Bahrain by international
human rights groups, including Amnesty
International.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The authorities continued to ban all
demonstrations in the capital, Manama, but
protests continued in Shi’a villages
demanding the release of political prisoners.
The security forces frequently used excessive
force, including tear gas and shotguns, to
disperse protesters, injuring some protesters
and bystanders. They also arrested and beat
protesters. Some protesters received prison
sentences.
In January, a police officer shot a protester
carrying a photo of opposition leader Sheikh
‘Ali Salman at close range in the village of
Bilad al-Qadeem. In November, a court
acquitted the officer.
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DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY
The authorities revoked the nationality of
Bahrainis convicted of terrorism-related
offences or other illegal acts, stripping at least
208 people, including nine children, of their
citizenship during the year, rendering many
stateless. An appeal court reinstated the
nationality of nine individuals.
In January, the Interior Ministry revoked the
citizenship of 72 of the 208 people, including
human rights defenders and former MPs, as
well as Bahrainis allegedly fighting with the
armed group Islamic State (IS). One of the 72
was deported; others were told to surrender
their passports and identification cards and
commit to regularizing their legal status as
foreigners, or leave Bahrain. Some filed a
court appeal against the decision but this was
rejected in December.
Investigations Unit (SIU), the institution in
charge of investigating police abuses. The
SIU subsequently closed the investigation
citing a lack of evidence. In December, a
court sentenced Hussain Jawad to two years
in prison.
UNFAIR TRIALS
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees,
mainly suspects in security or terrorism-
related cases, remained rife, particularly
within the Criminal Investigations Directorate
(CID). Police and other security officials also
beat or otherwise abused people when
arresting them and transporting them to
police stations. At Jaw Prison, detainees
faced repeated beatings, were required to
sleep in tents and were denied any
communication with their families for several
weeks after the security forces used tear gas
and shotguns to quell a disturbance at the
prison in March.
Human rights defender Hussain Jawad,
Chairman of the European-Bahraini
organization for Human Rights, said he was
blindfolded, handcuffed behind his back,
denied access to a toilet, beaten and
threatened with sexual abuse while under
interrogation by CID officers after his arrest in
February. Although the Public Prosecution
Office ordered his release, CID officers took
him back into detention and again tortured
him until he “confessed” to receiving money
to support and finance subversive groups. He
later refuted this confession and lodged a
complaint of torture with the Special
Hundreds of people were convicted in unfair
trials on charges of rioting, illegal gathering or
committing terrorism-related offences. Many
defendants in terrorism cases were convicted
largely on the basis of “confessions” that they
said interrogators had forced them to make
under torture; some received death
sentences.
Abbas Jamil al-Samea’ and two other men
were sentenced to death in February,
convicted of a bombing in March 2014. Their
trial, in which seven co-defendants were
sentenced to life imprisonment, was unfair:
the court failed to adequately investigate their
allegations of torture and other ill-treatment
by CID interrogators; they were denied access
to their lawyers until their trial began; their
lawyers were not permitted to see the full
case file, and their requests to cross-examine
prosecution witnesses were ignored.
IMPUNITY
A climate of impunity persisted. The
authorities failed to hold senior officials
accountable for torture and other human
rights violations committed during and since
the 2011 protests. The few investigations that
led to prosecutions of some low-ranking
police officers resulted in lenient sentences or
acquittals.
In April, a court acquitted a police officer of
causing the death of Fadhel Abbas Muslim
Marhoon, who was shot in the head in
January 2014. The officer was sentenced to
three months in prison for injuring Sadeq al-
Asfoor, who was with Fadhel Abbas, by
shooting him in the stomach. The SIU
appealed against the three-month sentence.
In November, the Court of Cassation
ordered the retrial of two police officers
convicted of causing the death in custody of
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‘Ali ‘Issa al-Saqer in 2011. An appeal court
had reduced their 10-year prison sentences
to two years in September 2013.
In June, six police officers received prison
sentences ranging from one to five years for
causing the death in custody of Hassan al-
Shaikh in November 2014.
BACKGROUND
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In April, parliament voted down an article in
the new Domestic Violence Protection Law
(Law 17 of 2015) that would have
criminalized marital rape. The law, which was
enacted in August, empowered the Public
Prosecution Office and courts to issue
protection orders of up to three months for
victims of domestic violence, and set a
penalty of three months’ imprisonment for
breaches of the order involving violence.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
murder, terrorism-related offences and other
crimes, including drugs offences. The courts
sentenced eight people to death, some after
unfair trials, and commuted two death
sentences to life imprisonment. There were
no executions.
BANGLADESH
People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Head of state:
Abdul Hamid
Head of government:
Sheikh Hasina
Dozens of people were killed when
passenger buses and other vehicles were
attacked with petrol bombs in the context of
anti-government campaigns. Hundreds of
opposition supporters were detained for
various periods, at times on politically
motivated grounds. Independent media
came under severe pressure and freedom of
expression was restricted. At least nine
secularist bloggers and publishers were
attacked, five of whom died from their
injuries. More than 40 people were
subjected to enforced disappearance.
An anti-government campaign led by the
opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP) between January and March turned
violent as hundreds of buses and other
vehicles were attacked, allegedly by
demonstrators using petrol bombs. Dozens of
passengers were killed and scores more
injured. No one directly involved in the
attacks was brought to justice.
Police arrested senior members of the BNP
and charged them with arson. They included
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the party’s
acting Secretary General, who was frequently
arrested during the year for periods of weeks
or months before being released.
Hundreds of opposition members were
detained for days or months before being
released. Some were charged with arson.
A number of foreign nationals were
targeted for attacks by unidentified assailants.
Between 28 September and 18 November,
an Italian aid worker and a Japanese national
were shot dead; an Italian doctor survived a
gun attack.
A 13-year-old boy, Samiul Islam Rajon, was
beaten to death in public in July after being
accused of theft, prompting strong public
criticism of the neglect suffered by children
living on the street. The government ordered
an investigation into the killing shortly
afterwards.
At least 16 people accused of mass human
rights violations during the 1971
Independence War were on trial at the end of
the year. Well-documented killings by pro-
independence forces were not addressed by
the authorities.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Independent media outlets critical of the
authorities came under severe pressure. In
October the government warned business
enterprises that they would be penalized if
they advertised in
Prothom-Alo
and the
Daily
Star,
two leading newspapers known for their
critical stance.
In November, a parliamentary standing
committee recommended that the anti-
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corruption NGO Transparency International
should be deregistered in Bangladesh for
criticizing the Parliament.
A court in Dhaka imposed charges of
contempt of court against 49 civil society
activists who criticized its trials as unfair.
Authorities blocked social media messaging
and other communications applications in
November, in what constituted restrictions on
freedom of expression.
Bloggers expressing secular views were
attacked, reportedly by Islamist groups. In
February, Avijit Roy was hacked to death by
men wielding machetes. His wife, Rafida
Ahmed Bonya, survived. By August, three
other bloggers, Washiqur Rahman, Niloy Neel
and Ananta Bijoy Das, had been hacked to
death. In October, a publisher of secularist
literature was hacked to death, and a
publisher and two secularist writers survived
an attack. Government authorities, including
the Prime Minister, accused the bloggers and
publishers of offending religious feelings in
their writings.
police authorities complained publicly about
the legal safeguards against torture, calling on
the government to decriminalize torture in
time of war, threat of war, internal political
instability or public emergency, or when
torture is ordered by a superior or a public
authority.
CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS
A government memorandum issued in
January placed severe restrictions on people
wishing to visit or organize events in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts, in breach of the
government’s obligation to respect the rights
of Indigenous Peoples, as well as freedom
from discrimination and freedoms of
movement, peaceful assembly and
association.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Members of the security forces in plain
clothes arrested dozens of people and later
denied knowledge of their whereabouts. A
survey of national newspapers conducted by
the human rights organization Ain O Salish
Kendra indicated the enforced disappearance
of at least 43 individuals, including two
women, between January and September. Of
the 43, six were later found dead; four were
released after their abduction; and five were
found in police custody. The fate and
whereabouts of the other 28 was unknown.
Trials continued against three Rapid Action
Battalion officers charged with abducting and
killing seven people in April 2014. No
members of security forces or officials
implicated in other cases of enforced
disappearance were brought to justice.
According to the Bangladesh National
Women Lawyers Association, more than 240
complaints of rape were reported in the
media between January and May. Human
rights groups said while reported incidents of
rape had risen in recent years, the conviction
rate was extremely low, mainly due to the lack
of timely and effective investigations. Many
women and girls were reluctant to report rape
to the authorities. Survivors of rape were
required to prove that force was used against
them, including having to undergo a physical
examination.
DEATH PENALTY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
While torture and other ill-treatment in police
custody was widespread, torture complaints
were rarely investigated. In March, senior
At least 198 people were sentenced to death,
including six men convicted of killing Samiul
Islam Rajon (see above). They also included
Oishee Rahman, sentenced to death for
killing her parents in 2013. Her lawyers
argued that she was under the age of 18 at
the time of the alleged murder and therefore
not subject to the death penalty, but the court
upheld a medical examination that concluded
she was 19.
The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), a
Bangladeshi court established to investigate
the events of the 1971 independence war,
sentenced four more people to death. The
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proceedings of the Tribunal were marked with
severe irregularities and violations of the right
to a fair trial. Challenges to the jurisdiction of
the court continued to be barred due to a
constitutional provision. Statements from
prosecution witnesses shown by the defence
to have been false were still used as evidence
in court. Affidavits by defence witnesses that
the accused was too far from the site of the
offence to be involved were not admitted. The
government prevented defence witnesses
abroad from attending trials by denying visas.
Appeals processes were marked by similar
flaws.
Despite repeated calls by Amnesty
International and other human rights
organizations to stop executions after unfair
trials and flawed appeal hearings, three
prisoners were executed in 2015, bringing the
number of executions after ICT trials to four.
Internationally mediated talks on the
conflict in eastern Ukraine, hosted in the
capital, Minsk, aided Belarus’ diplomatic
efforts to improve relations with the EU. In
October, the EU suspended its longstanding
sanctions against senior Belarusian officials,
with the exception of four security officers
believed to be linked to enforced
disappearances of political activists in earlier
years.
The national currency lost over 50% of its
value against the US dollar, and the economy
was projected to contract by around 4%,
largely due to the economic downturn in
Russia, its principal trading partner.
DEATH PENALTY
BELARUS
Republic of Belarus
Head of state:
Alyaksandr Lukashenka
Head of government:
Andrey Kabyakou
Legislation severely restricting freedoms of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly remained in place. Journalists
continued to face harassment. Several
prisoners convicted in politically motivated
trials in previous years were released but
compelled to regularly report their
movements and activities to police. At least
two people were sentenced to death, but no
executions were reported. Harassment and
persecution of human rights defenders
continued, as did discrimination,
harassment and violence against members
of sexual minorities.
Belarus retained the death penalty. No
executions were reported, but on 18 March
Syarhei Ivanou was sentenced to death. The
Supreme Court rejected his appeal on 14
July. On 20 November, the Hrodna Regional
Court handed down a death sentence to Ivan
Kulesh.
1
On 1 April, the UN Human Rights
Committee adopted the view that the
execution of Aleh Hryshkautsou in 2011
constituted a violation of his right to life; that
he had not received a fair trial; and that his
confession had been obtained under duress.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
BACKGROUND
In October, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
comfortably won his fifth consecutive term in
office, against a backdrop of state-controlled
media as well as harassment and reprisals
against political opponents.
In August, prisoners of conscience Mikalai
Statkevich and Yury Rubtsou were released
by a presidential order, along with other
activists, Mikalai Dzyadok, Ihar Alinevich,
Yauhen Vaskovich and Artsyom Prakapenka,
who had been imprisoned following politically
motivated trials. However, their convictions
were not quashed and they were placed
under considerable restrictions, including
“prophylactic supervision”. Former
presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich
therefore was prevented from standing in
forthcoming elections, and was ordered to
regularly report his movements and activities
to the police for the following eight years.
Failure to comply could lead to heavier
restrictions and new criminal charges. Similar
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restrictions, for shorter periods of time, were
imposed on the other five released activists.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The media remained under tight government
control, and independent media outlets and
journalists routinely faced harassment.
Freelance journalists who contributed to
foreign media were required to obtain
accreditation from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, which was regularly refused or
indefinitely delayed. Kastus Zhukouski, who
worked for Poland-based Belsat TV, was fined
three times for working without accreditation,
most recently on 9 July, and three more times
in previous years, by the Central District Court
and the Zheleznodorozhnyi District Court in
Homel, as well as the Rahachou District
Court. According to independent media
watchdog Index on Censorship, since January
at least 28 freelance journalists were issued
fines of between 3 and 7.8 million roubles
(US$215-538) for working without
accreditation.
Under the vaguely worded amendments to
the Law on Mass Media passed in December
2014, the Ministry of Information was given
the power to compel internet providers to
block access to specific online resources,
without a court order. On 27 March, access to
the websites of human rights organization
Vyasna and of independent news platforms
Belarusian Partisan and Charter ’97 was
blocked under this provision.
Between 2 and 5 October, the websites of
news agencies BelaPAN and Naviny.by
became inaccessible following a hacker’s
attack, after they published reports of
students being forced to take part in a public
prayer service attended by the President.
On 11 August, activists Vyachaslau
Kasinerau, Yaraslau Uliyanenkau, Maksim
Pyakarski and Vadzim Zharomski, and one
unnamed Russian national, were detained in
Minsk for putting up graffiti “Belarus must be
Belarusian” and “Revolution of
consciousness”. They were released on 31
August after agreeing not to disclose details of
the investigation. Because of the political
nature of these phrases, they were charged
with the crime of “malicious hooliganism” and
may face up to six years in prison if
convicted. Vyachaslau Kasinerau sustained a
broken jaw during the detention by police and
was hospitalized. Their trial was still pending
at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The Law on Mass Events, under which any
assembly or public protest is regarded as
unlawful unless expressly permitted by the
authorities, continued to be regularly applied.
On 27 September, a street assembly in the
town of Baranavichy, which had been
organized in support of presidential candidate
Tatsyana Karatkevich and sanctioned by the
authorities, was joined by some 30 football
fans on their way to a football match. Shortly
after they started chanting “Long live
Belarus!”, police arrived at the scene and
took them away in vans. The remaining
protesters were allowed to carry on.
On 30 September, a court in Minsk issued
fines of between 5.4 and 9 million roubles
(US$300-500) to Mikalai Statkevich and
Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, both of them
presidential candidates in 2010, and leader of
the United Civic Party Anatol Lyabedzka, for
organizing an “unsanctioned” protest in
connection with the forthcoming election.
Other peaceful protesters were similarly
arrested and fined during the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND HUMAN
RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code, which
prohibits activities by unregistered
organizations (political parties and religious
groups, as well as NGOs), remained in place.
Elena Tonkacheva, a prominent human
rights defender and Chair of the Board of the
Center for Legal Transformation, was ordered
to leave Belarus and barred from re-entering
the country for three years. A Russian
national, she had been a resident of Belarus
since 1985. The order was issued on 5
November 2014 and referred to repeated
traffic offences; Elena Tonkacheva repeatedly
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tried to appeal it, without success. Minsk City
Court dismissed her final appeal on 19
February, forcing her to leave by 21 February.
Leanid Sudalenka, head of human rights
NGO Homel Centre for Strategic Litigation,
received at least two death threats via email in
March, which the authorities refused to
investigate. On 8 April, police searched his
home and office, and on 14 April a criminal
case was opened against Leanid Sudalenka
himself. The authorities accused him of
distributing pornography from his email
account, but he claimed it had been hacked.
Leanid Sudalenka believed these were
reprisals for his work in helping victims of
human rights violations take complaints to the
UN Human Rights Committee. The latest
complaint was submitted on 28 February by
Olga Haryunou, whose son had been secretly
executed on 22 October 2014 and who
demanded to know the location of his grave.
BELGIUM
Kingdom of Belgium
Head of state:
King Philippe
Head of federal government:
Charles Michel
The government introduced several
proposals to combat terrorism that raised
human rights concerns. The number of
asylum-seekers spiked in the second half of
the year. Their asylum claims could not be
registered promptly by authorities and as a
result hundreds of people remained without
shelter.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Members of sexual minorities continued to
face routine discrimination, harassment and
violence.
Mikhail Pischevsky, who had been beaten
by anti-LGBTI activists as he was leaving a
gay party at a club in Minsk on 25 May 2014,
died on 27 October of complications caused
by his severe head injuries. Only one of his
attackers was convicted and sentenced to two
years and eight months’ imprisonment for
hooliganism and negligence, and released
under presidential pardon in August, having
served 11 months of his sentence.
1. Second known death sentence in Belarus in 2015: Ivan Kulesh (EUR
49/2926/2015)
The parliament adopted new measures to
counteract terrorism, in particular the
criminalization of travelling into or out of
Belgium with the purpose of perpetrating a
terrorism-related offence, the expansion of
the grounds for stripping a person of Belgian
nationality or refugee status if convicted for
offences related to terrorism, and new
measures to combat violent “extremism”. As
with previously adopted measures to
counteract terrorism, the authorities did not
carry out an evaluation of the compliance of
the new measures with human rights
standards.
In November, in the aftermath of the
attacks in Paris, France, the Prime Minister
proposed further measures.
In December, the Council of Ministers
approved proposals concerning some of the
announced measures. They included the
extension of pre-charge detention from 24 to
72 hours and the power to carry out searches
at any time in investigations of terrorism-
related offences. They also included the
establishment of a database of Belgian
nationals or residents who have attempted to
travel or have travelled abroad to fight in
armed conflicts or with armed groups labelled
as terrorist organizations by the government.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In June, the European Court of Human Rights
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ruled that extraditing Abdallah Ouabour to
Morocco, where he was convicted for
supporting a terrorist organization, would
violate his right to be free from inhuman and
degrading treatment. In July, the Court of
Cassation ordered the retrial of Abdallah
Ouabour, Lahoucine El-Haski and Khalid
Bouloudodie. The men were convicted in
2006 and 2007 for terrorism-related offences
in Belgium. However, the legal proceedings
had relied on evidence that might have been
obtained through the use of torture in
Morocco.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
In June, seven police officers, a psychiatrist
and the director of a medical facility which
refused treatment, were convicted for the
death of Jonathan Jacob, who died in 2010
after being physically assaulted by police
while in custody.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The number of asylum-seekers spiked
between July and September. Due to the
limited capacity of the Immigration Office,
hundreds of asylum-seekers were unable to
register their claims on the day of their arrival
and, as a consequence, were not provided
with shelter. About 500 reportedly camped in
sub-standard conditions in front of the
Immigration Office. In September, the Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
called on Belgium to speed up the registration
procedure and increase reception capacity.
On 16 October, the government announced
plans to open eight new reception centres
with an overall capacity of 1,600 places.
The government agreed to resettle 550
refugees from Syria and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. In October, the
implementation phase started for the
resettlement of the first 300 refugees.
In July, the French community government
adopted a new four-year plan aimed at
combating violence against women and
domestic violence, with a strong focus on
sexual violence. On 11 December, federal
authorities presented a National Plan to
combat gender-based violence.
DISCRIMINATION
In June, the European Court of Human Rights
communicated the case
Belkacemi and
Oussar v. Belgium
to the government. The
plaintiffs alleged that the prohibition on
wearing the full-face veil, enforced since
2011 in Belgium, violated their human rights.
Despite the government’s commitment to
reform the law on legal gender recognition,
transgender people continued to be required
to comply with inhuman and degrading
treatments, including sterilization, as a
precondition to obtaining legal recognition of
their gender.
BENIN
Republic of Benin
Head of state:
Thomas Boni Yayi
Head of government:
Lionel Zinsou
There were rising tensions in the capital
Cotonou and other towns ahead of
legislative elections. The attempted arrest of
a political opponent led to two days of
protests and clashes between protesters and
security forces in Cotonou. Freedom of
expression remained under threat as
protests were banned after elections; a
journalist reported receiving threats. Prisons
remained overcrowded.
PRISON CONDITIONS
According to official statistics published in
March, the prison population was 113% of
the capacity, significantly lower than in
previous years. However, in some specific
facilities the overcrowding rate was reported
to be much higher.
Despite the opening of a specialized
forensic psychiatric centre in 2014, the
majority of offenders with mental illnesses
remained detained in regular prisons, where
insufficient care and treatment were provided.
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BACKGROUND
Legislative elections were held in April, with
the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin
(FCBE), a coalition of 50 parties supporting
President Boni Yayi, becoming the largest
group in the National Assembly, with 33 out
of 83 seats. The National Assembly elected
political opponent Adrien Houngbédji as its
president. Presidential elections were
scheduled to take place in February 2016;
President Boni Yayi pledged that he would
not seek a third term.
charge for five days before being released
unconditionally.
PRISON CONDITIONS
Prisons remained overcrowded. The Cotonou
prison held 1,130 detainees despite a
maximum capacity of 500, resulting in harsh
conditions of detention. In May, all detention
centres in the country failed to provide
prisoners with food for three days, after the
state failed to pay its contractors.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
DEATH PENALTY
In May, the Minister of the Interior banned all
protests until the end of the electoral process.
President Boni Yayi filed a complaint against
opposition deputy Armand-Marie Candide
Azannaï for slander. An attempt to arrest him
sparked clashes between protesters, the
police and the army in Cotonou.
Demonstrators were dispersed using tear
gas and about 10 people were injured. More
than 20 people were arrested on charges of
rebellion, vandalism and violence for their
participation in the protests and riots between
4 and 6 May. Other demonstrations were also
banned by police and gendarmerie in other
cities, including Azovè, southwestern Benin.
In May, journalist Ozias Sounouvou
reported receiving anonymous arrest threats
after criticizing the President for hindering
press freedom.
In June, 12 students at Abomey-Calavi
University who were protesting against the
elimination of exam resits were beaten and
arrested by security forces, before being
released a few days later. The protests were
initially peaceful; some protesters burned
tyres and set a firetruck alight following the
use of excessive force by police.
In August, journalist Boris Tougan was
arrested for compromising state security after
he published an article asserting that the
country’s participation in the regional force
fighting the armed group Boko Haram was
solely intended to help President Boni Yayi
stay in power. He was detained without
Despite the country’s ratification in 2012 of
the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR
aiming at the abolition of the death penalty,
the government had yet to adopt laws
removing the death penalty from its national
legislation.
BOLIVIA
Plurinational State of Bolivia
Head of state and government:
Evo Morales Ayma
Truth, justice and full reparation for victims
of human rights violations committed during
past military regimes were still pending.
Insufficient steps were taken to guarantee
full enjoyment of sexual and reproductive
rights. Discredit from the authorities of the
work of NGOs, including human rights
defenders, paired with strict regulation to
obtain registration remained a concern.
BACKGROUND
Justice remained out of reach, mainly for
those without economic means. Allegations of
corruption, political interference and delays in
the administration of justice further
dampened trust in the system.
In July, the CEDAW Committee urged
Bolivia to take steps within two years to
prevent violence against women, ensure
education and access to information on
sexual and reproductive rights and amend
national laws to decriminalize abortion,
among other recommendations.
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IMPUNITY
into his complaint, despite violent injuries.
Measures to ensure truth, justice and full
reparation for victims of human rights
violations committed during past military and
authoritarian regimes (1964-1982) were very
limited. The authorities took no concrete
steps to establish a truth commission
following a commitment made in March
following a public hearing at the Inter-
American Commission of Human Rights.
1
A
bill that was presented by victims’
organizations to the Plurinational Legislative
Assembly to create such a commission was
pending at the end of the year.
In July, the Public Ministry announced the
creation of a genetic data bank to identify the
remains of potential victims of enforced
disappearance. It is estimated that around
150 people were forcibly disappeared during
the military regimes. The Public Ministry
called on the relatives of victims of enforced
disappearances to undertake blood tests to
establish possible matches.
No progress was made to ensure full and
fair reparation to victims of past human rights
violations after the qualification process
ended in 2012.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
High rates of maternal mortality, particularly
in rural areas, limited access to modern
contraceptives, including emergency
contraception, and a high rate of teenage
pregnancies remained a concern.
2
Despite a resolution issued by the Ministry
of Health in January, the 2014 Plurinational
Constitutional Court ruling that abolished the
requirement of judicial authorization for
abortion in cases of rape was not
implemented.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The absence of an independent mechanism
to record and investigate allegations of torture
deterred victims from pursing justice. No
efforts were made to ensure the full
independence of the national preventive
mechanism against torture, dependent on the
Ministry of Justice. The regulation of this
mechanism was pending at the end of the
year.
In June Juan Bascope lodged a complaint
of torture, death threats and discrimination
that he was subjected to while in detention in
2014 in Maripiri in the Yungas region. He was
accused of killing three members of the
security forces and a doctor during a joint
police and military operation against illegal
coca plantations in the municipality of Apolo
in 2013. He was detained and brought before
a judge three days later. However, no
investigation is known to have been initiated
In March the government issued a supreme
decree to modify the 2007 regulation on
consultation and participation in hydrocarbon
activities. The decree contained new rules,
including strict deadlines and a methodology
to be set up by the authorities, which could
obstruct the rights of Indigenous Peoples to
consultation and free, prior and informed
consent over projects that affect them.
In April charges against 12 police officers
for excessive use of force during a peaceful
march against the construction of a road
through the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous
Territory and National Park (TIPNIS) in 2011
were dismissed. The trial of six other police
officers whose charges remained had not
begun at the end of 2015.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In September the authorities announced that
38 NGOs were considered “irregular”
because they had not submitted the
necessary documents to confirm their identity
in line with a 2013 regulation. A decision by
the Plurinational Constitutional Court
submitted by the Ombusdman against that
regulation was pending. The Ombudsman
raised the regulation’s potential breach to the
right of assembly and the principle of non-
discrimination of some of its articles.
In August the Vice-President discredited
the work of four local organizations for
criticizing government plans, and threatened
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international NGOs based in the country with
expulsion should they get involved in what the
authorities consider domestic politics.
force on 1 June.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
PRISON CONDITIONS
Inadequate sanitary facilities, poor access to
health and food provision and overcrowding
in prison remained a concern. Research by
the Pastoral Penitenciaria found that there
were almost 14,000 prisoners in 2015, for a
maximum capacity of 5,000. Delays in
concluding trials within a reasonable time and
the excessive use of pre-trial detention were
the main reasons for overcrowding.
1. Bolivia: Derecho a la verdad, justicia, reparación de las víctimas de
las violaciones graves de derechos humanos cometidas durante los
gobiernos militares de Bolivia (1964-1982) (AMR
18/1291/2015)
2. Bolivia: Briefing to the UN Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (AMR
18/1669/2015)
In February, the National Assembly of
Republika Srpska adopted a Law on Public
Peace and Order that brought the internet
and social networks into its definition of
“public space”. Concerns were raised by
NGOs and the OSCE Representative on
Freedom of the Media over the possibility of
individuals being prosecuted for their online
activities, on charges of breaching public
peace and order.
Threats and attacks against journalists
persisted. In October, an arson attack was
carried out on the car of a journalist from a
local radio station. Targeted cyber attacks on
news websites continued. Only 15% of court
cases relating to attacks against journalists
were resolved in the past 10 years.
BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Head of state:
Rotating presidency – Bakir
Izetbegović, Dragan Čović, Mladen Ivanić
Head of government:
Denis Zvizdić (replaced
Vjekoslav Bevanda in March)
Violations of the right to freedom of
expression as well as discrimination against
Jews and Roma continued to occur. Access
to justice and reparation for past crimes
remained limited due to a lack of
commitment to adopt, and secure adequate
resources for, state-wide programmes.
DISCRIMINATION
The 2009 judgment of the European Court of
Human Rights in the case of
Sejdić-Finci v.
BiH,
which found the power-sharing
arrangements set out in the Constitution to be
discriminatory, remained unimplemented.
Under the arrangements, citizens such as
Jews and Roma who do not declare
themselves as belonging to one of the three
constituent peoples of the country (Bosniaks,
Serbs and Croats) are excluded from running
for legislative and executive office. In June,
the implementation of the judgment was
removed as a requirement for the signing of
the SAA, leaving little hope of the decision
being implemented.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
BACKGROUND
The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (BiH) and the government of the
Federation of BiH, one of the constituent
entities, were formed at the end of March, five
months after the 2014 general elections. The
Stabilisation and Association Agreement
(SAA) between the EU and BiH entered into
Proceedings continued at the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
against former General Ratko Mladić for
genocide, crimes against humanity and
violations of the laws or customs of war,
including at Srebrenica. A verdict in the case
against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzić was still pending at the end of the
year.
In May, the Parliamentary Assembly of
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Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a set of
amendments to the Criminal Code. The
amendments introduced enforced
disappearance as a separate crime and
provided a clearer definition of acts of torture.
Additionally, the amendments aligned the
definition of war crimes of sexual violence
with international standards by excluding the
need to demonstrate use of force as a
requirement to qualify the crime as such.
However, entity courts and courts in the
Brčko District continued to apply the former
Criminal Code, leading to the ineffective
prosecution of such crimes at the sub-state
level, to which cases were increasingly being
transferred.
Legislation that would enable effective
reparation, including a comprehensive
programme for victims of crimes under
international law, and free legal aid services to
victims of torture and civilian victims of war,
remained absent. The harmonization of entity
laws regulating the rights of civilian victims of
war was still not completed.
About half of the over 500 people who were
charged with war crimes in the past 10 years
were indicted in the last two years. However,
this notable progress was halted by the EU
decision to stop funding the cost of services
and courts prosecuting war crimes until the
new Justice Sector Reform Strategy for
2014-2018 was adopted in September. The
process was delayed as Republika Srpska,
unlike the country’s other two political units,
refused to adopt the Strategy. In December, it
announced its decision to suspend co-
operation with the State Court of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, further limiting effective
investigations into and prosecutions of those
suspected of responsibility for war crimes and
who may be hiding on Republika Srpska
1
territory. An agreement on a joint action plan
to implement the Strategy was still pending at
the end of the year.
In June, a Bosnian court granted the first
ever financial compensation to a victim of
wartime rape and sentenced the perpetrators,
two former Bosnian Serb soldiers, to 10-year
prison sentences. Previously, victims were
required to pursue compensation claims in
civil proceedings, which required them to
reveal their identity.
In November, the heads of the Serbian and
Bosnian governments signed a protocol on
co-operation in the search for missing
persons. In BiH, over 8,000 people remained
missing from the war.
1. Bosnia and Herzegovina: 20 years of denial and injustice (News
story,
14 December)
BRAZIL
Federative Republic of Brazil
Head of state and government:
Dilma Rousseff
Serious human rights violations continued to
be reported, including killings by police and
the torture and other ill-treatment of
detainees. Young black men from
favelas
(shanty towns) and marginalized
communities were at particular risk. The
security forces often used excessive or
unnecessary force to suppress protests.
Conflict over land and natural resources
resulted in the killings of dozens of people.
Rural communities and their leaders
continued to face threats and attacks by
landowners, especially in the north and
northeast of the country. Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people continued to face discrimination and
violence. Civil society opposition to new
legislation and constitutional amendments
that threatened to set back sexual and
reproductive rights, women’s rights and
children’s rights intensified; young people
and women were prominent in these
mobilizations. Brazil did not present itself
as a candidate for re-election to a seat on
the UN Human Rights Council.
PUBLIC SECURITY
Public security and the high rates of
homicides among black youth remained a
major concern. The government failed to
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present a concrete national plan to reduce
homicides in the country, despite having
announced in July that it would do so.
According to a Brazilian Forum on Public
Security report covering 2014, more than
58,000 people were victims of homicides; the
number of police officers killed showed a
small decrease of 2.5% over the previous
year to 398; and more than 3,000 people
were killed by the police, an increase of
around 37% over 2013.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
In 2015, killings during police operations
remained high, but a lack of transparency in
most states made it impossible to ascertain
the exact number of people killed as a result
of these operations. In the states of Rio de
Janeiro and São Paulo there was a significant
increase in the number of people killed by
police officers while on duty, continuing the
trend observed in 2014. Killings by police
officers while on duty were rarely investigated
and there were frequent reports that the
officers involved sought to alter the crime
scene and criminalize the victim. Officers
frequently attempted to justify the killings as
acts of self-defence, claiming the victim had
resisted arrest.
In September, a 13-year-old boy was killed
during a police operation in Manguinhos and
a 16-year-old boy was shot dead in Maré,
1
both
favelas
of Rio de Janeiro.
In February, 12 people were shot dead and
four others injured by Military Police officers
during an operation in the neighbourhood of
Cabula in the city of Salvador in the
northeastern state of Bahia. Residents
reported feeling threatened and fearful at the
frequent presence of Military Police after the
killings. An investigation by the Civil Police
concluded that the Military Police officers
acted in self-defence. However, organizations
working on the case found strong evidence
suggesting that the 12 people were
extrajudicially executed. The Public
Prosecutor’s Office condemned the actions of
the Military Police officers involved in the
killings and called into question the
impartiality of the Civil Police investigation.
2
Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira, a 10-year-old
boy, was killed by Military Police officers
outside his home in the Complexo do Alemão
neighbourhood, Rio de Janeiro, on 2 April.
Police officers tried to alter the crime scene
and remove his body, but were prevented
from doing so by the family and neighbours.
Eduardo’s mother and family had to leave the
city following death threats.
Five young black men aged between 16
and 25 years old were shot dead in the
neighbourhood of Costa Barros in Rio de
Janeiro on 29 November by military police
officers from the 41st Military Police Battalion.
The car in which the men were seated was
shot more than 100 times by police officers.
There were reports that off-duty officers
carried out unlawful killings as part of death
squads operating in a number of cities.
In Manaus in the northern state of
Amazonas, 37 people were killed in a single
weekend in July. In Osasco, a city in the
metropolitan area of São Paulo, 18 people
were killed in one night and initial
investigations indicated the involvement of
Military Police officers.
In February, 29-year-old Vitor Santiago
Borges was shot by members of the armed
forces in Maré
favela.
He was paralyzed as a
result of his injuries. The authorities failed to
provide him or his family with adequate
assistance or to conduct a full and impartial
investigation into the shooting. The army had
been performing policing duties in the
community since April 2014. Soldiers were
deployed to Maré ahead of the World Cup
and were supposed to have left soon after the
event ended. However, they continued to
carry out law enforcement functions in the
community until June 2015. Residents
reported a number of human rights violations
by the military forces during this period,
including physical violence and shootings.
IMPUNITY
Police responsible for unlawful killings
enjoyed almost total impunity. Out of 220
investigations into police killings opened in
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2011 in the city of Rio de Janeiro, by 2015
only one case had led to a police officer being
charged. As of April 2015, 183 of these
investigations remained open.
3
The National Congress established two
Parliamentary Commissions of Investigation,
one in the Senate and the other in the House
of Representatives, to investigate the high
rates of homicides of black youth. At the
same time, a law to amend the current
Disarmament Law in order to allow greater
access to firearms gained momentum in the
National Congress. Brazil did not ratify the
Arms Trade Treaty.
A Parliamentary Commission of
Investigation was established in October in
Rio de Janeiro’s state assembly. Its
investigation into police killings was due to be
completed in May 2016. The Civil Police of
Rio de Janeiro announced that all cases of
police killings would be investigated by the
Homicides Divisions.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
The juvenile justice system also suffered from
severe overcrowding and degrading
conditions. There were numerous reports of
torture and violence against both boys and
girls and a number of minors died in custody
during the year.
In August, the House of Representatives
approved an amendment to the Constitution
reducing the age at which children can be
tried as adults from 18 to 16 years. The
amendment was awaiting approval by the
Senate at the end of the year. If passed, it will
violate a number of Brazil’s obligations under
international human rights law to protect the
rights of the child.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
PRISON CONDITIONS, TORTURE AND
OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In March, the President nominated 11
experts to the National Mechanism to Prevent
and Fight Torture. The group is part of the
National System to Prevent and Fight Torture
and its mandate will include visiting and
inspecting places of detention.
Severe overcrowding, degrading conditions,
torture and violence remained endemic in
prisons. No concrete measures were taken by
the authorities to overcome serious
overcrowding and harsh conditions in
Pedrinhas prison in the northeastern state of
Maranhão. In October, it came to light that in
2013, an inmate of Pedrinhas had been
killed, grilled and partially eaten by other
inmates.
Prisoner revolts were reported in a number
of states. In the state of Minas Gerais, three
detainees were killed during a prison revolt in
the Teofilo Otoni facility in October and two in
similar circumstances in Governador
Valadares prison in June. In October, there
were disturbances in Londrina prison in the
southern state of Paraná.
A protest held on 29 April in the state of
Paraná against changes in the rules
governing teachers’ social security benefits
and retirement was met with unnecessary or
excessive use of force by Military Police.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to
disperse protesters. More than 200 protesters
were injured and at least seven people were
briefly detained. The Public Defender’s Office
and the Public Prosecutor’s Office took legal
action against the government as a result of
the incident. The case was pending at the
end of the year.
4
In October, the Senate approved a bill
making terrorism a separate crime in the
Criminal Code. There were fears that if
passed in its current form, the law could be
used to criminalize protesters and label them
as “terrorists”. The bill was pending final
approval by the House of Representatives at
the end of the year.
HOUSING RIGHTS
Since Rio de Janeiro was chosen in 2009 to
host the 2016 Olympic Games, thousands of
people have been evicted from their homes in
connection with the building of infrastructure
for the event. Many families did not receive
proper notification, sufficient financial
compensation or adequate resettlement. Most
of the 600 families of the community of Vila
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Autódromo, located near the future Olympic
Park, were evicted by the municipality. In
June, members of the municipal guards
assaulted remaining residents who were
peacefully protesting against the evictions.
Five residents were injured, including Maria
da Penha Macena who sustained a broken
nose. At the end of the year, the remaining
residents were living in the shadow of ongoing
demolition work and without access to basic
services such as electricity and water.
In the city of Rio de Janeiro, the majority of
condominiums that were part of the “My
house, my life” housing programme for low-
income families were controlled by
milícias
(organized criminal groups largely made up of
former or off-duty police, firemen and military
agents) or organized criminal gangs. This put
thousands of families at risk of violence, many
of whom were forced out of their homes as a
result of intimidation and threats.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The National Programme for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders failed to deliver the
protection promised in its provisions. Lack of
resourcing continued to hamper
implementation, leaving defenders at risk,
and the absence of a legal framework in the
Programme also undermined its
effectiveness. A bill to create a legal
framework to support the co-ordination of
federal and state governments in the
protection of defenders was pending before
Congress at the end of the year.
Conflicts over land and natural resources
continued to result in dozens of deaths each
year. Rural communities and their leaders
were threatened and attacked by landowners,
especially in the northern and northeastern
regions. In October, five people were killed in
Vilhena in the state of Rondônia in the context
of land conflicts in the area.
Raimundo Santos Rodrigues, also known
as José dos Santos, was shot and killed on 25
August in the city of Bom Jardim in the state
of Maranhão. His wife, who was with him at
the time, was shot and injured. Raimundo
Santos Rodrigues was a member of the Board
of the Biological Reserve of Gurupi, an
environmentally protected area of the Amazon
forest in the state of Maranhão. He had
reported and campaigned for several years
against illegal logging and deforestation in the
Amazon and worked to defend the rights of
his community. He was also a member of the
Rural Workers Union of Bom Jardim. He had
received several death threats, which had
been repeatedly reported to the authorities by
the Land Church Commission and a local
human rights organization. However, no
action had been taken to protect him.
Cases of threats, attacks and killings
targeting human rights defenders were rarely
investigated and remained largely
unpunished. There were concerns that those
responsible for the killing in October 2010 of
Flaviano Pinto Neto, a leader of the Charco
Quilombola community in Maranhão state,
would not be brought to justice. Despite a
thorough investigation, in October the courts
dismissed the charges against the accused
and blamed the victim for his own death. At
the end of the year it was unclear whether
this decision would be appealed against by
the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The 5 November collapse of the Samarco
company mining dam, controlled by Vale and
BHP Billiton in the state of Minas Gerais, was
considered to be Brazil’s biggest ever
environmental disaster. It resulted in deaths
and injuries and other serious human rights
violations including insufficient access to
clean water and safe housing for affected
families and communities, and lack of reliable
information. The river of toxic sludge also
violated the right to livelihood of fishermen
and other workers who depend directly or
indirectly on the waters of the Rio Doce river.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
The demarcation process of Indigenous
Peoples’ lands continued to make extremely
slow progress, despite the fact that the federal
government had both the legal authority and
the financial means to progress
implementation. Several cases remained
pending at the end of the year. Attacks
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against members of Indigenous communities
remained widespread and those responsible
were rarely brought to justice.
There was increasing concern at the
dramatically deteriorating situation of the
Guarani-Kaiowá community of Apika’y in
Mato Grosso do Sul. An eviction order that
could have left the community homeless was
temporarily suspended in August. However,
at the end of the year, the risk of eviction
remained.
5
On 29 August, local ranchers attacked the
Indigenous community of Ñanderú
Marangatú in the municipality of Antonio
João, state of Mato Grosso do Sul. One man,
Simião Vilhalva, was killed and several women
and children were injured. No investigation
was initiated into the attack and no measures
were put in place to protect the community
from further violence.
An amendment to the Constitution
transferring responsibility for demarcating
Indigenous lands from the executive to the
legislature, where the agribusiness lobby is
very strong, was approved by a special
Commission of the House of Representatives
in October. The amendment was awaiting
approval by a Plenary of the House at the end
of the year. If passed, it would have a
significant negative impact on Indigenous
Peoples’ access to land.
1. Brazil: Police operation kills two and injures others (AMR
19/2424/2015)
2. Brazil: Twelve people killed by Military Police (AMR
19/002/2015)
3. Brazil: “You killed my son” – homicides by the Military Police in the
city of Rio de Janeiro (AMR
19/2068/2015)
4. Brazil: Military police attack protesting teachers (AMR
19/1611/2015)
5. Brazil: Indigenous community faces forced eviction (AMR
19/2151/2015)
BULGARIA
Republic of Bulgaria
Head of state:
Rosen Plevneliev
Head of government:
Boyko Borisov
Allegations of push-backs of refugees and
migrants by border police persisted, the
reception conditions of asylum-seekers
remained poor and there was no integration
plan for recognized refugees. Local and
national authorities continued to forcibly
evict Roma. The amendment of hate crime
legislation stalled.
REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND
MIGRANTS
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
New legislation and constitutional
amendments under discussion in Congress
posed a serious threat to sexual and
reproductive rights and women’s rights. At the
end of the year, the National Congress was
considering bills that proposed to criminalize
abortion in all circumstances, for example the
so-called Bill of the Unborn Child. Another
proposal would effectively prevent access to
safe and legal abortions in the public health
system even in those cases currently allowed
under Brazilian legislation, such as when the
woman’s life is at risk or the pregnancy is a
result of rape. If passed, the measure would
also end emergency assistance to victims
of rape.
A fourfold increase in the number of refugees
and migrants entering through the border
with Turkey was registered in 2015, following
a significant drop in 2014 after the
introduction of border protection measures.
The authorities announced a plan to extend
the current 33km fence on the border by
60km, to divert the migration flows to official
border crossings. However, NGOs reported
that people in search of international
protection who were trying to enter Bulgaria
through checkpoints were rejected. An
extensive surveillance system, including
sensors and thermal cameras, remained in
place at the border with Turkey.
In October, an Afghan asylum-seeker died
after a warning shot fired by a police officer at
the Bulgarian-Turkish border ricocheted on a
nearby bridge and hit him. The Bulgarian
Helsinki Committee (BHC) expressed
concerns over inconsistencies between the
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authorities’ and witnesses’ versions. The
investigation launched by the Prosecutor’s
Office was ongoing at the end of the year.
There continued to be no integration plan
for recognized refugees and other
beneficiaries of international protection.
Although the government adopted the
National Strategy on Migration, Asylum and
Integration for 2015-2020 in June, it failed to
follow it up with an Action Plan that would
implement the Strategy.
Concerns persisted over the reception
conditions of asylum-seekers, in particular
with regard to food, shelter and access to
health care and sanitary goods. In January,
the monthly allowance of 65 leva (€33) for
asylum-seekers in reception centres was
stopped. The BHC filed a complaint, arguing
that the removal of the allowance violated
national legislation.
NGOs documented allegations of summary
push-backs of refugees and migrants by
Bulgarian police at the border with Turkey.
1
In
March, two Iraqi Yazidis died of hypothermia
on the Turkish side of the border, after
allegedly being severely beaten by Bulgarian
police. The authorities denied the allegations,
and the Ministry of Interior’s investigation into
the case was discontinued as the authorities
said they were unable to establish the location
of the incident. No other investigation into
cases of push-backs was pending at the end
of the year.
HOUSING RIGHTS – FORCED EVICTIONS
OF ROMA
village of Gurmen and the Orlandovzi
neighbourhood in Sofia. Between June and
September, 14 households were demolished
in Gurmen. In July, following a request by
NGOs for interim measures, the European
Court of Human Rights advised the
government not to proceed with the evictions
unless adequate alternative housing was
provided. However, following the demolitions,
around 60 Roma, including elderly people, at
least one pregnant woman and two disabled
children, were left homeless. There was no
genuine consultation to identify alternatives to
planned evictions and adequate resettlement
options. In September, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights urged
Bulgaria to halt such human rights violations.
At the end of the year, 96 Roma households
in the Kremikovtzi settlement remained at risk
2
of eviction.
In August, the homes of 46 Romani
families – including children and single
mothers – were demolished without prior
notice in the Maksuda neighbourhood in the
town of Varna. An estimated 400 people, 150
of them children, were rendered homeless in
severe weather conditions. Only a few people
were offered temporary housing in an
overcrowded and inadequate social centre.
On 15 September, the authorities
announced the demolition of four Roma
houses in the town of Peshtera. However,
they stalled after the European Court of
Human Rights indicated that the authorities
should not proceed unless adequate
alternative housing was available.
Despite the constitutional right to housing,
housing legislation in Bulgaria does not
explicitly prohibit forced evictions, nor does it
establish safeguards in line with international
human rights standards. Authorities
continued to forcibly evict Romani
communities from informal settlements. Some
were relocated to inadequate housing, while
others were rendered homeless.
In May-June, following anti-Roma
demonstrations, local and national authorities
announced a plan to demolish Romani
houses in the Kremikovtzi settlement in the
DISCRIMINATION – HATE CRIMES
In June, the Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights raised concerns over the
high levels of racism and intolerance against
several groups including refugees, asylum-
seekers and migrants, who remained
particularly vulnerable to violence and
harassment.
Hate crimes against Roma, Muslims, Jews
and other ethnic and religious minorities
continued to be largely prosecuted as acts
motivated by “hooliganism”, rather than
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under the criminal law provisions specifically
enacted for “racist and xenophobic hate
crimes”.
3
In May, the European Court of Human
Rights found in
Karahhmed v. Bulgaria
that
the authorities’ failure to prevent the
disruption by a group of violent protesters of a
Muslim Friday prayer in 2011 amounted to a
violation of the right to freedom of religion or
belief.
The government did not follow up on earlier
steps to amend hate crime legislation, which
in its current state does not provide for
explicit protection against hate crimes
perpetrated on the basis of age, disability,
gender or sexual orientation. In March, the
Parliament adopted a bill which extended the
scope of the protection against discrimination
on grounds of sex to transgender people,
although this only applied to “legal
reassignment cases”.
segregation among prisoners and a lack of
contact with the outside world.
1. Bulgaria: It’s time to address the allegations of abuse of refugees and
migrants by the police (EUR
15/3058/2015)
2. Bulgaria: Further information: Romani families remain at risk of
forced eviction (EUR
15/2334/2015)
3. Bulgaria: Missing the point: Lack of adequate investigation of hate
crimes in Bulgaria (EUR
15/0001/2015)
BURKINA FASO
Burkina Faso
Head of state:
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (replaced
Michel Kafando on 29 December)
Head of government:
Yacouba Isaac Zida
During protests following an attempted coup
in September, Presidential Guard (RSP)
soldiers killed 14 protesters and bystanders
and injured hundreds of others. Freedoms of
expression and assembly were restricted and
human rights defenders, protesters and
journalists faced ill-treatment and
intimidation. The interim government was
reinstated and investigations were opened
into the September coup and crimes
committed during the 2014 unrest. Levels
of early and forced marriage remained high.
Access to sexual and reproductive rights was
limited.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
National and international organizations,
including the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture and the Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,
criticized the juvenile justice system as
inadequate and called for a comprehensive
reform.
The Commissioner for Human Rights,
following a visit in February, raised concerns
over the slow pace of the deinstitutionalization
(the transfer from psychiatric institutions to
community-based care) of children and
adults with disabilities. He also criticized the
overrepresentation of Roma children, poor
children and children with disabilities in such
institutions, as well as reports of physical and
psychological violence by staff and among
children.
Following a visit in 2014, the Committee for
the Prevention of Torture called for urgent
and effective actions to address longstanding
concerns over the ill-treatment of people –
including juveniles and women – both by
police and in prison, over inter-prisoner
violence, overcrowding, poor health care, low
staffing levels, excessively harsh discipline,
BACKGROUND
Transitional authorities governed the country
after President Blaise Compaoré fell from
power in October 2014 following protests over
his attempts to change the Constitution. In
April, the Transitional Parliament adopted a
new electoral code that disqualified
supporters of the 2014 constitutional
amendment from running for office in 2015.
In September, a National Commission on
Reconciliation and Reform made several
recommendations including the adoption of a
new Constitution, the abolition of the death
penalty and the disbanding of the RSP.
In September, members of the RSP
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attempted a coup, and took the interim
President, Prime Minister and other
government members hostage, triggering
widespread protests. The RSP used excessive
force against protesters and bystanders
before withdrawing under pressure from the
national army. The RSP was later disbanded
and those suspected of involvement in the
attempted coup arrested. In November, the
Transitional Parliament modified the
Constitution limiting the Presidential mandate
to two terms of five years and removing
amnesty for former presidents. Roch Marc
Christian Kaboré was elected President in the
same month, ending the one-year transition.
In December, Salif ou Diallo was elected
President of the National Assembly.
five people, including a child, being forced to
lie down and beaten with belts with metal
buckles. Six RSP soldiers whipped a member
of the Balai Citoyen social movement as he
lay on the ground. Jean Jacques Konombo,
photographer for
Les Editions Sidwaya,
was
kicked and beaten with a belt by more than
six RSP soldiers until he lost consciousness.
His camera and phone were destroyed.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
During the September coup, peaceful
protests were repressed; the RSP used
excessive force to prevent people from
assembling. Fourteen unarmed people were
shot dead, including six who were shot in the
back while running away from security
forces.
1
The RSP chased and fired shots in
densely populated areas, leading to deaths
and hundreds of injuries. Among the victims
was 16-year-old Jean-Baptiste Yoda, who was
shot dead while running with two others. A
pregnant woman was also shot in the
stomach while standing in her doorway in the
Nonsin neighbourhood of the capital,
Ouagadougou. The bullet pierced her uterus
and hit the unborn baby. Both mother and
child survived following medical intervention.
In September, Parliament adopted legislation
leading to the repeal of the law punishing
press offences with prison sentences. Later
that month, there were restrictions on
freedom of expression, including attacks on
journalists, political figures and human rights
defenders during the coup. At least 10
journalists and media stations including Radio
Omega, Savane FM and Laafi were also
attacked; cameras and other material were
destroyed or confiscated. At the Radio Omega
station, RSP soldiers fired bullets in the air,
set staff motorbikes alight and threatened to
burn the station down. The studio of Serge
Bambara (“Smockey”), leader of Balai
Citoyen, was also attacked with an anti-tank
rocket and computers and materials stolen.
IMPUNITY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Prisoners alleged that they were subjected to
torture and other ill-treatment in police
custody in Ouagadougou. One detainee
alleged that he was tortured for six days at
Ouagadougou’s central police station; his
hands were handcuffed to his ankles, a
wooden bar was put underneath his knees
and he was suspended in a squatting position
from between two tables.
In September, the RSP physically assaulted
protesters and bystanders. A witness filmed
Judicial authorities opened investigations into
the killings of four people following excessive
or lethal force by security forces, including
the RSP, during the October 2014 unrest.
2
However, no one had been charged or tried
for these crimes under international law by
the end of 2015. In September, Commissions
of Inquiry were established to investigate the
2014 killings and those suspected of
involvement in the September coup. Neither
had yet been tasked with investigating human
rights violations relating to the killings of
protesters and bystanders in 2015.
MILITARY TRIBUNAL
Military officers including generals, as well as
civilians, were arrested in Ouagadougou
following the September coup and charged
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with offences including threatening state
security, crimes against humanity and
murder. More than 50 people, including
General Djibril Bassolé and General Gilbert
Dienderé, were due to be tried by a military
tribunal. Two journalists, Adama Ouédraogo
and Caroline Yoda, were also charged for
complicity to threaten state security.
General Dienderé also faced charges in
connection with the murder of former
President Thomas Sankara, including
assassination and possession of a dead body,
while in December an international arrest
warrant was also issued against former
President Blaise Compaoré for his suspected
role in this murder. Authorities said that an
extradition request would be sent to Côte
d’Ivoire.
In the same month, three former members
of the RSP were charged in connection with
the murder of Norbert Zongo, a journalist who
was assassinated in 1998, and more than 15
RSP members were arrested for their
suspected involvement in a plan to help
Generals Bassolé and Dienderé escape from
prison.
walked more than 160km over three days to
escape being forced by her father to marry a
70-year-old man who already had five wives.
In October the Transitional Parliament
adopted a law on the prevention and sanction
of violence against women and girls and the
provision of support for victims. The law also
criminalized and provided for sanctions for
forced and early marriage and sexual
violence.
DEATH PENALTY
A bill aiming to abolish the death penalty had
not been examined by Parliament at the end
of the year.
1. Burkina Faso: No amnesty for soldiers who killed unarmed civilians
(News
story,
14 October)
2. Burkina Faso: “Just what were they thinking when they shot at
people?” (AFR
60/001/2015)
BURUNDI
Republic of Burundi
Head of state and government:
Pierre Nkurunziza
The government increasingly restricted the
rights to freedom of expression, association
and peaceful assembly. Protests by
members of the political opposition, civil
society and others against the President’s
decision to stand for a third term were
violently repressed by the security forces, in
particular the police and national
intelligence services (SNR). Demonstrators
were met with excessive force by the police
and those detained were tortured and
otherwise ill-treated by the SNR. Security
forces also attacked independent media
premises. There were several cases of
unlawful killings of perceived opponents of
the President.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women’s and girls’ access to sexual and
reproductive health information, services and
goods were limited, resulting in just 17% of
women reporting using contraception. Cost,
distance to health centres and pharmacies,
lack of information and negative male
attitudes towards contraception remained the
main barriers obstructing access.
Early and forced marriage was a serious
concern, with over 52% of girls being married
before the age of 18, around 10% before they
were 15 years old. The government failed to
fulfil its obligations to prevent forced and early
marriages, as well as to guarantee the
protection of girls and women at risk through
the provision of information on, and access
to, safety. Perpetrators of forced and early
marriage were not held to account. Dozens of
women and girls told Amnesty International
that they were victims of forced and early
marriage, including a 13-year-old girl who
BACKGROUND
In February, the head of the SNR, General
Godefroid Niyombare, warned President
Nkurunziza not to seek a third term in office,
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predicting that doing so would be seen as a
violation of the Arusha Accords and the
Constitution. Days later, he was dismissed by
the President.
In March, several high-ranking members of
the ruling National Council for the Defense of
Democracy-Forces of Defense of Democracy
(CNDD-FDD) publicly called on President
Nkurunziza not to seek a third term. They
were subsequently expelled from the party.
Despite similar calls from the Catholic
Church, civil society, the political opposition
and many regional and international actors,
the CNDD-FDD selected President
Nkurunziza on 25 April as their candidate for
the 2015 presidential elections. The decision
sparked protests in the capital, Bujumbura,
and other parts of the country. Protests were
violently repressed and protesters responded
with violence.
On 5 May, the Constitutional Court upheld
President Nkurunziza’s candidacy, a day after
the Court’s vice-president had fled the
country, having accused the government of
putting pressure on the judges.
On 13 May, a group of generals attempted
to overthrow the government while President
Nkurunziza was in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania,
attending a regional heads of state summit on
Burundi. The attempted coup failed. Several
officers fled the country and security forces
loyal to the President arrested others.
Legislative elections were held in June and
presidential elections in July. Pierre
Nkurunziza won the election and was sworn
in on 20 August. The security forces
continued their clampdown on perceived
opponents. Three military installations in
Bujumbura and one in Bujumbura Rural were
attacked before dawn on 11 December.
Systematic violations were carried out in the
cordon and search operations that followed.
Efforts by the East African Community, the
AU and the UN failed to bring together
Burundian stakeholders in an externally
mediated dialogue to resolve the crisis, with
talks that reopened on 28 December soon
stalling. The decision of the AU Peace and
Security Council to send a prevention and
protection mission was rejected by the
government.
After months of instability, the political,
social and economic situation deteriorated.
The International Monetary Fund stated that
the economy would shrink by more than 7%
in 2015 as the country’s tax revenue
collector,
Office Burundaise des Recettes,
registered losses due to the crisis.
Many of Burundi’s development partners,
such as Belgium, the Netherlands and the
USA, partially or completely stopped their
projects. The EU initiated a dialogue with the
Burundian authorities under Article 96 of the
Cotonou Agreements to re-evaluate its future
co-operation with the government. According
to UNICEF, 80% of social sector ministries
had previously been reliant on external aid.
More than 230,000 people fled to
neighbouring countries. The fragile cohesion
between different ethnic groups resulting
from the implementation of the Arusha
Accords was destabilized by the political
crisis. Incendiary rhetoric from high-level
officials increased tensions towards the end of
the year.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
In the run-up to the elections, activities by
political opposition parties and civil society
organizations were restricted. In March, the
then Mayor of Bujumbura issued a directive
authorizing public meetings organized by the
ruling political party only. On 17 April, more
than 100 people were arrested during a rally
against President Nkurunziza’s candidacy. On
24 April, a day before the CNDD-FDD was
due to select its presidential candidate, the
Minister of Interior banned all
demonstrations.
Despite these measures, many protested in
the streets of Bujumbura against President
Nkurunziza’s re-election bid. Demonstrations
by political opposition groups were violently
suppressed by security forces; those
organized by the ruling political party or in
support of President Nkurunziza’s candidacy
went ahead without interference.
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA
The government restricted international
journalists’ access to demonstrations. In a
number of incidents, officials made threats
against members of international media
outlets.
the private media of having links to people
behind the attempted coup. In November, the
Prosecutor requested the extradition of five
journalists. RPA’s accounts were frozen and
cars seized in December.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Attacks on media organizations
On 26 April, government officials stormed
Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), which was
broadcasting live from the protests. On the
same day, authorities prevented four private
radio stations from broadcasting beyond
Bujumbura. On 27 April, authorities shut
down the studio of
la Maison de la Presse,
a
common space for media outlets to hold joint
shows on special occasions.
On 13-14 May, security forces partially or
completely destroyed the premises of four
private media outlets: RPA, Radio Television
Renaissance, Radio Isanganiro and Radio
Bonesha. The government accused them of
supporting the attempted coup against
President Nkurunziza. Radio Television
Rema, a pro-government media outlet, was
partially destroyed by unidentified armed
individuals.
The government’s response to the protests
failed to comply with regional and
international standards.
3
Police used
excessive or lethal force against protesters,
including by firing live bullets during
demonstrations.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTION
Harassment of journalists
Burundian journalists were targeted and
received threats from the authorities.
1
Most
fled and sought refuge in neighbouring
countries.
Bob Rugurika, managing director of RPA
and a well-known journalist, was arrested and
detained on 20 January after broadcasting
investigative reports about the September
2014 killing of three elderly Italian nuns in
Bujumbura. He was charged with complicity
in the killing, obstructing the course of justice
through violating confidentiality of a criminal
investigation, harbouring a criminal and lack
of public solidarity. He was released on bail
on 18 February.
2
In its report on the demonstrations against
President Nkurunziza’s third term bid, a
Commission of Inquiry established by the
government accused some journalists from
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that at least
3,496 people were arrested in relation to the
political crisis. Many were detained following
their participation in peaceful protests against
President Nkurunziza’s third term. Many
detainees were denied visits from their
families or lawyers.
In certain instances, members of the ruling
party’s youth wing, Imbonerakure, were
involved in the arrests of perceived opponents
of President Nkurunziza, including protesters.
Among those detained, UNICEF identified 66
children charged with “involvement in armed
groups”.
IMPUNITY
2015 was marked by an increased tolerance
of impunity.
Security forces
There was concern that members of the
security forces involved in human rights
violations during public demonstrations were
not held to account. The General Director of
Police stated in July that five police officers
were under investigation. The Prosecutor
General announced an investigation into
allegations of extrajudicial executions during
the 11 December search operations.
Imbonerakure
The government failed to investigate
allegations of intimidation and harassment of
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individuals by the Imbonerakure, such as
those documented by the OHCHR in
Burundi.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Extrajudicial executions
The government failed to investigate or
suspend members of security forces accused
of extrajudicial executions.
The Appui pour la Protection des
Institutions (API), a police unit of the
presidential guard, committed human rights
violations, including extrajudicial executions
of political opponents. API was reported to
have been involved in the killing of Zedi
Feruzi, president of the opposition party
Union for Peace and Democracy-
Zigamibanga. He was killed with one of his
bodyguards on 23 May. On 7 September,
Patrice Gahungu, spokesperson of the same
party, was shot dead by unidentified armed
men.
Members of API were also said to have
been involved in the killing of Vénérant
Kayoya and Léonidas Nibitanga on 26 April in
Cibitoke neighbourhood, Bujumbura, as well
as the 15 May killing of Faustin
Ndabitezimana, a nurse and member of the
Front for Democracy in Burundi, an
opposition party in Buterere, Bujumbura.
On 13 October, cameraman Christophe
Nkezabahizi and his wife and two children,
and Evariste Mbonihankuye, an employee of
the International Organization of Migration,
were killed in Bujumbura. An OHCHR
investigation indicated possible API
involvement, although the prosecutor’s office
accused a group of youths.
Following the attacks on military
installations on 11 December, Burundian
security forces carried out cordon and search
operations in so-called opposition
neighbourhoods, during which they
systematically killed dozens of people. There
were reports of bodies being buried in mass
graves. Witnesses cited the involvement of
API and the anti-riot brigade, alongside
regular police units.
4
The use of torture and other ill-treatment by
security forces increased, especially against
those opposed to President Nkurunziza’s re-
election bid. Cases of torture and other ill-
treatment were reported in official detention
centres, mainly at SNR headquarters, and an
unofficial detention centre known as “Chez
Ndadaye” in Bujumbura. Security forces used
techniques including beating detainees with
metal bars, wooden sticks and military belts.
Some victims were submerged in dirty water
and others put in rooms covered with glass
shards or forced to sit in acid.
5
The authorities had not conducted any
investigation or brought to account any
members of the intelligence service or police
in relation to these acts by the end of the
year.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
At least two high-ranking members of the
security forces were killed in targeted attacks
by men in uniform. On 2 August, General
Adolphe Nshimirimana, considered to be
close to President Nkurunziza, was shot dead
in Bujumbura. Following investigations, four
army officers appeared before a court in
Bujumbura on 2 September, accused of his
murder.
On 15 August, Jean Bikomagu, retired
Colonel and former Chief of Staff during the
civil war, was shot dead at his residence in
Bujumbura by armed men. The government
indicated that investigations were ongoing but
no findings had been made public by year’s
end. On 11 September, the current Chief of
Staff survived an armed attack against his
convoy in Bujumbura.
Almost daily from September, dead bodies
were found in the streets of Bujumbura and
occasionally in other parts of the country.
According to the OHCHR, at least 400 people
were killed between April and mid-December,
including members of the ruling political
party, the CNDD-FDD.
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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Civil society’s opposition to President
Nkurunziza’s third term through its campaign
“Stop the third term” led to increased
harassment and intimidation against human
rights defenders. Government officials
referred to them as leaders or supporters of
an insurrectional movement. Many of them
were named in the government’s Commission
of Inquiry report on the protests. Many fled
the country or were in hiding in Burundi at
the end of the year. In November, the
government suspended the activities of
several NGOs and froze their accounts, as
well as those of three leading activists.
On 3 August, leading human rights
defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa survived an
attempted killing by unidentified armed men
while returning home.
6
His son-in-law, Pascal
Nshimirimana, was shot dead at his house in
Bujumbura on 9 October. On 6 November,
Welly Fleury Nzitonda, Pierre Claver’s son,
was killed after being arrested by the police.
The authorities had not investigated these
attacks or brought anyone to account by the
end of the year.
CAMBODIA
Kingdom of Cambodia
Head of state:
King Norodom Sihamoni
Head of government:
Hun Sen
Arbitrary restrictions on the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly continued. A law came into force
severely threatening the right to freedom of
association. Impunity continued for human
rights violations in the policing of
demonstrations in 2013 and 2014,
including deaths resulting from the
unnecessary and excessive use of force.
Political activists and human rights
defenders were jailed and arrests for online
activity increased. Flagrant violations of the
UN Refugee Convention, including
refoulements,
took place.
BACKGROUND
1. Burundi: Media clampdown intensifies in aftermath of coup attempt
(Press
Release,
12 June)
2. Burundi: Further information: Prominent journalist released: Bob
Rugurika (AFR
16/1134/2015)
3. Braving bullets: Excessive force in policing demonstrations in Burundi
(AFR
16/2100/2015)
4. “My children are scared”: Burundi's deepening human rights crisis
(AFR
16/3116/2015)
5. Burundi: Just tell me what to confess to – torture by police and
intelligence services since April 2015 (AFR
16/2298/2015)
6. Burundi: Shooting of human rights activist increases climate of fear
(News
story,
6 August)
Prime Minister Hun Sen succeeded the long-
serving president of the ruling Cambodia
People’s Party (CPP), Chea Sim, who died in
June.
Political tensions continued between the
CPP and the opposition Cambodian National
Rescue Party (CNRP), despite the two
respective leaders announcing a “culture of
dialogue” in April. Negotiations between the
two parties led to an agreement on a new Law
on the National Election Committee,
amendments to the Law on the Election of
Members of the National Assembly, and the
release of imprisoned political activists and
human rights defenders in April. The legal
changes were widely criticized for restricting
freedom of expression. In July, political
tensions between the two parties re-escalated
over an opposition campaign on alleged
Vietnamese border encroachment.
In November, an arrest warrant was issued
for CNRP leader Sam Rainsy for a 2011
conviction for defamation and incitement to
discrimination. He received a two-year prison
sentence that was never enforced. In
December, Sam Rainsy was summonsed on
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charges of being an accomplice in a forgery
case against opposition Senator Hong Sok
Hour.
The mandates of the UN Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in Cambodia and the local UN Human Rights
Commissioner office were both renewed for
two years. The UN provided assistance in
drafting an Access to Information Law. The
National Police announced that a law on state
secrets was being drafted.
The expression of anti-Vietnamese
sentiment remained prevalent, with CNRP
leaders continuing to use the term
yuon,
widely considered derogatory.
In September, the General Department of
Immigration stated that it had deported 1,919
illegal migrant workers, 90% of whom were
Vietnamese.
Local human rights groups continued to
receive complaints about new land disputes
affecting thousands of families and involving
well-connected military and political figures.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
additional two years’ imprisonment on
charges arising from a separate
demonstration in October 2014 when he was
violently attacked by security forces.
In August, three activists from conservation
NGO Mother Nature – Try Sovikea, Sun Mala
and Sim Samnang – were arrested amid a
campaign to prevent alleged illegal sand
dredging in Koh Kong province. The three
men faced two years in prison if convicted on
allegations that they threatened to destroy a
dredging vessel. In October, Vein Vorn, a
community representative in Koh Kong, was
arrested on charges related to his peaceful
activism against a major dam project. In
August, two monks, Dev Tep and Chea
Vanda, who had participated in several
demonstrations since the 2013 election,
including opposition-led demonstrations
concerning alleged border encroachment by
Viet Nam, were defrocked and arrested on
charges of drug possession, forgery and
making death threats, which they claimed
were fabricated.
In April, 10 women land activists, arrested
and convicted in November 2014 for the
peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of
assembly, were released after being pardoned
by the King. Nine others – five CNRP
activists, three monks and one woman whose
family were involved in a land dispute – were
released on bail. The releases were part of the
dialogue reached between the CPP and
CNRP.
In July, 11 CNRP officials and members
were convicted of leading and participating in
an insurrection and sentenced to between
seven and 20 years’ imprisonment. The
charges arose from a demonstration in July
2014 that resulted in clashes between
security forces and opposition supporters.
The convictions were not supported by
evidence to link the 11 to the insurrection
allegations. Charges also remained in place
against seven opposition MPs arrested and
released in the aftermath of the
demonstration. One of those convicted, Ouk
Pich Samnang, was sentenced to an
IMPUNITY
No one was held to account for a range of
violations by security forces in the course of a
violent crackdown on freedom of peaceful
assembly over 2013 and 2014, including at
least six killings resulting from the
unnecessary or excessive use of force during
1
that period. Despite announcing official
investigations in the wake of those events, no
findings were published into the crackdown
that resulted in serious injuries to scores of
people and the enforced disappearance of
16-year-old Khem Saphath.
In August, former governor of Bavet city in
Svay Rieng province, Chhouk Bandith (who
was convicted in his absence and sentenced
to 18 months’ imprisonment in June 2013 on
minor charges for shooting into a crowd of
demonstrating workers in 2012 and injuring
three women) turned himself in after the
Prime Minister called for his arrest.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
In August, King Sihamoni signed into law the
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controversial Law on Associations and Non-
Government Organizations (LANGO) despite a
sustained campaign by civil society for the
law to be dropped on the grounds that it
violates the right to freedom of association. By
the end of the year, it remained unclear how
the law would be implemented.
Tripartite discussions involving the
government, unions and employers’
representatives on a controversial draft Trade
Union Law continued behind closed doors
with government representatives refusing to
publish newer versions of the draft.
summoned for questioning on a series of
charges arising from comments he made
about judicial conduct in a case involving the
arrest of villagers engaged in a land dispute.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
A year after the creation of a “Cyber War
Team” within the Council of Ministers whose
function was to “investigate, collect, analyze
and compile all forms of … news [and] to
inform the public with the aim to protect the
government’s stance and prestige”, there was
an upsurge in criminal charges for online
expression.
In August, opposition Senator Hong Sok
Hour was arrested on forgery and incitement
charges for posting a video online which
included an edited article from a 1979 treaty
between Cambodia and Viet Nam concerning
the shared border. Days later, a student was
arrested on incitement charges after stating
on Facebook that he planned to initiate a
“colour revolution” at an unspecified date in
the future. Both men were held in detention
despite a presumption in the Criminal
Procedure Code in favour of bail.
In December, further arrest warrants were
issued in the Hong Sok Hour case for CNRP
leader Sam Rainsy and two men responsible
for his Facebook page, Sathya Sambath and
Ung Chung Leang. All three men went into
self-imposed exile.
A draft Cybercrimes Law leaked to the
public in 2014, which included a series of
provisions that would criminalize online
expression, remained pending.
In July, Ny Chakrya, head of monitoring for
the Cambodia Human Rights and
Development Association (ADHOC, the oldest
human rights organization in Cambodia), was
In violation of the UN Refugee Convention
and international human rights law,
Cambodia forcibly returned 45 minority ethnic
Jarai asylum-seekers to Viet Nam in February.
At least 36 other Montagnards – a term used
loosely to refer to mostly Christian indigenous
minority groups in Viet Nam – were also
returned over the course of the year after
Cambodia refused to register their asylum
claims.
2
In June, four refugees arrived in Cambodia
from Nauru as part of a A$40 million (US$28
million) deal with Australia, which is counter
to the object and purpose of the Refugee
Convention.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Two years after he was last seen in January
2014 with an apparent gunshot wound to his
chest at a demonstration on the outskirts of
Phnom Penh, the fate or whereabouts of 16-
year-old Khem Saphath remained unclarified.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In September, the Extraordinary Chambers in
the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC, Khmer Rouge
tribunal) heard for the first time evidence on
charges of genocide in the second case
against Nuon Chea, former second-in-
command of the Khmer Rouge, and Khieu
Samphan, former head of state.
1. Taking to the streets: Freedom of peaceful assembly in Cambodia
(ASA
23/1506/2015)
2. Cambodia: Refoulement and the question of “voluntariness” (ASA
23/2157/2015)
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CAMEROON
Republic of Cameroon
Head of state:
Paul Biya
Head of government:
Philémon Yang
The armed group Boko Haram disrupted the
lives of thousands of people in northern
Cameroon, committing crimes under
international law including unlawful killings,
attacks against civilian objects,
misappropriation of property and assets,
looting and abductions. In an attempt to
prevent Boko Haram from capturing
territory, security forces carried out arbitrary
arrests, detentions, enforced disappearances
and extrajudicial executions of suspected
members of the group. Hundreds of
thousands of refugees from Nigeria and the
Central African Republic continued to live in
precarious conditions. Freedoms of
expression, association and assembly
continued to be restricted. Human rights
defenders were intimidated and harassed,
including by government agents. Lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) people continued to face
discrimination, intimidation and
harassment, although arrests and
prosecutions declined from previous years.
An anti-terrorism law promulgated on 23
December 2014 infringed basic rights and
freedoms, and extended the scope of the
death penalty to a broader set of crimes.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Boko Haram committed crimes under
international law and human rights abuses,
including suicide bomb attacks in civilian
areas, summary executions, torture, hostage
taking, abductions, the recruitment of child
soldiers, looting and destruction of public,
private and religious property. These crimes
appear to be part of a systematic attack
against the civilian population across both
northeastern Nigeria and the Far North in
Cameroon. According to the UN, 770 civilians
were killed and some 600 women and girls
abducted by Boko Haram in Cameroon since
2013. Many schools were also targeted,
leaving 35,000 children without access to
education since 2014.
On 4 February, Boko Haram attacked the
village of Fotokol, killing at least 90 civilians
and 19 soldiers, and set dozens of buildings
alight. On 17 April, it attacked the village of
Bia, killing at least 16 civilians, including two
children, and burned over 150 houses. In
Maroua, between 22 and 25 July, three
suicide attacks in crowded civilian areas killed
at least 33 people and wounded more than
100. At least 23 suicide bombings carried out
between July and December 2015 resulted in
the deaths of about 120 civilians. Boko
Haram used girls as young as 13 to carry out
the attacks.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
BACKGROUND
There was continuing instability in the country
as a result of violence in the Central African
Republic, in southeastern Cameroon, and of
armed conflict between Boko Haram and
security forces in the Far North. A significant
deployment of security forces in the Far North
prevented Boko Haram from taking control of
Cameroonian soil. However, security forces at
times failed to protect the civilian population
from attacks and themselves committed
crimes under international law and human
rights violations.
Security forces arrested at least 1,000 people
accused of supporting Boko Haram in the Far
North, including in mass cordon and search
operations where dozens of men and boys
were rounded up and arrested. During such
operations, security forces used excessive
force and committed human rights violations
such as arbitrary arrests, unlawful killings –
including of a seven-year-old girl – and
destruction of property. Other violations
include enforced disappearances, deaths in
custody and mistreatment of prisoners.
Eighty-four children were detained without
charge for six months in a children’s centre in
Maroua, following a raid on Qur’anic schools
in the town of Guirvidig on 20 December
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2014.
Journalists continued to be arrested and
detained without charge by security forces, as
part of their operation against Boko Haram.
Simon Ateba, a Cameroonian journalist, was
arrested on 28 August at the Minawao
refugee camp and held by Cameroonian
officials for four days. He had travelled to
Minawao to investigate the living conditions of
Nigerian refugees, but was accused of spying
on behalf of Boko Haram. Radio France
Internationale correspondent Ahmed Abba
was arrested in Maroua on 30 July and was
held incommunicado for over three months
before being charged with “inciting or
justifying terrorism”.
On 27 April, the UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention stated that the detention
of Franco-Cameroonian lawyer Lydienne Yen
Eyoum was arbitrary.
maximum capacity of 2,000. The main
factors of recent prison overcrowding, in
addition to the wave of arrests of Boko Haram
suspects, included the large number of
detainees held without charge and the
ineffective judicial system. In response, the
government has provided funding to build
more cells at Maroua prison, and committed
to building new prisons across the country.
REFUGEES' AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
DEATHS IN CUSTODY AND ENFORCED
DISAPPEARANCES
Over 200 men and boys were arrested on 27
December 2014 in a cordon and search
operation in the villages of Magdeme and
Doublé. At least 25 men died during the night
of their arrest in a makeshift cell, while 45
others were taken to Maroua prison the
following day. At least 130 people therefore
remain unaccounted for and are presumed to
be victims of enforced disappearance, with
evidence suggesting more may have died in
custody. An internal investigation has yet to
identify those victims, reveal the location of
their bodies, and interview key witnesses.
At least 180,000 refugees from the Central
African Republic lived in harsh conditions in
crowded camps along bordering areas of
southeastern Cameroon. Since the escalation
of violence in northeastern Nigeria in 2013,
hundreds of thousands of people have fled
across the border into Cameroon. The
Minawao refugee camp in the Far North
hosted over 50,000 refugees as of December,
75% of whom were between eight and 17
years of age. There were concerns that,
contrary to the provisions of the 1951 UN
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees,
the Cameroonian military deported Nigerians
who had long resided in Cameroon back to
Nigeria, accusing them of supporting Boko
Haram.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
PRISON CONDITIONS
Prison conditions remained poor: chronic
overcrowding, inadequate food, limited
medical care, and deplorable hygiene and
sanitation. The wave of arrests of individuals
suspected of supporting Boko Haram further
aggravated these conditions. Maroua prison
houses 1,300 detainees, more than three
times its intended capacity (350), and over
40 detainees died between March and May.
The population of the central prison in
Yaoundé is approximately 4,100, for a
Discrimination, intimidation, harassment and
violence against LGBTI people remained a
concern, although the number of arrests and
prosecutions reduced from previous years.
The continued criminalization of same-sex
sexual activity still led to individuals being
harassed and blackmailed, including by
security forces, because of their suspected
sexuality. Two people remain in prison on
charges – one of whom is awaiting trial –
relating to their sexual identity. A peaceful
demonstration organized by an LGBTI
organization to commemorate the death of
LGBTI activist Eric Lembembe and call for a
thorough investigation was held on 14 July.
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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders continued to be
victims of intimidation, harassment and
threats. In February, following a statement by
the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders
Network (REDHAC) on the alleged death in
custody of more than 50 people in Maroua,
executive director Maximilienne Ngo Mbe and
president Alice Nkom received death threats
on TV and in the press. Ngo Mbe has been
the target of repeated threats because of her
human rights-related work.
Alhadji Mei Ali, head of human rights
organization Os-Civile, was repeatedly
threatened by state agents since July. This
followed his campaign against the impunity
surrounding the killing of a human rights
defender who had challenged the
appointments of two traditional leaders in
2011.
CANADA
Canada
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Governor General David Johnston
Head of government:
Justin Trudeau (replaced
Stephen Harper in November)
Sweeping reforms to national security laws
raised human rights concerns. Following a
change of government, the process to
develop a long-demanded public inquiry into
missing and murdered Indigenous women
and girls was launched and commitments
were made to address a range of other
human rights concerns.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Perceived or actual opponents of the
government were denied the right to organize
peaceful activities and demonstrations. On 15
September, five members of Dynamique
Citoyenne, a platform regrouping several civil
society organizations, were arrested while
holding a seminar on electoral governance
and democratic change. They were held in
custody for seven days without charge.
Journalists reported practising self-
censorship to avoid repercussions for
criticizing the government, especially on
security matters. The National
Communication Council sanctioned more
than 20 media outlets during the year and
some of its decisions were contested by the
Journalism Trade Union. At the end of the
year, journalists Rodrigue Tongué, Felix Ebole
Bola and Baba Wamé still faced charges in
front of a military tribunal for the “non-
denunciation” of sources.
In June, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission released its calls to action based
on six years of hearing. It included a finding
that Canada’s residential school system for
Aboriginal children constituted “cultural
genocide” and set out extensive
recommendations to help restore Indigenous
communities and prevent further harm to
Indigenous children.
In July, construction of the Site C dam in
British Columbia began without addressing its
impact on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In July, the UN Human Rights Committee
called on Canada to report back within one
year on progress made in addressing violence
against Indigenous women and girls and
protecting Indigenous land rights.
An appeal against the decision to allow the
Northern Gateway Pipeline project to proceed
in northern British Columbia, despite
opposition from many Indigenous Peoples
who depend on lands and waters potentially
impacted by the project, was pending at the
end of the year.
A Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling
in a case started in 2008 alleging
discrimination in federal government
underfunding of child protection in First
Nations Indigenous communities had been
pending for 14 months at the end of the year.
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WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In March, the CEDAW Committee concluded
that the Canadian police and justice system
had failed to effectively protect Indigenous
women from violence, hold offenders to
account and ensure redress for victims.
In December, following the change of
government, a process to launch a public
inquiry into violence against Indigenous
women and girls was initiated; the inquiry was
expected to begin in 2016.
case of Canadian citizen Maher Arar who was
illegally imprisoned in Syria in 2002-2003
after being subject to rendition from the USA.
The charges were the first ever brought in
Canada for torture outside the country.
Two lawsuits challenging the widespread
use of solitary confinement remained
pending.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In May, Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen held
at Guantánamo Bay for 10 years beginning
when he was 15 years old and repatriated to
Canada in 2012 under a prisoner transfer
agreement, was released on bail pending an
appeal against his conviction in the USA. Also
in May, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled
that Omar Khadr must be treated as a minor
within the Canadian corrections system.
In June the 2015 Anti-terrorism Act
became law. It expands the authority of
Canadian government agencies to share
information about individuals without
adequate safeguards and allows the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service to take measures
to reduce security threats, even if such
measures would violate rights. The new law
creates a criminal offence of advocating or
promoting the commission of “terrorism
offences in general” which undermines the
right to freedom of expression. A legal
challenge to the new law was pending at the
end of the year and the new government
made a commitment to revise some of its
provisions.
A legal challenge to Citizenship Act reforms
passed in 2014 allowing dual nationals
convicted of terrorism and other offences to
be stripped of Canadian citizenship remained
pending. The new government promised to
repeal the 2014 reforms.
In October, reports emerged that government
officials suspended processing Syrian refugee
cases for several weeks during the summer
and were screening cases to prioritize
refugees from ethnic and religious minorities
as well as refugees who have run businesses
and who speak English or French fluently. In
November, the new government announced a
plan to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees by the
end of 2015 towards a total of 25,000 by
early 2016. At the end of the year,
approximately 6,000 Syrian refugees had
arrived in Canada.
In July the UN Human Rights Committee
called on Canada to report back within a year
on a range of human rights concerns facing
immigrants and refugees.
In July, the Federal Court overturned the
“designated country of origin” list under
which refugee claimants from “safe”
countries were denied the right to appeal
refused refugee claims.
In August, Cameroonian national Michael
Mvogo was deported from Canada, 13
months after the UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention had called for him to be
released from indefinite detention.
In November, the new government
announced that cuts to the Interim Federal
Health Program for refugees and refugee
claimants would be reversed and health
coverage restored.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In September, the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police laid criminal charges for torture against
a Syrian military intelligence officer in the
In February, a joint investigation was
launched by federal and provincial agencies
into whether Imperial Metals breached any
laws when the tailings dam at its Mount Polley
mine collapsed in 2014. The disaster spilled
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24 million cubic metres of mining waste water
into fish-bearing waterways.
In May, the fourth annual report to
Parliament assessing the human rights effects
of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade
Agreement was released. It again failed to
consider human rights concerns, including
serious abuses facing Indigenous Peoples,
Afro-descendant communities and others in
areas of resource extraction investment in
Colombia.
In October, Canada was one of 12
countries to sign the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, a major new free trade deal,
which did not include human rights
safeguards.
By the end of the year, five lawsuits were
pending before Canadian courts seeking to
establish Canadian parent company liability
for human rights harms committed in mining
operations in Eritrea and Guatemala.
National Reconciliation Forum held in the
capital, Bangui, in May did not succeed in
bringing an end to violations of international
humanitarian law and violations and abuses
of international human rights law. Many of
those suspected of criminal responsibility
for crimes under international law, including
commanders of the Séléka and anti-Balaka
forces, as well as other militias and their
allies, were yet to be effectively investigated
or brought to justice. The International
Criminal Court (ICC) continued to
investigate crimes under international law.
According to the UN and relief
organizations, 2.7 million people remained
in need of humanitarian assistance,
including more than 460,000 internally
displaced people and 452,000 refugees in
neighbouring countries.
BACKGROUND
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Draft legislation which would have added
gender identity as a prohibited ground of
discrimination in Canada’s Human Rights Act
and hate crimes laws did not pass the Senate
before Parliament was recessed in advance of
federal elections.
Despite repeated calls, the government did
not ratify the Arms Trade Treaty or the
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention
against Torture.
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Central African Republic
Head of state:
Catherine Samba-Panza
Head of government:
Mahamat Kamoun
Crimes under international law, including
war crimes and crimes against humanity,
were committed by all parties to the
conflict. Security operations by international
forces and political initiatives such as the
The conflict that led to the loss of thousands
of lives in 2014 continued throughout 2015.
Between September and October, a major
upsurge in violence, including attacks
targeted at civilians, resulted in the deaths of
more than 75 people and injuries to hundreds
more, in addition to widespread destruction of
private and public property. The
UN Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilization Mission in the Central African
Republic (MINUSCA), supported by the
French “Sangaris” force, struggled to fully
prevent violations of international
humanitarian law.
In January, a ceasefire agreement between
former Presidents François Bozizé and Michel
Djotodia, both under UN and US sanctions,
and radical factions of the anti-Balaka and ex-
Séléka forces, was signed in Nairobi but was
rejected by the transitional authorities and the
international community. In May a national
reconciliation forum postponed elections
originally scheduled for August and ruled out
immunity for those suspected of criminal
responsibility for crimes under international
law. A Disarmament, Demobilization,
Rehabilitation and Reintegration accord and
an agreement on the demobilization of child
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soldiers were also signed by 11 armed
groups.
In August, the Special Representative of
the UN Secretary-General to the Central
African Republic resigned following
allegations that a 12-year-old girl was raped
by a UN peacekeeper during a security
operation in Bangui.
On 13 December a new Constitution was
approved in a referendum.
from violence.
On 26 October, anti-Balaka fighters
attacked a delegation of ex-Séléka who had
come to Bangui to meet President Samba-
Panza. Two of the four members of the
delegation remained unaccounted for. In the
ensuing violence houses were burned and
people killed during confrontations involving
armed Muslim gangs, anti-Balaka and
national security forces.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS AND
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
VIOLATIONS BY UN PEACEKEEPERS
Serious violations of human rights and
international humanitarian law, including
unlawful killings, torture and other ill-
treatment, abductions, sexual assaults,
looting and destruction of property, were
perpetrated by all armed groups involved in
the conflict, including the ex-Séléka and the
anti-Balaka whose fighters could operate
freely across much of the country, facilitated
by the heavy circulation of small arms.
In February, armed ethnic Peulh herders,
at times supported by ex-Séléka and anti-
Balaka fighters, attacked civilians along a
corridor used for the seasonal movement of
livestock in the central regions, leading to
temporary mass displacement of populations
in the towns of Kouango, Kaga Bandoro and
Batangafo.
On 26 September, following the killing of a
17-year-old Muslim moto-taxi driver, armed
men attacked residents of areas near the
Muslim enclave known as PK5, killing dozens
of people. Members of Muslim self-defence
groups, anti-Balaka militia and a number of
their supporters committed widespread
abuses, including killings, rapes and
destruction of property. More than 75 people
were killed and 400 wounded, including
civilians. More than 250 houses were set
alight in non-Muslim areas and more than
40,000 civilians were forced to flee their
homes. Although MINUSCA, supported by
French peacekeepers, helped to secure key
installations in Bangui, including the airport
and government buildings, its intervention
was slow and failed to protect civilians
On 10 July, four men were severely beaten
after being arrested by MINUSCA
peacekeepers in the town of Mambéré in the
south-west. One died later of his wounds.
Twenty peacekeepers were repatriated on 20
July by MINUSCA for excessive use of force
against detainees.
On 2 and 3 August, a failed attempt by
MINUSCA peacekeepers to arrest a Muslim
self-defence group leader in the PK5 enclave
of Bangui resulted in fierce fighting and the
death of one peacekeeper. Evidence strongly
suggested that a 12-year-old girl was raped
by a MINUSCA soldier during the operation,
while two civilians were killed after UN
soldiers apparently shot indiscriminately down
an alleyway.
1
An investigation by the UN
International Office for Oversight was under
way at the end of the year.
Allegations of sexual violence by French
and other peacekeepers against children as
young as nine were under investigation at the
end of the year.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AND
DISPLACEMENT
In the first months of 2015, internally
displaced people from the Peulh community
stranded in the town of Yaloké were
repeatedly forbidden from leaving the town by
local authorities, acting under orders from the
interim central government.
The freedom of movement of about 25,000
Muslims living in enclaves in several towns
protected by UN peacekeepers was restricted
because of risks of attack by members of
anti-Balaka and their affiliates.
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More than 460,000 people remained
internally displaced, including approximately
60,000 in Bangui, living in harsh conditions
in makeshift camps. The crisis forced around
200,000 people to flee to Cameroon, Chad,
Democratic Republic of the Congo and the
Republic of Congo since December 2013,
bringing the number of Central African
refugees in neighbouring countries to about
452,000.
escaped from the Ngaragba male prison in
Bangui. On 28 September, between 500 and
700 detainees, including anti-Balaka fighters,
escaped from the same prison as violence
escalated in Bangui. On 4 November, 11
inmates escaped from the detention facility in
the town of Bria.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Some Muslims returning to ethnically
cleansed areas in the west of the country
were forced by anti-Balaka to abandon their
religion or convert to Christianity. Outside
areas in the west of the country where
Muslims live under the protection of UN
peacekeepers, threats by anti-Balaka meant
that Muslims had little freedom to practise
their religion in public, wear traditional
Muslim clothing or reconstruct destroyed
mosques.
On 30 May, the President promulgated a law
creating a Special Criminal Court composed
of national and international prosecutors and
judges, tasked with investigating international
crimes committed in the country since
January 2003 and to complement the work of
the ICC. By the end of year, the Special
Criminal Court was yet to be operational, due
particularly to lack of funding. ICC
investigations, which had begun in
September 2013 into crimes committed since
August 2012, continued.
NATURAL RESOURCES
IMPUNITY
The presence and functioning of judicial
institutions remained limited, especially
outside Bangui. Judicial authorities lacked the
capacity to investigate and prosecute
suspects of crimes, including human rights
violations.
Few of those suspected of criminal
responsibility for crimes under international
law, including commanders of the Séléka,
anti-Balaka, other militias and their allies,
were investigated or brought to justice. On 17
January, Rodrigue Ngaïbo, a prominent anti-
Balaka leader known as “Andilo”, was
arrested by MINUSCA in the town of Bouca.
In October, MINUSCA met with Nourredine
Adam, an ex-Séléka commander suspected
of crimes against humanity and subject to UN
sanctions and national and international
arrest warrants.
Conflict diamonds smuggled from the Central
African Republic were traded on international
markets, funding amed groups who controlled
mine sites, “taxed” miners and extorted
protection money. Two of the biggest
diamond buying houses – Badica and Sodiam
– purchased diamonds worth several million
dollars during the conflict, including from
areas where ex-Séléka and anti-Balaka
groups were known to operate. While both
companies denied buying conflict diamonds,
it was believed they purchased diamonds
without adequately investigating whether they
funded armed groups. The government failed
to provide protection to artisanal (small-scale)
miners, including children, who often worked
in dangerous conditions.
1. Central African Republic: UN troops implicated in rape of a girl and
indiscriminate killings must be investigated (News
story,
11 August)
PRISON CONDITIONS
Prison conditions remained poor and security
weak. In August, 17 detainees, including
some high-ranking anti-Balaka commanders,
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CHAD
Republic of Chad
Head of state:
Idriss Déby Itno
Head of government:
Kalzeubé Payimi Deubet
The armed group Boko Haram stepped up
attacks in the capital, N’Djamena, and
around Lake Chad, killing and abducting
civilians, and looting and destroying
properties. The authorities took several
counter-terrorism and security measures,
including passing a restrictive anti-terrorism
law. The security forces carried out arbitrary
arrests and detentions. The authorities
continued to restrict the right to freedom of
expression by dispersing demonstrations,
often using excessive or unnecessary force.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees from
Nigeria, Central African Republic, Sudan
and Libya continued to live in difficult
conditions in crowded refugee camps.
Former Chadian President Hissène Habré
faced trial on charges of crimes against
humanity, torture and war crimes at the
Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal.
suicide attacks in the market of Bagassola
and in an informal settlement of internally
displaced people in Kousseri. On 5
December, at least 27 civilians were killed
and more than 80 injured in three suicide
attacks in different locations in the market of
Loulou Fou, in the Lake Chad region.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Boko Haram killed more than 200 civilians
during the year, and looted and destroyed
private properties and public facilities.
Violence led to the displacement of
approximately 70,000 people.
In February, Boko Haram killed more than
24 people, including civilians, on the islands
of Lake Chad, including in the localities of
Kaiga-Kingiria, Kangalom, and Ngouboua. On
3 April Boko Haram ambushed civilians going
to market and killed seven with knives and
guns in the village of Telia. On 15 June, 38
civilians were killed and more than 100
injured in a twin suicide attack by suspected
Boko Haram members in N’Djamena. On 11
July, a suspected Boko Haram suicide
bomber wearing a woman’s burqa killed at
least 15 civilians in a market in N’Djamena
and injured more than 80. On 10 October at
least 43 civilians were killed in separate
On 30 July, the National Assembly adopted
an anti-terrorism law that provided for the
death penalty and increased the punishments
for lesser terrorism offences from the previous
maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment to life.
The maximum period before suspects must
be brought before a court was increased from
48 hours to 30 days, renewable twice by the
Public Prosecutor. The definition of
“terrorism” in the bill is extremely broad,
including disruption of public services, and
opposition parties and civil society
organizations expressed concern that the bill
could be used to curtail freedoms of
expression and association.
Also in July, the authorities imposed a
series of counter-terrorism measures affecting
the Chadian population and foreign nationals.
In addition to an increase in search
operations in homes, checkpoints and public
places, veils fully covering the face and public
begging were banned.
On 9 November, a state of emergency was
declared in the Lake Chad region and
provided the governor of the region with the
authority to ban the movement of people and
vehicles, search homes and recover arms.
The security forces were accused of
carrying out arbitrary arrests and detentions
by both local civil society organizations and
international bodies. The UN Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights
reported that more than 400 foreign nationals
of 14 nationalities were arrested following spot
checks in a two-week period after the 15
June bomb attack in N’Djamena.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
The rights to freedom of expression and
association were violated as security forces
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used excessive or unnecessary force to
disperse demonstrations in N’Djamena and
other towns such as Kyabé in the south of the
country, where at least three people were
reportedly killed during a demonstration on
25 April.
On 9 March, in N’Djamena, security forces
dispersed a students’ demonstration using
tear gas, batons and live ammunition. Four
students were allegedly killed and many other
protesters injured. No one was investigated or
charged in relation to these deaths during
2015. Videos also showed that students
arrested during the demonstration were
subjected to torture and other ill-treatment by
members of the Mobile Police Intervention
Group. Security forces beat the students and
forced them to roll on the ground, to wipe
their faces with sand and to pull their own
ears.
On 20 May, after a video revealing the
identity of the security forces who tortured
and otherwise ill-treated the students was
broadcast on the internet, the Supreme Court
of N’Djamena sentenced eight policemen to
six months’ imprisonment and a fine of
50,000 CFA francs (US$80) for “unlawful
violence, wilfully beating and wounding and
complicity”. Six other officers were acquitted.
On 23 June, Laurent Correau, a journalist
with Radio France Internationale, was
assaulted alongside an international human
rights defender in N’Djamena by state agents.
Laurent Correau was forcibly expelled from
Chad the same day.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In addition to approximately 70,000 people
internally displaced by Boko Haram attacks,
Chad hosted almost 500,000 refugees – the
second highest total in Africa – from
neighbouring countries including Sudan,
Central African Republic, Nigeria and Libya.
Many lived in poor conditions in overcrowded
refugee camps. The UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights reported
that during 2015 Chad forced Nigerian
refugees back to their country, contrary to the
principle of
non-refoulement,
accusing them
of being Boko Haram members.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 15 June, Djeralar Miankeo, land rights
activist and Director of Association
Ngaoubourandi (ASNGA), was arrested and
charged with “insulting the judiciary” by the
Public Prosecutor of Moundou after
questioning the competence of Chadian
judicial officials in a radio interview. He was
sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a
fine by the High Court of Justice of Moundou.
On 28 July the Appeal Court of Moundou
overturned the verdict, dropped all charges
against him and released him.
On 22 June, Mahamat Ramadane, editor of
the newspaper
Alwihda,
was arrested and
held until the following day for photographing
a security operation in N’Djamena where the
police were reported to have used excessive
force.
On 20 July, the trial of former Chadian
President Hissène Habré opened at the
Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal on
charges of crimes against humanity, torture
and war crimes, allegedly committed between
1982 and 1990 when he ruled Chad. This
was the first time that an African court had
prosecuted a former African president under
the principle of universal jurisdiction.
1
On 25 March, 20 former state security
agents connected to President Habré’s
regime were convicted of torture by the
Chadian Criminal Court. The Criminal Court
acquitted four of the accused and found the
Chadian state liable for the defendants’
actions. The defendants and the state were
ordered to pay compensation of 75 billion
CFA francs (US$125 million) to the 7,000
civil parties. In 2014 the Chadian authorities
had declined to transfer these suspects to the
Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal,
or to allow representatives of the Chambers to
interview them in Chad.
DEATH PENALTY
On 29 August, 10 suspected Boko Haram
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members were executed by firing squad after
being sentenced to death in a trial held
behind closed doors the previous day. They
were convicted of carrying out the twin
attacks that killed 38 people in N’Djamena in
June. It was the first execution since 2003. In
2014 Chad had announced that it would
abolish the death penalty, but in July 2015
included it in a new anti-terrorism law.
1. Chad: Time for justice for victims of Hissène Habré’s regime (News
story, 20 July)
CHILE
Republic of Chile
Head of state and government:
Michelle Bachelet Jeria
Cases of police violence continued to be
dealt with by military courts. Legal
proceedings against those responsible for
past human rights violations continued.
Abortion remained criminalized in all
circumstances.
BACKGROUND
In October, President Bachelet announced
the process that would be followed in order to
adopt a new Constitution in 2017. The
current Constitution was adopted during the
military government of General Pinochet and,
for many, is not consistent with a democratic
system.
Allegations of political corruption, involving
a number of public officials, were investigated
throughout the year.
SECURITY FORCES AND THE MILITARY
JUSTICE SYSTEM
cases to the jurisdiction of ordinary courts.
1
In May, the Martial Court (the appeal court
in the military justice system) reduced the
sentence imposed on a former police officer
for fatally shooting 16-year-old Manuel
Gutiérrez Reinoso and injuring Carlos Burgos
Toledo during a protest in 2011, from three
years and 61 days to 461 days. The Martial
Court disregarded the military tribunal’s
finding that methods short of the use of
firearms were available to disperse the
demonstrators, instead stating that there was
no proof of intention to cause injury on the
part of the officer.
2
This decision was
confirmed by the Supreme Court in
December.
Investigation into the death of Iván Vásquez
Vásquez in police custody in 2014 in Chile
Chico, Aysén region, made some progress.
The family requested a third, more
comprehensive, autopsy, given the
discrepancies between two previous
autopsies. In July the Martial Court agreed to
conduct this autopsy, which was still pending
at the end of the year.
A few cases of police violence were dealt
with by the ordinary courts. Among them
were the cases of Nelson Quichillao, a
mineworker who was shot dead by the
security forces during a protest in July in El
Salvador, Atacama Region, and that of 28-
year-old student Rodrigo Avilés who was
seriously injured by police water cannon in
May. Investigations into the cases were
continuing at the end of the year.
In September, the Special Rapporteur on
the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and of association called on the authorities to
end the use of military courts to deal with
cases of human rights violations.
Cases of human rights violations involving
members of the security forces continued to
be dealt with by military courts, despite public
commitments by the authorities to reform the
relevant legislation. The Supreme Court,
however, upheld the right to due process and
international human rights obligations in
specific cases when deciding to transfer such
IMPUNITY
Efforts to bring to justice those responsible for
past human rights violations continued.
According to the President of the Supreme
Court, by March there were 1,056 active
cases, of which 112 related to allegations of
torture. Official data from the Ministry of the
Interior Human Rights Programme indicated
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that 72 of the 122 people who were convicted
of human rights violations between 2014 and
September 2015 were serving prison
sentences.
However, victims’ organizations
condemned the slow progress in establishing
the truth about the thousands of victims of
enforced disappearance.
Information and documentation gathered
by the Valech Commission on politically
motivated torture and imprisonment during
the Pinochet era remained classified as
confidential, even from the judiciary, and
therefore secret for 50 years and unavailable
to those seeking justice for the victims.
In October, after a 40-day hunger strike by
some victims of torture, a law was passed
granting early economic reparation to victims
of torture and political imprisonment.
In July, 10 former military officers were
charged with the kidnapping and killing of the
singer and political activist Víctor Jara in
1973.
Following information received from a
military officer, seven former military officers
were charged in July for burning 19-year-old
Rodrigo Rojas to death and severely injuring
18-year-old Carmen Gloria Quintana in 1986.
No progress was made in overturning the
3
1978 Amnesty Law.
In September, the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights ruled that Chile had denied
effective remedy to 12 people sentenced
by a military tribunal between 1974 and1975.
The case against them had not been
quashed, despite evidence that their
confessions were extracted under torture, and
their allegations of torture had not been
investigated.
Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) urged
Chile to expedite the adoption of a bill to
decriminalize abortion in some
circumstances.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
There were renewed allegations of excessive
use of force and arbitrary detention during
police operations against Mapuche
communities.
In July, the CESCR urged Chile to
guarantee constitutional recognition of the
rights of Indigenous Peoples, ensuring their
right to free, prior and informed consent with
regard to decisions that may directly affect
their rights.
5
In October, the Inter-American Commission
of Human Rights ordered precautionary
measures for Mapuche Indigenous leader
Juana Calfunao and members of her family
living in the community of Juan Paillalef in
southern Chile. The decision followed reports
of excessive use of force by the security
forces, threats and intimidation against the
family in 2014 and 2015 linked to land
disputes.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In October, legislation on civil partnerships,
including for same-sex couples, came into
force.
A bill on the right to gender identity that
would allow people to change their name and
gender on official documents remained
pending before the Senate at the end of the
year.
1. Chile: Un avance: Otro caso de violaciones de derechos humanos se
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
traspasa a la justicia ordinaria (AMR
22/1149/2015)
2. Chile: El uso excesivo e innecesario de la fuerza policial debe
investigarse y sancionarse en tribunales ordinarios (AMR
22/1738/2015)
3. Chile: Amnesty law keeps Pinochet’s legacy alive (News
story,
11
September)
4. Chile’s failure to protect women and girls: The criminalization of
abortion is a human rights violation (Amnesty
International Chile,
June 2015)
Abortion remained a criminal offence in all
circumstances.
4
A bill to decriminalize
abortion when the pregnancy poses a threat
to the life of the woman or is the result of rape
or incest or in cases of serious foetal
malformation was pending before Congress at
the end of the year.
In July, the UN Committee on Economic,
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5. Chile: Submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights: 55th session (AMR
22/1479/2015)
CHINA
People’s Republic of China
Head of state:
Xi Jinping
Head of government:
Li Keqiang
A series of new laws with a national security
focus were drafted or enacted that
presented grave dangers to human rights.
The government launched a massive
nationwide crackdown against human rights
lawyers. Other activists and human rights
defenders continued to be systematically
subjected to harassment and intimidation.
Five women’s rights activists were detained
for planning to mark International Women’s
Day with a campaign against sexual
harassment. Authorities stepped up their
controls over the internet, mass media and
academia. Televised “confessions” of critics
detained for investigation multiplied.
Freedom of religion continued to be
systematically stifled. The government
continued its campaign to demolish
churches and take down Christian crosses in
Zhejiang province. In the predominantly
Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region, the regional government enacted
new regulations to more tightly control
religious affairs and ban all unauthorized
religious practice. The government
maintained extensive controls over Tibetan
Buddhist monasteries. The UN Committee
against Torture regretted that previous
recommendations had not been
implemented.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists
and activists faced increased intimidation,
harassment, arbitrary arrest, and violence.
The detention of lawyer Wang Yu and her
family on 9 July marked the beginning of an
unprecedented government crackdown on
human rights lawyers and other activists. Over
the following weeks, at least 248 lawyers and
activists were questioned or detained by state
security agents, and many of their offices and
homes were raided. At the end of the year, 25
people remained missing or in custody, and
at least 12 of them, including prominent
human rights lawyers Zhou Shifeng, Sui
Muqing, Li Heping and Wang Quanzhang,
were held in “residential surveillance in a
designated location” on suspicion of
involvement in state security crimes.
1
This
form of detention allows the police to hold
individuals suspected of such crimes for up to
six months outside the formal detention
system, with suspects denied access to legal
counsel and families. Family members were
also subject to police surveillance,
harassment and restriction of their freedom of
movement.
Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was
given a three-year suspended sentence on
charges of “picking quarrels and provoking
troubles” and “inciting ethnic hatred”,
primarily on the basis of comments he had
made on social media. He was barred from
practising law as a result of the conviction.
In April journalist Gao Yu was sentenced to
seven years’ imprisonment by a court in the
capital, Beijing, on the charge of “disclosing
state secrets” for sharing an internal
Communist Party document in which freedom
of the press and “universal values” such as
freedom, democracy and human rights came
under severe attack. In November, her
sentence was reduced to five years and she
was released from prison on medical parole.
Her release came after her family and friends
claimed she did not have access to necessary
medical care in detention.
2
Of the more than 100 people in mainland
China detained for supporting Hong Kong
protests in 2014, eight had been formally
arrested and remained in detention as of
December. At least two had reported being
tortured in detention.
3
In March, five women’s rights activists –
Wei Tingting, Wang Man, Wu Rongrong, Li
Tingting and Zheng Churan – were arrested
and detained on the charge of “picking
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quarrels and provoking troubles” for planning
to mark International Women’s Day by
launching a campaign against sexual
harassment. They were released on “bail
pending trial” on 13 April after
unprecedented international pressure,
although they continued to suffer police
interrogations, evictions and confiscation of
personal items while on bail.
Many former employees and volunteers of
Yirenping, a well-known anti-discrimination
advocacy organization, were detained and
suffered harassment and intimidation. Two
former employees – Guo Bin and Yang
Zhangqing – were detained on 12 June on
suspicion of “illegal business activity”; they
were released on bail on 11 July.
4
In December, at least 33 workers and
labour rights activists were targeted by police;
seven were detained in Guangdong province,
where labour unrest and strikes were on the
rise. The detention centres did not allow
access to lawyers on the grounds that the
cases involved “endangering national
security”.
5
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
The government enacted or drafted a series
of sweeping laws and regulations under the
pretext of enhancing national security. There
were fears that they could be used to silence
dissent and crack down on human rights
defenders through expansive charges such as
“inciting subversion”, “separatism” and
“leaking state secrets”. There were concerns
that the National Security Law, enacted on 1
July, includes a broad and vague definition of
“national security” that comprises areas such
as politics, culture, finance and the internet.
The draft Foreign NGO Management Law, if
enacted in the form presented for public
consultation in May, would severely restrict
the rights to freedom of association, peaceful
assembly and expression.
6
While the law was
ostensibly designed to regulate and even
protect the rights of foreign NGOs, it would
give the Ministry of Public Security the
responsibility to oversee the registration of
foreign NGOs, as well as supervising their
operations and pre-approving their activities.
The wide discretion given to authorities to
oversee and manage the work of NGOs raised
the risk that the law could be misused to
intimidate and prosecute human rights
defenders and NGO workers.
The draft Cyber Security Law,
7
which
purports to protect internet users’ personal
data from hacking and theft, would also force
companies operating in China to censor
content, store users’ data in China, and
enforce a real-name registration system in a
way that runs counter to national and
international obligations to safeguard the right
to freedom of expression and the right to
privacy. The draft law would prohibit
individuals or groups from using the internet
to “harm national security”, “upset social
order”, or “harm national interests” – vague
and imprecise terms that could be used to
further restrict freedom of expression.
In December, parliament passed the Anti-
Terrorism Law, which had virtually no
safeguards to prevent those who peacefully
practised their religion or simply criticized
government policies from being persecuted
on broad charges related to “terrorism” or
“extremism”.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – INTERNET
AND JOURNALISTS
In January the government announced that
the internet would be the main “battlefield” in
2015 in its campaign to “fight pornography,
and unlawful [information]”. The same
month, the government announced it had
shut down 50 websites and WeChat accounts
– many related to discussion of current
events, military affairs or anti-corruption
platforms, and 133 accounts that were
disseminating information that was “distorting
history of the Communist Party and national
history”. Also in January, the Minister of
Education stated that foreign textbooks would
be banned in order to stop the spread of
“wrong Western values”, and he warned
against universities being infiltrated by
“hostile forces”.
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In August, according to state media, 197
people were “punished” in a special
campaign led by the Ministry of Public
Security for allegedly spreading rumours
about the stock market, the chemical
explosion in the coastal city of Tianjin earlier
that month, or other issues.
Later that month, Wang Xiaolu, a reporter
with the financial magazine
Caixin,
was
detained after the government claimed that
an article he wrote about the stock market
was “fabricated”. He was forced to make a
“confession”, which was broadcast on
national TV and was subsequently placed in
“residential surveillance in a designated
location”. Chinese media observers believed
he was used as a scapegoat and as a caution
to keep the press from reporting negative
news about the downturn in the stock market.
In October, investigative reporter Liu Wei
was detained after he exposed a corruption
scandal involving government officials. Famed
historian Yang Jisheng was forced to resign as
editor at the liberal journal
Yanhuang
Chunqiu
after the State Administration of
Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television
criticized the magazine for publishing dozens
of articles that were “against the regulations”.
Numerous other pastors and “house church”
leaders were also subsequently put under the
same form of incommunicado detention.
Falun Gong practitioners continued to be
subjected to persecution, arbitrary detention,
unfair trials and torture and other ill-
treatment.
DEATH PENALTY
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
The campaign to demolish churches and take
down crosses in Zhejiang province that was
launched in 2013 intensified throughout
2015. According to international media
reports, more than 1,200 crosses had been
torn down during the campaign, prompting a
series of protests. In July, the Zhejiang
provincial government passed a regulation
restricting the size of an object attached at
the top of a building to not exceed one tenth
of the total size of the building, which many
believed was aimed at legitimizing the
removal of crosses.
Zhang Kai, a lawyer who was offering legal
assistance to the affected churches, was
detained on 25 August on suspicion of state
security crimes and “disturbing public order”
and was later placed under “residential
surveillance in a designated location”.
8
Amendments to the Criminal Law, which
came into effect in November, reduced the
number of crimes punishable by death from
55 to 46.
9
State media indicated that although
the nine crimes were rarely used and would
have little impact in reducing the number of
executions, their deletion was in line with the
government’s policy of “kill fewer, kill more
cautiously”. However, the revised provisions
still failed to bring the Criminal Law in line
with requirements under international law and
standards on the use of the death penalty.
Statistics continued to be classified as state
secrets.
On 24 April, Li Yan, a victim of domestic
violence who had killed her husband in 2010,
was given a “suspended” death sentence
with a two-year reprieve which is normally
converted into a life sentence at the end of
that period. The Supreme People’s Court, in
an unprecedented move in 2014, had
overturned her initial death sentence and
ordered a retrial. Evidence of the sustained
domestic violence had been ignored by
judges at the original trial, just as her previous
calls for police protection had gone
unheeded. In March, the Supreme People’s
Court and government had issued new
guidelines on domestic violence cases,
including recommendations on sentencing for
victims of domestic violence who commit
crimes against their abuser. In December the
parliament passed the Domestic Violence Law
which for the first time required police to
investigate all reports of domestic violence
and set up a restraining order system to
protect victims.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
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widespread in detention and during
interrogation, largely because of shortcomings
in domestic law, systemic problems in the
criminal justice system, and difficulties with
implementing rules and procedures in the
face of entrenched practices. Lawyer Yu
Wensheng was tortured during his detention
from October 2014 to January 2015 at Daxing
Detention Centre in Beijing. He was
questioned for 15 to 16 hours every day while
seated on a rigid restraint chair, handcuffed
10
for long hours and deprived of sleep.
Detainees with deteriorating health were
either denied or were unable to access
adequate medical treatment. These included
Gao Yu and Su Changlan, the latter a
prominent women’s rights activist who
remained in detention throughout the year
after being detained in October 2014 for
supporting the pro-democracy protests in
Hong Kong.
Zhou Jinjuan, an 84-year-old victim of
forced eviction who had sought redress in
Beijing by visiting government offices, was
detained in August and placed in an unofficial
detention facility for more than a week without
necessary medical treatment, which
contributed to her losing sight in one eye.
On 18 June, when Wang Quanzhang,
defence lawyer for several Falun Gong
practitioners, was speaking in Dongchangfu
District Court in Liaocheng City, Shandong
Province, he was interrupted by the judge
and expelled from the courtroom for
“disrupting court order”. Wang Quanzhang
said that court police dragged him to another
room and beat him.
In December the UN Committee against
Torture repeated recommendations on legal
safeguards to prevent torture; and reported
harassment of lawyers, human rights
defenders and petitioners as well as lack of
statistical information on torture. It also urged
the authorities to stop sanctioning lawyers for
taking action in accordance with recognized
professional duties, and to repeal legal
provisions that allowed de facto
incommunicado detention through
“residential surveillance in a
designated location”.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In October, the government announced
changes to the family planning policy. After
many years of incremental changes, the
authorities promoted this change as an end to
the “one-child policy”, and as allowing one
couple to have two children. Policies allowing
rural households and ethnic minorities under
certain circumstances to have additional
children would continue. The government
also announced that it would take steps to
regularize the status of China’s 13 million
undocumented children born in contravention
of the old policy.
11
TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION AND
TIBETAN POPULATED AREAS IN OTHER
PROVINCES
To mark the 50th anniversary of the
establishment of the Tibetan Autonomous
Region in September, the Chinese
government issued a white paper denouncing
the “middle way” approach advocated by the
Dalai Lama and the “Dalai Lama group’s
separatist activities”. In a ceremony marking
the anniversary, political leader Yu
Zhengsheng vowed to fight against
separatism and urged the army, police and
judicial staff in Tibet to be ready to fight a
protracted battle against the “14th Dalai
clique”.
Ethnic Tibetans continued to face
discrimination and restrictions on their rights
to freedoms of religious belief, expression,
association and peaceful assembly. Several
Tibetan monks, writers, protesters and
activists were detained, including Tibetan
monk Choephel Dawa and Tibetan writer and
blogger Druklo.
12
At the end of the year the
charges against them and their place of
detention were not known.
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, a Tibetan religious
and community leader who was imprisoned
for “inciting separatism” in 2002, died in July
while serving a life sentence. Police harassed
and detained family members and others who
had gathered to demand the return of his
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body so that customary Buddhist religious
rites could be performed.
13
The authorities
cremated his body against the family’s
wishes. There were also reports that the
police countered these large-scale protests
with excessive and arbitrary use of force,
including tear gas and gunshots.
At least seven people set themselves on fire
in Tibetan-populated areas during the year in
protest against repressive policies by the
authorities; at least five died as a result. The
number of known self-immolations since
February 2009 rose to 143.
disappearance and execution.
14
In November,
two pro-democracy activists who had been
granted refugee status by UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency, and had confirmed
resettlement destinations, were also
repatriated to China. China continued to
ignore
non-refoulement
obligations in
international law by repatriating North
Koreans to North Korea, where they risked
detention, imprisonment, torture and other ill-
treatment and forced labour.
XINJIANG UIGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION
HONG KONG SPECIAL
ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
A “Strike Hard” campaign targeting “violent
terrorism and religious extremism”, which
had originally been a limited one-year-long
campaign launched in May 2014, was
extended throughout 2015. At the campaign’s
one-year mark in May, the authorities claimed
to have broken up 181 “terror groups”. An
increasing number of violent incidents and
counter-terrorism operations were reported,
resulting in many casualties.
On 1 January new “Enforcement of
Religious Affairs Regulations” came into
effect in the region, with the professed goal of
more tightly controlling online
communications, and clamping down on the
role of religion in “marriage, funerals, culture,
the arts, and sports”. In effect, this further
tightened restrictions on Uighurs, a mainly
Muslim Turkic ethnic group, living in the
region who have been subjected to extensive
discriminatory practices for many years. The
same month, the region’s capital city,
Urumqi, banned the wearing of burqas.
As in previous years numerous counties
posted notices on their websites stating that
primary and secondary school students and
Communist Party members should not be
permitted to observe Ramadan.
FORCED REPATRIATIONS FROM
NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
After Chinese diplomatic pressure, in July,
Thailand deported 109 Uighurs to China,
where they were at risk of torture, enforced
Police in Hong Kong formally arrested 955
people during the year who had taken part in
the 79-day pro-democracy protests in Hong
Kong between September and December
2014, also known as the “Umbrella
Movement”. A further 48 were summoned.
Among those arrested were opposition
lawmakers, the three co-founders of the
“Occupy Central” civil disobedience
campaign, and leaders of two student groups
– Alex Chow of the Federation of Students
and Joshua Wong of “Scholarism”, a youth-
led pro-democracy organization. A pattern of
long intervals between initial arrests and the
decision to prosecute meant that only a small
proportion of the protesters who had been
arrested were convicted by the end of 2015.
In October, Ken Tsang Kin-Chiu, a pro-
democracy activist whose beating by police
during the protest in 2014 was caught on
camera by a local TV channel, was charged
with one count of “assaulting police officers in
the due execution of their duties” and four
counts of “resisting a police officer in the due
execution of his duty”. The seven police
officers who allegedly carried out the beating
were charged with “causing grievous bodily
harm with intent” on the same day. In
December the officers and Ken Tsang
pleaded not guilty.
The Hong Kong University administration
was criticized for decisions which raised
concerns about academic freedom in Hong
Kong. These included university sanctions, in
August against law professor Benny Tai for
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his handling of anonymous donations related
to the protests, which the administration
claimed violated university procedures, and in
September, the university’s governing council
rejection of a nomination committee’s choice
to appoint Johannes Chan Man-mun,
professor of law and former Dean of the
Faculty of Law, as a pro-vice-chancellor.
Media, academics and students claimed
these decisions were retaliation for the two
academics’ support for the 2014 “Umbrella”
protests.
In a landmark judgment in February, Law
Wan-Tung was found guilty of intimidating,
assaulting and causing bodily harm to her
employees, Indonesian migrant domestic
workers Erwiana Sulistyaningsih and Tutik
Lestari Ningsih. She was sentenced to six
years in prison.
14. Thailand must not send Uighurs to Chinese torture (News
story,
9 July)
COLOMBIA
Republic of Colombia
Head of state and government:
Juan Manuel Santos
Calderón
Peace talks between the government and
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de
Colombia, FARC) made significant progress.
The two sides announced that an agreement
had been reached on transitional justice and
that a peace deal would be signed in 2016.
The agreement appeared to fall short of
international law standards on victims’ right
to truth, justice and reparation.
The FARC’s unilateral ceasefire and the
government’s suspension of aerial
bombardments on FARC positions reduced
the intensity of hostilities. However, the
conflict continued to have a negative impact
on the human rights of the civilian
population, especially Indigenous Peoples,
Afro-descendant and peasant farmer
communities, and human rights defenders.
The security forces, guerrilla groups and
paramilitaries were responsible for crimes
under international law.
Congress approved legislation that
threatened to exacerbate the already high
levels of impunity, especially for members
of the security forces implicated in human
rights violations, including unlawful killings,
torture, enforced disappearances, death
threats, forced displacement and rape.
Hundreds of candidates in the October
regional elections were threatened and some
killed, mainly by paramilitaries, but in fewer
numbers than in previous polls.
1. China: Latest information on crackdown against lawyers and activists
(Press
release,
28 August)
2. China: Authorities show callous disregard for imprisoned journalist by
denying appropriate medical care (Press
release,
6 August)
3. China: Release supporters of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests
(Press release,
28 September)
4. Further information – China: Two activists released in China (ASA
17/2097/2015)
5. China: Activists held in crackdown on labour rights (ASA
17/3015/2015)
6. China: Submission to the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative
Affairs Commission on the second draft Foreign Non-Governmental
Organizations Management Law (ASA
17/1776/2015)
7. China: Submission to the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative
Affairs Commission on the draft “Cyber Security Law” (ASA
17/2206/2015)
8. China: Lawyer supporting churches in China detained (ASA
17/2370/2015)
9. China: Submission to the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative
Affairs Commission on the Criminal Law Amendment (9) (Second
Draft) (ASA
17/2205/2015)
10. China: Submission to the UN Committee against Torture (ASA
17/2725/2015)
11. China: Reform of one-child policy not enough (News
story,
29 October)
12. China: Fears for Tibetan monk detained in China – Choephel Dawa
(ASA
17/1551/2015)
13. China: Return the body of prominent Tibetan monk Tenzin Deleg
Rinpoche who died in prison (ASA
17/2102/2015)
PEACE PROCESS
On 23 September, the government and the
FARC announced an agreement on
transitional justice – made public on 15
December – and that a peace deal would be
signed by 23 March 2016. Its central
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component was a Special Jurisdiction for
Peace, which would consist of a tribunal and
special courts with jurisdiction over those
directly or indirectly involved in the conflict
implicated in “serious human rights violations
and breaches of international humanitarian
law”.
Those who deny responsibility for grave
crimes, if found guilty, would face up to 20
years in prison. Those who admit
responsibility would receive non-custodial
sentences of between five and eight years’
“effective restriction of freedoms”.
By proposing sanctions that do not appear
to be proportionate to the severity of crimes
under international law, Colombia may be
failing to comply with its obligation under
international law to prevent and punish such
crimes.
An Amnesty Law that would benefit those
accused of “political and related crimes” was
proposed. Although a definition of what
constitutes “related crimes” had yet to be
agreed, those convicted of grave crimes
would be excluded.
On 4 June, the two sides announced plans
for a truth commission, although the courts
would not be able to use any information
uncovered by the commission. This could
undermine the ability of the judiciary to
prosecute crimes under international law.
On 17 October, the two sides reached
agreement on a mechanism to locate and
recover the remains of many of those – both
civilians and combatants – still missing as a
result of the conflict.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
The armed conflict continued to have a
significant human rights impact on civilians,
especially those living in rural areas.
1
Many communities living in poor urban
areas, including Afro-descendants in the
Pacific city of Buenaventura, were also
affected.
2
All the parties to the conflict were
responsible for crimes under international
law, including unlawful killings, forced
displacement, enforced disappearances,
death threats and crimes of sexual violence.
Children continued to be recruited as
combatants by guerrilla groups and
paramilitaries.
By 1 December, the Victims’ Unit had
registered 7.8 million victims of the conflict,
including almost 6.6 million victims of forced
displacement, more than 45,000 enforced
disappearances and around 263,000 conflict-
related killings; the vast majority of victims
were civilians.
According to figures from the Colombian
NGO CODHES (Consultoría para los Derechos
Humanos y el Desplazamiento), more than
204,000 people were forcibly displaced in
2014, compared to almost 220,000 in the
previous year.
The National Indigenous Organization of
Colombia recorded 35 killings and 3,481
forced displacements in 2015. The situation
of Indigenous communities in Cauca
Department, many of which were
campaigning for recognition of their territorial
rights, was particularly acute.
On 6 February, Gerardo Velasco Escue and
Emiliano Silva Oteca of the Toéz Indigenous
resguardo
(reservation) were forcibly
disappeared after being stopped by
unidentified armed men near the hamlet of La
Selva in Caloto Municipality, Cauca
Department. Two days later, the community
found their bodies bearing signs of torture in
the municipality of Guachené. On 5 February,
a death threat by the Black Eagles (Águilas
Negras) paramilitary group announcing that it
was “time for social cleansing in northern
Cauca” had been circulated in the area and
neighbouring municipalities.
On 2 July, two small explosive devices
injured several people in Bogotá. The
authorities attributed the attack to the
guerrilla group National Liberation Army
(ELN). Fifteen people, many of them human
rights defenders and student activists
belonging to the People’s Congress (Congreso
de los Pueblos) social movement, were
arrested, although only 13 were charged.
Some public officials linked all 13 to the July
explosions and the ELN, but only three were
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eventually charged with “terrorism” and
membership of the ELN. The other 10 were
charged with weapons-related offences.
There were concerns that these events may
have been used to undermine the work of
human rights defenders. Some members of
the People’s Congress have in the past been
subjected to death threats and harassment
for their work in defence of human rights. In
January, one of the leaders of the People’s
Congress, Carlos Alberto Pedraza Salcedo,
was killed in Bogotá.
SECURITY FORCES
Nariño Department. The FARC had
threatened in October 2014 that they would
kill him if he remained leader of the Council,
which had been seeking the restitution of
territory since 2012.
According to the NGO País Libre, there
were 182 kidnappings in January-November.
The ELN accounted for 23 of these, the FARC
for seven and paramilitaries for 24. However,
most kidnappings (123) were attributed to
common delinquency. Landmines, mostly laid
by the FARC, continued to kill and maim
civilians and members of the security forces.
Reports of extrajudicial executions by the
security forces, a widespread and systematic
practice during the conflict, continued to fall.
Such practices included “false positives”:
unlawful killings by the security forces – in
return for benefits such as bonuses,
additional leave or promotions – in which the
victims, usually poor young men, were falsely
presented as combat kills. “False positives”
were prevalent during the administration of
President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010).
Although the latest report of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, published
in January, did not record any “false
positives”, it did include cases “in which the
armed forces attempted to disguise victims of
arbitrary killings as enemy combat casualties
or rearranged the crime scene to make it
appear as self-defence”.
Little progress was made in investigating
those suspected of criminal responsibility for
such crimes, especially high-ranking officers.
The Office of the Attorney General registered
more than 4,000 reported extrajudicial
executions over recent decades.
PARAMILITARIES
GUERRILLA GROUPS
Guerrilla groups were responsible for crimes
under international law and human rights
abuses, including unlawful killings and
indiscriminate attacks that placed civilians at
risk. Afro-descendant community leader
Genaro García of the Alto Mira y Frontera
Community Council was shot dead by the
FARC on 3 August in Tumaco Municipality,
Paramilitary groups, which the government
referred to as criminal gangs (bandas
criminales, bacrim),
continued to commit
crimes under international law and serious
human rights violations, despite their
supposed demobilization in the government-
sponsored Justice and Peace process that
began in 2005. Paramilitaries – sometimes
acting with the support or acquiescence of
state actors, including members of the
security forces – threatened and killed,
among others, human rights defenders.
On 11 January, a pamphlet from the Black
Eagles Northern Bloc Atlantic Coast (Bloque
Norte Costa Atlántica Águilas Negras) was
circulated in Atlántico Department. The death
threat named around 40 individuals,
including human rights defenders, trade
unionists, land claimants, and a state official
working on land restitution. Those named in
the death threat had been involved in the
land restitution process and issues relating to
the peace process.
Only 122 of the more than 30,000
paramilitaries who supposedly laid down their
arms in the demobilization process had been
convicted of human rights-related crimes by
the end of the year. Some 120 paramilitaries
were released after serving the maximum
eight years in prison stipulated in the Justice
and Peace process. Legal proceedings
against most of them were ongoing. Concerns
remained about the security risks the
paramilitaries posed to the communities to
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which they returned after their release. Most
paramilitaries, however, did not submit
themselves to the Justice and Peace process
and received de facto amnesties without any
effective investigations to determine their
possible role, or that of those who colluded
with them, in human rights violations.
IMPUNITY
The state continued to fail to bring to justice
the vast majority of those suspected of
individual criminal responsibility for crimes
under international law. The government also
steered through approval of legislation – such
as Legislative Act No 1 amending Article 221
of the Constitution and Law 1765 – that
threatened to increase the already high levels
of impunity.
The military justice system continued to
claim jurisdiction over and subsequently close
investigations into alleged human rights
violations by members of the security forces,
without holding to account those allegedly
implicated.
Relatives of victims of human rights
violations who campaigned for justice, as well
as members of human rights organizations
helping them, faced death threats and other
serious human rights violations from
paramilitaries and members of the security
forces.
3
Some progress was made in bringing to
justice some of those implicated in a scandal
involving the now-disbanded civilian
intelligence service (Departamento
Administrativo de Seguridad, DAS). The DAS
was implicated in threats and illegal
surveillance of human rights defenders,
politicians, journalists and judges, mainly
during the government of President Uribe. On
28 April, the Supreme Court of Justice
sentenced former DAS Director María del
Pilar Hurtado to 14 years in prison and
President Uribe’s former chief of staff,
Bernardo Moreno, to eight years’ house arrest
for their roles in the scandal. On 1 October,
former DAS intelligence director Carlos
Alberto Arzayús Guerrero was sentenced to
six years’ imprisonment for the psychological
torture of journalist Claudia Julieta Duque.
On 6 November, in a ceremony ordered by
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,
President Santos assumed responsibility and
asked forgiveness for the state’s role in the
enforced disappearance of 10 people, the
enforced disappearance and extrajudicial
execution of an 11th person, and the torture
of several other individuals. These crimes
occurred after security forces stormed the
Palace of Justice in Bogotá in November
1985 where people were being held hostage
by the M-19 guerrilla group. Some 100
people died in the assault. Very few of those
alleged to have been responsible for these
crimes have been held to account.
On 16 December, the Supreme Court
overturned the conviction of retired colonel
Luis Alfonso Plazas Vega who in 2010 had
been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the
crime of enforced disappearance in relation to
this case.
LAND RIGHTS
The land restitution process, which began in
2012 with the aim of returning to their rightful
occupants some of the millions of hectares of
land illegally acquired or forcibly abandoned
during the conflict, continued to make slow
progress. By the end of 2015, only 58,500
hectares of land claimed by peasant farmers,
one 50,000-hectare Indigenous territory and
one 71,000-hectare Afro-descendant territory
were subject to judicial rulings ordering their
return. The main stumbling blocks included
the failure to guarantee the security of those
wishing to return, and the lack of effective
social and economic measures to ensure any
returns were sustainable.
Leaders of displaced communities and
those seeking the return of their lands were
4
threatened or killed. Members of Indigenous
and Afro-descendant communities seeking to
defend their territorial rights, including by
denouncing the presence of illegal mining or
opposing the development of outside mining
interests on their collective territories, were
also targeted.
5
There were concerns that Law 1753,
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approved by Congress on 9 June, could
enable mining and other economic sectors to
gain control over illegally acquired lands. This
could undermine the right of many of these
lands’ legitimate occupants, especially on
Indigenous and Afro-descendant territories, to
claim ownership over them.
6
is also for your children and women.”
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders – including
Indigenous, Afro-descendant and peasant
farmer community leaders, trade unionists,
journalists, land activists and those
campaigning for justice – were at risk of
attack, mainly by paramilitaries.
7
There were
also reports of thefts of sensitive information
held by human rights organizations.
Some criminal investigations into human
rights defenders continued to raise concerns
that the legal system was being misused in an
attempt to undermine their work. In
September, Indigenous leader Feliciano
Valencia was sentenced to 18 years’
imprisonment for illegally holding captive a
member of the security forces who had
infiltrated an Indigenous protest in Cauca
Department. Feliciano Valencia, who had long
been the target of harassment by civilian and
military officials for his defence of Indigenous
Peoples’ territorial rights, denied the charges.
According to the NGO We Are Defenders
(Somos Defensores), 51 human rights
defenders were killed in January-September,
compared to 45 during the same period in
2014. According to provisional figures from
the NGO National Trade Union School
(Escuela Nacional Sindical), 18 members of
trade unions were killed in 2015, compared
to 21 in 2014.
The number of death threats against
human rights defenders again increased. An
email sent on 9 March by the Black Eagles
South Bloc (Águilas Negras Bloque Sur)
threatened 14 individuals, including
politicians active on human rights and peace-
related issues, and two human rights NGOs.
The threat read: “Communist guerrillas…
your days are numbered, your blood will be
as fertilizer for the fatherland… this message
All parties to the conflict were responsible for
crimes of sexual violence committed mainly
against women and girls. Very few of the
alleged perpetrators were brought to justice.
In June, the decision by prosecutors to
close the case against and release one of the
main suspects in the kidnapping and rape of
journalist Jineth Bedoya by paramilitaries in
2000 led to a public outcry that forced
prosecutors to quickly reverse their decision.
In July, the government promulgated Law
1761, which categorized femicide as a
separate crime and increased the
punishment for those convicted of this
offence to up to 50 years’ imprisonment.
Human rights defenders campaigning for
justice in sexual violence cases were
threatened, and some threats against women
8
activists involved threats of sexual violence.
US ASSISTANCE
US assistance to Colombia continued to fall.
The USA allocated some US$174.1 million for
military and US$152.2 million for non-military
assistance to Colombia. In September, 25%
of the total military assistance for the year was
released after the US Secretary of State
determined that the Colombian authorities
had made progress on human rights.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In his January report, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed
progress in the peace talks, but expressed
concern about impunity and the human rights
impact of the conflict, especially on
Indigenous and Afro-descendant
communities and human rights defenders.
Although the report noted that all the warring
parties were responsible for human rights
abuses and violations, it stated that
paramilitaries (referred to as “post-
demobilization armed groups linked to
organized crime”) represented “the main
public security challenge”.
In August, the CERD Committee noted that
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the armed conflict continued to have a
disproportionate impact on Indigenous
Peoples and Afro-descendant communities
and criticized the failure to ensure the
effective participation of these communities in
the peace process.
The UN Committee against Torture
expressed concern over “the persistence of
grave human rights violations, including
extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances in the State party” and the
fact that “it has not received information
concerning criminal trials or convictions for
the offence of enforced disappearance ”.
launched into the 2014 “Mbata ya Bakolo”
operation, in which more than 179,000
nationals from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) were expelled. The UN
Committee against Torture expressed
serious concern that torture and other ill-
treatment occurred in most places of
detention. Conditions of detention remained
harsh. Presidential elections will be held in
March 2016.
BACKGROUND
1. Colombia: Peasant farmer linked to Peace Community killed (AMR
23/2554/2015)
2. Colombia: Human rights defender under surveillance: Berenice Celeita
(AMR
23/1945/2015)
3. Colombia: Caller “will kill” missing man’s mother (AMR
23/2022/2015)
4. Colombia: Land restitution process sparks more threats (AMR
23/0003/2015)
5. Colombia: Restoring the land, securing the peace: Indigenous and
Afro-descendant territorial rights (AMR
23/2615/2015)
6. Colombia: National Development Plan threatens to deny the right to
land restitution to victims of the armed conflict and allow mining
firms to operate on illegally acquired lands (AMR
23/2077/2015)
7. Colombia: Director of human rights NGO threatened: Iván Madero
Vergel (AMR
23/2007/2015)
8. Colombia: Harassed for fighting sexual violence (AMR
23/002/2015)
A referendum to amend the Constitution was
held on 25 October. It was both boycotted by
the main opposition coalition and the subject
of major demonstrations. However, the
amendment was passed on 27 October and
confirmed by the Constitutional Court on
6 November, allowing the incumbent
President to run for a third term in 2016.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
CONGO
(REPUBLIC OF)
Republic of Congo
Head of state and government:
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Security forces used unnecessary or
excessive force, including lethal force,
against demonstrators opposing proposed
changes to the Constitution. Protesters were
arbitrarily arrested and freedom of
expression was curtailed. Expulsions of non-
nationals resumed, targeting West African
citizens, while no investigations were
Freedom of expression was curtailed.
Members of opposition parties who spoke
against the proposed amendment to the
Constitution were particularly targeted. From
July to October, there was a wave of arrests of
political opponents protesting against the
constitutional review.
In October, media freedom was arbitrarily
restricted when mobile internet, text
messaging services and some radio broadcast
signals were disrupted in the capital,
Brazzaville, ahead of protests organized by
the opposition.
On 9 October, six activists from youth
movements were arrested following a
peaceful protest they had organized against
the referendum. They were charged with
“participation in an unauthorized protest ”.
On 22 October, security forces surrounded
the house of opposition leader Guy Brice
Parfait Kolélas in Brazzaville. He was kept
under de facto house arrest for 12 days
together with 25 others. No judicial warrant
authorized the action.
On 23 November, Paulin Makaya,
president of the political party “Unis pour le
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Congo” (UPC), who openly opposed the
proposed changes to the Constitution, was
arrested by police officers while at the office
of the Public Prosecutor of the High Court of
Brazzaville. He was with his lawyer to report
for questioning as part of an investigation. He
was kept in detention at the Central Police
Station of Brazzaville from 23 November until
1 December without being brought before a
court or charged and was questioned on
several occasions in the absence of his
lawyer. A request for bail submitted by his
lawyers on 2 December was not addressed,
despite a reminder on 11 December. Paulin
Makaya was still in pre-trial detention at the
central prison of Brazzaville at the end of the
year. On 5 June, protests were organized by
students in the cities of Brazzaville, Pointe-
Noire and Dolisie following the revocation of
the Baccalauréat exam due to massive fraud
and serious irregularities. Many students were
injured in clashes with the police and several
were arrested.
and forcibly returned by the police.
Government authorities portrayed the security
operation as a response to increased
criminality, which they believed was being
driven by
kuluna
gangs (organized criminal
gangs) from the DRC.
On 14 May, the second phase of the
operation was launched in Pointe-Noire. It
was characterized by arrests, detentions and
deportations targeting West African nationals,
including Senegalese, Malians, and Ivorians.
Police targeted specific neighbourhoods,
carrying out cordon and search operations,
resulting in arbitrary arrests. Those arrested
were placed in retention facilities lacking
access to running water, adequate food and
bedding as well as washing and sanitary
facilities. NGOs were denied access to the
retention sites. No official figures were issued
concerning the number of people arrested
and returned during the operation.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
On 17 October, in Pointe-Noire, a plain-
clothes police officer fired live ammunition
into a crowd demonstrating against the
referendum, wounding 13 people.
On 20 October, security forces fired tear
gas and live ammunition at protesters in
Brazzaville demonstrating against the
proposed constitutional changes. Six people
were reported to have been killed. On the
same day, opposition groups reported that at
least 12 protesters and bystanders had been
killed by military police and several others
wounded in protests organized in Pointe-
Noire. No investigations into these incidents
had been initiated at the end of the year.
On 7 May, the UN Committee against Torture
expressed serious concern about numerous
reports of torture and other ill-treatment
occurring in most of the country’s places of
detention. The Committee highlighted the
systematic use of pre-trial detention, the
failure by authorities to observe statutory
limits on its imposition and the failure to
ensure detainees’ right to legal representation
and to have their relatives informed of their
detention.
PRISON CONDITIONS
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
No investigations were launched into serious
human rights violations committed in 2014 by
Congolese security forces and others during
the first phase of the Mbata Ya Bakolo
operation, in which more than 179,000 DRC
nationals, including refugees and asylum-
seekers, were rounded up, arbitrarily detained
Detention conditions remained extremely
poor, including through chronic
overcrowding, inadequate food, lack of
drinking water, limited medical care and
personnel and sub-standard hygiene and
sanitation facilities. In April, three detainees
died in detention at the Pointe-Noire Central
police station, including one, Batola Régis,
who was held in a small, overcrowded cell
and died of malnutrition. No investigation had
been launched into these deaths by the end
of the year.
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CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
Head of state:
Alassane Ouattara
Head of government:
Daniel Kablan Duncan
Hundreds of detainees still awaited trial in
connection with post-electoral violence in
2010 and 2011, and concerns remained
about selective accountability for crimes
committed during that period. Freedoms of
expression and assembly were restricted and
there was a wave of arbitrary arrests of
political opponents prior to elections. The
trial of Laurent Gbagbo and Laurent Blé
Goudé at the ICC was scheduled to begin in
2016. Simone Gbagbo was not transferred
to the ICC despite an outstanding arrest
warrant.
Largely peaceful presidential elections were
held in October. President Ouattara was re-
elected for another five-year term on a turnout
of 53%, with some opposition members
boycotting the poll.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
BACKGROUND
The security situation remained stable despite
attacks in early 2015 by armed groups and
intercommunal clashes in the west. In June,
the mandate of the UN Operation in Côte
d’Ivoire (UNOCI) was extended for an
additional year. In the same month, the
National Assembly adopted a law against
terrorism, giving the Prosecutor of the Court
of First Instance in Abidjan jurisdiction to
qualify crimes as acts of terrorism and to hold
suspects in custody for up to eight days.
The 2014 report of the Dialogue, Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (CDVR),
established to shed light on post-electoral
violence, had still not been made public by
the end of the year. In March, the National
Commission for Reconciliation and
Compensation of Victims (CONARIV ) was
created to complete the work of the CDVR, in
particular to register unidentified victims of
the post-electoral violence. In December,
President Ouattara committed to pardoning
over 3,000 people detained since the
electoral crisis, either totally or partially
removing their sentences. At the end of the
year, the list of those pardoned had not been
made public.
More than 200 supporters of former President
Gbagbo remained in detention on charges
including public disorder and genocide linked
to the conflict after the 2010 elections.
Among them were more than 30 prisoners
extradited from Liberia in 2012 and 2014. In
August, 20 military officers who had backed
President Ouattara, including Chérif Ousmane
and Lossény Fofana, were charged with
crimes relating to post-electoral violence.
In March, 78 supporters and relatives of
Laurent Gbagbo, including Simone and
Michel Gbagbo and Geneviève Bro Grebé,
were tried in the Abidjan Assize Court.
Eighteen people were acquitted, and some of
those convicted received suspended prison
sentences. Simone Gbagbo was sentenced to
20 years’ imprisonment for undermining state
security, participation in an insurrectionary
movement, and public disorder. Geneviève
Bro Grebé was sentenced to 10 years for
similar crimes. At the end of the year the
implementation of her sentence was
suspended pending an appeal.
Amnesty International’s trial observer noted
that, contrary to the right to have a criminal
conviction reviewed by a higher tribunal, Côte
d’Ivoire’s law restricts appeals to points of law
before the Court of Cassation. The right to
appeal in this case was further undermined
by the Assize Court’s failure to provide a full
written judgment. He also noted that,
although during the trial several of the
accused raised allegations that they had been
tortured in pre-trial detention, the Court did
not appear to consider them.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
In May, Sébastien Dano Djédjé, Justin Koua
and Hubert Oulaye, high-ranking members of
the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), were
arrested.
1
They had organized a ceremony to
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inaugurate Laurent Gbagbo as FPI President
in Mama, his home town. Sébastien Dano
Djédjé and Justin Koua were charged with
violation of a court order, violence and assault
on security forces, rebellion and public
disorder. Hubert Oulaye was charged with
killing UNOCI soldiers in 2012. Sébastien
Dano Djédjé was provisionally released in
December. The other two men were detained
pending trial. The arresting officers allegedly
beat Hubert Oulaye’s 15-year-old
granddaughter, who was suffering from
malaria, at his home. In September, one
guard accused of informing the family of
Sébastien Dano Djédjé that he was sick was
arrested and detained.
Between mid-September and October,
more than 50 people, mostly members of the
political opposition, were arrested. The
majority were held on charges of public
disorder after participating in unauthorized
2
peaceful demonstrations. Although some
were later released, more than 20 remained
detained at the end of the year. Many were ill-
treated during arrest and were held in
incommunicado detention for several weeks.
In September, Samba David’s house was
ransacked and he was beaten with rifle butts.
He was held incommunicado for two days
without access to a lawyer or medical
treatment. He was charged with public
disorder, violation of a court order and
complicity in the destruction of property, and
sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.
was arrested and charged with publishing
false news and insulting the President. An
article published earlier that month accused
President Ouattara of embezzling foreign aid
and money laundering. A week later, the
charges against Joseph Gnanhoua Titi were
dropped and he was released.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Despite the outstanding ICC arrest warrant for
Simone Gbagbo for alleged crimes against
humanity, President Ouattara stated in April
that there would be no more transfers to the
ICC. In the same month, the ICC joined the
trials of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé
Goudé. In May, the ICC rejected Côte
d’Ivoire’s appeal against the admissibility of
Simone Gbagbo’s case before the ICC. In
October, the ICC also rejected Laurent
Gbagbo’s request to hold the opening
statements of his trial in Abidjan or Arusha. In
the same month, it was announced that the
trial of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé
Goudé would start in January 2016. Laurent
Gbagbo’s latest request for provisional release
was also rejected.
PRISON CONDITIONS
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
The authorities banned at least 10 protest
marches organized by NGOs and the main
opposition party. Tear gas and batons were
used to disperse protesters. At least 80
people were arrested in different parts of the
country and charged with public disorder. At
the end of 2015, they were still in detention
awaiting trial.
In its March report, the UN Human Rights
Committee expressed concern about freedom
of the press. In July, Joseph Gnanhoua Titi,
director of
Aujourd’hui,
a daily newspaper,
The UN Human Rights Committee report in
March conveyed concerns about prison
conditions throughout the country. It noted in
particular the large number of pre-trial
detainees, the unsanitary conditions and lack
of adequate medical facilities, the failure to
detain children and adults separately, and the
severe overcrowding in the Maison d’Arrêt et
de Correction d’Abidjan (MACA) detention
centre in Abidjan.
DEATH PENALTY
In March, Parliament unanimously approved
two bills amending the Criminal Code and the
Code of Criminal Procedure to exclude the
death penalty, which had been abolished in
the 2000 Constitution.
1. Côte d’Ivoire. L’arrestation d’opposants à l’approche de la
présidentielle envoie un signal préoccupant (News
story,
7 May)
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2. Côte d’Ivoire: Il faut mettre fin aux arrestations arbitraires
d’opposants à l’approche de la présidentielle (Press
release,
5
October)
CROATIA
Republic of Croatia
Head of state:
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (replaced Ivo
Josipović in February)
Head of government:
Zoran Milanović
Croatia struggled to provide adequate
reception conditions and access to asylum
proceedings to the large number of refugees
and migrants that arrived in the country.
Parliament passed a law providing survivors
of war crimes of sexual violence with
reparations. Discrimination against Croatian
Serbs and Roma continued.
victims alleged that the local police had
threatened them when they filed their
complaint, failed to arrest the suspects
on the spot and investigate the crime
effectively.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In June, the Osijek County Court confirmed
the decision of the Zagreb Municipal Court,
finding that Zagreb Pride, a lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
organization, violated the honour and dignity
of a former employee of the Croatian Radio
Television (HRT) by placing her on the annual
list of candidates for the most homophobic
person of the year 2013. The Court ordered
the organization to pay 41,018.91 HRK
(€5,414) to the journalist and to publish the
verdict on its website.
DISCRIMINATION
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
The state-wide celebration in August of the
20
th
anniversary of Operation Storm, which
saw 200,000 Serbs flee from Croatia in 1995,
brought tensions between Serb and Croat
nationalists back.
In August, the town council of Vukovar
passed a motion to remove public signs in the
Cyrillic (Serb) alphabet, and to require a
special request and the payment of a fee for
the receipt of official communications in
Cyrillic, despite the fact that 34% of the
town’s population were ethnic Serbs. The
Croatian law on minority rights entitles
minorities amounting to one third of the
municipal population to official usage of their
languages and scripts. Discrimination against
Croatian Serbs in public sector employment
and in the restitution of tenancy rights to
social housing vacated during the 1991-1995
war persisted.
Social exclusion of and discrimination
against Roma remained widespread,
particularly in accessing adequate housing
and employment opportunities.
The municipal court in Split acquitted three
men standing trial for a homophobic attack
against six women in the town in 2012. The
In February, the International Court of Justice
cleared Serbia and Croatia of mutual claims
of genocide, finding that neither Serbia nor
Croatia had established the necessary intent
on the part of the other to commit genocide
during the conflict in the 1990s.
In May, the Croatian Parliament passed the
Law on the rights of victims of sexual violence
in war. The Law provides survivors of wartime
sexual violence with Croatian citizenship, a
lump-sum compensation amounting to
€13,000 and a monthly allowance amounting
to €328. In addition to the payments,
survivors will be entitled to health care,
medical rehabilitation and psychological
support. The Law entered into force in June
with the first allowances due to be paid out in
January 2016.
However, Croatia had not yet adopted a
comprehensive legislative framework that
would regulate the status of, and access to
reparation for, all civilian victims of war
crimes.
Croatia did not ratify the International
Convention against Enforced Disappearances
nor did it adopt a law on missing persons. In
the absence of these legal instruments,
relatives of the 1,600 missing persons in
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Croatia were denied access to justice and
reparations.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
By the end of the year, more than 550,000
refugees and migrants had transited through
Croatia towards other EU countries, with the
assistance of state authorities providing free
transportation.
1
Only a few hundred people
made an asylum application and, by October,
37 had been granted international protection.
The authorities failed to identify vulnerable
individuals, including unaccompanied minors
and victims of human trafficking entering the
country through its land borders.
Act, which imposes financial and economic
sanctions on Cuba. In October the UN
General Assembly adopted, for the 24th
consecutive year, a resolution calling on the
USA to lift the unilateral embargo.
By the end of the year, Cuba had failed to
ratify either the ICCPR or ICESCR, both of
which it had signed in February 2008, or the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
1. Hundreds of refugees stranded in dire conditions on Croatia/Slovenia
border (News
story,
19 October)
CUBA
Republic of Cuba
Head of state and government:
Raúl Castro Ruz
Despite increasingly open diplomatic
relations, severe restrictions on freedoms of
expression, association and movement
continued. Thousands of cases of
harassment of government critics and
arbitrary arrests and detentions were
reported.
Government critics continued to experience
harassment, “acts of repudiation”
(demonstrations led by government
supporters with participation of state security
officials), and politically motivated criminal
prosecutions. The judicial system remained
under political control.
The government continued to control
access to the internet and blocked and
filtered websites, limiting access to
information and criticism of the state. Activists
reported that mobile phones were without
service during the Pope’s visit in September.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
BACKGROUND
The year saw significant changes in Cuba´s
diplomatic relations. In April, President Castro
met US President Barack Obama during
Cuba’s first attendance of the Summit of the
Americas, the first meeting between leaders
of the two countries in nearly 60 years. In
May, Cuba was removed from the USA’s list
of countries designated as state sponsors of
international terrorism. Cuba and the USA
reopened their respective embassies and
announced their intent to re-establish
diplomatic relations.
Despite this, in September President
Obama renewed the Trading with the Enemy
Reports continued of government critics,
including journalists and human rights
activists, being routinely subjected to arbitrary
arrests and short-term detention for
exercising their rights to freedom of
expression, association, assembly and
movement.
The Cuban Commission for Human Rights
and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN)
documented more than 8,600 politically
motivated detentions of government
opponents and activists during the year.
Prior to Pope Francis’ visit in September,
the authorities announced they would release
3,522 prisoners, including people over 60
years of age, prisoners under 20 years of age
with no previous criminal record, chronically
ill prisoners, and foreign nationals whose
countries agreed to repatriate them,
according to
Granma,
the official newspaper
of the Communist Party.
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However, before and during the Pope’s
visit, human rights activists and journalists
reported significant increases in arrests and
short periods of detention. In September
alone, the CCDHRN registered 882 arbitrary
arrests. They included three activists who
reportedly approached the Pope to discuss
human rights. The three went on hunger
strike in detention.
Members and supporters of the Ladies in
White, a group of women calling for the
release of political prisoners and greater
freedoms, and members of the Patriotic
Union of Cuba, a dissident group, were
regularly arrested and detained for periods of
up to 30 hours, according to CCDHRN. The
detentions were carried out to prevent the
activists from attending their regular Sunday
marches and to stop them protesting.
On 10 December, International Human
Rights Day, the political police detained
activists, including many in their homes, to
prevent their peaceful protest. They also
stopped journalists from leaving their offices
to report the story.
been sentenced to three and three-and-a-half
years’ imprisonment respectively, on the
charge of “dangerousness”.
1
Prisoner of conscience Ciro Alexis
Casanova Pérez was released upon
completion of his sentence in June 2015.
2
He
had been found guilty in December 2014 of
“public disorder” following his one-man
demonstration against the government in the
streets of his hometown Placetas.
Graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado Machado,
known as El Sexto, was arrested by agents of
the political police in Havana while travelling
in a taxi on 25 December 2014. He was
carrying two pigs with “Raúl” and “Fidel”
painted on their backs, which he intended to
release at an art show on Christmas Day. He
was accused of “disrespecting the leaders of
the Revolution” but was never brought to
court. He was released from detention on
20 October.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
Cuba has not granted Amnesty International
access to the country since 1990.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Laws covering “public disorder”, “contempt”,
“disrespect”, “dangerousness” and
“aggression” were used in politically
motivated prosecutions, or threats of
prosecution, against government opponents.
In January, the authorities released five
prisoners of conscience along with a group of
more than 50 people believed to have been
imprisoned for political reasons. The USA had
requested they be freed as part of an
agreement between the two governments to
“normalize” relations.
On 7 and 8 January, brothers Vianco,
Django and Alexeis Vargas Martín, were
released from prison. The three men had
been detained since December 2012 and
were sentenced in June 2014 to between
two-and-a-half and four years’ imprisonment
for “public disorder”. On 8 January, prisoners
of conscience Iván Fernández Depestre and
Emilio Planas Robert were apparently
released unconditionally. The two men had
1. Cuba: Prisoner releases must lead to new environment for freedoms
(Press
release, 8 January)
2. Urgent Action: Political dissident must be released (AMR
25/1379/2015)
CYPRUS
Republic of Cyprus
Head of state and government:
Nicos Anastasiades
Irregular migrants were detained for
prolonged periods in inadequate conditions.
In November, Parliament recognized the
right to same-sex civil unions. Allegations of
ill-treatment by law enforcement officials
continued.
BACKGROUND
In May, the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot
leaders resumed negotiations regarding the
reunification of the island.
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REFUGEES' AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Certain categories of asylum-seekers and
irregular migrants who could not be deported
continued to be detained for prolonged
periods. Domestic remedies to challenge
immigration detention remained ineffective.
In July, the European Court of Human
Rights issued three rulings relating to the
detention of 17 Syrian Kurds in 2010 and
their subsequent deportation despite some of
them having asylum proceedings pending
before the Supreme Court. The Court ruled
that their detention had no legal basis and the
procedures available to asylum-seekers and
irregular migrants to challenge their detention
did not offer an effective remedy.
In September, 14 detainees including
several asylum-seekers at the Menoya
immigration detention centre started a hunger
strike in protest at their prolonged detention
and substandard detention conditions.
In September, 115 people were rescued
from a vessel off the southern coast and
settled in a reception centre for asylum-
seekers in Kofinou. Most of the asylum-
seekers who arrived in 2015 entered from the
north and via the UN Buffer Zone.
In September, the Minister of Interior stated
that Cyprus was willing to take up to 300
Syrian refugees under the EU agreed
relocation scheme, but would “seek for them
to be Christian Orthodox”.
In mid-November, Nataliya Konovalova, a
Russian national, was extradited to Russia
despite pending asylum proceedings.
In December, the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights expressed
his concerns about the grave shortcomings of
the Cypriot asylum system and urged for
improvement of reception conditions for
asylum-seekers.
There was an increase in the international
protection status recognition rates in
comparison to 2014.
number of exhumations since 2006 to 1,061.
Between August 2006 and January 2015, the
remains of 625 missing individuals (476
Greek Cypriots and 149 Turkish Cypriots) had
been identified and restituted to their families.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Allegations of ill-treatment in pre-trial custody
and immigration detention continued. In
August, a video was released showing police
officers beating an individual in pre-trial
custody at the Chrysochous police station in
February 2014. The General Prosecutor
ordered the Authority Investigating Allegations
and Complaints against the Police to bring
criminal charges against the police officers
involved in the incident.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
At the end of November, Parliament
recognized the right to same-sex civil unions.
However, the new legislation does not include
joint adoption rights for same-sex couples and
the legal recognition of transgender people.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Czech Republic
Head of state:
Miloš Zeman
Head of government:
Bohuslav Sobotka
The European Commission continued
infringement proceedings against the Czech
Republic for discrimination against Roma.
The government adopted measures aimed at
improving equal access to education. The
routine detention of refugees and migrants
provoked domestic and international
criticism.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
Education
The European Commission continued
infringement proceedings against the Czech
Republic for discrimination against Roma in
education, amounting to a violation of the EU
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Between January and August, the Committee
of Missing Persons in Cyprus exhumed the
remains of 111 people, bringing the total
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Race Equality Directive, on account of the
over-representation of Romani children in
schools and classes for pupils with mild
mental disabilities, where they represent a
third of all pupils. In March, Parliament
adopted an amendment to the Schools Act
introducing measures to support pupils with
special educational needs in mainstream
schools. The amendment will enter into force
on 1 September 2016. In May, the Prime
Minister dismissed the Minister of Education
following Ministry staff’s complaints of
bullying by the Minister. On 17 June, a new
Minister of Education with a record of
engagement in human rights was appointed.
On 23 September, the government adopted
an amendment to the Schools Act that
introduced a compulsory year of pre-school
education. In September, the Minister of
Education announced that the Ministry was
considering abolishing the educational
programme for pupils with mild mental
disabilities.
government to adopt the law. The Prime
Minister dismissed the recommendation,
arguing that it was not necessary.
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA
Between June and September, hundreds of
protesters participated in anti-refugee and
migrant demonstrations in the capital,
Prague, and other cities. Some protests were
countered by refugee rights and anti-racism
activists.
Groups supporting refugees faced threats
from far-right organizations. In September,
stickers featuring a noose and “death to
traitors” were placed on the display window
and door of the community centre Kašpárek,
in the town of Pardubice. The incident
happened a few days after the centre
organized a food drive and other aid for
refugees. Police informed the media that they
were investigating the case as a
misdemeanour.
Housing
In October, a government report on the
situation of the Roma minority concluded that
about half of the 242,000 Roma in the
country met the government’s definition of
social exclusion. The government presented a
Conceptual Framework on Social Housing in
October with the aim of improving access to
affordable housing for those in need. The
Framework envisaged the adoption of a new
law on social housing in 2016.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Sexual and reproductive rights
On 1 October, the government rejected a
draft law on reparations for Romani women
who were forcibly sterilized between 1966
and 2012. The draft, presented by the
Minister for Human Rights, aimed to ensure
access to remedies for the women, such as
monetary compensation, including in cases
where they could not access remedies
through court proceedings due to the statute
of limitations. In a letter to the Prime Minister
in October, the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights urged the
The government continued to refuse the
relocation of refugees within the EU. In
October, the Prime Minister called for the
powers of the EU Border Agency, Frontex, to
be strengthened, to protect the external
borders of the Schengen area. According to
opinion polls, 50% of Czech people opposed
policies consisting of accepting refugees
fleeing armed conflict.
Since the beginning of the year, police
routinely checked trains for irregular
migrants. Those without valid visas were
apprehended and brought to a detention
centre while their deportation proceedings
were pending. The NGO Organization for Aid
to Refugees reported in September that about
700 refugees and migrants, predominantly
from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, were held in
one of the centres, Bělá-Jezová. As the centre
only had a capacity of 260 people, a large
number of refugees and migrants had to
sleep in military tents, a gym and pre-
fabricated containers.
In October, the Public Defender of Rights
(Ombudsperson) stated that living conditions
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in the Bělá-Jezová centre amounted to
degrading treatment and were worse than in
prison. Adults were brought to the premises
handcuffed, routinely checked by the police
in the evening and accommodated in
unhygienic sleeping quarters. Food was
distributed by police officers wearing
balaclavas and helmets. Refugees and
migrants held in the centre were charged for
their stay at a rate of €260 per month. In its
response on 13 October, the Ministry of
Interior ignored these concerns and rejected
the Ombudsperson’s recommendation to stop
placing families with children in the centre.
On 22 October, the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights criticized the treatment of
migrants and refugees and expressed
concern that the government was pursuing
detention as a routine policy. The President’s
spokesperson said the criticism was part of a
campaign against the country. On
17 November, the President attended a
demonstration in Prague organized by the
anti-Islam group Block Against Islam. In his
speech he declared that there are half a
million foreigners living in the country with
whom “there are no problems... Their culture
is fully compatible with European values. It is
not a culture of assassins, it is not a culture of
religious hatred.”
recognized an adoption order which had been
issued for a gay couple by a district court in
California in 2007. The Czech-French couple
permanently living in the USA applied for the
recognition to move to the Czech Republic
and continue enjoying the right to family life.
The Prostějov court held that recognition of
the adoption was in the best interests of the
children despite the lack of legislative
provision allowing adoption by same-sex
couples.
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
THE CONGO
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Head of state:
Joseph Kabila
Head of government:
Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon
Government repression of protests against
attempts by President Kabila to run for the
presidency beyond the two terms allowed by
the Constitution intensified. Violations of
the rights to freedoms of expression,
association and peaceful assembly
increased. Human rights defenders, youth
activists and politicians were threatened,
harassed, arbitrarily arrested and in some
cases convicted for peacefully exercising
their rights. In the east of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC), the security
situation remained volatile, with numerous
armed groups perpetrating serious abuses of
human rights and violations of international
humanitarian law. The failure of the
Congolese army and the UN peacekeeping
force MONUSCO (UN Organization
Stabilization Mission in the DRC) to protect
the civilian population led to a high civilian
death toll and mass displacements.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Patients with mental disabilities continued to
be ill-treated in mental health institutions. In
March, the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture called for an end to the
practice of police officers restraining agitated
patients in psychiatric hospitals; expressed
concerns over the use of net beds as a
protective measure or means of restraint,
often for excessive duration; and reiterated its
call to withdraw them from psychiatric
hospitals and to use more suitable means,
such as bordered beds, for patients in need
of protective measures.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In November, a district court in Prostějov
BACKGROUND
Speculation on constitutional change and
other ways to extend President Kabila’s
mandate, due to end in December 2016,
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triggered public protests and widespread
criticism.
In February, the government started a
decentralization process, dividing the
country’s 11 provinces into 26 entities. The
Independent National Election Commission
(CENI) failed to organize local elections
planned for 25 October and elections for the
governors of the new provinces. On 29
October, the President appointed special
commissioners to govern the provinces. In
October, both the President and the Vice-
President of the CENI resigned, which
increased concerns that presidential elections
would not be organized within constitutional
delays.
In September, the “G7”, a platform of
parties within the majority, was excluded from
the ruling coalition after calling on the
President to respect the Constitution.
Nine members of the National Human
Rights Commission were appointed.
The government-led military Operation
“Sokola 1” (“operation clean-up” in Lingala)
against the armed group Allied Democratic
Forces (ADF) continued in Beni territory,
North Kivu province. In early September,
there was an upsurge of attacks by
presumed ADF members against civilians,
after an absence thereof for nearly four
months.
After the expiration of a six-month
ultimatum for the Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) to disarm, the
Congolese army implemented Operation
“Sokola 2” to neutralize the FDLR, whose
military capacity is said to be still largely
intact.
Following the appointment of two generals
suspected of having committed human rights
violations, MONUSCO decided to halt its
military collaboration with the Congolese army
on “Sokola 2”. However, the army’s
operations against the Front for Patriotic
Resistance in Ituri (FRPI) continued with the
support of MONUSCO. The overall
deteriorating relationship between the army
and MONUSCO left them unable to
adequately protect civilians and sparked the
creation of self-proclaimed “self-defence”
groups.
FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION AND
ASSEMBLY
Security forces dispersed demonstrations
against a bill amending the electoral law, seen
as an attempt to extend President Kabila’s
term, using excessive force. At least 36
people were killed and several hundred
arrested between 19 and 21 January. Two
opposition leaders, Ernest Kyaviro and Cyrille
Dowe, were arrested at the protests and held
in incommunicado detention for 86 and 145
days respectively. Jean-Claude Muyambo,
who had left the ruling coalition after speaking
out publicly against a third term for President
Kabila, was arrested on 20 January. His trial
on seemingly politically motivated charges
was ongoing at the end of the year.
On 15 March, security forces stormed a
press conference in the capital Kinshasa,
where youth activists were launching a civic
education platform, Filimbi. Twenty-seven
people were arrested. Two of them, Fred
Bauma and Yves Makwambala, remained in
detention at the end of the year and
faced serious charges, including conspiracy
against the head of state.
1
Solidarity protests
following the arrests were systematically
repressed. Protesters were arbitrarily arrested
and subjected to torture and other ill-
treatment. On 18 September, four activists
from the youth movement Lutte pour le
Changement (LUCHA, “struggle for change”)
were convicted of incitement to civil
disobedience in violation of their right to
peaceful assembly.
On 15 September, a peaceful opposition
rally in Kinshasa was attacked by unidentified
assailants. Police failed to protect the
protesters.
On 8 October, the Mayor of Lubumbashi
issued a ban on all public political protests.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of expression was seriously curtailed
during the year.
2
The authorities targeted
politicians and activists for peacefully
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mobilizing against perceived attempts by
President Kabila to extend his term and
delays in the organization of presidential
elections.
Vano Kiboko, a former MP from the ruling
coalition, was arrested and convicted after he
suggested during a press conference that the
coalition should start identifying a successor
to President Kabila.
Journalists continued to be victims of
harassment, threats and arbitrary arrests; free
flow of information was often impeded.
On 16 January, Canal Kin Télévision
(CKTV) and Radiotélévision Catholique Elikya
(RTCE) had their transmission signals cut
after they broadcast the opposition’s call for
mass protests. RTCE’s signal was re-
established in June. CKTV remained closed;
Radio Télévision Lubumbashi Jua, a station
owned by Jean-Claude Muyambo, was closed
down when he left the ruling coalition. TV
station Canal Futur remained closed
throughout the year.
During the January protests, internet and
text messaging services were cut by the
authorities, supposedly to manage public
order. The signal of Radio France
Internationale was also temporarily blurred.
Five radio stations which had been closed
in November 2014 after they reported attacks
by the ADF remained closed throughout the
year.
close to Mavivi, North Kivu province, and
killed at least 10 civilians.
Abuses by the FDLR included unlawful
killings, looting, rape and other sexual
violence as well as forced labour. FDLR
fighters forced civilians to work in mines and
to transport pillaged goods, weapons and
munitions.
The FRPI was responsible for large-scale
looting operations, rape and other sexual
violence as well as unlawful killings of
civilians. Operations against the armed group
caused large displacements of civilians.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Sexual violence against women and girls
remained rampant, both in conflict and non-
conflict zones, urban and rural areas. The
prosecution of such crimes remained
challenging due to a lack of resources. Most
perpetrators enjoyed total impunity.
CHILD SOLDIERS
Armed groups continued to recruit children
throughout the year. They were used as
combatants, escorts, servants, tax collectors,
messengers or cooks. In the first eight
months of the year, more children were
successfully rescued from armed groups than
in the whole of 2014.
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The numbers of arbitrary arrests and
detentions remained high. Many of them were
carried out by intelligence services. Arbitrary
arrests were often followed by prolonged
incommunicado detention during which
people were detained without charge, access
to a lawyer or being presented to a judge.
The conflict between the Batwa and Luba
communities continued throughout the year
and caused a high civilian death toll. On
21 October, a peace deal was signed between
the two communities.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Armed groups continued to commit abuses
against civilians in the east of the country.
The ADF was responsible for a high number
of unlawful killings, pillages, kidnappings as
well as incidents of rape and sexual slavery.
On 2 May, the ADF attacked two locations
Victims of forced evictions that took place in
the Kawama community, Lubumbashi, in
2009, continued to be denied access to
justice and their right to remedy by Congolese
courts. The evictions were carried out by the
police using bulldozers belonging to the
mining company Entreprise Générale Malta
Forrest – a subsidiary of the Belgian company
Groupe Forrest International – with rights to
the concession located next to the
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community. The company continued to deny
any responsibility in enabling the evictions.
An appeal against the court decision was
ongoing in Lubumbashi.
PRISON CONDITIONS
IMPUNITY
The justice system continued to suffer from a
serious lack of capacity to prosecute all
crimes under international law. Persisting
impunity for past crimes paved the way for
ongoing violations and abuses against
civilians by armed groups and the army.
The army was allegedly responsible for an
attack against the city of Matukaka in
February, during which more than 10 civilians
were killed. Bernard Byamungu, from the
809
th
regiment, was arrested in February for a
similar attack against civilians in the villages
of Tenambo and Mamiki in October 2014. He
reportedly remained in military custody at the
end of the year.
Cobra Matata, FRPI leader, was arrested in
January. He was indicted by the military
prosecutor for war crimes and crimes against
humanity, including the recruitment of
children.
In March, over 400 bodies were reported to
have been buried in a mass grave on the
outskirts of Kinshasa. Some of the bodies
were suspected to be those of victims of
extrajudicial executions and enforced
disappearances. No credible, independent
and effective investigation had taken place at
3
the end of the year.
In September, a trial of 23 members of the
Bantu and Batwa communities for genocide
and crimes against humanity started before
the Court of Appeal in Lubumbashi. It was the
first trial for international crimes to take place
before civil courts in the country.
In another positive step in the fight against
impunity, the National Assembly and the
Senate adopted legislation implementing the
Rome Statute of the ICC in June and
November respectively. The final bill,
promulgated into law on 2 January 2016,
contains the death penalty for war crimes,
crimes against humanity and genocide.
Prison conditions remained dire. Malnutrition,
a lack of basic hygiene, infectious diseases
and poor medical care led to the deaths of
scores of prisoners. Detention facilities were
highly overcrowded and the prison
administration was severely underfunded.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders and activists
continued to be targets for intimidation,
threats, arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment as well
as incommunicado and secret detention.
Christopher Ngoyi, a human rights
defender monitoring the excessive use of
force by police during the January protests,
was arrested and detained incommunicado
for 21 days. He remained in detention at the
end of the year, awaiting trial.
Youth movements working on civic
education and governance were targeted.
Three individuals linked to Filimbi and
LUCHA were arbitrarily arrested and held in
incommunicado detention before being
released without charge.
On 18 September, a final verdict was
handed down for the double murder of
human rights defender Floribert Chebeya and
his driver Fidel Bazana. Police officer Daniel
Mukalay, who was found guilty under
extenuating circumstances, was sentenced to
15 years in prison while four other officers
were acquitted.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In April, ADF leader Jamil Mukulu was
arrested in Tanzania. He was extradited to
Uganda on 10 July and faced charges of
murder, terrorism, treason, human rights
abuses, kidnapping and recruitment of
minors in both Uganda and DRC.
On 2 September, the trial of former
Congolese general Bosco Ntaganda started
before the ICC. He was being prosecuted for
13 counts of war crimes and five counts of
crimes against humanity – including murder,
rape and sexual slavery as well as forced
recruitment and use of child soldiers –
allegedly committed in 2002-2003 in
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Ituri province.
Two FDLR leaders, Ignace Murwanashyaka
and Straton Musoni, were sentenced by a
court in Germany in September. Both were
convicted of leading a terrorist organization
and Ignace Murwanashyaka was found guilty
of war crimes.
Despite an ongoing military operation
against the FDLR, Sylvestre Mudacumura, the
alleged commander of its armed branch,
remained at large.
examination of the reason for the
disproportionately high attrition rate in
prosecuting cases of rape.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
1. DRC: Free human rights activists (News story, 19 March)
2. Treated like criminals: DRC’s race to silence dissent (AFR
62/2917/2015)
3. DRC: Authorities should work hand in hand with MONUSCO to ensure
thorough and independent investigations into mass grave (AFR
62/1414/2015)
DENMARK
Kingdom of Denmark
Head of state:
Queen Margrethe II
Head of government:
Lars Løkke Rasmussen (replaced
Helle Thorning-Schmidt in June)
Impunity for the majority of rape cases
continued. A commission established to
investigate actions of Danish soldiers
involved in military operations overseas was
closed down by the government before it
was able to come to any conclusions about
possible wrongdoing.
People awaiting the result of their asylum
claim or deportation to their country of origin
– including victims of torture, unaccompanied
children and persons with mental illness –
continued to be held in detention for
immigration control purposes. No effective
screening of asylum-seekers was put in place
to identify people who were unfit to be placed
in detention.
In November, a number of potentially
harmful amendments to the Aliens Act were
introduced in order, according to the
government, to respond to the increasing
number of people seeking asylum in the
country. The amendments included powers to
temporarily suspend judicial oversight of
decisions made by the police to detain
asylum-seekers and migrants, as well as a
widening of the grounds on which asylum-
seekers can be detained by the police.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The majority of reported rape cases were
closed by the police or the prosecution and
never reached trial. Most cases were closed
due to “the state of the evidence ”.
1
During
the year the State Prosecutors released two
reports showing that many reported rape
cases were being closed by the police before
a formal police investigation had even been
started, and in November the Director for
Public Prosecutions called for changes to
howpolice were handling these cases. The
reports, however, did not include the
In September, the Eastern High Court ruled
that the Copenhagen police had unlawfully
removed and detained a protester during
an official state visit by Chinese officials
in 2012. During the hearing, evidence was
heard alleging that the police removed
demonstrators and confiscated their banners
without an adequate legal basis. The
Copenhagen police conceded that the
evidence “raised doubts” about the police
action and referred the case to the
Independent Police Complaints Authority.
New evidence subsequently emerged
suggesting that police officers acted on orders
from superiors, despite denials by senior
officers in a parliamentary hearing. The
Copenhagen police also informed parliament
that they were unable to identify the police
officers involved, although a number of
officers subsequently claimed that their
identity had been known. As a result of this
apparent misinformation and the alleged
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violations of the rights to freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly, the
Ministry of Justice established a commission
to investigate.
BACKGROUND
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In June, the government closed down the
Iraq-Afghanistan Commission established in
2012 by the previous government to
investigate actions of Danish soldiers involved
in military operations overseas. In particular,
the Commission was tasked to investigate
practices regarding the apprehension and
detention of Iraqis, whether Danish soldiers
had handed over detainees to personnel from
other countries and determine Danish liability
and responsibility for the detainee under
international law. The Commission was closed
before it could come to any conclusions, as
the government stated that there was no need
for such an investigation as no new
information would emerge.
In June, following an agreement between the
ruling and the main opposition parties,
Congress adopted an amendment to the
Constitution allowing the outgoing President
to run for a consecutive term. A few days
later, the President announced his intention
to run for a second term in the 2016
presidential elections.
A draft regulation governing the internal
procedures of the Public Defender’s Office,
established in 2013, was submitted to
Congress in July, but remained pending at
the end of the year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs led a
consultative process with different civil society
groups aimed at developing a national human
rights plan.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
1. Denmark: Human Rights in Review: 2011-2015 – Amnesty
International Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review,
January–February 2016 (EUR
18/2332/2015)
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
Dominican Republic
Head of state and government:
Danilo Medina Sánchez
A law to reform the police was not passed.
Many people of Haitian descent remained
stateless despite the implementation of a
law intended to address their situation (Law
169-14). A new Criminal Code removing the
total ban on abortion failed to enter into
force. Parliament failed to adopt legislation
that could have advanced the protection of
the rights of women, girls and lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people.
The Office of the Prosecutor General reported
152 killings by security forces between
January and September. Many killings took
place in circumstances suggesting that they
may have been unlawful.
Congress continued to debate a draft law
on police reform, but had not approved it by
the end of the year. As a consequence, the
process for a comprehensive reform of the
police was further delayed.
There was a 6% fall in the number of
murders between January and September
compared with the same period in 2014;
however, the number remained high. Apart
from the publication of progress reports on
the national system of response to
emergencies, no information was made
available on the implementation of the
National Security Plan, which had formally
been launched in March 2013.
IMPUNITY
No progress was made in the investigation
into the enforced disappearance of three men
– Gabriel Sandi Alistar, Juan Almonte Herrera
and Randy Vizcaíno González – who were last
seen in police custody in July 2009,
September 2009 and December 2013,
respectively. Their fate and whereabouts
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remained unknown. In June, the Supreme
Court accepted the appeal of six members of
the security forces arguing that their 2013
prosecution for the killing of Cecilio Díaz and
William Checo in 2009 had been initiated
after the expiry of the statute of limitations,
and decided to terminate the proceedings
against them.
DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY
The authorities continued to implement
Law 169-14, which was intended to restore
nationality to those who had been arbitrarily
and retroactively deprived of their Dominican
nationality by a 2013 Constitutional Court
judgment. The administrative process for
Dominican-born people of foreign descent
whose birth had been previously registered in
the Dominican Civil Registry (so-called
“Group A”) to regain their nationality was
slow, and many people continued to be
arbitrarily deprived of their identity
documents. Of the estimated 55,000
Dominican-born people of foreign descent
whose birth had never been registered (so-
called “Group B”), only 8,755 applied for the
naturalization plan provided by the Law within
the deadline, set for 1 February. The
government failed to publicly acknowledge
the existence of a large group of people who
could not enrol in the plan and who therefore
remained stateless.
1
Scores of Dominicans of Haitian descent
were arbitrarily detained and threatened with
expulsion to Haiti as “irregular” migrants.
However, in the vast majority of cases the
authorities released them upon verification
that they were born in the Dominican
Republic.
migrants in retaliation for crimes allegedly
committed by other Haitians were reported.
2
On 17 June, the deadline expired for
applications to the National Regularization
Plan for Foreigners with Irregular Migration
Status. The government announced that
288,486 migrants had applied. At the end of
September, the government stated that the
status of more than 239,000 applicants had
been regularized.
The government officially resumed
deportations of irregular migrants in mid-
August.
3
From mid-June onwards, tens of
thousands of Haitian migrants decided to
return to Haiti, mainly because of fear of
violent expulsion or xenophobic pressures
from employers or neighbours. This
movement of people led to an escalation of
tensions between the Dominican Republic
and Haiti. The OAS responded by sending a
mission to both countries in July. Following
the visit, the Dominican authorities refused
the offer of mediation by the OAS Secretary
General or to negotiate a protocol for
deportations with Haiti. The authorities did
not make their own protocol public.
In most deportation cases, the authorities
assessed each case individually. However,
according to the International Organization for
Migration and some Dominican and Haitian
civil society organizations, several people who
had applied to the National Regularization
Plan reported having been deported.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In February, following an escalation of
tensions between the Dominican Republic
and Haiti, the body of a Haitian migrant was
found hanging from a tree in a park in
Santiago. There were fears that he may have
been the victim of a xenophobic killing. No
one had been brought to justice for the killing
by the end of the year. Attacks on Haitian
According to official statistics, the first
semester of the year saw a decrease of 4% in
the number of killings of women and girls,
compared with the same period in 2014.
Parliament had yet to adopt a
comprehensive law to prevent and address
violence against women approved by the
Senate in 2012.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In December 2014, Congress passed
amendments to the Criminal Code
decriminalizing abortion where pregnancy
posed a risk to the life of the woman or girl;
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where the foetus would be unable to survive
outside the womb; or where the pregnancy
was the result of rape or incest. Anti-abortion
groups subsequently challenged the
constitutionality of the reform. On
2 December, the Constitutional Court
declared that the adoption of the Code was
unconstitutional due to procedural errors and
ordered the previous one, adopted in 1884, to
remain in force.
4
The Ministry of Health, in co-operation with
civil society organizations, drafted protocols to
implement the decriminalization of abortion in
the three circumstances permitted by the
Criminal Code.
In July, following pressure from religious
groups, the President of the Chamber of
Deputies removed a draft law on sexual and
reproductive health from the agenda for
discussion by Parliament. The law had not
been debated by the end of the year.
ECUADOR
Republic of Ecuador
Head of state and government:
Rafael Vicente Correa
Delgado
Those critical of the authorities, including
human rights defenders, faced attacks, fines
and unfounded criminal charges. The rights
of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior and
informed consent over decisions affecting
their livelihoods were not fulfilled.
BACKGROUND
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Civil society organizations reported hate
crimes against LGBTI people, including
murder and rape.
The commission of the Chamber of
Deputies which analyzed the draft law on
sexual and reproductive health removed
proposed sanctions for discrimination in
access to health care on grounds of sexual
orientation and gender identity. The law was
pending discussion at the end of the year.
1. “Without papers, I am no one”: Stateless people in the Dominican
Republic (AMR
27/2755/2015)
2. Dominican Republic: Authorities must investigate xenophobic violence
(AMR
27/1449/2015)
3. Dominican Republic officially resumes deportations amid concerns for
Dominicans of Haitian descent (AMR
27/2304/2015)
4. Dominican Republic takes women’s rights back to 1884 (News
story,
3 December)
The National Assembly voted in favour of 15
constitutional amendments proposed by the
executive, which included authorizing the use
of the military to respond to internal public
security situations and enabling the indefinite
re-election of the President and other
authorities.
Nationwide anti-government protests led by
trades unions, Indigenous Peoples’
organizations and civil society took place
throughout the year. They were marked by
clashes between the security forces and
protesters and reports of excessive use of
force and arbitrary arrests by the security
forces. At least 21 people detained during
anti-government protests in December in the
capital, Quito, were sentenced amid concerns
about violations of their right to a fair trial.
In March, the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) backed a 2011 Ecuadorian court ruling
that granted compensation to Amazon
Indigenous communities affected by
environmental damage caused by the USA-
based energy company Chevron. The ICJ
ruled that a previous agreement between
Chevron and authorities did not prevent
Amazon Indigenous communities from
seeking compensation from the company. In
a separate court case, also in March, the ICC
ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to decide on a
complaint filed by Indigenous communities
against Chevron’s Chief Executive Officer.
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FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Human rights defenders and others who
openly criticized government policies were
threatened and harassed. Attempts were
made to prevent them from carrying out their
work and they faced attacks, fines,
harassment and unfounded criminal
charges.
In September, using an executive decree
granting the authorities wide powers to
monitor and dissolve NGOs, the National
Communication Secretariat threatened to
close down human rights NGO Fundamedios,
apparently in reprisal for the organization’s
denunciations of violations of the rights to
freedom of expression and association. At the
end of September, the Secretariat issued a
“final warning” to Fundamedios to “comply
with the prohibition of exercising matters of a
political nature, avoiding raising unfounded
alerts for the sole purpose of damaging the
prestige of Ecuador and its institutions”.
Human rights defender Paulina Muñoz
Samaniego was subjected to an intimidation
campaign which she believed was related to
her work with Ecuador Decide, a coalition of
civil society organizations which oppose the
Free Trade Agreement between Ecuador and
the European Union. No investigation had
been opened by state prosecutors by the end
of the year despite her having filed a
complaint.
In February, environmental activist and
community leader Darwin Javier Ramírez
Piedra was sentenced to 10 months’
imprisonment on charges of “rebellion” for
his alleged participation in an attack against
National Mining Agency delegates. The
prosecution did not provide credible evidence
against him and his sentence appeared to be
an attempt to silence his campaign against
the impact of mining activities on the right to
water of Junin communities in Intag region,
Imbabura province, northern Ecuador. He
was released the same day as his sentencing,
as he had already served the length of his
sentence in pre-trial detention.
Media outlets continued to receive fines
under a communication law granting wide-
ranging powers to the Information and
Communication Superintendent, a public
servant elected from a shortlist provided by
the President, to limit and regulate the media.
There were concerns that the law’s
application was jeopardizing the right to
freedom of expression and creating a climate
of self-censorship. In May,
La Hora
newspaper was fined US$3,540 for not
covering an event by the Mayor of Loja which
was deemed to be of public interest. The
newspaper refused to pay the fine.
In February, the owner of Crudo Ecuador, a
Facebook page that published satirical
political memos, closed down the page after
receiving threats. The threats commenced
after the President referred to Crudo Ecuador
in his weekly television programme and
encouraged his supporters to counteract
those who criticized the authorities through
social media.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
The authorities continued to fail to fully
implement the 2012 ruling of the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights in favour of
the Kichwa People of Sarayaku, including the
complete removal of explosives left on their
land and the issuing of legislation to regulate
Indigenous Peoples’ right to free, prior and
informed consent over laws, policies and
measures that affect their livelihoods. In May,
personnel authorized by the Ministry of the
Environment entered the Sarayaku territory
without consent to carry out an environmental
impact assessment for future oil extraction on
the territory.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to face limited
access to modern contraceptives, with the
most vulnerable disproportionately affected.
In February, the CEDAW Committee raised
concerns at the limited access to sexual and
reproductive health services, education and
information.
Abortion remained illegal in all cases,
except where the life of the woman was at risk
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or in cases of rape when the victim was a
woman with a mental disability.
EGYPT
Arab Republic of Egypt
Head of state:
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Head of government:
Sherif Ismail (replaced Ibrahim
Mahlab in September)
The human rights situation continued to
deteriorate. The authorities arbitrarily
restricted the rights to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly, enacted a draconian new anti-
terrorism law, and arrested and imprisoned
government critics and political opposition
leaders and activists, subjecting some to
enforced disappearance. The security forces
used excessive force against protesters,
refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants.
Detainees faced torture and other ill-
treatment. Courts handed down hundreds of
death sentences and lengthy prison
sentences after grossly unfair mass trials.
There was a critical lack of accountability;
most human rights violations were
committed with impunity. Women and
members of religious minorities were
subject to discrimination and inadequately
protected against violence. People were
arrested and tried on charges of
“debauchery” for their perceived sexual
orientation or gender identity. The army
forcibly evicted communities from their
homes along the border with Gaza.
Executions were carried out following grossly
unfair trials.
Egypt closed its border with Gaza, State of
Palestine, for much of the year. The Egyptian
army destroyed smuggling tunnels under the
border, reportedly flooding the area with
water.
In February, Egypt carried out air strikes in
Libya killing at least seven civilians, after an
armed group there beheaded a group of
Egyptian Coptic Christians they had
abducted.
1
In March, Egypt joined the Saudi Arabia-led
international coalition that engaged in the
armed conflict in Yemen. President al-Sisi
announced that the Arab League had agreed
to form a “joint Arab military force” to combat
regional threats.
On 13 September, army and security forces
in the Western Desert region attacked and
killed 12 people, including eight Mexican
tourists, apparently after mistaking them for
members of an armed group.
On 23 September, President al-Sisi
pardoned 100 men and women, including
journalists and scores of activists imprisoned
for participating in protests. The pardon did
not extend to imprisoned leaders of Egypt’s
youth movement or Muslim Brotherhood
leaders.
Parliamentary elections held between
October and December had an officially
reported turnout of 28.3%.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
BACKGROUND
Security conditions remained tense,
particularly in the Sinai region. The authorities
said that the army and other security forces
killed hundreds of “terrorists”, mostly in North
Sinai, where the armed group calling itself
Sinai Province, an affiliate of the armed group
Islamic State (IS), claimed responsibility for
several major attacks.
In August the government enacted Law 94 of
2015, a new anti-terrorism law that defines a
“terrorist act” vaguely and in overly broad
terms. The new law gave the President
powers to “take necessary measures to
ensure public order and security”, equivalent
to those granted by a state of emergency;
established special courts; and provided for
heavy fines for journalists whose reporting on
“terrorism” differed from official statements.
2
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Armed groups launched attacks deliberately
targeting civilians.
On 29 June, the Prosecutor General was
killed by a bomb in the capital, Cairo. It was
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unclear who was responsible.
The armed group Sinai Province claimed
responsibility for several attacks, including
one on 29 January that reportedly killed 40
people, including civilians, soldiers and police
officers. On 1 July, an assault by Sinai
Province on the North Sinai town of Sheikh
Zuweid killed 17 members of the army and
security forces, according to the Ministry of
Defence; at least 100 members of the armed
group were also killed in the assault. Sinai
Province also claimed responsibility for
causing the crash of a civilian Russian airliner
on 31 October. All 224 people on board were
killed, mostly Russian nationals. Russia’s
Federal Security Service announced on
17 November that a bomb had brought down
the plane.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists working for outlets critical of the
authorities, or linked to opposition groups,
were prosecuted for reporting “false news”
and on other politically motivated criminal
charges. Courts sentenced some to lengthy
prison terms and one was sentenced to
death. Individuals continued to face
prosecution on criminal charges such as
“defaming religion” and offending “public
morals” for peacefully exercising their right to
freedom of expression. In November, a
prominent investigative journalist was briefly
detained by military intelligence and
prosecutors over an article he wrote about the
army.
Photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known
as Shawkan, was referred to trial in August
with 738 co-defendants, who included
leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood group and
their supporters. Arrested while covering the
violent dispersal by security forces of a protest
on 14 August 2013, Mahmoud Abu Zeid was
detained without charge for almost two years
before the Public Prosecution Office referred
his case to court. The trial was due to begin in
December, but was postponed because the
courtroom could not hold the hundreds of
defendants.
On 1 January, the Court of Cassation,
Egypt’s highest court, overturned the
convictions of three jailed journalists working
for the broadcaster Al Jazeera – Peter Greste,
Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed – and
ordered their retrial. The authorities deported
Peter Greste on 1 February; Mohamed Fahmy
and Baher Mohamed were released on bail
on 12 February but sentenced to prison terms
of three and three and a half years
respectively on 29 August on charges of
broadcasting “false news” and operating
without authorization. President al-Sisi
pardoned the two men on 23 September.
On 11 April a court in Cairo sentenced 14
opposition-linked journalists to 25-year prison
terms after convicting them of “broadcasting
false news”, and sentenced another journalist
to death for allegedly forming “media
committees” and “leading and funding a
banned group”. The court tried several
defendants in their absence. They were tried
as part of a group of 51 alongside leading
Muslim Brotherhood figures. Those jailed
lodged appeals with the Court of Cassation,
which overturned their conviction in
December and ordered a retrial.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Human rights organizations were subject to
arbitrary restrictions on their activities and
funding under the Law on Associations (Law
84 of 2002). Staff of some human rights
organizations were arrested and questioned
by security officials, and also questioned by
an “expert committee” appointed by the
authorities as part of an ongoing criminal
investigation into the activities and foreign
funding of human rights groups. The
authorities prevented some human rights and
political activists from travelling abroad.
3
By the end of the year, the government
said it had closed more than 480 NGOs
because of their alleged links to the Muslim
Brotherhood group.
On 21 October, security forces raided the
Mada Foundation for Media Development, a
Cairo-based journalism NGO. They detained
all those present and questioned them for
several hours before releasing all but the
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organization’s director, whom they held
without charge on suspicion of “international
bribery – receiving foreign funding” and
belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Student Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed
Hussein remained detained without charge or
trial, more than 700 days after his arrest in
January 2014 for wearing a T-shirt with the
slogan “Nation without torture”. Prison guards
beat him in July, his family said.
The authorities arbitrarily restricted the right
to freedom of peaceful assembly under the
Protest Law (Law 107 of 2013). There were
fewer protests than in recent years, but
security forces continued to use excessive or
unnecessary force to disperse “unauthorized”
demonstrations and other public gatherings,
resulting in deaths and serious injuries.
Security forces shot and killed protester
Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh on 24 January during a
demonstration in central Cairo. Widely
circulated videos and photographs of her
death sparked outrage. At least 27 people
died in protest-related violence between
23and 26 January across Egypt, most as a
result of excessive force from the security
forces. Two members of the security forces
also died.
At least 22 fans of the Zamalek football
club died in a stampede at a stadium in New
Cairo on 8 February, after security forces
recklessly fired tear gas to disperse them.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Human rights groups reported receiving
scores of complaints concerning cases of
individuals arrested by the security forces and
then detained incommunicado, in conditions
that in some cases amounted to enforced
disappearance.
Security forces arrested students Israa Al-
Taweel, Sohaab Said and Omar Mohamed Ali
in Cairo on 1 June and subjected them to
enforced disappearance for 15 days, during
which Sohaab Said said that he and Omar
Mohamed Ali were tortured. Both men faced
an unfair trial before a military court. Israa Al-
Taweel, who has a disability as a result of
being shot during a protest in 2014, was
released from prison in December but
remained under house arrest.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Security forces arrested 11,877 members of
“terrorist groups” between January and the
end of September, according to the Assistant
Minister for Public Security at the Ministry of
the Interior. The crackdown was thought to
include members and perceived supporters
of the Muslim Brotherhood and other
government critics. The authorities had
previously stated that they had arrested at
least 22,000 people on such grounds in
2014.
In some cases, detainees in political cases
were held in prolonged detention without
charge or trial. By the end of the year, at least
700 people had been held in preventive
detention for more than two years without
being sentenced by a court, in contravention
of the two-year limit on such detention in
Egyptian law.
Detainees held by state security forces and
military intelligence were tortured, including
by being beaten and subjected to electric
shocks and stress positions. Security forces
frequently beat detainees at the time of their
arrest and when transferring them between
police stations and prisons. Throughout the
year there were reports of deaths in custody
as a result of torture and other ill-treatment
4
and lack of access to adequate medical care.
Conditions of detention in prisons and
police stations remained extremely poor. Cells
were severely overcrowded and unhygienic,
and in some cases officials prevented families
and lawyers giving food, medicine and other
items to prisoners.
UNFAIR TRIALS
The criminal justice system continued to
serve as an instrument of state repression,
with courts convicting hundreds of
defendants on charges such as “terrorism”,
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“unauthorized protesting”, engaging in
political violence and belonging to banned
groups, after grossly unfair mass trials in
which prosecutors did not establish the
individual criminal responsibility of the
defendants.
5
At least 3,000 civilians stood trial before
unfair military courts on “terrorism” and other
charges alleging political violence. Many,
including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood,
were tried in mass trials. Military trials of
civilians are fundamentally unfair.
Former President Mohamed Morsi faced
five separate trials, alongside hundreds of co-
accused, including Muslim Brotherhood
leaders. On 21 April a court sentenced him to
20 years in prison for alleged involvement in
armed clashes outside Cairo’s Presidential
Palace in December 2012. On 16 June, he
was sentenced to death for allegedly
orchestrating a prison escape during the
2011 uprising, and a 25-year prison term on
an espionage charge. The trials were
fundamentally unfair as they relied on
evidence gathered while Mohamed Morsi was
subject to enforced disappearance by the
army, during the months after he was ousted
from power in 2013. Verdicts in other trials
against the former President were still
pending at the end of the year.
imprisonment for fatally wounding protester
Shaimaa Al-Sabbagh. However, the
authorities also separately prosecuted 17
eyewitnesses to the killing, including human
rights defender Azza Soliman, on charges of
“unauthorized protesting” and “disturbing
public order”. Courts acquitted the 17
eyewitnesses on 23 May, and again on
24 October following an appeal by the Public
Prosecution Office.
Two members of the security forces were
jailed for five years in December on charges
of torturing to death a lawyer at Mattareya
Police Station in Cairo in February.
Former President Hosni Mubarak and
several of his former senior security officials
were retried by the Court of Cassation in
November on charges of orchestrating a
deadly crackdown on protesters during the
2011 “25 January Revolution”. The trial was
ongoing at the end of the year.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
IMPUNITY
The authorities failed to conduct effective,
independent and impartial investigations into
most incidents of human rights violations,
including the repeated use of excessive force
by security forces that resulted in the deaths
of hundreds of protesters since July 2013.
Investigations by the Public Prosecution into
protests and incidents of political violence
instead focused on alleged abuses by the
authorities’ opponents and critics.
Courts held a small number of members of
the security forces responsible for unlawful
killings, in cases arising from several
incidents that had attracted wide national and
international condemnation.
On 11 June a court sentenced one
member of the security forces to 15 years’
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice, and
were inadequately protected against sexual
and other gender-based violence. Despite
announcing a national strategy to combat
violence and discrimination against women
and girls, the authorities largely failed to
implement substantive measures, including
amending or repealing discriminatory
Personal Status Laws that prevent women
from obtaining a divorce from an abusive
husband without forfeiting their financial
rights.
6
DISCRIMINATION – RELIGIOUS
MINORITIES
Religious minorities, including Coptic
Christians, Shi’a Muslims and Baha’is,
continued to face discriminatory restrictions.
There were new incidents of sectarian
violence against Coptic Christian
communities; these communities also faced
obstacles to rebuilding churches and other
properties damaged in sectarian attacks in
2013.
The Ministry of Endowments closed the al-
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Imam al-Hussein Mosque in Cairo from 22 to
24 October to prevent Shi’a Muslims from
marking the Day of Ashura there; the Ministry
said the closure was to prevent “Shi’a
untruths”.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
17 May had been sentenced after a grossly
unfair trial before a military court, despite
evidence that security officials tortured them
to force them to “confess” to capital offences
and falsified their arrest dates in official
documents.
Individuals continued to face arrest, detention
and trial on “debauchery” charges, under
Law 10 of 1961, on the basis of their real or
perceived sexual orientation and gender
identity.
On 12 January a court acquitted 26 men of
“debauchery” charges; they had been
arrested at a Cairo bathhouse in December
2014.
1. Libya: Mounting evidence of war crimes in the wake of Egypt's
airstrikes (News
story,
23 February)
2. Egypt’s president to sign draconian counter-terrorism law today
(News
story,
13 August)
3. Egypt: Renewed crackdown on independent groups: Government
investigating human rights workers (MDE
12/1873/2015)
4. Egypt: Spate of detainee deaths points to rampant abuse at Cairo’s
Mattareya Police Station (News
story,
4 March)
5. Generation jail: Egypt's youth go from protest to prison (MDE
12/1853/2015)
6. Circles of hell: Domestic, public and state violence against women in
Egypt (MDE
12/004/2015)
7. Syria: Voices in crisis - August 2015 (MDE
24/2352/2015)
8. Egypt: Confirmation of 183 death sentences “outrageous” (News
story,
2 February)
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Security forces continued to use excessive
force and unnecessary lethal force against
refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants who
sought to enter or leave Egypt irregularly.
7
At
least 20 Sudanese nationals and one Syrian
national were killed while trying to leave Egypt
irregularly.
EL SALVADOR
Republic of El Salvador
Head of state and government:
Salvador Sánchez
Cerén
A total legal abortion ban remained in place,
violating women’s human rights. Human
rights defenders of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
communities and those defending and
promoting sexual and reproductive rights
faced increasing risks and particularly
suffered violence and intimidation from
state agents, individuals and private groups.
The 1993 Amnesty Law was not repealed,
presenting an obstacle for accessing justice
and reparations for victims of human rights
violations that occurred during the
1980-1992 armed conflict.
HOUSING RIGHTS – FORCED EVICTIONS
The armed forces continued to forcibly evict
communities living along Egypt’s border with
Gaza, where the authorities sought to create a
security “buffer zone”.
The government continued to discuss
development plans for Cairo that did not
include sufficient safeguards to prevent
forced evictions.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts handed down hundreds of death
sentences on defendants convicted on
“terrorism” and other charges related to the
political violence that followed Mohamed
Morsi’s ousting in July 2013, and for murder
and other crimes. Those executed included
prisoners sentenced after unfair trials before
criminal and military courts.
8
At least seven men were executed in
relation to political violence; one on 7 March
after an unfair trial. Six men executed on
BACKGROUND
Legislative and municipal elections were held
in March. A 30% gender quota in the
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electoral lists was required for the first time.
No party reached the required number of
representatives to achieve a majority in the
Legislative Assembly.
Levels of gang-related violence and
organized crime surged and homicide rates
soared. According to official records, 4,253
homicides were registered in the first eight
months of the year, compared with 3,912 for
the whole of 2014. Criminal violence forced
many Salvadorians to leave the country, and
also led to the internal displacement of
thousands of families, according to the Civil
Society Roundtable against Forced
Displacement Provoked by Violence and
Organized Crime.
In September, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights requested El
Salvador to adopt precautionary measures to
protect the life and personal integrity of three
men who allegedly had been subjected to
enforced disappearances, and of their
families who had been attacked and
threatened after enquiring with the authorities
about the whereabouts of their relatives.
In September, amid reports and complaints
of increased violence against LGBTI
communities, the Legislative Assembly
reformed the Criminal Code to increase the
penalties for crimes motivated by political
opinions, racial hatred or sexual orientation
and gender identity.
pregnancy-related grounds. She was released
after serving seven years of a 30-year
sentence based on charges of “aggravated
murder” after suffering a miscarriage.
Authorities recognized judicial errors in the
original prosecution. More than 15 women
remained in jail under similar circumstances.
In March, the UN Human Rights Council
adopted the outcome of the UPR of El
Salvador. Fourteen recommendations were
made relating to sexual and reproductive
rights. While El Salvador accepted
recommendations to provide access to sexual
and reproductive health services, including
contraception, it merely “noted” the
recommendation to decriminalize abortion
and remove the total ban. El Salvador
remained silent on a recommendation to
immediately and unconditionally release all
women imprisoned for having undergone an
abortion or suffering a miscarriage.
1
In November, the Office of the Human
Rights Ombudsman issued a resolution on
the case of Maria Teresa Rivera, who was
sentenced to 40 years in prison after
experiencing an obstetric complication and
was wrongfully accused of having an abortion.
The Ombudsman found violations of due
process and the presumption of innocence,
and determined that the participation of Maria
Teresa Rivera was not demonstrated during
trial.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Between January and October, 475 women
were murdered, an increase from 294 in
2014, according to information gathered by
the Salvadoran Women’s Organization for
Peace and official records. Despite the
Special Comprehensive Law for a Life Free
from Violence for Women, some judges
continued to qualify gender-based murders of
women and girls as homicide instead of the
crime of feminicide as defined in law,
according to the Salvadoran Women´s
Organization for Peace.
In January, the Legislative Assembly
granted the request of pardon in favour of
“Guadalupe”, a woman incarcerated on
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of
Therapeutic, Ethical and Eugenic Abortion
and the Feminist Collective for Local
Development – leading organizations in the
promotion of sexual and reproductive rights –
were harassed and stigmatized by state
officials, individuals and private groups
because of their work on women’s rights.
Both organizations were called “unscrupulous
groups” and “unpatriotic traitors”.
Human rights defenders working for the
defence and promotion of sexual and
reproductive rights were also particularly
stigmatized for the legal assistance provided
to women convicted of homicide after
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suffering obstetric emergencies. Defamatory
campaigns against human rights defenders
aggravated the risks they faced. The
authorities failed to take effective measures to
curb their stigmatization and reduce risks.
2
Human rights defenders from the LGBTI
communities also reported violence and
intimidation. In May, Francela Méndez, a
transgender activist and member of the
Salvadoran Women’s Network of Human
Rights Defenders, was murdered.
3
By the end
of 2015, no one had been brought to justice.
Organizations reported an increase in cases
of harassment and violence against the
transgender community by state agents and
other individuals.
IMPUNITY
report the status of the investigation. Almost
two months later, the Attorney General
submitted a report, followed by a second in
July after the Constitutional Chamber
requested additional details. By the end of the
year, no decision had been issued by the
Constitutional Chamber.
In July, the Constitutional Chamber
established the responsibility of the armed
forces in the enforced disappearance of 11
people in the context of the 1982 military
“Cleaning Operation”. The Constitutional
Chamber’s ruling required the National
Defence Ministry to provide information about
the operation and in particular the fate and
whereabouts of the victims. The Constitutional
Chamber requested the Attorney General’s
Office to immediately start an investigation.
The 1993 Amnesty Law remained in place,
denying access to justice and reparations to
victims of the human rights violations
committed during the armed conflict
(1980-1992). In April, former General and
Defence Minister Eugenio Vides Casanova
was deported from the USA after an
immigration judge in Florida ruled in 2012
that he should be sent back to El Salvador for
his role in human rights violations committed
by the armed forces during the armed
conflict.
4
By the end of the year, there was no
public information suggesting that former
General Vides was facing any legal
proceeding.
In March, the Human Rights Ombudsman
called upon the authorities to overcome the
prevalent impunity for human rights violations
during the armed conflict. The Ombudsman
also called on the Legislative Assembly to
deprive the Amnesty Law of its legal effects
and urged the Attorney General’s Office to
effectively investigate victims’ claims.
In March, more than a year after a ruling by
the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme
Court of Justice ordering the Attorney
General’s Office to thoroughly investigate the
1981 San Francisco Angulo massacre, in
which 45 people were killed allegedly by
members of the army, the Constitutional
Chamber required the Attorney General to
1. Amnesty International calls on El Salvador to decriminalize abortion
and immediately release all women imprisoned for pregnancy-related
complications (AMR
29/1254/2015)
2. Defenders under attack! Protecting sexual and reproductive rights in
the Americas (AMR
01/2775/2015)
3. El Salvador: El Estado debe garantizar justicia en el asesinato de
activista transgénero (AMR
29/1855/2015)
4. El Salvador: No amnesty for human rights violations (AMR
29/1431/2015)
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Head of state and government:
Teodoro Obiang
Nguema Mbasogo
Children were among hundreds of people
arbitrarily arrested, detained and beaten
following disturbances at the African Cup of
Nations football tournament. The rights to
freedom of expression and assembly were
suppressed and police used excessive force
to disperse peaceful demonstrations.
Political opponents were banished and
confined to their home villages.
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BACKGROUND
In January and February, Equatorial Guinea
hosted the African Cup of Nations football
tournament. As opposition to the tournament
mounted, President Obiang threatened severe
measures against those who disrupted or
called for a boycott of the games.
In May, President Obiang dissolved the
judiciary. For nearly a month there was no
functioning judiciary in the country.
judge, who ordered the release of those aged
nine to 11, but confirmed the detention of the
rest and ordered their transfer to Black Beach
prison in Malabo. At the prison, child and
adult detainees and convicted prisoners were
held together. On 13 February, the detainees
again appeared in court and all were released
without charge.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Criticism of the government was not allowed.
In mid-January several people including
political activist Celestino Okenve were
arbitrarily arrested and detained for up to two
weeks for criticizing the hosting of the African
Cup of Nations and calling for a boycott of the
games. All were later released uncharged.
1
On 19 February, Luis Nzo Ondo, a member
of the political party Republican Democratic
Force (FDR), was arbitrarily arrested and
banished to his village for campaigning
against the unlawful arrest and banishment of
FDR leader Guillermo Nguema Ela.
2
They
both remained confined to their respective
villages at the end of the year.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
On 5 February, dozens of children were
among 300 youths arbitrarily arrested and
beaten following disturbances during the
African Cup of Nations semi-finals in the
capital, Malabo. At least 12 of those arrested
were under 16, the age of criminal
responsibility in Equatorial Guinea, including
four children between nine and 11 years of
age. The majority were arrested in their
homes at night, or in streets far from the
football stadium. They were taken to Malabo
Central Police Station, where the young
detainees reported having received floggings
of 20 to 30 lashes each. They were held in
appalling conditions in overcrowded and
poorly ventilated cells also occupied by adult
criminal suspects. Some detainees were
released after their families paid bribes to the
police. However, on 11 February some 150
detainees appeared before the investigating
On 25 and 26 March, police in Bata and
Malabo used excessive force and tear gas to
disperse peaceful demonstrations by
university students protesting over the system
for granting scholarships. Scores of students
were arrested and beaten in both cities.
Those arrested in Bata were released without
charge the next day. In Malabo, police carried
out arbitrary arrests and beatings of students
and others suspected of being students, in
the streets and in their homes. A 13-year-old
boy was arrested in the street as he used his
mobile phone to film police arresting and
beating students and forcibly entering their
homes. At least 50 students were held for two
weeks before being released without charge.
However, the 13-year-old boy and five other
young people remained in police custody for
another week before being released without
charge. The police claimed that as they were
not students they must have been
“troublemakers”.
1. Equatorial Guinea: African Cup of Nations peaceful protesters must
be released (News
story, 29 January),
Urgent Action: Three detainees
should be released (AFR
24/0001/2015),
Equatorial Guinea: Three
detainees released (AFR
24/0002/2015)
2. Equatorial Guinea: Release human rights defender and opposition
leader (Press
release, 20 March 2015)
ERITREA
State of Eritrea
Head of state and government:
Isaias Afewerki
Thousands continued to leave the country to
flee the indefinite National Service, a
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nationwide system amounting to forced
labour. During the summer, Eritreans
constituted the third largest group crossing
the Mediterranean, after Syrians and
Afghans, and a majority of those who lost
their lives in the journey. Rule of law
remained non-existent; political opposition
was still banned; and independent media or
universities were not allowed to operate.
Restrictions on freedoms of religion and
movement remained. Arbitrary detention
without charge or trial continued to be the
norm for thousands of prisoners of
conscience.
BACKGROUND
In May, new Civil and Penal Codes, as well as
Civil and Penal Procedure Codes, were
promulgated to replace the transitional Codes
in place since the country’s independence.
In September, a joint venture formed of
Sunridge Gold Corp, a Canadian company,
and the Eritrean National Mining Corporation
(ENAMCO) signed an agreement with the
Ministry of Energy and Mines for gold, copper
and zinc mining operations. Nevsun
Resources, a Canadian mining company,
faced a lawsuit in Canada over the alleged
use of conscripted labour by its sub-
contractor, the Eritrean state-owned Segen
Construction, at the Bisha mine – also a joint
venture with ENAMCO.
military training under the requirement that all
children undergo grade 12 of secondary
school at the Sawa National Service training
camp. There they faced harsh living
conditions, military-style discipline and
weapons training. Some children dropped out
of school early to avoid this fate. Children
were also conscripted into training in round-
ups conducted by the military, in search of
people evading National Service.
Thousands of people tried to avoid this
system, including by attempting to flee the
country. Those caught trying to do so,
including children, were arbitrarily detained
without charge or trial, often in harsh
conditions, and lacked access to a lawyer or
family members.
A “shoot-to-kill” policy remained in place
for anyone evading capture and attempting to
cross the border into Ethiopia.
Older people continued to be conscripted
into the “People’s Army”, where they were
given a weapon and assigned duties under
threat of punitive repercussions. Men of up to
67 years of age were conscripted.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
FORCED LABOUR – NATIONAL SERVICE
Mandatory National Service continued to be
extended indefinitely in a system that
amounts to forced labour. A significant
proportion of the population was in open-
ended conscription, in some cases for up to
20 years. Conscripts were paid low wages that
did not enable them to cover their families’
basic needs, and had limited and arbitrarily
granted leave allowances which in many
cases disrupted their family life. Conscripts
served in the defence forces and were
assigned to agriculture, construction,
teaching, civil service and other roles. There
was no provision for conscientious objection.
Children continued to be conscripted into
Thousands of prisoners of conscience and
political prisoners, including former
politicians, journalists and practitioners of
unauthorized religions, continued to be
detained without charge or trial, and lacked
access to a lawyer or family members. Many
had been detained for well over a decade.
The government denied it was detaining
many of these prisoners and refused to
provide families with information on their
whereabouts and health, or to confirm any
reports of deaths in custody.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Detainees, including children, were held in
harsh conditions, often in underground cells
and shipping containers, with inadequate
food, water, bedding, access to sanitation
facilities or natural light. In some cases, these
conditions amounted to torture. Children were
sometimes detained with adults.
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REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Eritreans fleeing the country faced multiple
dangers on routes through Sudan, Libya and
the Mediterranean to reach Europe, including
hostage-taking for ransom by armed groups
and people smugglers.
Refugees arriving in Europe reported
having paid smugglers, many of whom were
Eritreans themselves, for each stage of the
journey. There were allegations of members
of the army being involved in smuggling
people out of Eritrea.
High numbers of children left Eritrea alone
to avoid conscription, leaving them vulnerable
to abuse. Smugglers reportedly offered to take
children to Europe for free, holding them
hostage once they reached Libya and
demanding money from their parents in
Eritrea to free them.
In response to the increasing numbers of
refugees, some European countries such as
the UK tightened their guidance on asylum
cases of Eritrean nationals, making untenable
claims of improvements in the country of
origin as a basis on which to reject cases.
number of asylum applications
remained low.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Cohabitation Act, passed in October
2014, allowing unmarried, including same-
sex, couples to register their cohabitation, was
due to enter into force on 1 January 2016.
However, the authorities’ failure to undertake
all required preparatory work, especially
amendments to related laws, was likely to
undermine its positive impact for some time.
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In June, the UN-mandated Commission of
Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea presented
its first report, documenting numerous cases
and patterns of human rights violations since
the country’s independence and stating that
the government may be responsible for
crimes against humanity.
ESTONIA
Republic of Estonia
Head of state:
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
Head of government:
Taavi Rõivas
Legislation allowing unmarried, including
same-sex, couples to register their
cohabitation was due to enter into force on
1 January 2016. The authorities took
significant steps to reduce statelessness,
especially among children, but around
83,000 people remained stateless. The
According to data from the Ministry of
Interior, 83,364 people resident in the
country remained stateless as of
1 September, over 6% of the population. The
vast majority were Russian speakers.
The authorities made significant steps to
address statelessness, especially among
children. On 21 January parliament approved
several amendments to the Citizenship Act,
due to enter into force on 1 January 2016.
The amendments aimed to facilitate the
acquisition of Estonian citizenship, for
example by providing for its automatic
acquisition by children born to stateless
parents.
In February the Estonian language
requirements to obtain citizenship were
simplified for applicants aged over 65,
allowing this group to take only an oral test
and not a written exam.
Unemployment remained significant
among ethnic minorities, perpetuating
concern that Estonian language requirements
for all public employees and private sector
jobs that interface with the public were
placing them at a disadvantage.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The number of asylum applications, although
still low, increased over 2014, with about 200
received in the first nine months of 2015.
While most asylum-seekers gained access to
Estonian territory by crossing the country’s
borders irregularly, concern remained about
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denial of access to territory and asylum at
official border crossings.
In early September, there was an arson
attack against the only asylum-seekers’
reception centre in the country, in Vao village,
Lääne-Viru County. Although no serious
injuries were reported, about 50 people,
including several children, were sleeping in
the centre at the time. Investigations were
ongoing at the end of the year.
affected more than 8 million people in the
north and east.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
ETHIOPIA
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Head of state:
Mulatu Teshome Wirtu
Head of government:
Hailemariam Desalegn
Members and leaders of opposition parties
as well as protesters were extrajudicially
executed. General elections took place in
May against a backdrop of restrictions on
civil society, the media and the political
opposition, including excessive use of force
against peaceful demonstrators, the
disruption of opposition campaigns, and the
harassment of election observers from the
opposition. The police and the military
conducted mass arrests of protesters,
journalists and opposition party members as
part of a crackdown on protests in the
Oromia region.
BACKGROUND
Police and security officers arrested Omot
Agwa Okwoy, Ashinie Astin Titoyk and Jemal
Oumar Hojele at Addis Ababa Bole
International Airport on 15 March, on their
way to a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. The
workshop was organized by the NGO Bread
for All with the support of the NGOs Anywaa
Survival Organisation and GRAIN. The police
held the three men for 161 days without bail
at the Maekelawi detention centre, beyond
the four months allowed by the Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation (ATP), under which they were
charged on 7 September.
On 12 May, security officers arrested two
campaigners and three supporters of the
Semayawi Party who were putting up
campaign posters in the capital, Addis Ababa.
They were released on bail after four days in
detention.
On 19 May, Bekele Gerba and other
members of the Oromo Federalist Congress
were campaigning in Oromia when police and
local security officers beat, arrested and
detained them for a couple of hours.
Over 500 members of Medrek were
arrested at various polling stations in Oromia
region on 24 and 25 May. Security officers
beat and injured 46 people during the
elections; six people sustained gunshot
injuries and two were killed.
The ruling political party, the Ethiopian
People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, won
all the seats in the Federal and Regional
Parliaments in the general election.
The opposition Semayawi Party reported
that the National Election Board of Ethiopia
(NEBE) refused to register over half of its
proposed candidates for the House of
Peoples’ Representatives: of 400 candidates,
only 139 were able to stand for election. The
opposition Medrek coalition reported that the
NEBE only approved 270 of the 303
candidates it had proposed to register.
Famine due to rainfall shortages during the
main harvesting season (June to September)
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
Four members and leaders of opposition
parties were killed after the election.
Samuel Aweke, founder of the Semayawi
Party, was found dead on 15 June in the city
of Debre Markos. A few days before his death
he had published an article in his party’s
newspaper,
Negere Ethiopia,
criticizing the
behaviour of local authorities, police and
other security officials. The Semayawi Party
claimed that Samuel Aweke had received
threats from security officials after the article
was published.
On 16 June, Medrek member Taddesse
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Abreha was accosted on his way home in the
Western Tigrai zone by three unknown people
who attempted to strangle him. He died
shortly after reaching his home.
Medrek member Berhanu Erbu was found
dead on 19 June near a river in the Hadiya
zone, 24 hours after he was taken from his
home by two police officers.
Asrat Haile, election observer on behalf of
Medrek in the Adio Kaka unit, Ginbo Woreda
district and Kefa zone, died after being
repeatedly beaten by police officials on 5 July.
None of these deaths except Samuel
Aweke’s was investigated. The Semayawi
Party said the trial, conviction and sentencing
of Samuel Aweke’s killer were a “sham”,
intended to protect the real culprit.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In the run-up to the general elections, the
government continued to use the ATP to
suppress freedom of expression through the
continued detention of journalists and
protracted trials: it arrested and charged at
least 17 journalists under the ATP. Many also
fled the country due to intimidation,
harassment and politically motivated criminal
charges.
Police arrested Habtamu Minale, editor-in-
chief of
Kedami
newspaper and reporter for
YeMiliyonoch Dimts
newspaper, on 9 July at
his house. He was released on 26 July
without charge.
The Public Prosecutor dropped the charges
against two members of the Zone 9 bloggers’
group. On 16 October, the High Court
acquitted five of the Zone 9 bloggers of
terrorism charges, after they had spent over
500 days in pre-trial detention.
On 22 October, the High Court convicted
and sentenced in his absence Gizaw Taye,
Manager of Dadimos Entertainment and
Press, to 18 years’ imprisonment for terrorism
.
Democracy and Justice opposition party.
Police beat demonstrators with batons, sticks
and iron rods on the head, face, hands and
legs, injuring more than 20 of them.
On 22 April, the government called a rally
on Meskel Square to condemn the killing in
Libya of Ethiopian migrants by affiliates of the
armed group Islamic State (IS). When some
demonstrators shouted slogans during the
rally, police used excessive force, including
tear gas and beatings, to disperse the crowd,
which escalated the situation to clashes
between protesters and police. A journalist
reported that 48 people had been injured and
admitted to hospital, and that many others
sustained minor injuries. Hundreds were
reported to have been arrested. Woyneshet
Molla, Daniel Tesfaye, Ermias Tsegaye and
Betelehem Akalework were arrested on 22
April and charged with inciting violence
during the rally. They were convicted and
sentenced to two months in prison, and were
kept in custody for more than 10 days after
the completion of their prison term, although
courts had ordered their release. The police
released them on bail on 2 July.
FIJI
Republic of Fiji
Head of state:
Jioji Konousi Konrote (replaced Ratu
Epeli Nailatikau in November)
Head of government:
Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama
Fiji became the 100
th
abolitionist country
when it abolished the death penalty for all
crimes. A review of a decree which has
curtailed workers’ rights since 2011 was
announced but had not been completed by
the end of the year. The prosecution of the
2012 torture case of prisoner Iowane
Benedito began. Freedom of expression
remained restricted by a range of national
laws, including the Media Industry
Development Decree 2010.
1
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
On 27 January, police used excessive force to
disperse a peaceful demonstration in Addis
Ababa that was organized by the Unity for
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In March, following its examination under the
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UPR, Fiji accepted numerous
recommendations by the UN Human Rights
Council, in particular to issue a standing
invitation to the UN Special Procedures. At
the same session, however, Fiji failed to
accept recommendations to amend national
legislation to ensure guarantees of the rights
to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly in line with international
human rights law.
organizations and opposition parties claimed
that the Act contravened ILO core
conventions.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of expression remained restricted by
a range of national laws, including the Media
Industry Development Decree 2010. Despite
a small amendment to the Decree in July
2015 which decreased fines on individual
journalists for reporting certain news, heavy
fines remained in place for publishers and
editors. After the amendment no further fines
were imposed on publishers and editors
during the year.
Between July and December, 76 people were
arrested on sedition and related charges
related to acts in August 2014. Various
concerns were raised by the defendants’
lawyers regarding the lack of disclosure of
information leading to the arrests; prolonged
detention periods before bringing them in
front of a court; the denial of access to
lawyers and family visits; and harsh prison
conditions.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
In March the government announced a
review of the Essential National Industries
(Employment) Decree 2011 which severely
restricts collective bargaining rights, the right
to strike and the right to form and join trade
unions in certain sectors. The proposed
amendment to the Decree would need to
meet international labour standards, including
compliance with ILO treaties ratified by Fiji, as
recommended in the review.
Despite protests by union members, the
announcement of the review led to the ILO
deferring a Commission of Inquiry on the
basis that there would be a joint
implementation report delivered to the ILO
governing body meeting by the government,
the Employer’s Federation and the Fiji Islands
Council of Trade Unions. The joint
implementation report was not agreed to by
all parties and in November the ILO decided
to initiate a mission to Fiji to determine
obstacles to progress.
Despite strong opposition the government
passed the Employment Relations
Amendment Act in July. Trade union
Extensive immunities under the Constitution
continued to make it almost impossible to
hold state actors accountable for serious
human rights violations such as torture and
other ill-treatment. In October court
proceedings began in the case of police and
military officers accused of torturing escaped
prisoner Iowane Benedito in 2012. However,
the authorities failed to launch investigations
into many past cases of torture and other ill-
treatment. Fiji had still not ratified the UN
Convention against Torture.
1. Fiji: Amnesty International welcomes the government’s efforts to
recognize economic and social rights, but regrets the rejection of
recommendations on freedom of expression, assembly and
association (ASA
18/1257/2015)
FINLAND
Republic of Finland
Head of state:
Sauli Niinistö
Head of government:
Juha Sipilä (replaced Alexander
Stubb in May)
Reforms to immigration and asylum
legislation made some limited
improvements to the detention of asylum-
seeking and migrant children, but concerns
about detention conditions remained.
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Support for victims of gender-based violence
remained inadequate and under-resourced.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In July, amendments to the Aliens Act on
detention of asylum-seekers and migrants
came into force. The law stated that
unaccompanied children under the age of 15
can no longer be detained under any
circumstances. However, unaccompanied
children aged between 15 and 17 may be
detained for up to 72 hours once there is an
enforceable decision on their removal from
Finland; the period of detention can be
extended by 72 hours for extraordinary
reasons. Families with children may be
detained where no sufficient alternatives exist,
and where the child and a social welfare
representative’s views have been heard.
The legislative amendments included
restrictions on visits and broader authorization
for trained staff to use force in detention
centres.
In August, the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture published its report on
Finland, recommending several
improvements to legislation on detention and
conditions of detention.
gender-based violence.
In September, the Ministry of Social Affairs
and Health prepared a draft decree to create
a body to co-ordinate work combating
violence against women. The Ministry
proposed that the body consist of a network
of civil servants working within the limitations
of their current offices, but envisioned only a
limited role for women’s or victim support
organizations.
DISCRIMINATION – TRANSGENDER
PEOPLE
Legislation on legal gender recognition
continued to violate the rights of transgender
individuals. Transgender people can obtain
legal gender recognition only if they agree to
be sterilized, are diagnosed with a mental
disorder, and are aged over 18.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In June, the new government stated an
intention to draft legislation criminalizing
travel for terrorism purposes and participation
in organizations proscribed as terrorist
organizations by the EU and the UN.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In April, Finland ratified the Council of Europe
Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic
Violence (Istanbul Convention), which entered
into force in Finland in August. Despite
ratification, there was neither an action plan
nor any dedicated budget for the effective
implementation of the Convention. Services
for women who have experienced violence
remained inadequate and under-resourced.
Finland fell short of the shelter requirements
and recommendations in the Istanbul
Convention, and despite the national shelter
network becoming state-funded and co-
ordinated, the number of shelters and
accessibility for disabled people was
insufficient. There were no walk-in services,
no long-term support services for survivors of
violence, nor a 24/7 helpline for victims of
Conscientious objectors to military service
continued to be punished for refusing to
undertake alternative civilian service, which
remained punitive and discriminatory in
length. The duration of alternative civilian
service was 347 days, more than double the
shortest military service period of 165 days.
FRANCE
French Republic
Head of state:
François Hollande
Head of government:
Manuel Valls
In January and November, several attacks
targeting the population were carried out in
and around the capital, Paris, killing over
140 people and injuring hundreds. In
January, the government adopted further
counter-terrorism measures. On 14
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November, it formally declared a state of
emergency that was subsequently extended
by Parliament until February 2016.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In January, violent attacks in Paris on
journalists at the satirical weekly
Charlie
Hebdo
and at a Jewish supermarket left 17
people dead. In the aftermath of the attacks,
the government issued several decrees aimed
at implementing some of the provisions of the
2014 anti-terrorism law. In particular, on
14 January, the government issued a decree
banning travel abroad for the purposes of
committing a terrorist act as defined under
French law. According to the Ministry of
Interior, 222 individuals were subjected to
such a travel ban between January and
November.
On 5 February, authorities issued a decree
regulating the administrative blockage of
websites, including those deemed to incite or
justify terrorist acts. According to the Ministry
of Interior, 87 websites were blocked from
January to November. Moreover, about 700
individuals were prosecuted for inciting or
justifying terrorism, on the basis of a new
provision (“apology of terrorism”) which had
been introduced in the 2014 anti-terrorism
law. Due to the vague definition of the
offence, in many cases authorities prosecuted
individuals for statements that did not
constitute incitement to violence and fell
within the scope of legitimate exercise of
freedom of expression.
After a series of eight seemingly co-
ordinated armed attacks in and around Paris
on 13 November that resulted in 130 deaths
and hundreds of injuries, the government
declared a state of emergency. On
20 November, Parliament passed a bill that
extended the state of emergency until 26
February 2016, amended the 1955 law on
the state of emergency, and provided for a
range of measures that deviated from the
ordinary criminal law regime. The measures
included house searches without a warrant,
forced residency and the power to dissolve
associations or groups broadly described as
participating in acts that breach public order.
Under the law, pre-judicial authorization for
these measures was not required.
In December, the government proposed a
bill to include a provision on the state of
emergency in the Constitution.
According to the Ministry of Interior, police
carried out 2,029 house searches between
14 November and 1 December. In the same
period, 296 individuals were subjected to
forced residency. Public demonstrations were
banned in the Paris region (Ile-de-France)
shortly after 13 November. The ban was
extended to other regions between 28 and 30
November, when several demonstrations
were scheduled to take place in the context of
the Paris Climate Conference (the 21
st
Conference of Parties, known as COP 21).
Several Muslim individuals were targeted
for house searches or forced residency on the
basis of vague criteria, including religious
practices deemed by the authorities to be
“radical”, and thus constituting a threat to
public order or national security. The police
also searched mosques and other Muslim
prayer spaces, and in some instances shut
them down. The authorities imposed forced
residency on 26 environmental activists in the
context of the COP 21 on the basis of their
possible engagement in violent
demonstrations.
SURVEILLANCE
In July, Parliament passed a law that granted
the Prime Minister the power to authorize –
without independent judicial oversight and
only upon consultation with an ad hoc
committee – the use of surveillance measures
on the national territory for a wide range of
goals, including the protection of economic or
overarching foreign policy interests. The
measures included the power to employ mass
surveillance techniques for the purpose of
tackling terrorism.
In November, another law was passed,
allowing the mass surveillance of all electronic
communications sent to – or received from –
abroad. The Prime Minister retained the
power to authorize such surveillance, without
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any prior consultation or independent judicial
oversight, for the purpose of achieving
vaguely defined goals.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
On 6 February, the French and Moroccan
governments signed an additional protocol to
their bilateral convention for legal co-
operation on criminal matters. The agreement
facilitated the transfer to Moroccan authorities
of complaints filed in France by Moroccan
victims of alleged crimes perpetrated in
Morocco.
In April, the Paris Court of Appeal approved
a petition to call Geoffrey Miller, former chief
of the US detention facility at Guantánamo
Bay, Cuba, to give testimony in the cases of
two French former Guantánamo detainees,
Nizar Sassi and Mourad Benchellali, who had
alleged that they were tortured at the
detention centre.
On 17 September, the Prime Minister
signed an order to extradite Kazakhstani
national Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia, despite
the high risk of unfair trial or onward transfer
from Russia to Kazakhstan, where he would
be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. An
appeal was pending before the Council of
State at the end of the year.
targeting migrants in Calais.
In July, a new asylum law was passed with
the aim of strengthening procedural
guarantees for asylum-seekers, shortening
the waiting time for assessing applications
and protecting asylum-seekers’ economic and
social rights.
Authorities agreed to relocate almost
31,000 asylum-seekers in 2016-2017 and to
resettle 2,750 refugees, mainly from Syria.
Unaccompanied children continued to be
routinely detained at the Roissy Charles de
Gaulle airport’s “waiting zone”.
DISCRIMINATION
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Approximately 5,000 migrants, asylum-
seekers and refugees continued to live in
harsh conditions in an informal settlement in
the northern city of Calais.
On 23 November, the Council of State
found that living conditions in the informal
settlement in Calais amounted to inhuman
treatment, and ordered the immediate
installation of water and sanitation services in
the settlement.
Both the UN Human Rights Committee and
the national Ombudsperson raised concerns
over instances of violence, harassment and
ill-treatment of migrants, asylum-seekers and
refugees by law enforcement agents in Calais.
On 2 December, the independent authority
overseeing places of detention criticized the
abusive use of administrative detention
According to NGOs, almost 4,000 Roma living
in 37 informal settlements were forcibly
evicted in the first half of the year. Migrants
and asylum-seekers were also forcibly evicted
from informal settlements throughout the
year. In June and July, hundreds of them
were repeatedly evicted from several locations
in Paris.
In March, the European Court of Human
Rights communicated to the government
three cases regarding transgender individuals
who were denied legal recognition of their
female gender because they had refused to
comply with medical criteria.
On 17 April, the government adopted an
action plan to combat racism and anti-
Semitism. Among other measures, it
recommended the adoption of an
amendment to the Criminal Code to ensure
that perpetrating a crime with a racist or anti-
Semitic motive constituted an aggravating
circumstance.
In August, the UN Human Rights
Committee recommended the revision of the
2004 law prohibiting the wearing of religious
symbols in schools and of the 2011 law
banning face covering. The Committee stated
that the laws constituted a violation of the
right to freedom of religion and that they had
a disproportionate impact on women and
girls, as well as on specific religious groups.
In November, the European Court of Human
Rights found that the refusal of a state
employer to extend the contract of a social
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worker who was wearing the headscarf did
not violate her rights to freedoms of
expression and religion.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 20 October, the Court of Cassation
confirmed the conviction of 14 individuals for
incitement to racial discrimination on the
basis of the 1881 law on freedom of the
press. In 2009 and 2010, they had
participated in non-violent initiatives in a
supermarket calling for the boycott of Israeli
products.
February seeking an invitation to conduct a
fact-finding mission.
In June, Gambia expelled the EU’s Chargée
d’Affaires, asking her to leave within 72 hours
with no explanation.
Plans for a Human Rights Commission
were developed. In November, President
Jammeh announced that female genital
mutilation (FGM) would be banned and a bill
criminalizing FGM was passed in December
by the National Assembly.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In November, the Senate rejected a bill aimed
at establishing a framework to ensure the
respect of human rights by multinational
companies, including their subsidiaries, sub-
contractors and suppliers. The bill had been
approved in March by the National Assembly.
GAMBIA
Republic of the Gambia
Head of state and government:
Yahya Jammeh
The December 2014 attempted coup led to
arrests and further human rights violations.
The authorities continued to repress dissent
and display a lack of willingness to co-
operate with UN and regional human rights
mechanisms or comply with their
recommendations.
In January, dozens of friends and relatives of
people accused of involvement in the 2014
attempted coup were detained
incommunicado. The authorities refused to
acknowledge their detention or to provide
information on their whereabouts. Those
detained included women, elderly people and
a child. They were released in July after six
months in detention without charge, in
violation of Gambia’s Constitution. Some of
those detained were tortured at the National
Intelligence Agency (NIA) headquarters,
including with beatings, electric shocks,
waterboarding or being detained in confined
holes in the ground.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
DEFENDERS
BACKGROUND
In April, Gambia rejected 78 of the 171
recommendations at the UPR, including
removing restrictions on freedom of
expression, ratifying the International
Convention against enforced disappearance,
and abolishing the death penalty.
1
The government ignored calls by the
international community to conduct a joint
independent investigation into the aftermath
of the 2014 attempted coup, most notably
disregarding the African Commission on
Human and Peoples’ Rights resolution in
Journalists and human rights defenders were
arbitrarily arrested and detained and
restrictive laws continued to curb the right to
freedom of expression.
On 2 July, Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay, director
of Teranga FM radio station, was detained
and held incommunicado for 12 days. A few
days after his release, Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay
was again detained, beaten, charged with
several counts of sedition and denied bail. He
remained in detention; his trial was ongoing at
the end of the year.
2
In June, a well-known rapper, Killa Ace,
fled Gambia after receiving death threats
following the release of a song accusing the
government of repression and extrajudicial
executions.
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In June, Lamin Cham, a radio show host
and music promoter, was arrested in the
capital, Banjul, and detained at NIA
headquarters and released without charge 20
days later.
Human rights activist Sait Matty Jaw, who
was arrested in Banjul in December 2014
and tried over work done on a survey for
Gallup on good governance and corruption,
was finally discharged in April.
former director of the NIA, Lamin Bo Badjie,
and former police chief, Ensa Badjie. Despite
the releases, other political opponents,
journalists and prisoners of conscience
remained in detention, including the national
treasurer of the opposition United Democratic
Party, Amadou Sanneh, as well as party
members Alhagie Sambou Fatty and Malang
Fatty.
5
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
DEATH PENALTY
In April, police obstructed a nationwide tour
by the opposition United Democratic Party
with roadblocks. The tour was granted
permission to continue after a four-day
stand - off.
In November, police arrested over 40
people during and after a protest by young
people and community members in Kartong
against sand mining. Witnesses reported
excessive use of force by the police with some
people injured. Thirty-three were charged
with various offences including conspiracy,
breach of the peace, riot, causing malicious
injuries and riotously interfering with a
vehicle. They were unconditionally released
eight days later, following a statement by the
President ordering their release.
3
On 30 March, a military court at the Fajara
barracks in Bakau, near the capital, handed
down death sentences on three soldiers and
sentenced three others to life imprisonment
for their involvement in the 2014 coup. The
trial was held in secret, with media and
independent observers barred from
observing.
6
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Three men suspected of being gay were put
on trial for “unnatural acts”. Two were
acquitted in August while the remaining man
was still facing trial at year’s end. They had
been arrested in November 2014, a month
after Gambia introduced life sentences for the
offence of “aggravated homosexuality”. Many
LGBTI people fled the country.
The UN Special Rapporteur on torture issued
a report in March citing that torture was
“prevalent and routine”, particularly by the
NIA in the early stages of detention. The
report expressed concerns over prison
conditions and the lack of an effective
complaints mechanism to address allegations
of torture and other ill-treatment. He noted
that “the nature of the torture is brutal and
includes very severe beatings with hard
objects or electrical wires; electrocution,
asphyxiation by placing a plastic bag over the
head and filling it with water and burning with
hot liquid”.
4
On 25 July, at least 200 prisoners were
released by President Jammeh from Mile 2
prison, including several detained for treason
and several government officials, such as the
IMPUNITY
The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions issued a
report in May, documenting a handful of state
investigations into police abuse, none of
which resulted in convictions. It stated that
citizens were “reluctant to denounce abuses,
engage legal services or seek redress, even
for the most serious violations, including
disappearances, torture or probable
executions.”
The authorities made no progress towards
implementing the judgments of the ECOWAS
Court of Justice in the enforced
disappearance of journalist Ebrima Manneh
(2010), the torture of journalist Musa
Saidykhan (2010) and the unlawful killing of
Deyda Hydara (2014).
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1. Gambia: Sharp deterioration of human rights in 21st year of President
Jammeh’s rule (News
story,
22 July)
2. Gambia: Further information: radio director rearrested, held
incommunicado: Alagie Abdoulie Ceesay
(AFR 27/2155/2015)
3. Gambia: Release peaceful protesters and community members
arbitrarily detained (News
story,
30 November)
4. Gambia must take immediate steps to address concerns of UN
Special Rapporteurs on torture and extrajudicial executions: Amnesty
International’s written statement to the 28th session of the UN
Human Rights Council
(AFR 27/1100/2015)
5. Gambia: Prisoner release should include all those detained for
expressing dissent (News
story,
24 July)
6. Gambia: Soldiers sentenced to death in secret trial must not be
executed (News
story,
1 April)
GEORGIA
Georgia
Head of state:
Giorgi Margvelashvili
Head of government:
Giorgi Kvirikashvili (replaced
Irakli Garibashvili in December)
Legal battles around the pro-opposition TV
channel Rustavi 2 raised concerns over
freedom of expression. Allegations of
political pressure on the judiciary and
selective justice persisted, particularly
following the rearrest and conviction of a
former politician one day after the
Constitutional Court ordered his release. In
several instances police prevented or limited
peaceful gatherings. The investigation of
allegations of ill-treatment by law
enforcement officials remained slow and
ineffective, while a proposal for an
independent investigative mechanism was
put forward but not yet legislated on.
managers of pro-opposition TV channel
Rustavi 2. Several UNM offices across the
country were vandalized by mobs in politically
motivated attacks.
A 26% devaluation of the national currency
against the US dollar affected numerous
families who had taken out loans in earlier
years, and increased economic vulnerability
for many.
Movement in and out of the breakaway
territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia
remained restricted, while security and
humanitarian concerns over the two dormant
conflicts persisted. Tensions heightened
when, on 10 July, border posts were
unilaterally moved several hundred metres
outward from South Ossetia. Several civilians
were reportedly detained and fined for
“illegally” entering into South Ossetia across a
largely undemarcated de facto border.
In October, the Prosecutor of theICC visited
Georgia, shortly after requesting that the ICC
authorize an investigation into the situation
during the Georgian-Russian war in August
2008.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
BACKGROUND
Towards the end of the year, political tensions
rose following incendiary remarks by the then
Prime Minister against the opposition party
United National Movement (UNM), public
screenings of clandestine videos of prison
rape dating back to the UNM-led
government, and leaked communications
between the exiled former President and
Concerns over fairness of judiciary selective
justice and politically motivated prosecutions
persisted.
On 17 September, the Constitutional Court
ruled to release Gigi Ugulava, an opposition
activist and former Mayor of the capital,
Tbilisi. It deemed his pre-trial detention since
2013 – on charges of misappropriation of
public funds and money laundering – illegal
as it exceeded the nine-month legal limit. The
Court’s judges came under heavy criticism
from senior government officials for this
decision and were threatened with violence
by some pro-government groups. On
18 September, Gigi Ugulava was sentenced
to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment on
account of these charges, and rearrested the
same day.
Contrary to widely held expectations, the
judge who presided in a controversial 2006
murder trial was reappointed by the High
Council of Justice on 25 December at the end
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of his tenure. He had been criticized for his
handling of the case in which, according to
the European Court of Human Rights 2011
decision, “the different branches of State
power… acted in concert in preventing justice
from being done.”
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Concerns over freedom of expression were
voiced by local NGOs and political
commentators who believed that a lawsuit by
a former shareholder of Rustavi 2 against its
current owners was prompted by the
government to deprive the opposition of its
main mouthpiece. On 21 October, the
director of Rustavi 2 reported having been
blackmailed, claiming that the security
services threatened to release intimate
footage of him unless he resigned. The Tbilisi
City Court found in favour of the former
shareholder, and Rustavi 2 managers were
forcibly replaced with pro-government
caretakers on 5 November, against the
Constitutional Court ruling that an appeal had
to be heard first.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
In several instances police unduly limited or
prevented peaceful gatherings, while on a
number of occasions they failed to prevent
clashes between political opponents.
On 15 March, approximately 50 supporters
of the Georgian Dream ruling coalition forcibly
entered the local offices of UNM and an
affiliated group in Zugdidi, armed with
wooden sticks, throwing stones and smashing
windows. Nine people were reported injured,
including one of the police officers who tried
to intervene but were outnumbered by the
attackers.
On 12 June, 15 activists attempted to stage
a protest at Heydar Aliyev Square in Tbilisi
against Azerbaijan’s poor human rights
record, ahead of the first European Games in
Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. Ahead of the
picket, police officers cordoned off the square
and denied access to activists without
providing a reason.
The International Day against Homophobia
and Transphobia (IDAHOT) proceeded
peacefully in Tbilisi in a discreet location on
17 May. The authorities had refused to
guarantee the event’s safety unless it was
held at a specific location without any prior
public announcement.
On 12 May, the European Court of Human
Rights ruled in
Identoba and Others v.
Georgia
that the police’s failure to protect
participants of the 2012 IDAHOT march
constituted discrimination and restricted
participants’ freedom of assembly.
On 7 August, Tbilisi City Court convicted a
man of arson and battery and sentenced him
to four years in prison for physically assaulting
one transgender woman and burning the flat
of another whom he had killed. However, the
Court ruled that the killing was an act of self-
defence and acquitted him of the relevant
charge.
On 23 October, Tbilisi City Court acquitted
four men charged with attacking the 2013
IDAHOT rally in Tbilisi due to “insufficient
evidence” despite the men reportedly being
identifiable on video and photo footage of the
event. A fifth man, also identifiable in the
footage, had been acquitted earlier. Dozens of
men had taken part in the attack but none
were convicted.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Local human rights organizations reported
new cases of ill-treatment by law enforcement
officials. The investigation of alleged abuses
by members of the General Inspection of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs was slow and
ineffective.
A draft model of an independent
investigative mechanism for the investigation
of criminal offences committed by law
enforcement officials was jointly proposed by
the human rights Ombudsman and some
NGOs. However, the law required to establish
the mechanism was not considered until the
end of the year.
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GERMANY
Federal Republic of Germany
Head of state:
Joachim Gauck
Head of government:
Angela Merkel
Around 1.1 million asylum-seekers entered
the country throughout the year. The
government unilaterally decided for a period
of time not to return Syrian asylum-seekers
to their first country of entry in the EU. It
expanded the list of safe countries of origin
and introduced severe cuts to benefits for
certain categories of asylum-seekers. The
authorities’ failure to effectively investigate
alleged human rights violations by police
persisted. Hate crimes against refugees,
asylum-seekers and migrants increased
sharply.
application had been rejected. The amended
Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, in force since
April, fell short of human rights standards,
particularly regarding access to health care. A
new law passed in October expanded the list
of safe countries of origin to include Kosovo,
Albania and Montenegro, thus limiting the
opportunity for nationals of these countries to
seek protection. The law also introduced
severe cuts to benefits set out in the Asylum
Seekers Benefits Act for rejected asylum-
seekers remaining in Germany in breach of
an order to leave the country – or anyway
remaining without legal status – and for
asylum-seekers who moved to Germany
despite having been relocated to another
European country.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The influx of asylum-seekers, mostly from
Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, increased
considerably in the second half of the year,
from already high levels. By the end of the
year Germany had received around 1.1
million asylum-seekers. In August, Prime
Minister Angela Merkel highlighted the
necessity to address the needs of incoming
refugees; invited other European leaders to
share responsibility for people seeking
protection in Europe; and decided to consider
asylum applications submitted by tens of
thousands of Syrians arriving in Germany
through countries such as Hungary and
Austria, rather than seeking their return to the
first EU country they entered – a measure
that was enforced for about three months. By
the end of the year, 476,649 asylum
applications had been submitted. Germany
contributed to the EU schemes for
resettlement and relocation by pledging 1,600
and 27,555 places respectively.
In July, a new law improved the legal status
of resettled refugees, including by facilitating
family reunification, but increased powers to
detain asylum-seekers under the Dublin
Regulation and those whose asylum
The authorities continued to fail to effectively
investigate allegations of ill-treatment by
police and did not establish any independent
complaints mechanism to investigate those
allegations. The obligation for police officers
to wear identity badges was not extended
beyond the federal states of Berlin,
Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bremen,
Hessen and Schleswig-Holstein.
The National Agency for the Prevention of
Torture, Germany’s preventive mechanism
under the Optional Protocol to the UN
Convention against Torture, remained
severely under-resourced. The appointment
procedure for the National Agency’s members
continued to fall short of international
standards on independence and
transparency, and excluded civil society
representatives.
In May, national media reported on the
alleged abuse of two Afghan and Moroccan
refugees in the holding cells of the federal
police at Hannover’s main train station in
2014. Investigations against a federal police
officer were ongoing at the end of the year.
DISCRIMINATION
On 27 January, the Constitutional Court found
that the prohibition on teachers wearing
religious symbols and dress, with the
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exception of those expressing Christian or
Western values, which was in force in North-
Rhine Westphalia since 2006, was
discriminatory. Similar prohibitions remained
in force in other German states.
Opposition to refugees, asylum-seekers and
migrants, particularly Muslims, resulted in
hundreds of protests being staged across the
country. Hate crimes against refugees,
asylum-seekers and migrants increased
sharply. According to the government, 113
violent attacks against asylum shelters were
perpetrated in the first 10 months of the year,
compared with 29 in 2014.
The Federal Parliament considered an
amendment to Section 46 of the Criminal
Code, which, if passed, would require courts
to take into account a racist or xenophobic
motivation when deciding sentences.
In June, the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination
highlighted the authorities’ failure to
investigate the racial motivation of offences,
including in relation to murders perpetrated
by the far-right group National Socialist
Underground (NSU) against members of
ethnic minorities. Moreover, the Committee
raised concerns regarding the discriminatory
impact of police stop-and-search powers on
ethnic minorities.
Several proceedings regarding the alleged
discriminatory impact of identity checks
carried out by federal police under Section
22(1)(a) of the Federal Police Act were
pending at various levels of administrative
courts.
Rwandan citizen Onesphore Rwabukombe,
who was sentenced in 2014 to 14 years’
imprisonment for aiding the commission of a
massacre at the Kiziguro church compound.
It was found on appeal that Rwabukombe
was actively involved in the murder of 450
people at the Kiziguro church, and that his
previous sentence was too lenient. The case
was referred back to a lower court in
Frankfurt for retrial.
On 28 September, the Higher Regional
Court in Stuttgart sentenced Rwandan leaders
of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda (FDLR) Ignace Murwanashyaka and
Straton Musoni to 13 and eight years in
prison respectively. They were both found
guilty of leadership of a foreign terrorist group,
while Ignace Murwanashyaka was additionally
convicted of aiding in war crimes. It was the
first trial based on the 2002 Code of Crimes
against International Law.
On 5 December 2014, the Higher Regional
Court in Düsseldorf convicted three German
citizens, originally from Rwanda, for their
support to the FDLR.
GHANA
Republic of Ghana
Head of state and government:
John Dramani Mahama
Excessive use of force by police was
reported in the context of demonstrations
and mass evictions. Torture and other ill-
treatment continued to be reported and
prison conditions remained a concern.
Violence against women remained
widespread; there was particular concern
about banishment for witchcraft. Lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) people faced discrimination and
were targeted for attack. Death sentences
continued to be handed down.
ARMS TRADE
In March, the Federal Security Council
released new principles in line with
international standards for the sale of small
arms and light weapons. In July, the Federal
Cabinet passed a policy paper for the
introduction of post-shipment controls.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
On 21 May, the Federal Court of Justice
partially overturned the decision of the
Frankfurt Higher Regional Court in the case of
BACKGROUND
A process to review the Constitution was
delayed owing to a court case challenging the
legality of the Constitutional Review
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Implementation Committee. In October, the
Supreme Court dismissed the case.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
In September, police fired tear gas and used
batons to disperse demonstrators taking part
in a peaceful demonstration, after failing to
agree on a route for the march. The
demonstration was organized by the Let My
Vote Count Alliance calling for a new voters’
register.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Violence against women and girls remained
widespread. In recent years, several hundred
women have been accused of witchcraft by
members of their communities and banished
to live in isolated camps with minimal access
to health care, education, sanitation and other
services. Although the government, in
collaboration with traditional leaders and civil
society, shut down the Bonyasi witch camp in
December 2014, and announced it would
close others, some camps remained open at
the end of the year.
In October, the UN Special Rapporteur on
torture visited Ghana to follow up on the
recommendations he had made following his
2013 visit. While welcoming the fact that
some progress had been made, he expressed
concern that the police and intelligence
services continued to use torture and other ill-
treatment.
He also noted the lack of due diligence and
urgency shown by oversight mechanisms in
investigating allegations of torture or other ill-
treatment and the need for the expansion and
effective implementation of the Legal Aid
Scheme.
He noted no significant lessening of
overcrowding in detention centres or
improvement in conditions of detention, such
as poor sanitation and inadequate nutrition.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex conduct between men
remained a criminal offence and many LGBTI
people faced discrimination, violence and
police harassment.
In February, some Ghanaian celebrities
condemned the beating of a music promoter
who was suspected of being gay.
In September, police arrested Sulley
Fuiseni, leader of a group called Safety
Empire which is accused of attacking LGBTI
people in the Nima disctrict of Accra. His trial
was continuing at the end of the year.
DEATH PENALTY
HOUSING RIGHTS
A National Housing Policy was adopted in
March, with the overall goal of providing
decent and affordable housing that is
accessible and sustainable.
On 20-21 June, several thousand people
were evicted from Accra’s largest slum, Old
Fadama. Popularly known as Sodom and
Gomorrah, the slum was home to around
50,000 people. Police used tear gas against
people demonstrating against the demolition
and several people were injured. Amnesty
International expressed concern that these
evictions did not conform to international
human rights standards and that better
guidelines are needed.
No executions have taken place since 1993.
However, Ghana retains the death penalty
and courts continued to hand down death
sentences. The government took no action
during the year in response to the
recommendations made in 2014 by the UN
Human Rights Committee and the
Committee’s condemnation of the use of
automatic and mandatory death sentences in
Ghana.
Proposals made by the Constitutional
Review Implementation Committee to abolish
the death penalty were stalled as a result of
delays in the constitutional review process.
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GREECE
Hellenic Republic
Head of state:
Prokopis Pavlopoulos (replaced
Karolos Papoulias in March)
Head of government:
Alexis Tsipras (replaced Vassiliki
Thanou Christophilou in September, who served as
interim Prime Minister after the resignation of
Tsipras in August)
The dramatic increase in arrivals of asylum-
seekers and irregular migrants on the
Aegean islands pushed an ineffective first
reception system beyond breaking point.
Collective expulsions continued at the
Greek-Turkish border. Allegations of torture
and other ill-treatment and excessive use of
force by police persisted. A law extending
civil unions to same-sex couples was voted
at the end of the year.
During the same month, the party took third
place in the parliamentary elections and
elected 18 MPs.
REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND
MIGRANTS
BACKGROUND
At the end of June, the government imposed
capital controls on banks while in a July
referendum 61.3% of voters rejected a
stringent bailout plan by Greece’s creditors.
Shortly after, following several months of
intensive negotiations, the government agreed
a new bail-out plan with the European
Institutions and the International Monetary
Fund.
In October, the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
expressed concern about the severe impact
of the financial crisis on the enjoyment of the
rights to work, social security and health
particularly by certain disadvantaged groups.
The trial of 69 people including the leader,
MPs and supporters of Golden Dawn began
in April. The defendants had been indicted
for running and participating in a criminal
organization and a range of other offences,
including numerous racist attacks and the
murder of anti-fascist singer Pavlos Fyssas in
2013. In September, the party’s leader, Nikos
Mihaloliakos, acknowledged during a media
interview that the party had political
responsibility for the murder of Pavlos Fyssas.
More than 851,319 refugees, asylum-seekers
and migrants crossed the sea to arrive in the
Aegean islands during the year. In the same
period, more than 612 people, including
many children, died or were unaccounted for
in the crossing when the boats carrying them
capsized.
Collective expulsions by police continued at
the Greek-Turkish land border; several
refugees and asylum-seekers reported
instances of violent push-backs. Push-backs
also continued at sea. Eleven push-back
incidents were reported to have occurred at
the Greek-Turkish land and sea borders
between November 2014 and the end of
August 2015. In October, the Prosecutor of
the Thessaloniki Appeals Court ordered the
Internal Affairs Directorate of the Police to
conduct a criminal investigation into a series
of reports by NGOs concerning collective
expulsions of refugees and migrants by police
in Evros.
In July, new legislation (Law 4332/2015)
was adopted setting out requirements for the
granting of Greek citizenship to children of
migrants.
Reception conditions
The already ineffective first reception system
proved incapable of adequately responding to
the dramatic increase in refugees and
migrants arriving on the Aegean islands. Poor
planning, the ineffective use of EU funds and
the deep financial crisis exacerbated the
humanitarian crisis on the islands. Local
activists, volunteers, NGOs and UNHCR, the
UN refugee agency, tried to cover the
enormous gaps in humanitarian provision for
refugees.
1
Reception conditions on islands such as
Lesvos and Kos were inhuman. Deficiencies
included a lack of police and coastguard staff,
insufficient tents, lack of food and poor
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hygiene conditions. The vast majority of new
arrivals had no access to the First Reception
Service.
In mid-October, the Greek authorities
established a pilot scheme for the screening
of new arrivals by the EU border agency and
the Greek police. The “hotspot” operated at
the Moria immigration detention centre on
Lesvos. However, reception conditions there
remained dire.
2
There was inadequate accommodation and
facilities for refugees and migrants arriving in
Athens, the capital, where hundreds of
people, including families, stayed for several
days and nights in parks and squares of the
city. In August, the authorities established a
reception centre in the area of Elaionas, in
Athens, to provide temporary shelter to new
arrivals. Three stadiums in Attika were also
used to provide temporary shelter to refugees
and migrants when needed.
In November and December, reception
conditions at the informal Idomeni refugee
camp deteriorated markedly after
Macedonian authorities imposed selective
border controls on arriving refugees and
migrants.
3
The camp was evacuated following
a police operation in mid-December. People
not allowed to cross the border were
transferred to Athens by bus and offered
temporary shelter in a stadium.
third-country nationals from Maghreb
countries for immigration purposes.
Obstacles to accessing asylum procedures
remained for both detained and non-detained
asylum-seekers.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of
individuals, including refugees and migrants
in immigration detention or during push-back
operations, persisted.
In September, lawyers reported that nine
individuals, some of them children, were ill-
treated by police officers belonging to the
DELTA special police unit following their
arrest in the neighbourhood of Exarcheia in
Athens. A criminal investigation was initiated
by the Internal Affairs Directorate of the
Police.
In April, the Athens Mixed Jury Court
convicted two police officers of the torture in
May 2007 of Christos Chronopoulos, who had
a mental health disability. The Court handed
down sentences of eight years’ imprisonment
to each officer; the sentences were
suspended on appeal.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Detention of asylum-seekers and migrants
In February, the Ministers for Migration Policy
and Citizens’ Protection took some steps to
reform the policy of systematic and prolonged
detention of asylum-seekers and irregular
migrants. In particular, the authorities ceased
to implement the widely criticized policy of
indefinite detention and released a large
number of asylum-seekers and irregular
migrants held for more than six months.
Unaccompanied children were often held
with adults and remained in detention for
several weeks under poor conditions.
Conditions in immigration detention areas,
including police stations, often amounted to
inhuman or degrading treatment. At the end
of the year, the authorities started detaining
Allegations of excessive use of force by police
continued. In August, more than 2,000
refugees and migrants were locked in
inhuman conditions in the local sports
stadium on Kos. Reports emerged of police
being unable to manage the crowd and
dispersing them by spraying them with fire
extinguishers. On several occasions between
August and October, riot police on Lesvos
reportedly used tear gas and beat refugees
and migrants waiting to be admitted for
screening at the Moria immigration detention
centre and those being registered in
Mytilene port.
DISCRIMINATION
Hate crime
Hate-motivated attacks against refugees and
migrants continued. In July, the Piraeus
Felony Court of Appeals found a bakery
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owner guilty of abducting, robbing and
causing serious bodily harm to Egyptian
migrant worker Walid Taleb in 2012. The
Court sentenced him to 13 years and two
months in prison. Three other men were
found guilty of abetting and were given prison
sentences which were later suspended on
appeal.
On 3 September, a group of 15 to 25 men,
allegedly members of Golden Dawn, attacked
refugees on Kos and threatened activists.
Police took no action to stop the group from
attacking the refugees, and riot police only
intervened after the physical attacks had
started.
During the year, the NGO Colour Youth
documented in the project “Tell us” 73
incidents of hate-motivated attacks against
members of the LGBTI community, compared
with 22 incidents documented during the
whole of 2014. On 24 September, two men
were convicted of an attack against a
transgender woman in a bar in Thessaloniki
on 19 September and received a sentence of
19 months’ imprisonment.
At the end of the year, the investigation of
the homophobic and racist attack in August
2014 against Costas, a Greek national, and
his partner, had made no progress. The
perpetrators had not been found or identified.
remained in a segregated separate school in
Sofades, a town in Central Greece.
In April, the UN Special Rapporteur on
contemporary forms of racism expressed
concerns about the housing conditions at the
Roma settlement in Spata, a town near
Athens, including the lack of electricity and its
implications for the education and health of
Roma children.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In October, the UN Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights reiterated its
concerns over the high incidence of domestic
violence and the low rates of prosecution, as
well as the under-representation of women in
political and public life.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
Alternative civilian service remained punitive
and discriminatory. Men refusing military
conscription who also refused to carry out
alternative civilian service continued to face
prosecution in the military justice system for
insubordination, facing sentences of up to two
years’ imprisonment and significant fines.
1. Humanitarian crisis mounts as refugee system pushed to breaking
point (Press
release,
25 June)
2. Urgent Action: Refugees face hellish conditions on Islands (EUR
25/2798/2015)
3. Fear and fences: Europe’s approach to keeping refugees at bay (EUR
03/2544/2015)
Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex people
On 22 December, Parliament passed a law
extending civil unions to same-sex couples.
The new law enables same-sex couples to
enjoy some of the rights granted to married
couples, including emergency medical
decisions and inheritance rights, but does not
guarantee adoption rights and legal gender
recognition for transgender people.
GUATEMALA
Republic of Guatemala
Head of state and government:
Alejandro Maldonado
Aguirre (replaced Otto Pérez Molina in September)
In a landmark development, the President
and Vice-President resigned and were
detained on corruption charges. Important
progress towards accountability was made,
although justice was still elusive for human
rights violations and crimes under
international law committed during the
Roma
Roma children continued to face segregation
or exclusion from education in many parts of
Greece, including the towns of Aspropirgos,
Sofades and Karditsa. Despite the 2013 ruling
of the European Court of Human Rights in
Lavida and others v. Greece,
Roma children
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internal armed conflict. Human rights
defenders, including environmental and
land rights defenders protesting against
hydroelectric and mining projects, and
journalists, were threatened, attacked,
harassed and intimidated. Violence against
women and girls continued to be systemic.
BACKGROUND
The country was shaken by revelations in
April by the International Commission against
Impunity in Guatemala and the Guatemalan
Public Prosecutor’s Office of wide-reaching
corruption involving the customs agency.
More than a dozen officials were charged and
arrested for their alleged participation,
including Vice-President Roxana Baldetti. In
September, President Pérez Molina resigned,
one day after Congress stripped him of his
immunity from prosecution. Otto Pérez Molina
was the first ever serving president to face
criminal charges.
The scandal gained momentum over a
period of months during which public protests
mounted. Massive anti-corruption
demonstrations lasting several months were
seen in the streets of a number of cities
around the country, bringing together many
different groups and sectors of society in an
unprecedented fashion. However, the
atmosphere of increased social mobilization,
demonstrations and civic activity also resulted
in threats and intimidation against
participants.
In September, Alejandro Maldonado
Aguirre, a former Constitutional Court judge,
was sworn in as President. Presidential
elections, which had been scheduled before
the scandal broke, were held in September
with a run-off in October. The winner,
comedian James Ernesto “Jimmy” Morales
Cabrera, was due to take office in January
2016.
1960 and 1996 continued to be slow and
halting. However, important steps towards
accountability were made. In October, a
Guatemala City appeals court declared that a
1986 amnesty decree could not be applied to
crimes against humanity and genocide. As a
result, the case against former President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Guatemalan
army, José Efraín Ríos Montt, could proceed.
In August, the Guatemalan Court for High
Risk ruled that Efraín Ríos Montt should be
tried behind closed doors in special criminal
proceedings due to begin in January 2016.
1
Ríos Montt will be represented by a third
party during the trial and the court is not
empowered to hand down a prison sentence,
owing to the 89-year-old defendant’s poor
health. In January, a civilian court in
Guatemala City found Pedro García
Arredondo, former chief detective of the now-
defunct National Police, guilty of orchestrating
a fire in the city’s Spanish Embassy that killed
37 people in 1980.
2
He was sentenced to 90
years in prison for murder, attempted murder
and crimes against humanity.
Civil society organizations continued to
push for the approval of Law 3590, which
would create a National Commission for the
Search for Victims of Enforced Disappearance
and Other Forms of Disappearance. The law
was first presented before Congress in 2006.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
IMPUNITY
Truth, justice and reparations for human
rights violations and crimes under
international law committed during the
country´s internal armed conflict between
Human rights defenders, particularly
Indigenous leaders and protesters defending
environmental and land rights and opposing
hydroelectric and mining megaprojects faced
continuous attacks, threats, harassment and
intimidation during the year.
The Guatemalan human rights organization
UDEFEGUA documented 337 acts of
aggression against human rights defenders in
the first half of 2015, more than the number
recorded in the whole of 2012, the year
President Pérez Molina took office.
Documented abuses rose by over 166%
during his presidency, according to
UDEFEGUA.
UDEFEGUA stated that almost 71% of all
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documented attacks and intimidation against
human rights defenders in the first half of
2015 targeted Indigenous leaders and
defenders working on environmental and land
rights issues. Leaders of movements opposing
hydroelectric projects in Huehuetenango
Department were arbitrarily arrested and tried
in proceedings that local groups said were
characterized by irregularities and violations
of due process. According to UDEFEGUA,
eight human rights defenders were in prison
at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
In March,
Prensa Libre
correspondent Danilo
López and Radio Nuevo Mundo reporter
Federico Salazar were shot dead by gunmen
while walking in a park in Mazatenango, the
capital of Suchitepéquez Department. Danilo
López, according to the authorities the
probable target of the attack, had frequently
received threats for his reporting on local
government corruption and was investigating
a story on money laundering shortly before
his death. The authorities arrested several
people they accused of having carried out or
planned the crime, including two police
officers, but no one was charged with
ordering the crime. At the end of the year, it
remained unclear who was behind the
killings; investigations were ongoing.
throughout the year, compared with 774 in
2014. The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated
that violence against women had been the
most frequently reported crime in the country
in 2013 and 2014.
Guatemala had yet to comply with a 2014
ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights in the case of María Isabel Véliz
Franco, who was 15 at the time of her death
in 2001. The Court found Guatemala
responsible for her gender-based killing and
the subsequent failure to investigate,
prosecute and punish those responsible. The
judgment called on the authorities to carry out
an effective investigation, make a public
apology, and reinforce state institutions to
investigate and prosecute gender-based
violence. Compensation for victims, including
María Isabel Véliz Franco’s mother, had not
been paid by the end of the year.
1. Guatemala: Court ruling on Ríos Montt’s case highlights flaws in
justice system (News
story,
25 August)
2. Guatemala: Conviction of ex-police chief finally brings justice for
1980 Spanish embassy attack (News
story,
20 January)
GUINEA
Republic of Guinea
Head of state:
Alpha Condé
Head of government:
Mohamed Saïd Fofana
In the context of the presidential election,
authorities banned demonstrations and the
security forces regularly used excessive
force against demonstrators. Arbitrary
arrests continued, including of opposition
members. People were arrested because of
their perceived sexual orientation. Impunity
for human rights violations persisted.
LAND DISPUTES
In July, an appeals court suspended
operations of the contested El Tambor gold
mine until further community consultations
were held. In a separate case in September, a
criminal court suspended operations of a
palm oil company in Petén Department
pending further investigation of its alleged
responsibility for the contamination of a local
river. In both cases, the activists and human
rights defenders involved had been
intimidated, threatened and attacked.
BACKGROUND
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The National Institute of Forensic Science
reported that 766 women were murdered
President Alpha Condé was re-elected in
October with 57.84% of the vote. The
opposition contested the election results,
citing irregularities. Violence between
members of opposition parties and clashes
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with security forces led to at least 20 deaths
and hundreds of people injured in incidents
linked to the elections throughout the year.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
Guinea’s human rights record was assessed
under the UPR in January. The concerns
raised included restrictions on the right to
freedom of peaceful assembly, excessive use
of force to disperse demonstrators and a
culture of impunity within the security forces.
Guinea did not accept recommendations to
abolish the death penalty or to decriminalize
consensual same-sex relations.
1
union were arrested in October. All of them
were charged with contempt of the head of
state and defamation. They were still in
detention at the end of the year.
4
In May, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention found that the detention of General
Nouhou Thiam, Adjudant Mohamed Kaba,
Lieutenant Mohamed Condé, Colonel Saadou
Diallo and Lieutenant Kémo Condé was
arbitrary. They were arrested in 2011
following an attack on President Condé’s
house. The Working Group called on Guinea
to release the men. They were still in
detention at the end of the year.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
At least 20 people died during violence
around the election period, at least half of
which were killed by security forces.
2
Other
people, including children, were injured by
live ammunition, misuse of riot equipment, or
in accidents with security force vehicles.
Three journalists were beaten by the police in
Hamdallaye, Boké region, in May.
In June, the National Assembly passed a
bill on maintaining public order which defined
how and when force can and cannot be used
to police protests. The bill could restrict the
right to peaceful assembly: it would not allow
spontaneous public assembly, while security
forces would retain the power to disperse
groups of otherwise peaceful protesters if at
least one person is believed to have a
weapon. Such clauses could be used as
grounds for banning or repressing peaceful
protests.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Article 325 of the Criminal Code criminalizes
consensual same-sex sexual acts. At least
three people were arrested because of their
perceived sexual orientation. Two men were
arrested on 22 April in Conakry. In May, the
Tribunal of Mafanco sentenced them to three
months’ imprisonment.
IMPUNITY
ARBITRARY DETENTIONS
Members of opposition groups, trade
unionists and other people who expressed
dissent were arbitrarily detained ahead of the
elections.
3
Jean Dougo Guilavogui, a union
leader and retired member of the armed
forces, was arrested in the capital, Conakry,
on 19 September and detained without being
brought before judicial authorities until his
indictment on 25 September. His extended
detention is contrary to international law and
to Guinean law. Four other members of the
Investigations continued into the massacre in
the Grand Stade de Conakry in 2009, when
security forces killed more than 100 peaceful
demonstrators and injured at least 1,500
others. Dozens of women were raped and
others disappeared. Moussa Dadis Camara,
then head of the military junta, was indicted
in July. Mamadouba Toto Camara, then
Minister of Public Security and Civilian
Protection, was indicted in June.
Impunity for other human rights violations
committed by members of the security forces
persisted. No progress was made towards
bringing to trial gendarmes and police officers
suspected of criminal responsibility for using
excessive force against peaceful
demonstrators, leading to death and injuries
between 2011 and 2015.
There was no investigation of members of
the police, gendarmerie and army who were
involved in the systematic pillage and
contamination of water sources of Womey,
Nzérékoré region, in September 2014.
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Security forces had been deployed to the area
following the killings of seven members of an
Ebola sensitization team and a bystander in
Womey. Several people arrested reported
being subjected to torture and at least six
women were raped as they attempted to
return to their village to seek food or
valuables. Two men died in detention in
December 2014 and May 2015. In April, the
Tribunal of Nzérékoré sentenced 11 of the
villagers to life imprisonment for murder.
In March the Assize Court of Kankan
adjourned the trial of four security force
members charged with killing six people
during a strike at a mine in Zogota in 2012.
The accused officers failed to appear in court.
In June, members of the community of
Saoro village, Nzérékoré region, filed a case
before ECOWAS Community Court of Justice,
claiming that the Guinean authorities made
no effort to prosecute security forces accused
of arbitrary arrest, torture, rape and unlawful
killings of villagers protesting against their
forced eviction in 2011.
GUINEA-BISSAU
Republic of Guinea-Bissau
Head of state:
José Mário Vaz
Head of government:
Carlos Correia (replaced Baciro
Djá in September, who replaced Domingos Simões
Pereira in August)
The human rights situation improved.
However, there were reports of torture and
other ill-treatment and deaths in police
custody. The authorities took no action to
improve poor detention conditions.
BACKGROUND
1. Guinea: The culture of excessive use of force threatens civil and
political rights ahead of the presidential elections (AFR
29/1950/2015)
2. Guinea: Preventing the excessive use of force and respecting freedom
of peaceful assembly in the run-up to the 2015 elections and beyond
– a call to action (AFR
29/2160/2015);
“Guinea: Unarmed people shot
in the back and beaten to death by the security forces in Conakry”
(News story, 22 October)
3. Guinea: Urgent health concern for two detainees (AFR
29/
1868/2015);
Guinea: Further information: Two detainees released on
health grounds (AFR
29/1889/2015)
4. Guinea: Further information: Four more trade unionists detained (AFR
29/2660/2015)
In January, Guinea-Bissau’s human rights
record was assessed under the UPR. The
government accepted most recommendations
made and noted for further consideration
those related to the ratification of the Optional
Protocol to the ICESCR, and the Convention
on the Non-Applicability of Statutory
Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against
Humanity.
August saw the unconstitutional dismissal
by President Vaz of Prime Minister Simões
Pereira and his government. A week later
President Vaz appointed Baciro Djá as Prime
Minister, despite opposition from Parliament
and widespread protest by civil society which
demanded the reinstatement of Domingos
Simões Pereira. Lacking parliamentary
approval, Baciro Djá was unable to form a
government until 10 September, only to be
dismissed five days later after the Supreme
Court ruled the President’s actions
unconstitutional. Carlos Correia was then
appointed Prime Minister and a new
government was formed in mid-October, with
Parliament’s support.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
There were several reports of torture and
other ill-treatment by police in the northern
town of Bissorã, where local residents
referred to the police station as a torture
centre. Tchutcho Mendonça was arrested on
3 July at his home in Bissorã, following an
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argument with his father. He was taken to
Bissorã police station where he was tortured
and died two days later. Those who saw his
body reported that it showed signs consistent
with torture. Ten police officers were
subsequently arrested but none had been
tried by the end of the year.
Also in July, police approached and beat
Mamadú Djaló in a street in Bissorã, causing
injuries to his torso. No investigation was
known to have been carried out into the
beating by the end of the year.
PRISON CONDITIONS
November, 133 people had been murdered,
compared with 130 during the same period in
2014, according to the Guyana Police Force
(GPF).
General elections were held in May and
David Granger was elected President.
Granger´s coalition won over a party which
had held power for 23 years.
Prior to elections, during a sensitive
electoral contest, a political activist was killed,
causing concern about potential limitations on
freedom of expression. In January, Guyana’s
human rights record was examined under
the UPR.
In June, the NGO Guinea-Bissau Human
Rights League reported that conditions of
detention throughout the country were
appalling and amounted to cruel and
inhuman treatment, particularly the cells of
the Criminal Investigation Police and the
Second Police Station, both in the capital
Bissau, and called for their closure.
Conditions in these cells included severe
overcrowding, with some inmates having to
sleep in the toilets, poor sanitation and
ventilation, all of which reportedly led to
detainees becoming ill. According to the
NGO, the cell at the Criminal Investigation
Police had capacity for 35 people but
regularly held over 100. The authorities had
taken no action to improve conditions by the
end of the year.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Allegations of excessive use of force by the
GPF during arrests and detention remained a
concern. Guyana accepted recommendations
made during the UPR to strengthen the
independence of the Police Complaints
Authority and increase its resources and
capacity.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Corporal punishment continued in schools, in
contravention of the UN Convention of the
Rights of the Child. While the government
conducted consultations with civil society on
the use of corporal punishment, the law
remained unchanged.
GUYANA
Republic of Guyana
Head of state and government:
David Arthur Granger
(replaced Donald Ramotar in May)
There were continuing concerns about
excessive use of force by the police,
violence against women and girls, and
discrimination and violence towards lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) people.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
BACKGROUND
Violent crime remained widespread. By
High levels of sexual and other physical
violence against women and girls continued.
According to a Latin American Public Opinion
Project survey published in 2014, acceptance
of domestic violence was high in Guyana. The
GPF had registered 300 reports of rape for
2015 as of November, compared with 238 for
the same period last year.
Conviction rates for sexual offences
remained alarmingly low. According to
women’s rights groups, police continued to
fail to take reports seriously.
In July, the former Minister of Health was
charged with using insulting language
towards a women’s rights activist who
confronted him on issues of maternal health.
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He had threatened to “slap” her and have her
“stripped” of her clothes.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Violence and discrimination towards LGBTI
people remained a serious concern. There
continued to be no legal protection against
discrimination based on real or perceived
sexual orientation and gender identity and
expression, and same-sex sexual conduct
between men remained criminalized.
In July 2015, days after civil society groups
held a candlelight vigil to mark the one-year
anniversary of the death of two transgender
sex workers, a transgender sex worker known
as “Nephi” was killed in Georgetown. A
suspect was reportedly charged in August.
The Society Against Sexual Orientation
Discrimination (SASOD), a local NGO,
continued to receive reports of discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender
identity in the workplace. According to
SASOD, transgender youth continued to be
made homeless due to discrimination from
within their home environment and children’s
homes lacked the capacity to respond to their
needs.
In response to recommendations made
during the UPR, Guyana agreed “to
strengthen the protection of LGBT
individuals” and “to continue its effort in
eliminating discrimination against LGBTI
people starting with the review of its related
legislation”. Another 14 recommendations on
LGBTI issues, including to reform the
Criminal Law Offences Act, were rejected by
Guyana.
homeless by the January 2010 earthquake
remained displaced. Hundreds of Haitian
migrants returning or deported from the
Dominican Republic settled in makeshift
camps with no access to services. Concerns
remained over the lack of independence of
the justice system.
BACKGROUND
HAITI
Republic of Haiti
Head of state:
Michel Joseph Martelly
Head of government:
Evans Paul
Legislative, presidential and municipal
elections were held amid violence and
controversy. More than 60,000 people made
The failure to hold long-overdue legislative
elections rendered Parliament dysfunctional.
On 16 January, following an agreement with
the political parties, the President confirmed
the appointment of Evans Paul as Prime
Minister who, two days later, announced the
formation of a transitional government
including members of opposition parties.
The first round of legislative elections was
held on 9 August, and was marked by
widespread disruption and violence. The first
round of presidential elections as well as the
second round of legislative elections and
municipal elections were held on 25 October.
Although these election rounds saw minimal
violence, opposition candidates and national
election observers alleged massive frauds.
Following mass demonstrations and the
refusal of the presidential candidate who had
qualified second to participate in the electoral
run-off scheduled on 27 December, on
22 December President Martelly established
a commission tasked with evaluating the 25
October election. On 21 December, the run-
off was postponed.
In October, the UN Security Council
renewed the mandate of the UN Stabilization
th
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for a 12 year
and affirmed its intention to consider the
possible withdrawal of the mission within a
year.
Severe drought in the North-West and
South-West departments negatively impacted
on food security and nutrition, especially for
rural families and those living on the
Dominican-Haitian border.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
At the end of June, more than 60,000 people
made homeless by the January 2010
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earthquake were still living in 45 makeshift
camps. Living conditions in camps worsened
as many humanitarian programmes ended
due to a lack of funding. Many displaced
people left the camps after being allocated
one-year rental subsidies. However, the
government failed to implement durable
solutions for displaced people.
1
IMPUNITY
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Tens of thousands of Haitian migrants and
their families returned to Haiti after the
Dominican authorities announced that
deportations of irregular migrants would
resume from 17 June. Many were reportedly
deported; others fled following threats or
fearing violent expulsion. Hundreds settled in
makeshift camps at the border. Haitian and
international human rights organizations, as
well as the UN Independent Expert on the
situation of human rights in Haiti, raised
concerns about the lack of access to services
for people living in camps in the Anse-à-Pitres
municipality.
The investigation into alleged crimes against
humanity committed by former President
Jean-Claude Duvalier and his former
collaborators made little progress. Following
his visit to Haiti in September, the UN
Independent Expert on the situation of human
rights in Haiti reiterated his recommendation
for the creation of “a truth, justice and peace
commission to clarify and provide remedy” for
the victims of past human rights violations
under François and Jean-Claude Duvalier and
President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
RIGHT TO HEALTH – CHOLERA EPIDEMICS
In the first six months, the number of cases
and deaths from cholera tripled compared
with the same period in 2014. According to
official statistics, 9,013 people died of cholera
between October 2010 and August 2015. The
humanitarian response remained largely
underfunded. The UN, which is deemed to
have inadvertently triggered the epidemic,
continued to refuse to ensure victims’ right to
remedy and reparations.
2
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The appointment of a new President of the
High Council of the Judiciary in March helped
restore the institution’s credibility. It was also
strengthened by the appointment of a
Director of the Judicial Inspectorate and 10
sitting judges as inspectors. However, delays
in the renewal of judges’ tenure and in vetting
processes negatively impacted on the
efficiency of the judiciary.
Concerns remained about the overall lack
of independence of the justice system. For
example, human rights organizations
expressed concern that a decision by the
Port-au-Prince criminal court in April to
dismiss the case against two alleged gang
members was politically motivated.
About 800 detainees in penitentiaries in the
Port-au-Prince region benefited from a case
review ordered by the Ministry of Justice to
deal with prolonged pre-trial detention and
prison overcrowding. However, by the end of
September, an excessively high number of
detainees remained in pre-trial detention.
A bill on preventing, prosecuting and
eradicating violence against women, drafted
in 2011, and the draft penal code containing
progressive provisions on gender-based
violence remained stalled because of the
dysfunctional Parliament. Convictions in
cases of sexual violence against women
remained low and the majority of domestic
violence cases were not investigated or
prosecuted.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Cases of verbal and physical attacks against
LGBTI people were reported during the year,
most of which were not thoroughly
investigated. According to LGBTI rights
organizations, some presidential and
legislative candidates made homophobic
statements during the electoral campaign.
Although LGBTI rights organizations were
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able to contribute to the training of new police
recruits, no similar training was known to
have been organized for existing police
officers.
reform the justice system and strengthen the
independence of the judicial branch. The
protesters rejected this proposal as
insufficient and continued to push for an
international commission with investigative
powers.
1. Haiti: “15 Minutes to leave”: Denial of the right to adequate housing
in post-quake Haiti (AMR
36/001/2015)
2. Haiti: Five years on, no justice for the victims of the cholera epidemic
(AMR
36/2652/2015)
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
HONDURAS
Republic of Honduras
Head of state and government:
Juan Orlando
Hernández Alvarado
Amid a general climate of crime and
violence, human rights defenders,
Indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant
leaders involved in land disputes, lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) activists, justice officials and
journalists were targeted with violence and
intimidation by state and criminal actors in
retaliation for their work. A weak criminal
justice system and corruption contributed to
a climate of extensive impunity for these
abuses.
BACKGROUND
The Honduran Supreme Court ruled in April
to eliminate an article in the Constitution that
limits presidential terms to one in office. The
change meant that President Hernández
would be able to seek re-election in 2017.
Tens of thousands of protesters dubbed
“the indignant ones” (los
indignados)
protested for months against corruption after
a series of scandals involving the government
and political parties, in some of the biggest
marches in recent Honduran history. The
government resisted the protesters’ demand
for the formation of an international
commission with the power to investigate
crimes and corruption by government
officials. Instead, it announced in September
an initiative in conjunction with the OAS to
Congress approved in April the Protection
Law for Human Rights Defenders, Journalists,
Social Communicators and Justice Officials.
The move was welcomed as an important
step to protect these groups, but in August a
group of civil society organizations wrote to
the government to voice concerns about the
vagueness and lack of transparency of the
draft implementation regulations, and asked
to postpone its approval by several months.
Human rights defenders, particularly
women, faced threats and violence – abuses
which were rarely investigated. The
government failed to implement protection
measures ordered by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and
to investigate a series of abuses in recent
years against Indigenous Tolupan leaders,
including the killings of two of their members
by local hitmen during demonstrations in
2013.
1
In addition to violence, human rights
defenders faced judicial harassment in
retaliation for their work. Women's rights
defender Gladys Lanza Ochoa was convicted
of criminally defaming the director of the
Foundation for the Development of Urban
and Rural Social Housing (FUNDEVI) and
sentenced to a year and a half in prison after
her organization supported a woman who had
accused him of sexual harassment.
2
She
remained free as she appealed against her
sentence. Journalist Julio Ernesto Alvarado
lost a series of appeals against his conviction
on charges of criminal defamation against the
dean of the economics school at the
Autonomous National University of Honduras
(UNAH). His sentence included a 16-month
ban on practising journalism.
In August, Honduras said it would comply
with 2014 recommendations by the IACHR
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regarding human rights violations committed
by the state against environmental activist
Carlos Escaleras Mejía, who was murdered in
1997, and members of his family. The IACHR
had established that Honduras was
responsible for the violation both of Escaleras’
right to life, freedom of association and
political rights, and of his family’s integrity.
The recommendations include accepting
international responsibility for the state’s
failure to carry out an effective investigation
into the killing, fully investigating the murder
and disciplining the officials who failed in
their duty.
policeman but a police spokesperson said the
officers who participated in the eviction never
fired their weapons, and that the police would
launch an investigation.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
Local civil society groups warned that
proposed changes to the Criminal Code
before Congress would eliminate language
introduced in 2013 to Article 321, which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender identity.
1. El Estado hondureño debe garantizar la vida e integridad personal de
IMPUNITY
líderes Indígenas Tolupanes (AMR
37/2193/2015)
2. Honduras: Nadie debe ser criminalizado por defender los derechos
humanos y Gladys Lanza no puede ser la excepción (AMR
37/001/2015)
Although government statistics showed a
decrease in homicide rates, the country
continued to suffer from a high rate of violent
crime which, together with a deficient
criminal justice system, resulted in pervasive
impunity for human rights abuses. The
Alliance for Peace and Justice, a Honduran
NGO, found in a 2014 report that fewer than
4% of murder cases resulted in a conviction.
The ineffective criminal justice system and
evidence of corruption and human rights
violations by police officers contributed to a
lack of trust in law enforcement and justice
institutions.
HUNGARY
Hungary
Head of state:
János Áder
Head of government:
Viktor Orbán
Hungary constructed fences along its
southern borders, criminalized irregular
entry to its territory and expedited the return
of asylum-seekers and refugees to Serbia,
effectively transforming Hungary into a
refugee protection-free zone. Roma
continued to be at risk of forced eviction
and inadequately protected against hate
crimes.
LAND DISPUTES
Local
campesino
organizations in the Bajo
Aguán region faced violent attacks and
threats in recent years by private security
guards with ties to powerful landowners, and
abuses by soldiers during evictions related to
long-running land disputes. Local
organizations in the Bajo Aguán region claim
that 90
campesinos
were killed between 2008
and 2013. Despite the establishment in April
2014 of a special unit in the Attorney
General’s Office to investigative these killings,
there was little progress in the cases.
In September, a forced eviction of
campesinos
in the department of Cortés
resulted in the death of a teenager in
unclarified circumstances. Peasant farmers
said the boy was shot and killed by a
BACKGROUND
In March, the NGOs Eötvös Károly Institute,
Hungarian Helsinki Committee and
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union published a
report concluding that the replacement of
judges of the Constitutional Court and the
2010 constitutional amendments undermined
the Court’s independence.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In response to a significant increase in the
number of refugees and migrants entering the
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country since January, the government
adopted measures aimed at keeping them out
of the country. On 15 September, the
government declared a “state of crisis due to
the situation caused by mass immigration”.
On the same day, the construction of a fence
on the border with Serbia was finished, while
amendments to the Criminal Code and
Asylum Law entered into force, making it an
offence to enter the country through the
border fence and establishing “transit zones”
at the border. On 17 October, a fence on the
border with Croatia was completed. Within
two days, the number of refugees and
migrants entering Hungary daily dropped
from over 6,000 to a few dozen. By the end of
the year, over 900 people were prosecuted for
“illegal border crossing” and subjected to
expulsion proceedings.
Criminalization of irregular entry and the
sealing off of the borders complemented
legislative measures adopted in the summer
that had restricted access to asylum more
generally. On 1 August, an amendment to the
Asylum Law entered into force, authorizing
the government to issue a list of “safe
countries of origin” and “safe third countries
of transit”. As a result, asylum applications by
people from “safe countries of origin” could
be rejected, and those who transited through
“safe third countries” before reaching
Hungary could be returned to the transit
country. Serbia, Macedonia and EU member
states, including Greece, were subsequently
deemed “safe” by the authorities. This led to
concerns expressed by NGOs that the
application of the law could lead to the
violation of Hungary’s obligation of
non-
refoulement,
as Hungary would not assess
whether an individual applicant would be at
risk of serious human rights violations in the
country of origin or transit. In October, the
European Commission expressed a number
of concerns in response to these measures,
including that Hungary is carrying out a
“possible quasi-systematic dismissal” of
asylum applications submitted at the border
with Serbia. In December, the European
Commission initiated infringement
proceedings against Hungary for breaching
the EU asylum law.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
NGOs critical of government policies faced
harassment and threats of losing their
registration. In January, four NGOs
responsible for managing and distributing the
European Economic Area (EEA)/Norway
Grants faced a criminal investigation and
were threatened with suspension of their tax
registration number. The proceedings
initiated to withdraw their registration were
suspended by the courts in February and
May. On 19 June, following a motion
submitted by NGOs, the Administrative and
Labour Court of Eger requested the
Constitutional Court to clarify whether the
attempt to suspend the NGOs’ registration
was in breach of the Basic Law of Hungary
(the Constitution). On 5 October, the
Constitutional Court found that the procedure
did not violate the Constitution.
One of the affected NGOs, the Ökotárs
Foundation, reported in January that the
Office of the Public Prosecutor was also
investigating the lawfulness of activities of two
NGOs that received funding from the Grants.
In June, it concluded its investigation into the
NGOs and found no criminal wrongdoing. In
May, the Norwegian Ministry for European
Economic Area and EU Affairs announced the
results of an independent audit into NGO
programmes funded by the Grants in
Hungary and concluded that the programmes
were run in line with legal requirements.
A district court in Buda held in January that
a police raid carried out on the offices of two
NGOs in September 2014 following a criminal
complaint by the Government Control Office
for misappropriation of assets was unlawful.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
Discrimination against Roma in access to
housing and the failure to protect Roma and
other minorities from hate crimes continued.
In June, the European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance noted that racist
motivation still doesn’t feature as a specific
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aggravating circumstance for offences in the
Criminal Code.
Hate crimes
In September, the County Court in Eger held
that police discriminated against Roma in the
town of Gyöngyöspata when it failed to protect
them from far-right groups in the spring of
2011. The complaint was submitted by the
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, which alleged
that police failed to intervene against various
paramilitary groups that held patrols in the
Roma neighbourhood in Gyöngyöspata for
several weeks.
In October, the European Court of Human
Rights found in
Balázs v. Hungary
that
Hungary had violated the prohibition of
discrimination, resulting from the failure to
investigate a racist attack against a Romani
man in Szeged in 2012. The man suffered
bodily injuries and alleged that they were
aggravated by the perpetrator’s racist motive.
The European Court of Human Rights held
that the prosecuting authorities failed to
identify the racist motive of the crime despite
“powerful hate crime indicators”, in breach of
the European Convention on Human Rights.
municipality’s approach to so-called “slum
clearance”. The report also urged the
municipality to prevent evictions, develop a
plan for families facing homelessness and
devise a holistic approach with the Ministry of
Human Capacities to deal with slum
eliminations.
In July, the Equal Treatment Authority
upheld a discrimination complaint by the
Hungarian NGO NEKI against the
municipality. The municipality’s appeal was
pending at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Access to housing
Around 100 families, mainly Roma, remained
at risk of forced eviction in the “Numbered
Streets” neighbourhood of Miskolc. Between
March and June, roughly 120 families were
forcibly evicted. Many had to move in with
relatives, to houses requiring renovation, or
face homelessness. The vast majority of
previously evicted families were not provided
with adequate alternative housing or
compensation.
On 14 May, Hungary’s highest court ruled
that the Miskolc municipality violated the
country’s equal treatment legislation when it
forcibly evicted hundreds of Roma from a
long-established neighbourhood, as well as
their rights to a private and family life and to
freedom of movement.
On 5 June, the Office of the Commissioner
for Fundamental Rights published a report on
the situation in Miskolc, criticizing the
Freedom of religion continued to be
restricted. Following the 2011 Church Law
that required churches and other religious
organizations to re-register and the 2014
European Court of Human Rights judgment in
Magyar Keresztény Mennonita Egyház and
others v. Hungary,
which held that the
deregistration had violated the right to
religious freedom, the government proposed
an amendment to the law in September.
However, according to the NGO Forum for
Religious Freedom, the amendment did not
address the arbitrariness of the deregistration
procedure that was criticized by the European
Court of Human Rights. The Forum further
voiced concerns that a number of religious
communities would continue to be denied
rights they held previously as churches.
INDIA
Republic of India
Head of state:
Pranab Mukherjee
Head of government:
Narendra Modi
Authorities clamped down on civil society
organizations critical of official policies, and
increased restrictions on foreign funding.
Religious tensions intensified, and gender-
and caste-based discrimination and violence
remained pervasive. Censorship and attacks
on freedom of expression by hardline Hindu
groups grew. Scores of artists, writers and
scientists returned national honours in
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protest against what they said was a climate
of growing intolerance. Controversial land
acquisition measures were dropped
following popular opposition. Abuses by
armed groups continued to threaten
civilians, but a historic peace framework
agreement was reached in Nagaland. The
criminal justice system remained flawed,
violating fair trial rights and failing to ensure
justice for abuses. Extrajudicial executions
and torture and other ill-treatment
persisted.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
detention on executive orders without charge
or trial. Authorities also continued to use
“anti-terror” laws such as the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act and other state-
specific laws which do not meet international
human rights standards.
In April, the state government of Gujarat
passed an anti-terror bill containing several
provisions which violated international
standards. The bill was pending approval by
the President in December. Similar laws
remained in force in Maharashtra and
Karnataka states.
In March, three men were tortured and killed
in Lohardaga, Jharkhand state, allegedly by
Maoist fighters. In May, around 250 villagers
were abducted and held hostage for a day in
Sukma, Chhattisgarh state, reportedly by
Maoist fighters attempting to pressurize the
state government to stop work on a bridge.
Maoist armed groups were accused of
threatening and intimidating Adivasi
(Indigenous) people and occupying schools.
In Jammu and Kashmir state, armed
groups threatened mobile phone operators
and attacked mobile towers and telecom
offices in May, June and July, killing two
people. In September, unidentified gunmen
killed a three-year-old boy and his father in
Sopore. The same month, the bodies of four
armed group members suspected to have
been killed by rival groups were found in the
state.
In July, armed group members attacked a
police station and bus station in Gurdaspur,
Punjab state, killing three civilians.
In August, the government announced a
peace agreement with the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah faction)
armed group, which civil society groups said
could improve the human rights situation in
Nagaland state and parts of northeast India.
CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION AND
VIOLENCE
Incidents of violence against Dalits and
Adivasis were reported from states including
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu. According to statistics released in
August, over 47,000 crimes against members
of Scheduled Castes, and over 11,000 crimes
against members of Scheduled Tribes, were
reported in 2014. In October, two Dalit
children were burned to death in an arson
attack near Delhi, allegedly by dominant caste
men.
In December, Parliament amended the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, recognizing
several new offences. The amendments also
required that special courts be established to
try these offences and that victims and
witnesses receive protection.
In July, an official census stated that over
180,000 households were engaged in
“manual scavenging” – the practice of
cleaning human waste carried out mainly by
Dalit people. Activists said the figure was an
underestimate.
Dominant castes continued to use sexual
violence against Dalit and Adivasi women and
girls.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Human rights defenders, journalists and
protesters continued to face arbitrary arrests
and detentions. Over 3,200 people were
being held in January under administrative
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
A legal requirement that private schools
reserve 25% of places at the entry level for
children from disadvantaged families
continued to be poorly enforced. Dalit and
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Adivasi children continued to face
discrimination.
In December, Parliament passed
amendments to juvenile justice laws which
allowed children aged 16 to 18 to be treated
as adults in cases of serious crimes, in
violation of India’s international legal
obligations.
In May, the cabinet approved amendments
to child labour laws which prohibited the
employment of children under 14. The
amendments made an exception for children
working in family enterprises or in the
entertainment industry, which activists said
would encourage child labour and
disproportionately affect children from
marginalized groups and girls.
COMMUNAL AND ETHNIC VIOLENCE
Authorities failed to prevent hundreds of
incidents of communal violence across the
country. Some politicians contributed to
religious tensions by making speeches
justifying discrimination and violence. At least
four Muslim men were killed in attacks by
mobs which suspected them of stealing,
smuggling or slaughtering cows.
In September, a commission investigating
communal violence in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar
Pradesh state, in 2013 submitted a report
which journalists said blamed members of
political parties, police and senior
administrative officials.
In February, the government formed a
team to reinvestigate closed cases related to
the 1984 Sikh massacre and file charges. The
team’s term was extended for a year in
August.
At least eight people were killed in ethnic
clashes in Manipur state over demands for
regulating the entry of non-domicile people
into the region, and the enactment of laws
affecting the rights of Indigenous people.
for a range of industrial projects. Following
nationwide opposition from farmers’ groups,
civil society and political parties, the
government said in August that it would not
pursue the amendments. Many industries,
including public sector coal mines, railways
and highways, were still not required to obtain
the consent of Indigenous communities or
conduct social impact assessments.
Vulnerable communities in resource-rich
areas remained at risk of forced evictions.
The Environment Ministry sought to abolish a
requirement for consent from village
assemblies for certain infrastructure projects.
In April, the Environment Ministry rejected
an offer from the UN Environment
Programme to assess the spread of toxic
wastes at the site of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak
disaster. In August, the Madhya Pradesh
state government incinerated 10 tonnes of the
waste in Pithampur, 250km from Bhopal,
which activists said had violated Supreme
Court orders and endangered the health of
local residents.
DEATH PENALTY
In August, two MPs introduced bills seeking
abolition of the death penalty. The State
Assembly of Tripura passed a unanimous
resolution urging the central government to
abolish capital punishment for murder.
In August, the Law Commission of India
submitted a report to the government
favouring speedy abolition of the death
penalty. The Commission said that the death
penalty in India is “an irreversible punishment
in an imperfect, fragile and fallible system”
but recommended that it be retained for
terrorism-related offences and “waging war
against the state”.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In February, the government introduced a bill
to amend India’s land acquisition law which
removed requirements related to obtaining
consent and conducting impact assessments
In March, a Delhi court acquitted 16
policemen accused of killing 42 Muslim men
in Hashimpura, Uttar Pradesh, in 1987. The
court stated it could not convict anyone
because of the “scanty, unreliable and faulty
investigation”.
In April, Andhra Pradesh police and forest
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officials shot dead 20 suspected smugglers in
an alleged extrajudicial execution. The same
month, police killed five pre-trial detainees in
Telangana who were being taken to court,
claiming they had attempted to overpower
them. Police investigations into both incidents
were ongoing at the end of the year.
A Central Bureau of Investigation Court
discharged several police officials suspected
of involvement in an extrajudicial execution in
Gujarat in 2005. In June, the UN Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions noted
in a follow-up report on India that guidelines
by courts and the National Human Rights
Commission often “remained on paper with
little or no implementation on the ground”.
In July, the Supreme Court ordered the
central government, Manipur state
government and National Human Rights
Commission to file a report on over 1,500
cases of alleged extrajudicial executions in
Manipur.
registration of an NGO run by the activists to
receive foreign funding.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Authorities took several measures to repress
civil society organizations, including using the
Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA)
– which restricted organizations from
receiving foreign funding – to harass NGOs
and activists.
The government took a series of actions
against Greenpeace India, including
preventing one of its campaigners from
travelling to the UK in January, ordering the
organization’s bank accounts to be frozen in
April and cancelling its FCRA registration in
September. High Courts ruled that some of
these steps were illegal.
The Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled the
FCRA registration of thousands of NGOs for
violating provisions of the law. In April, the
Ministry ordered that it would have to approve
foreign funds from certain identified donor
organizations.
In July, the Central Bureau of Investigation
registered a case against human rights
activists Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand for
allegedly violating provisions of the FCRA. In
September, authorities suspended the
Laws which did not meet international
standards on freedom of expression were
used to persecute human rights defenders
and others. In January, two activists were
arrested in Kerala for possessing “pro-Maoist”
literature. In October, a Dalit folk singer was
arrested in Tamil Nadu for writing songs
criticizing the state government and Chief
Minister.
In March, the Supreme Court struck down
Section 66A of the Information Technology
Act as being vague and overly broad. The law
had been used to prosecute people for
legitimately exercising their right to free
speech online.
In August, the Maharashtra state
government issued a circular on how India’s
sedition law must be applied, suggesting that
criticism of a government representative
would amount to sedition. It withdrew the
circular in October. In December, an MP
introduced a bill in Parliament seeking
revision of the sedition law.
There were several instances of
intimidation and attacks against journalists,
authors, artists and human rights defenders
by religious and caste-based groups. Two
rationalist writers were killed in attacks
thought to be related to their criticism of
religious intolerance and idolatry.
In July, the government argued before the
Supreme Court that privacy was not a
fundamental right under the Constitution. In
September, authorities proposed – and
withdrew after facing opposition – a draft
encryption policy which would have
threatened free expression and privacy.
Authorities restricted access to internet
services on several occasions, including in
Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir states, on
grounds of public order.
IMPUNITY – SECURITY FORCES
Impunity for violations by security forces
persisted. Legislation providing virtual
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immunity from prosecution such as the
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)
remained in force in Jammu and Kashmir
state and parts of northeast India.
In February, the Ministry of Home Affairs
officially rejected the report of a committee
set up in 2004 to review the AFSPA, which
recommended the repeal of the law. In June,
the state of Tripura withdrew the AFSPA 18
years after it was introduced “in view of the
decrease of militancy-related incidents”. In
July, a committee appointed to evaluate the
status of women recommended the repeal of
the AFSPA. In November, the Meghalaya
High Court directed the central government to
consider enforcing the AFSPA in one region
to maintain law and order.
In September, the Indian Army confirmed
life sentences for six of its personnel found
guilty by a military court of killing three men
in Machil, Jammu and Kashmir in an
extrajudicial execution in 2010.
education and health care. Attacks on
transgender people continued.
Section 377 of the Penal Code continued to
be used to criminalize same-sex relations
between consenting adults. Senior
government officials made contradictory
statements about whether the law should be
retained. In December, the introduction of a
bill to decriminalize same-sex relations was
defeated in the lower house of Parliament.
In August, the state government of Delhi
proposed a draft bill on women’s rights which
specified equality before the law for every
woman “irrespective of her sexual
orientation”, the first time a state government
had recognized discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation in law.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
PROLONGED PRE-TRIAL DETENTION
Prolonged pre-trial detention and
overcrowding in jails remained widespread.
As of January, over 282,000 prisoners – 68%
of the total prison population – were pre-trial
detainees. Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims
continued to be disproportionately
represented.
A 2014 Supreme Court order directing
district judges to release pre-trial detainees
who had been held for over half of the term
they would have served if convicted was
poorly implemented.
In September, the central information
commission, responding to an Amnesty
International India application, said that state
governments were obligated to periodically
provide information to authorities and
prisoners about detainees’ eligibility for
release.
Torture and other ill-treatment in police and
judicial custody were reported. In July, the
Supreme Court directed state governments to
install closed-circuit television cameras in all
prisons within two years to prevent torture
and other violations of prisoners’ rights, and
to consider installing them in all police
stations. Also in July, the Ministry of Home
Affairs stated that the government was
considering amending the Penal Code to
specifically recognize torture as a crime. In
November, the Chhattisgarh police began
investigating allegations that security force
personnel had raped two women and a girl
the previous month.
NGOs continued to report deaths from
torture of prisoners while in police custody.
Statistics released in August showed that 93
cases of deaths and 197 cases of rapes in
police custody were reported in 2014. In
August the National Human Rights
Commission recorded 1,327 deaths in judicial
custody between April 2014 and January
2015.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In April, the upper house of Parliament
passed a bill to protect the rights of
transgender people, including their rights to
Although nearly 322,000 crimes against
women, including over 37,000 cases of rape,
were reported in 2014, stigma and
discrimination from police officials and
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authorities continued to deter women from
reporting sexual violence. A majority of states
continued to lack standard operating
procedures for the police to deal with cases of
violence against women.
In over 86% of reported rape cases, the
survivors knew the alleged offenders.
Statistics released in August showed that
nearly 123,000 cases of cruelty by husbands
or relatives were reported in 2014. In March,
the central government announced that it was
considering allowing for the withdrawal of a
complaint of cruelty if a compromise is
reached between the parties.
In July, a committee appointed to evaluate
the status of women made key
recommendations on prevention, protection
and access to justice for women and girls
facing violence. Among other
recommendations, it urged the government to
make rape within marriage a criminal offence,
introduce a special law on honour crimes,
and not dilute laws relating to cruelty by
husbands.
In December, the government stated in
Parliament that it intended to amend the
Penal Code to criminalize marital rape.
Caste-based village bodies continued to
order sexually violent punishments for
perceived social transgressions.
Discrimination and violence against women
from marginalized communities remained
widespread, but reporting and conviction
rates were low.
Harassment, intimidation and attacks
against religious minorities occurred
throughout the country. A new Acehnese
Islamic Criminal Code came into force in
October, expanding the use of corporal
punishment to include consensual sexual
relations. There were 14 executions.
BACKGROUND
Despite commitments made during his
election campaign in 2014, President Joko
Widodo failed to address past human rights
violations. Freedom of expression was further
restricted and the use of the death penalty for
drug-related offences increased.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
INDONESIA
Republic of Indonesia
Head of state and government:
Joko Widodo
Security forces faced allegations of human
rights violations, including the use of
unnecessary or excessive force. Arbitrary
arrests of peaceful protesters, especially in
Papua, occurred throughout the year. The
government restricted activities marking the
50th anniversary of the serious human
rights violations of 1965-1966.
Reports continued of human rights violations
by police and military, including unlawful
killings, unnecessary and excessive use of
force, torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
In March, members of the Police Mobile
Brigade (Brimob) attacked residents in
Morekau village, Seram Bagian Barat District,
Maluku province, after they had complained
to Brimob officers who had entered the village
that they were disturbing a religious
ceremony. Thirteen people were seriously
injured. Despite promises of an investigation
by the head of the regional police, no charges
were brought.
In August, off-duty military personnel shot
dead two people after opening fire in front of
a church in Timika, Papua province. Also in
Timika, police shot two unarmed high school
students during a “security operation” in
September, killing one.
In Jakarta, the provincial police force used
unnecessary force against protesters at a
peaceful labour rally in October. Police
arrested and beat 23 protesters, as well as
two legal aid activists who reported injuries to
the head, face and stomach. Police blamed
the protesters for the violence. All were
released after being charged with threatening
public officials and refusal to disperse.
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IMPUNITY
More than 10 years after the murder of
prominent human rights defender Munir Said
Thalib, the authorities had failed to bring all
the perpetrators to justice.
September marked the 50th anniversary of
the serious human rights violations of
1965-66. Human rights organizations have
documented a range of human rights
violations in the context of the abortive 1965
coup, including unlawful killings, torture
including rape, enforced disappearances,
sexual slavery and other crimes of sexual
violence, slavery, arbitrary arrest and
detention, forced displacement and forced
labour. An estimated 500,000 to one million
people were killed during that time and
hundreds of thousands were held without
charge or trial for periods ranging from a few
days to more than 14 years. Although no legal
impediments to full citizenship remained for
victims of these crimes, a culture of impunity
continued to exist for perpetrators.
In May, the Attorney General announced
that the government would establish a non-
judicial mechanism to resolve past human
rights violations through a “reconciliation
committee”. It was seen by human rights
groups as a small but positive step following
decades of impunity for past human rights
violations and abuses that occurred during
the rule of former President Suharto
(1965-1998). However, victims and NGOs
remained concerned that this process would
prioritize reconciliation and undermine efforts
at truth and justice.
In 2015, the people of Aceh
commemorated the 10th anniversary of the
2005 Helsinki Peace Agreement between the
government and the armed pro-
independence Free Aceh Movement. The
agreement ended a 29-year conflict during
which between 10,000 and 30,000 people
were killed, many of them civilians. In
November, the Aceh House of People’s
Representatives appointed a team charged
with appointing commissioners for the Aceh
Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body
set up to examine abuses that occurred
during the conflict. Some provisions in the by-
law under which the Commission was created
fell short of international law and standards.
Its mandate was limited to genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes and did not
include other crimes under international law
including torture, extrajudicial executions and
enforced disappearances.
1
Investigations into shootings, torture and
other ill-treatment by police and the military
continued to stagnate. Despite promises from
President Widodo for a thorough investigation
into the December 2014 incident in which
security forces shot dead four students in
Paniai, no one had been brought to justice by
2
the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Prisoner of conscience Filep Karma was
released on 19 November after spending
more than a decade in prison for his peaceful
political expression. This was the latest in a
positive but limited step by the authorities to
increase freedom in Papua and West Papua
provinces. In May, the President granted
clemency to five political activists in Papua
province imprisoned for breaking into a
military compound, and pledged to grant
clemency or an amnesty to other political
activists.
Prisoners of conscience, including Johan
Teterissa in Maluku, remained imprisoned for
peaceful demonstrations under articles of the
Indonesian Criminal Code relating to
makar
(rebellion).
3
At least 27 prisoners in Papua
also remained imprisoned under these
articles, and 29 prisoners of conscience from
Maluku remained imprisoned.
The arrest and detention of peaceful
activists also continued in Papua and West
Papua provinces. In May, authorities arrested
264 peaceful activists who had planned
peaceful protests marking the 52nd
anniversary of the handover of Papua to the
Indonesian government by the UN.
4
A further
216 members of the West Papua National
Committee (KNPB) were arbitrarily detained
for participating in peaceful demonstrations in
support of Papua’s application to join the
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Melanesian Spearhead Group – a sub-Pacific
intergovernmental organization. While most
were later released, 12 were charged for
participating in the protest, including under
the “rebellion” laws.
5
President Widodo announced in May that
restrictions on foreign journalists applying to
visit Papua were to be lifted; this had not
been implemented fully by the end of the
year. In early October, three Papuan male
activists who had accompanied a French
journalist to Pegunungan Bintang District in
Papua to cover the activities of the KNPB
were arrested and interrogated by the local
immigration officer about the activities of the
journalist. They were held for 10 hours before
being released without charge.
Convictions continued to be documented
throughout the year of people peacefully
expressing their views under laws concerning
criminal defamation, blasphemy and “hate
speech”.
In March, the Bandung District Court
sentenced a woman to five months’
imprisonment after she had written a
“private” message to a friend on Facebook
accusing her husband of abusing her. He
reported her to the police after finding the
accusation when he accessed her account
and she was charged under Article 27(1) of
the Electronic Information and Transaction
Law (Law No.11/2008) with “transmitting
electronic content that violated decency”.
6
A further three people were convicted of
criminal defamation under the law in
Yogyakarta, South Sulawesi and Central Java
during the year.
The government continued to restrict
activities relating to the serious human rights
violations of 1965-1966. In October, police in
Salatiga, Central Java, confiscated and
burned hundreds of copies of
Lentera
magazine, run by the Satya Wacana
University’s Faculty of Social and
Communication Studies in Salatiga, because
it featured an in-depth report and front cover
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
violations. That same month, the Ubud
Writers and Readers Festival removed three
panel sessions related to these human rights
violations after authorities threatened to
revoke their permit.
7
At least six people remain detained or
imprisoned under blasphemy laws. In
January, six members of Gafatar, a national
cultural movement that was criticized by
Islamic organizations who believed it
promoted “deviant” beliefs, were arrested in
Banda Aceh in Aceh Province and charged
under Article 156 of the Criminal Code for
insulting religion. In June the head of the
group was sentenced to four years’
imprisonment.
In October, police passed a new national
regulation (Surat Edaran No. SE/6/X/2015) on
hate speech. Although the regulation refers to
expression “aimed to inflict hatred or hostility
[against] individuals”, civil society activists
were concerned that they may be used to
charge individuals accused of criminal and
religious defamation.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Harassment, intimidation and attacks against
religious minorities persisted, fuelled by
discriminatory laws and regulations at both
national and local levels.
In July, members of the Christian
Evangelical Church (Gereja Injil di Indonesia,
GIDI) burned down a Muslim place of worship
in Karubaga, Tolikara District, Papua
province, where Muslims were celebrating Eid
al-Fitr. Members of GIDI originally had
gathered to complain that the noise from the
place of worship was interrupting a church
event. Security officials from both the military
and police shot into the crowd, killing one
man. GIDI youths then destroyed the Muslim
place of worship and several shops in the
vicinity. Two men were arrested for inciting
violence.
In October, Christian churches were
attacked by a group of at least 200 people in
Aceh Singkil District after the local
government ordered the destruction of 10
churches in the district, citing provincial and
district level by-laws limiting houses of
worship. The attackers burned down one
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church and attempted to attack another but
were stopped by local security forces. One
assailant was killed during the violence and
approximately 4,000 Christians fled to
neighbouring North Sumatra Province
immediately afterwards. Ten people were
arrested. The Aceh Singkil government went
ahead with its plans to destroy the remaining
churches.
8
In November, a place of worship of a local
Indigenous beliefs community in Rembang,
Central Java, was burned down by a mob
during the process of renovation. Before the
attack, the community leader had received a
threat by a local Islamic organization and was
also asked by the Rembang District head of
government to stop the renovation. At the end
of 2015 no one had been held accountable
for the attack.
The situation of a number of religious
minority communities who had been subject
to harassment, violence and forced eviction
remained uncertain. Three years after local
authorities evicted a community of Shi’a
Muslims in Sampang, East Java, after an anti-
Shi’a mob threatened violence, 300 members
remained displaced from their homes.
9
Members of the Presbyterian Yasmin
Church and the Filadelfia Church continued
to hold congregations outside the presidential
palace in Jakarta in response to their
churches remaining sealed off in Bogor and
Bekasi respectively. Although the Supreme
Court overturned the Bogor administration’s
revocation of the Yasmin Church’s building
permit in 2011, the Bogor city government
continued to refuse to allow the church to
reopen.
30 lashes respectively. The by-law makes it
difficult for victims of rape to seek justice, as
the victims themselves now need to provide
evidence of rape. False accusations of rape or
adultery were also punishable by caning.
10
DEATH PENALTY
Fourteen prisoners were executed in January
and April, 12 of whom were foreign nationals.
All of these related to drug-trafficking
offences, for which President Widodo had
previously stated he would refuse to consider
any clemency applications.
11
The government
allocated funding to conduct further
executions in 2016. At least 131 people
remained under sentence of death.
1. Indonesia: Appointment of Aceh Truth Commission selection team a
step closer to truth and reparation for victims (ASA
21/2976/2015)
2. Indonesia: Paniai shootings – make investigation findings public and
bring perpetrators to justice (ASA
21/0001/2015)
3. Indonesia: Release Johan Teterissa and other prisoners of conscience
(ASA
21/1972/2015)
4. Indonesia: End attacks on freedom of expression in Papua (ASA
21/1606/2015)
5. Indonesia: End mass arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters in Papua
(ASA
21/1851/2015)
6. Indonesia: Two women convicted under internet law for social media
posts (ASA
21/1381/2015)
7. Indonesia: Stop silencing public discussions on 1965 violations (ASA
21/2785/2015)
8. Indonesia: Christian minority in Aceh under threat (ASA
21/2756/2015)
9. Indonesia: Three years later, forcibly evicted Sampang Shi’a
community still wanting to go home (ASA
21/2335/2015)
10. Indonesia: Repeal or revise all provisions in the new Aceh Islamic
Criminal Code that violate human rights (ASA
21/2726/2015)
11. Flawed justice: Unfair trials and the death penalty in Indonesia (ASA
21/2434/2015)
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING
PUNISHMENT
At least 108 people were caned in Aceh
under Shari’a law for gambling, drinking
alcohol or “adultery” during the year. In
October, the Acehnese Islamic Criminal Code
came into force, expanding the use of
corporal punishment for same-sex sexual
relations and intimacy between unmarried
individuals, with punishment of up to 100 and
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IRAN
Islamic Republic of Iran
Head of state:
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei (Leader
of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
Head of government:
Hassan Rouhani (President)
The authorities severely curtailed the rights
to freedom of expression, association and
assembly, arresting and imprisoning
journalists, human rights defenders, trade
unionists and others who voiced dissent, on
vague and overly broad charges. Torture and
other ill-treatment of detainees remained
common and was committed with impunity;
prison conditions were harsh. Unfair trials
continued, in some cases resulting in death
sentences. Women and members of ethnic
and religious minorities faced pervasive
discrimination in law and in practice. The
authorities carried out cruel punishments,
including blinding, amputation and
floggings. Courts imposed death sentences
for a range of crimes; many prisoners,
including at least four juvenile offenders,
were executed.
alleged crime.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND
Negotiations between Iran and the five
permanent member states of the UN
Security Council, plus Germany, resulted with
Iran agreeing in July to restrict its nuclear
development programme in return for the
lifting of international sanctions.
In March, the UN Human Rights Council
renewed the mandate of the UN Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in Iran; the Iranian authorities continued to
deny him entry to Iran and to prevent access
by other UN experts. The Human Rights
Council also formally adopted the outcome of
its second UPR of Iran. Iran accepted 130
recommendations, partially accepted 59
others, and rejected 102. Those rejected
included recommendations that Iran ratify the
UN Convention against Torture and CEDAW,
and cease using the death penalty against
those aged under 18 at the time of the
The authorities continued to severely restrict
freedoms of expression, association and
assembly. They blocked Facebook, Twitter
and other social media websites, closed or
suspended media outlets including the
Zanan
monthly women’s magazine, jammed foreign
satellite television stations, arrested and
imprisoned journalists and online and other
critics, and suppressed peaceful protests.
In August, the Ministry of Communications
and Information Technology announced the
second phase of “intelligent filtering” of
websites deemed to have socially harmful
consequences, with the support of a foreign
company. The authorities continued efforts to
create a “national internet” that could be
used to further impede access to information
via the internet, and arrested and prosecuted
those who used social media to express
dissent.
1
In June, a spokesperson for the
judiciary said that the authorities had arrested
five people for “anti-revolutionary” activities
using social media, and five others for “acts
against decency in cyber-space”.
Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi,
Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karoubi
remained under house arrest without charge
or trial. Scores of prisoners of conscience
continued to be detained or were serving
prison sentences for peacefully exercising
their human rights. They included journalists,
artists, writers, lawyers, trade unionists,
students, women’s and minority rights
activists, human rights defenders and others.
Under the 2013 Islamic Penal Code,
individuals convicted of multiple charges
must serve only the lengthiest single
sentence, but judges are required to impose
sentences that exceed the statutory maximum
for any single offence when they convict
defendants of more than three crimes. This
has resulted in the authorities bringing
multiple spurious charges against some
peaceful critics as a means to ensure a
lengthy prison term.
2
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The authorities continued to suppress
peaceful protests. On 22 July, police
temporarily arrested scores and dispersed
thousands of teachers who gathered outside
Parliament in the capital, Tehran, to protest
against the authorities’ harassment of
teachers engaged in trade union activities and
related protests, and demand the release of
prominent trade unionists, including Ismail
Abdi, who remained in detention.
3
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Detainees and prisoners continued to report
acts of torture and other ill-treatment,
particularly during primary investigations
mainly to force “confessions” or gather other
incriminatory evidence.
A new Code of Criminal Procedures, which
entered into force in June, introduced some
safeguards including central electronic
registers of detainees held in each province.
However, the new Code did not provide
adequate protection against torture and failed
to bring Iranian law into conformity with
international law and standards. The Code
failed to guarantee individuals adequate
access to an independent lawyer from the
time of arrest, a legal requirement for
protection against torture and other ill-
treatment. No specific crime of torture is
defined in Iranian law and the new Code
failed to establish detailed procedures for
investigating torture allegations. Moreover,
while the Code excludes statements obtained
through torture as admissible evidence, it
does so only in general terms, without
providing detailed provisions.
Detainees and sentenced prisoners were
denied adequate medical care; in some
cases, the authorities withheld prescribed
medications to punish prisoners, or failed to
comply with medical doctors’
recommendations that prisoners should be
hospitalized for treatment.
4
The authorities
also frequently subjected detainees and
prisoners to prolonged solitary confinement
amounting to torture or other ill-treatment.
Prisoners were kept in severely
overcrowded and insanitary conditions with
inadequate food and exposed to extreme
temperatures. This included prisoners in Dizel
Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Adel Abad
Prison in Shiraz, Gharchak Prison in Varamin,
and Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad. According
to some former detainees, in Tabriz Central
Prison, some 700 to 800 prisoners were held
in three poorly ventilated, insanitary cells with
access to only 10 toilets. The authorities often
disregarded prison regulations which required
that different categories of detainees and
prisoners be held in separate prison sections,
prompting hunger strikes by some political
prisoners, including prisoners of conscience.
The death of at least one prisoner of
conscience, Shahrokh Zamani, was reported,
possibly attributable to poor prison conditions
and inconsistent medical care.
Cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment
Courts continued to impose, and the
authorities continued to carry out,
punishments that violate the prohibition of
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment. These were sometimes carried
out in public and included flogging, blinding
and amputations. On 3 March the authorities
in Karaj deliberately blinded a man in his left
eye after a court sentenced him to
“retribution-in-kind” (qesas) for throwing acid
into the face of another man. He also faced
blinding of his right eye. The authorities
postponed punishment of another prisoner
scheduled for 3 March; he was sentenced to
blinding and being made deaf.
5
On 28 June, authorities at the Central
Prison in Mashhad, Khorasan Province,
amputated four fingers from the right hands
of two men sentenced for theft, apparently
without anaesthetic.
6
Sentences of flogging were also carried out.
In June, a Deputy Prosecutor General in
Shiraz announced that 500 people had been
arrested and 480 of them had been tried and
convicted within 24 hours for publicly
breaking their fast during Ramadan. Most
received flogging sentences administered by
the Office for Implementation of Sentences.
Some floggings were reportedly carried out
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in public.
UNFAIR TRIALS
convict defendants and impose harsh
penalties.
8
Many trials, including some that resulted in
death sentences, were grossly unfair. Prior to
trial, the accused were frequently detained for
weeks or months during which they had little
or no access to lawyers or their families, and
were coerced into writing or signing
“confessions” that were then used as the
main evidence against them in unfair
proceedings. Judges routinely dismissed
defendants’ allegations of torture and other ill-
treatment in pre-trial detention without
ordering investigations.
After years of deliberation, the new Code of
Criminal Procedures took effect in June. It
brought about some improvements, including
stricter regulation of interrogations and the
requirement that detainees be informed of
their rights, but it was seriously weakened by
amendments approved only days before its
entry into force. These included an
amendment that restricted the right of
detainees in national security cases to be
represented by lawyers of their own choosing
during the often lengthy investigation phase;
instead, they can only choose a lawyer
approved by the Head of the Judiciary. The
Code applied the same restriction to suspects
in cases of organized crime, which can result
in sentences of death, life imprisonment or
7
amputation. Responding to criticism of the
amendments, a senior judiciary official said,
“the issue is that there are individuals among
lawyers who could be trouble makers”. In
some cases, it appeared that courts had
extended the restriction on defendants’ right
to a lawyer of their own choosing to the trial
phase.
Special courts, including the Special Court
for the Clergy which was effectively
established outside the law, and the
Revolutionary Courts, continued to function
without observing international fair trial
standards. The judiciary was not independent
and courts remained susceptible to pressure
from security authorities, such as the Ministry
of Intelligence and Revolutionary Guards, to
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Members of religious minorities, including
Baha’is, Sufis, Yaresan (Ahl-e Haq), Christian
converts from Islam, Sunni Muslims, and
Shi’a Muslims who became Sunni, faced
discrimination in employment and restrictions
on their access to education and freedom to
practise their faith. There were reports of
arrest and imprisonment of dozens of Baha’is,
Christian converts and members of other
religious minorities, including for providing
education for Baha’i students who are denied
access to higher education.
The authorities continued to destroy sacred
sites of Baha’is, Sunnis and Sufis including
their cemeteries and places of worship.
In August, a Revolutionary Court in Tehran
convicted Mohammad Ali Taheri of
“spreading corruption on earth” for
establishing a spiritual doctrine and group
called Erfan-e Halgheh, and sentenced him to
death. He had previously received a five-year
prison term and been sentenced to 74 lashes
and a fine in 2011 for allegedly “insulting
9
Islamic sanctities”. Prison sentences were
also issued against several of his followers. In
December, the Supreme Court overturned his
sentence due to “incomplete investigations”
and remanded the case to the Court of First
Instance.
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
Iran’s disadvantaged ethnic groups, including
Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis,
Kurds and Turkmen, continued to report that
the state authorities systematically
discriminated against them, particularly in
employment, housing, access to political
office, and the exercise of cultural, civil and
political rights. They remained unable to use
their own language as a medium of
instruction for primary education. Those who
called for greater cultural and linguistic rights
faced arrest, imprisonment, and in some
cases the death penalty.
Security forces disproportionately repressed
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protests by ethnic minorities including Ahwazi
Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks and Kurds. Between
March and April, the authorities were
reported to have carried out many arrests in
the Arab-populated Khuzestan province,
including after a football match in March
where Ahwazi Arab young men displayed a
banner in solidarity with Younes Asakereh, an
Ahwazi Arab street vendor who died on
22 March after setting himself alight in a
protest against the city authorities. He was
apparently left without emergency medical
treatment due to lack of funds. The arrests
took place in the lead-up to the 10th
anniversary of mass anti-government
demonstrations in Khuzestan in April 2005
following the publication of a letter that
referred to government plans to implement
policies that would reduce the population of
Arabs in Khuzestan. During the protest, police
were reported to have particularly targeted
men wearing traditional Arab clothing for
arrest and beatings.
10
In November, several individuals belonging
to the Azerbaijani Turk ethnic group were
reported to have been arrested, after largely
peaceful demonstrations erupted in several
cities in protest against a television
programme that members of the Azerbaijani
Turk community considered offensive.
On 7 May, riot police were reported to have
used excessive or unnecessary force to
disperse demonstrators in Mahabad, a city in
West Azerbaijan province largely populated by
members of the Kurdish minority, who were
protesting after a Kurdish woman fell to her
death in unclear circumstances.
and outlaw voluntary sterilization. The general
principles of another draft law, the
Comprehensive Population and Exaltation of
Family Bill, were passed in Parliament on
2 November. If enacted, the law would
require all private and public entities to
prioritize, in sequence, men with children,
married men without children and married
women with children when recruiting staff.
The law also risks further entrenching
domestic violence as a private “family
matter”.
In practice, women continued to have
reduced access to affordable modern
contraception as the authorities failed to
restore the budget of the state family planning
programme cut in 2012.
Women and girls remained inadequately
protected against sexual and other violence,
including early and forced marriage. The
authorities failed to adopt laws criminalizing
these and other abuses, such as marital rape
and domestic violence. Compulsory “veiling”
(hijab) laws also continued to empower police
and paramilitary forces to target women for
harassment, violence and imprisonment.
The authorities came under local and
international pressure to allow women access
as spectators to international men’s volleyball
matches in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium but
continued to exclude them in the face of
opposition from ultra-conservative groups,
such as Ansar Hezbollah.
DEATH PENALTY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women remained subject to discrimination
under the law, particularly criminal and family
law, and in practice. Women and girls also
faced new challenges to their sexual and
reproductive health and rights. Parliament
debated several draft laws that would further
erode women’s rights, including the Bill to
Increase Fertility Rates and Prevent
Population Decline, which would block
access to information about contraception
The authorities continued to use the death
penalty extensively, and carried out numerous
executions, including of juvenile offenders.
Some executions were conducted in public.
The courts imposed numerous death
sentences, often after unfair trials and for
offences such as drugs offences that did not
meet the threshold of most serious crimes
under international law. The majority of those
executed during the year were sentenced on
drugs charges; others were executed for
murder or after being convicted on vague
charges such as “enmity against God”.
Many detainees accused of capital offences
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were denied access to legal counsel during
the investigative phase when they were held
in detention. The new Code of Criminal
Procedures repealed Article 32 of the 2011
Anti-Narcotics Law, which had denied
prisoners sentenced to death on drugs
charges a right of appeal. It remained
unclear, however, whether those sentenced
before the Code took effect would be eligible
to appeal.
Scores of juvenile offenders remained on
death row. Several juvenile offenders were re-
sentenced to death after receiving a retrial
pursuant to the new juvenile sentencing
guidelines of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code.
Amnesty International was able to confirm the
execution of at least three juvenile offenders:
Javad Saberi, hanged on 15 April, Samad
Zahabi, hanged on 5 October, and Fatemeh
Salbehi, hanged on 13 October. Human
rights groups reported that another juvenile
offender, Vazir Amroddin, an Afghan national,
was hanged in June or July. In February, the
authorities transferred Saman Naseem,
sentenced in 2013 for a crime that was
committed when he was aged 17, to an
undisclosed location prompting fears and
wide international concern that he was about
to be executed. He was subjected to enforced
disappearance for five months; the authorities
ultimately permitted him to phone his family
in July, and confirmed to his lawyer that the
Supreme Court had ordered his retrial in
April.
11
The Islamic Penal Code continued to
provide for stoning as a method of execution;
at least two stoning sentences were issued
but no executions by stoning were reported
during the year.
prison conditions (MDE
13/2508/2015)
5. Iran: Man forcibly blinded in one eye in “unspeakably cruel”
retribution punishment (News
story, 5 March)
6. Iran amputates fingers of two men in shocking act of cruelty (MDE
13/1998/2015)
7. Iran: Draconian amendment further erodes fair trial rights (MDE
13/1943/2015)
8. Iran: Activists tortured for alleged “flag-burning” (MDE
13/2110/2015)
9. Iran: Mohammad Ali Taheri sentenced to death (MDE
13/2245/2015)
10. Iran: Sweeping arrests of Ahwazi Arab activists (News
story, 28 April)
11. Iran: Whereabouts of juvenile offender on death row emerge five
months after scheduled execution (News
story, 13 July)
IRAQ
Republic of Iraq
Head of state:
Fuad Masum
Head of government:
Haider al-Abadi
The human rights situation continued to
deteriorate. Government security forces,
government-allied militias and the armed
group Islamic State (IS) committed war
crimes and human rights abuses.
Government forces carried out
indiscriminate attacks on areas under IS
control, and committed extrajudicial
executions. IS forces carried out mass
execution-style killings and abductions,
including abductions of women and girls for
sexual slavery. Government authorities held
thousands of detainees without trial; torture
and other ill-treatment of detainees
remained rife. Many trials did not meet
international standards of fairness. Women
and girls faced discrimination and sexual
and other violence. Journalists operated in
hazardous conditions. Courts continued to
impose death sentences, mostly on
terrorism charges; dozens of executions
were carried out.
1. Iran: Film producer given jail term after unfair trial: Mostafa Azizi
(MDE
13/2272/2015);
Iran: Couple sentenced to jail on security
charges (MDE
13/2520/2015)
2. Iran: Harsh prison sentences for two female activists highlight
rampant injustice (News
story, 2 June)
3. Iran: Prominent trade unionist unlawfully detained: Ismail Abdi (MDE
13/2208/2015)
4. Iran: Death of trade unionist must trigger action to tackle appalling
BACKGROUND
The armed conflict continued between
government security forces and IS forces; the
latter controlled predominantly Sunni areas
north and east of the capital, Baghdad,
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including the city of Mosul. Government
forces were supported by Popular
Mobilization Units (PMUs) composed mainly
of Shi’a militias. In May, IS forces captured
Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, causing
thousands to flee to Baghdad and other cities,
and massacred captive members of the
security forces. In response to the IS
advance, Prime Minister al-Abadi agreed to
the deployment of PMUs to support a
counter-offensive by government forces,
despite the PMU’s record of committing
serious human rights violations against Sunni
Muslims. At the end of the year, Mosul
remained under IS control while Ramadi was
recaptured by Iraqi security forces in
December. Kurdish Peshmerga forces
discovered mass graves in Sinjar after they
recaptured the town from IS in November.
The conflict caused the deaths of some
6,520 civilians between January and October,
according to the UN, and the forcible
displacement of nearly 3.2 million people
since January 2014, exacerbating the existing
humanitarian crisis. Many of those displaced
sought refuge in the semi-autonomous
Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
All parties to the conflict committed war
crimes, other violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights abuses.
Both PMUs and IS reportedly used child
soldiers.
Parliament created a Human Rights
Advisory board for NGOs in January to
facilitate consultation with civil society groups
over revising legislation to comply with human
rights; however, no significant legal reforms
had been made by the end of the year.
In August, an official investigation into the
capture of Mosul by IS forces in June 2014
blamed former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
and his officials for the security forces’
abandonment of the city.
In September, President Masum ratified
Law 36 of 2015, prohibiting political parties
from having military wings or affiliating with
armed groups, but a proposed amnesty law
and draft laws on accountability and justice
had not been enacted at the end of the year.
Prime Minister al-Abadi pledged to dismiss
corrupt military officers. A draft National
Guard Law to regulate armed militias and
support greater local control of the security
forces and police to reduce the
marginalization of Sunnis and Kurds within
the security forces proved particularly
controversial; some members of Parliament
said it threatened national security.
Several UN human rights bodies that
conducted reviews of Iraq in 2015, including
the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the
Committee against Torture and the Human
Rights Committee, expressed concern about
the deteriorating human rights situation.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
Government forces and PMUs committed war
crimes, other violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights
violations, mostly against Sunni communities
in areas under IS control. In Anbar, Ninevah
and Salah al-Din provinces, indiscriminate air
strikes by government forces killed and
injured civilians and hit mosques and
hospitals.
In areas they recaptured from IS,
government security forces and allied militias
carried out reprisal killings of local Sunnis
suspected of supporting IS and burned
homes and mosques. In one such case in
January, security forces and allied Shi’a
militias extrajudicially executed at least 56
Sunni Muslims in Barwana village, Diyalah
province, after rounding up local men
ostensibly to check their identities. The
victims were shot, mostly while handcuffed.
Also in January, members of a Yezidi militia
attacked Jiri and Sibaya, two predominantly
Sunni Arab villages in the northwestern Sinjar
region. The militia carried out execution-style
killings of 21 civilians, including children and
elderly men and women, and abducted other
civilians. Residents said that Kurdish
Peshmerga and Asayish forces were present
when the killings were perpetrated. The
homes of Sunni Arabs were also looted and
burned by Yezidi militias after Peshmerga
forces recaptured Sinjar from IS in November.
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US, UK, French and other foreign military
forces carried out air strikes against IS in
support of the Iraqi government; some of
these attacks reportedly killed and injured
civilians in areas controlled or contested
by IS.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Armed groups killed and injured civilians
throughout Iraq in suicide and car bomb
attacks that were either indiscriminate or
deliberately targeted civilians. IS fighters killed
civilians in indiscriminate shelling and
continued to abduct and kill civilians in areas
where they gained control, including civilians
who opposed their control. In March and
November, media reported that IS forces
used chlorine gas in bomb attacks. Some 500
people, including civilians, died during the
fighting for control of Ramadi in May. IS
forces that seized control of the city killed
civilians and members of the security forces,
throwing some bodies in the Euphrates River.
The armed group also summarily killed some
of its own fighters for fleeing.
IS enforced strict rules on dress, behaviour
and movement on the inhabitants who
remained in the areas they controlled, and
severely punished infractions. Its fighters
carried out execution-style public killings and
other punishments, including after its
“courts” condemned people for transgressing
its rules or its interpretation of Islamic law. IS
also summarily killed dozens of men they
perceived to be gay, often throwing them to
their deaths from high-rise buildings. In
Mosul, IS forces controlled all movement into
and out of the city and prevented people
leaving to obtain medical care elsewhere
unless they provided guarantors of their
return; IS reportedly beheaded some
guarantors when people they had allowed to
leave failed to return.
IS fighters burned or destroyed Shi’a, Yezidi
and other religious shrines and cultural
artefacts, as well as homes vacated by
government officials and members of the
security forces.
Women and girls faced discrimination in law
and in practice, and were inadequately
protected against sexual and other violence.
They were subjected to acute abuses in IS-
controlled areas, where women and girls were
reportedly sold as slaves, forced to become
wives of IS fighters or killed for refusing. In
March, IS forces reportedly killed at least nine
Shi’a women belonging to the Turkmen
minority for refusing to marry IS fighters after
IS forces killed their husbands.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Security forces carried out arrests without
judicial warrants and without informing those
they arrested or their families of any charges.
Detainees, particularly terrorism suspects,
were held incommunicado for weeks or
months following arrest, often in conditions
amounting to enforced disappearance and in
secret prisons controlled by the Ministries of
the Interior and Defence that were not open
to inspection by the Office of the Public
Prosecution or any monitoring bodies. In May,
the Minister of the Interior denied that his
ministry operated secret detention facilities, in
response to complaints of enforced
disappearances by detainees’ families. Many
detainees were released without charge but
thousands of others continued to be held in
harsh conditions, including at Nassiriyah
Prison, south of Baghdad, which was mostly
used to hold Sunni men convicted of or facing
trial on terrorism charges, and where
prisoners were reportedly abused.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
common and widespread in prisons and
detention centres and was committed with
impunity. Interrogators tortured detainees to
extract information and “confessions” for use
against them at trial; some detainees
reportedly died as a result of torture. In April,
a member of the parliamentary Human Rights
Committee said that detainees continued to
face torture and the use of forced
confessions. The UN Committee against
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Torture criticized the government’s failure to
investigate torture allegations and called for
increased safeguards against torture.
UNFAIR TRIALS
The criminal justice system remained
critically flawed and the judiciary lacked
independence. Trials, particularly of
defendants facing terrorism charges and
possible death sentences, were systematically
unfair with courts often admitting torture-
tainted “confessions” as evidence, including
“confessions” broadcast by state-controlled
television channels before suspects were
referred to trial.
Lawyers representing terrorism suspects
faced threats and intimidation by security
officials and were physically attacked by
members of militias. Judges, lawyers and
court officials continued to be attacked and
killed by IS and other armed groups.
In July, the Central Criminal Court of Iraq in
Baghdad sentenced 24 alleged IS members
to death after it convicted them of unlawfully
killing at least 1,700 military cadets from the
“Speicher” Military Camp, near Tikrit in Salah
al-Din governorate, in June 2014. Four other
men were acquitted. The trial, which was
completed in a few hours, was based mainly
on “confessions”, which the defendants said
they had been forced to make under torture
in pre-trial detention, and video footage of the
massacre previously circulated by IS. The
defendants all denied involvement in the
killings, with some denying that they had
been present in Tikrit at the time of the crime.
None of the defendants had legal counsel of
their own choosing but were represented by
court-appointed lawyers, who requested
leniency but did not dispute the evidence or
the admissibility of the “confessions”.
Rights said it was overly restrictive.
In July and August, thousands of people
took to the streets in Baghdad, Basra and
other cities to protest against official
corruption, electricity cuts, water shortages
and the authorities’ failure to provide other
basic services. At least five people were killed
when the security forces used unnecessary
force to disperse the protests. In the weeks
that followed, several protest leaders were
killed by unidentified assailants in Baghdad,
Nassiriyah and Basra. The Minister of the
Interior claimed that the killings were
unconnected to the protests but it was
unclear to what extent they were investigated
by the authorities.
The situation for journalists remained
hazardous. They were subject to threats and
violence by the security forces and abduction
and killing by IS and other armed groups. In
April, the Minister of the Interior claimed that
negative media reporting about the security
forces was hampering the fight against IS.
In February, several journalists were
assaulted by a senior security official’s
bodyguards at a press conference in
Baghdad. In April, Reuters news agency’s
Baghdad bureau chief, Ned Parker, left Iraq
because of threats he received from Shi’a
militia. The threats came after he reported
that PMUs had committed abuses and looting
after they recaptured Tikrit from IS.
In May, Raed al-Juburi, an outspoken
journalist at al-Rasheed television channel
and columnist for
Azzaman
newspaper, was
found dead at his home in Baghdad with
bullet wounds to his chest. The outcome of
the investigation into his death remained
undisclosed at the end of the year.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED
PEOPLE
The authorities restricted the right to freedom
of expression, including media freedom. In
June the government introduced a new law to
regulate media networks; the official
Independent High Commission for Human
Iraq continued to host some 244,527
refugees from Syria. Fighting between
government forces and IS caused nearly
3.2 million people, mostly from Anbar,
Ninevah and Salah al-Din provinces, to flee
their homes and become internally displaced.
Many fled to the Kurdistan region or other
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governorates. Some were forcibly displaced
more than once. Some 500,000 people fled
Anbar province in May when IS forces
captured Ramadi; many were denied entry to
Baghdad by the authorities. Humanitarian
conditions for internally displaced people
remained harsh; they often lacked access to
basic services and some were reportedly
attacked and injured by local residents in the
Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. Others who fled
to the Kurdistan region were arrested for
suspected links to IS.
KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
Abdel-Wehab Mahmoud Hameed al-‘Akla – to
death on terrorism charges for beheading a
man in 2010. All three alleged that security
officials tortured them during months of
incommunicado detention and forced them to
“confess” to killing people unknown to them.
In August, the KRG authorities hanged
Farhad Jaafar Mahmood and his wives
Berivan Haider Karim and Khuncha Hassan
Ismaeil, ending a seven-year hiatus on
executions in the region. A court in Dohuk
had sentenced the three to death in April
2014 after convicting them on abduction and
murder charges.
Political tensions rose in the semi-
autonomous Kurdistan region, amid efforts by
the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to
extend KDP leader Massoud Barzani’s term of
office as President of the Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG); a move that other
political parties opposed. In October,
hundreds of public sector employees
protested in Sulaimaniyah and other eastern
cities to demand payment of overdue salaries.
In October, KDP militia forces fired at
protesters in Qaladze and Kalar, killing at
least five and injuring others. The KDP said
investigations were opened into the burning of
its headquarters but did not specify that the
investigations would cover killings by its
militias.
The KRG authorities arrested and detained
people suspected of supporting or having
links to IS but did not disclose their number.
IRELAND
Republic of Ireland
Head of state:
Michael D. Higgins
Head of government:
Enda Kenny
Access to and information about abortion
remained severely restricted and
criminalized. Equal access to civil marriage
for same-sex couples was introduced. Legal
gender recognition legislation was enacted.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
DEATH PENALTY
The authorities continued to impose the death
penalty extensively and carried out dozens of
executions. Most of those sentenced to death
were Sunni men convicted under the 2005
Anti-Terrorism Law. In June, the Cabinet
agreed to amend the Code of Criminal
Procedures to allow the Minister of Justice to
ratify execution orders if the President fails to
act on them within 30 days. The following
month, President Masum ratified at least 21
death sentences.
In September, a court in Baghdad
sentenced three brothers – Ali, Shakir and
In July the UN Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) criticized
Ireland’s “highly restrictive legislation on
abortion and its strict interpretation thereof”,
and its “criminalization of abortion, including
in the cases of rape and incest and of risk to
the health of a pregnant woman”. It
recommended that Ireland take all necessary
steps, including a referendum on abortion, to
revise its legislation on abortion. Concerns
were raised at the impact on women and girls
of the law on access to and information about
abortion, and how the constitutional
protection afforded to the foetus also
impacted on maternity care.
1
Abortion is
constitutionally permitted only when a
woman’s or girl’s life is at “real and
substantial risk”, and carries a possible 14-
year prison sentence in all other
circumstances.
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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In November, Ireland signed the Council of
Europe Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and
domestic violence.
The CESCR expressed concern at the
government’s responses to domestic violence.
It criticized the lack of a prompt, thorough
and independent investigation into the
allegations of past abuses in the religious-run
“Magdalene Laundries”, and that survivors
were not provided with adequate remedies.
constitutional reform in areas including
equality for women and blasphemy remained
outstanding.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
DISCRIMINATION
In May, a popular referendum was passed
ensuring constitutional provision for equal
access to civil marriage for same-sex couples.
Legislation was enacted in October.
Legislation providing for legal gender
recognition was enacted and came into force
in September, substantially meeting human
rights standards.
There were renewed concerns at the
institutionalization of people with disabilities
and the poor living conditions for people with
disabilities in residential centres. Concerns
were also raised at possible neglect and
abuse in some centres.
In November, the European Committee for
the Prevention of Torture published the
findings of its 2014 visit. The Committee
noted improvements in the prison system, but
expressed concern at interprisoner violence,
continuing lack of in-cell sanitation in some
prisons, conditions akin to solitary
confinement as punishment, deficiencies in
health care (including mental health care),
and the placement of immigration detainees
with remand and convicted prisoners. The
Committee noted receiving some reports of ill-
treatment by the police, and recommended
improved health care services in police
stations as a safeguard against ill-treatment.
There were concerns at delays by the
government in ratifying the Optional Protocol
to the UN Convention against Torture and
establishing the required National Preventive
Mechanism.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
The CESCR was critical of the limited
statutory definition of human rights provided
in respect of some of the functions of the
Human Rights and Equality Commission.
2
It
concluded that this limitation, together with
the lack of recognition of economic, social
and cultural rights in domestic law, are
“major factors” preventing the Commission
from exercising its mandate and applying the
full range of rights. It recommended that the
government review the 2014 legislation.
By the end of the year the government had
still not responded to the February 2014
recommendation by the government-
established Constitutional Convention that the
Constitution be amended to incorporate
economic, social and cultural rights. Several
other Convention recommendations for
In September, the government announced
that it would accept up to 4,000 people in
need of international protection, including
both those requiring relocation from within
the EU, and the 520 Syrian refugees then
being resettled in Ireland directly from the
Middle East.
Concerns remained about the poor living
conditions in “direct provision” centres and
the lengthy stay (around 51 months) by
asylum-seekers. A report was issued in June
by a working group established by the
government to identify possible improvements
to direct provision. The government
established a task force in July to further
consider whether and how to implement the
group’s recommendations.
Legislation providing for a single procedure
to deal with both claims for refugee status
and claims for other forms of protection was
enacted in December.
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BACKGROUND
1. She is not a criminal – the impact of Ireland’s abortion law (EUR
29/1597/2015)
2. Ireland: Submission to the CESCR (EUR
29/1629/2015)
ISRAEL AND THE
OCCUPIED
PALESTINIAN
TERRITORIES
State of Israel
Head of state:
Reuven Rivlin
Head of government:
Benjamin Netanyahu
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,
Israeli forces committed unlawful killings of
Palestinian civilians, including children, and
detained thousands of Palestinians who
protested against or otherwise opposed
Israel’s continuing military occupation,
holding hundreds in administrative
detention. Torture and other ill-treatment
remained rife and were committed with
impunity. The authorities continued to
promote illegal settlements in the West
Bank, and severely restricted Palestinians’
freedom of movement, further tightening
restrictions amid an escalation of violence
from October, which included attacks on
Israeli civilians by Palestinians and apparent
extrajudicial executions by Israeli forces.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank attacked
Palestinians and their property with virtual
impunity. The Gaza Strip remained under an
Israeli military blockade that imposed
collective punishment on its inhabitants.
The authorities continued to demolish
Palestinian homes in the West Bank and
inside Israel, particularly in Bedouin villages
in the Negev/Naqab region, forcibly evicting
their residents. They also detained and
deported thousands of African asylum-
seekers, and imprisoned Israeli
conscientious objectors.
Israeli-Palestinian relations remained tense
throughout the year. In January, after
Palestine applied to join the ICC and
accepted its jurisdiction over crimes
committed in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories (OPT) since June 2014, Israel
temporarily ceased paying monthly tax
revenues due to the Palestinian authorities.
Later in January, the ICC Prosecutor opened
a preliminary examination into alleged crimes
under international law by Israel and by
Palestinian armed groups; Israel condemned
the move, but began limited engagement with
the ICC Prosecutor in July.
International efforts failed to restart Israeli-
Palestinian negotiations. The Israeli
government continued to support the
promotion and expansion of illegal
settlements in the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, and took steps to authorize
several West Bank settlement outposts that
had been established without government
permission.
From October there was a significant
upsurge in violence in which Palestinians,
mostly individuals not affiliated with armed
groups, carried out stabbings, shootings, car-
ramming and other attacks against Israeli
forces and civilians in both Israel and the
West Bank, and increased protests against
Israel’s military occupation. Israeli forces
responded to attacks and protests with lethal
force. Twenty-one Israeli civilians and one US
national were killed by Palestinians during the
year, all but four between October and
December. Israeli forces killed more than 130
Palestinians between October and December.
Palestinian armed groups in Gaza
sporadically fired indiscriminate rockets into
southern Israel; no deaths were reported.
Israel responded with air strikes on Gaza; one
strike in October killed two civilians. Israel
also carried out several air strikes and other
attacks on sites in Syria.
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FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT – GAZA
BLOCKADE AND WEST BANK
RESTRICTIONS
Israeli forces maintained their land, sea and
air blockade of Gaza, in force since 2007,
imposing collective punishment on the
territory’s 1.8 million inhabitants. Israeli
controls on the movement of people and
goods into and from Gaza, particularly on
essential construction materials, combined
with Egypt’s closure of the Rafah border
crossing and destruction of cross-border
tunnels, severely hindered post-conflict
reconstruction and essential services and
exacerbated poverty and unemployment.
Israeli forces continued to impose a “buffer
zone” inside Gaza’s border with Israel and
used live fire against Palestinians who entered
or approached it. They also fired at
Palestinian fishermen within or near an
“exclusion zone” that Israel maintained along
Gaza’s coast, killing one and injuring others.
In the West Bank, Israel severely restricted
the movement of Palestinians, who were
excluded from large areas that had either
been designated as military firing zones, or
were near the fence/wall constructed by Israel
or within illegal settlements, and maintained
an array of military checkpoints and bypass
roads that restricted Palestinian travel while
allowing free movement for Israeli settlers.
Israeli forces established new checkpoints
and barriers, particularly in East Jerusalem
and the Hebron governorate, amid the
upsurge in violence from October, subjecting
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to
restrictions amounting to collective
punishment.
hunger strike for 65 days to protest against
his administrative detention; he was released
in November without charge.
The Israeli authorities launched a new
clampdown on protests by Palestinians in the
OPT amid the escalation in violence from
October, arresting more than 2,500
Palestinians, including hundreds of children,
and significantly increasing their use of
administrative detention. More than 580
Palestinian administrative detainees were
held by the end of the year, including at least
five children. In addition, several Israeli Jews
suspected of planning attacks on Palestinians
were held in administrative detention.
Palestinians from the OPT who were
charged faced unfair trials in military courts.
In December, Palestinian parliamentarian
Khalida Jarrar was sentenced to 15 months’
imprisonment and a fine following a plea
bargain made after months of unfair military
1
court proceedings.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The authorities detained thousands of
Palestinians from the OPT; most were held in
prisons inside Israel, in violation of
international law. Hundreds were held without
charge or trial under renewable administrative
detention orders, based on information
withheld from them and their lawyers; some
engaged in prolonged hunger strikes in
protest. Mohammed Allan, a lawyer, went on
Israeli military and police forces, as well as
Israel Security Agency (ISA) personnel,
tortured and otherwise ill-treated Palestinian
detainees, including children, particularly
during arrest and interrogation. Reports of
torture increased amid the mass arrests of
Palestinians that began in October. Methods
included beating with batons, slapping,
throttling, prolonged shackling, stress
positions, sleep deprivation and threats.
Jewish suspects detained in connection with
attacks on Palestinians also alleged torture.
Impunity for torture was rife. The authorities
had received almost 1,000 complaints of
torture at the hands of ISA since 2001 but
had yet to open any criminal investigations.
In July, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset,
extended legislation exempting the police and
ISA from recording interrogations of
Palestinian “security suspects”, with
government endorsement, contravening a
2013 recommendation of the Turkel
Commission (see below). The same month
the Knesset approved legislation allowing the
authorities to subject detainees on hunger
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strike to forced feeding, despite opposition
from human rights groups and the UN.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
Israeli soldiers and police killed at least 124
Palestinians from the OPT in the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem, 22 in the Gaza
Strip, and 10 inside Israel during the year.
Many of those killed, including children,
appeared to be victims of unlawful killings.
They included Muhammad Kasba, aged 17,
and 15-year-old Laith al-Khalidi, who were
shot in the back on 3 and 31 July respectively
after throwing stones or petrol bombs at
Israeli military checkpoints or vehicles, and
Falah Abu Maria, who was shot in the chest
on 23 July when Israeli forces raided his
home.
Many of the deaths occurred in the last
quarter of the year when Israeli police and
military forces fatally shot Palestinians who
carried out stabbings or other attacks on
Israelis, including civilians, or were suspected
of intending such attacks, in circumstances
where they were not posing an imminent
threat to life and could have been
apprehended, making the killings unlawful. In
some cases, Israeli forces shot dead
Palestinians as they lay wounded, or failed to
provide timely medical assistance to injured
Palestinians.
thousands with rubber-coated metal bullets
and live ammunition. While many protesters
threw rocks or other projectiles, they generally
posed no threat to the lives of well-protected
Israeli soldiers when they were shot. In
September, Israel’s security cabinet
authorized police to use live ammunition in
East Jerusalem. On 9 and 10 October, Israeli
forces used live ammunition and rubber-
coated metal bullets against Palestinian
protesters in border areas of the Gaza Strip,
killing nine, including a child, and injuring
scores.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Extrajudicial executions
Some Palestinians appeared to be victims of
extrajudicial executions, including Fadi
Alloun, whom Israeli forces shot dead on
4 October in Jerusalem; Dania Ershied, 17,
and Sa’ad al-Atrash, whom Israeli forces shot
dead in Hebron on 25 and 26 October; and
Abdallah Shalaldah, whom Israeli undercover
forces killed on 12 November in al-Ahli
Hospital in Hebron.
Israeli military orders prohibiting unauthorized
demonstrations in the West Bank were used
to repress protests by Palestinians and jail
activists, including human rights defender
Murad Shtewi, who was released in January
after serving a nine-and-a-half-month
sentence under Military Order 101. On
numerous occasions, journalists covering
protests and other developments in the West
Bank were assaulted or shot by Israeli police
and military forces.
The authorities also increased restrictions
on Palestinian citizens inside Israel, banning
the northern branch of the Islamic Movement
and closing 17 NGOs associated with it in
November, and arresting more than 250
demonstrators and protest organizers
between October and December.
In September, Israeli whistle-blower
Mordechai Vanunu was sentenced to one
week’s house arrest following an interview
with Israel’s Channel 2. He continued to be
banned from travelling abroad and
communicating electronically with foreign
nationals throughout the year.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Israeli forces, including undercover units,
used excessive and lethal force against
protesters in both the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, killing dozens, including 43 in the
last quarter of the year, and injuring
HOUSING RIGHTS – FORCED EVICTIONS
AND DEMOLITIONS
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,
Israeli forces demolished at least 510
Palestinian homes and other structures built
without Israeli permits, which are virtually
impossible to obtain, forcibly evicting more
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than 610 people. They also forcibly evicted
more than 120 people by demolishing or
making uninhabitable 19 family homes of
Palestinians who carried out attacks on
Israelis. In Area C of the West Bank, under
full Israeli control, dozens of Bedouin and
herding communities continued to face
forcible relocation.
The authorities also demolished scores of
Palestinian homes inside Israel that they said
were built without permits, mostly in Bedouin
villages in the Negev/Naqab region. Many of
the villages were officially “unrecognized”. In
May, the Supreme Court approved the
planned demolition of the “unrecognized”
village of Um al-Heiran and the eviction of its
Bedouin residents to construct a new Jewish
town. In November the government approved
the establishment of five new Jewish
communities in the region, including two on
the sites of existing Bedouin villages.
sentenced in January 2016, in most cases
the Israeli police failed to investigate alleged
crimes by settlers effectively and prosecute
suspects, leading to continued impunity for
settler violence.
IMPUNITY
SETTLER VIOLENCE
Israelis living in illegal settlements in the
occupied West Bank frequently attacked
Palestinian civilians and their property,
sometimes in the presence of Israeli soldiers
and police who failed to intervene. A settler
arson attack on the Dawabsheh family home
in the village of Duma, near Nablus, on
31 July killed 18-month-old Ali and his
parents Sa’ad and Riham, and critically
injured his four-year-old brother Ahmad. The
incident highlighted an increase in settler
attacks inside Palestinian communities,
leaving many Palestinians feeling unsafe in
their homes. Suspects were subsequently
arrested, and several remained in detention at
the end of the year.
An Israeli civilian shot and killed Fadel al-
Qawasmeh in close proximity to Israeli
soldiers in the Old City of Hebron on
17 October; the Israeli man was not arrested
at the scene and there were no indications he
would be prosecuted.
Although two of the three Israelis charged
with the July 2014 abduction and killing of
Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir
were convicted in November and due to be
In June the UN Independent Commission of
Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict published
its report, documenting war crimes by Israeli
forces and Palestinian armed groups during
the 50-day conflict and calling for
accountability. Israel rejected the UN findings
and continued its military investigations, but
they were not independent and failed to
deliver justice. Israeli military authorities
opened investigations into deaths of
Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West
Bank, but these investigations were similarly
flawed, and only one case from 2013 led to
an indictment for “negligent use of a firearm”,
following lengthy delays and an appeal to
Israel’s High Court.
In September, a government committee
released its review of the Turkel Commission’s
recommendations of 2013 on Israel’s
investigation systems and their compliance
with international law. It side-stepped some
recommendations, such as making war
crimes offences under national law, and failed
to define practical steps or budgets necessary
to implement others.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
There were new reports of violence against
women, particularly within Palestinian
communities in Israel. According to activists,
at least 18 women were murdered in Israel,
mostly by partners or family members; some
were killed after seeking police protection.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The authorities continued to deny asylum-
seekers, over 90% of whom were from Eritrea
and Sudan, access to a fair refugee status
determination process. More than 4,200 were
held at the Holot detention facility and
Saharonim Prison in the Negev/Naqab desert
at the end of the year.
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In August, the High Court of Justice ruled
that provisions of a December 2014
amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration
Law allowing the authorities to detain asylum-
seekers at Holot for 20 months were
disproportionate, and ordered the government
to revise the law and release those who had
been held at the facility for more than a year.
Around 1,200 out of approximately 1,800
asylum-seekers were subsequently released
from Holot, but they were arbitrarily banned
from the cities of Tel Aviv and Eilat.
Thousands of others were summoned to
Holot under expanded detention criteria, and
the numbers detained at the facility reached
an all-time high. In November the
government introduced a new draft
amendment under which asylum-seekers
would be detained at Holot for a year,
extendable by an additional six months.
Only a handful of the thousands of Eritrean
and Sudanese nationals who had applied for
asylum by the end of the year were granted
asylum, and the authorities continued to
pressure many, including detainees at Holot,
to leave Israel “voluntarily”. By the end of
November, more than 2,900 asylum-seekers
had accepted such “voluntary return”. In
November, a district court upheld a
government decision announced in March to
deport some of the 45,000 asylum-seekers
still in the country without their consent to
Rwanda and Uganda or detain them
indefinitely at Saharonim prison. The
government refused to release details on
reported agreements with Rwanda and
Uganda, or any guarantees that those
deported, “voluntarily” or otherwise, would
not subsequently be transferred to their home
countries, violating the prohibition of
refoulement.
1. Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Palestinian parliamentarian
sentenced: Khalida Jarrar (MDE
15/3031/2015)
ITALY
Republic of Italy
Head of state:
Sergio Mattarella (replaced Giorgio
Napolitano in February)
Head of government:
Matteo Renzi
A spiralling death toll among refugees and
migrants trying to reach Italy by boat from
North Africa was recorded between January
and April. The number of deaths decreased
after European governments deployed naval
resources to save lives on the high seas. The
implementation of an EU-agreed system to
screen arrivals – the “hotspot approach” –
raised concerns. Discrimination against
Roma continued, with thousands segregated
in mono-ethnic camps. Italy failed to
introduce the crime of torture into domestic
legislation, to establish an independent
national human rights institution and to
provide legal recognition to same-sex
couples.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
At least four conscientious objectors were
imprisoned. They included Edo Ramon,
imprisoned repeatedly from March for
refusing to serve in the Israeli military.
Over 153,000 refugees and migrants arrived
in Italy after crossing the central
Mediterranean on unseaworthy and
overcrowded boats. The overwhelming
majority departed from North Africa and were
rescued at sea by the Italian coastguard and
Navy, other countries’ vessels, or by NGOs’ or
merchant vessels.
About 2,900 refugees and migrants died or
disappeared at sea while attempting the
crossing during the year. The death rate
considerably increased in the first four
months, when about 1,700 deaths were
reported, including over 1,200 caused by two
major shipwrecks in April alone. This was
linked to the reduction in resources for
proactive patrolling enforced at the end of
2014, with Operation Mare Nostrum being
replaced with the smaller, border control-
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focused Operation Triton by Frontex, the EU
border management agency.
At the end of April, European governments
decided to reinstate patrolling of the central
Mediterranean, through improvements to the
Triton operation, the launch of independent
life-saving operations by individual
governments and the establishment of the EU
military operation in the southern Central
Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED, later
relabelled Operation Sophia), to tackle human
smuggling. Such measures, coupled with
increased efforts by NGOs, led to a drastic
reduction of the death rate in the following
months. However, due to the high number of
people travelling – pushed by the
deteriorating situation in countries of origin
and transit – and the absence of safe and
legal alternatives to seek protection in Europe,
loss of life at sea continued to be recorded
during the remainder of the year.
Italian authorities struggled to ensure
adequate reception conditions for the tens of
thousands of people disembarked in the
country. The government enforced a plan to
distribute them in reception centres across
the country, in some cases encountering
fierce resistance from local authorities and
population, including violent attacks. In July,
in Quinto di Treviso, Northeast Italy, residents
and far-right militants broke into flats destined
to receive asylum-seekers, took the furniture
outside and set it on fire, leading the
authorities to move the asylum-seekers to
another location.
In August, new legislation was adopted to
transpose EU directives on asylum,
restructuring the reception system. Concern
was raised in relation to a planned increase in
the use of detention in Identification and
Expulsion Centres (CIEs).
In September, Italy started applying the so-
called “hotspot approach”, under which
asylum-seekers of certain nationalities would
be identified to benefit from relocation to
other EU member states where they could
seek asylum. The relocation programme led
to the transfer of 184 people by the end of the
year. There were concerns that asylum-
seekers and migrants may be subjected to
arbitrary detention and forced fingerprinting
in centres designated as “hotspots”. In Sicily,
authorities issued expulsion orders to
individuals upon arrival, raising concern that
people ineligible for relocation may be
expelled without being previously granted an
opportunity to seek asylum or receive
information regarding their rights.
In September, the European Court of
Human Rights condemned Italy, in the
Khlaifia case, for the arbitrary detention, ill-
treatment and collective expulsion of a group
of Tunisians in 2011. The case concerned
their detention in the Lampedusa reception
centre and on military vessels, and their
summary repatriation to Tunisia, without
taking into account their individual
circumstances.
“Irregular entry and stay” in the territory
remained a crime. The government failed to
adopt decrees to abolish it, although
instructions to do so had been passed by
Parliament in April 2014.
DISCRIMINATION
Roma
Thousands of Romani families continued to
live in segregated camps and shelters, often
in poor conditions, as highlighted by the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights in October. The government‘s failure to
effectively implement the National Strategy for
Roma Inclusion (NSRI) meant that, three
years after its adoption, no significant
progress had been achieved towards offering
adequate alternative housing to Romani
families unable to provide for themselves.
Roma living in camps continued to have little
chance to access social housing, particularly
in the capital, Rome. Forced evictions of
Roma were reported across the country. In
February, about 200 people, including
children and pregnant women, were evicted
from the Lungo Stura Lazio camp in Turin.
The European Commission against Racism
and Intolerance criticized evictions, often
executed without providing procedural
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safeguards and alternative accommodation. It
also reiterated recommendations to
strengthen the independence and powers of
the National Office against Racial
Discrimination (UNAR), co-ordinating the
implementation of the NSRI. However, the
government reduced the UNAR’s resources
and interfered with its activities.
In May, the Rome Civil Court recognized in
a landmark ruling that the assignment of
housing to Roma in the mono-ethnic camp of
La Barbuta, near Ciampino airport, in an area
deemed unsuitable for human habitation,
constituted discriminatory conduct and had to
be discontinued. The authorities had not
taken any concrete action to enforce the
ruling by the end of the year.
facilitate accountability for abuse.
In April, the European Court of Human
Rights found in the Cestaro case that police
storming the Diaz school, Genoa, during the
G8 summit in 2001, had committed torture
against demonstrators sheltered therein. The
Court underscored how no official had been
convicted for such treatment, linked to the
absence of the crime of torture within the
domestic legislation, to the application of the
statute of limitations, and to the lack of police
co-operation.
A national ombudsperson for the rights of
detainees was still due to become operational
at the end of the year.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex people
In July, the European Court of Human Rights
held in the Oliari case that Italy had violated
the applicants’ right to a private and family
life, because of the lack of legal framework to
protect the rights of same-sex couples.
Nonetheless, Parliament failed to approve
pending legislation to address this gap. In
December, the Court of Appeal of Rome
confirmed the right of a woman to formally
adopt the child born by her female partner as
a result of artificial insemination.
In July, the Court of Cassation ruled that
transgender individuals must be able to
obtain legal recognition of their gender
without the requirement to undergo any
medical treatment.
At the end of the year, Parliament had not
yet approved legislative amendments to
extend to homophobic and transphobic
crimes the application of penalties against
hate crimes based on other grounds.
Concerns remained about the lack of
accountability for deaths in custody, despite
slow progress in a few cases.
In June, a trial for manslaughter started
against four police officers and three Italian
Red Cross volunteers, in the case of Riccardo
Magherini, who died during his arrest in a
street in Florence in March 2014.
Shortcomings in the investigations had been
reported in previous months.
New evidence, including witness
statements, emerged in the case of Stefano
Cucchi, who died a week after his arrest in
the prison wing of a Rome hospital in 2009,
reinforcing the presumption that he may have
died as a result of beatings. In September,
fresh investigations were launched by
prosecutors against police officials involved in
his arrest. In December, the Court of
Cassation ordered a new trial for five doctors
who had been acquitted on appeal of charges
of manslaughter.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
A bill to incorporate the crime of torture into
national legislation initially passed one branch
of Parliament in April, but failed to pass in the
end. Similarly, the government failed to
introduce identification tags on the uniforms
of law enforcement officers that would
The European Court of Human Rights
convened a public hearing in June in the
Nasr and Ghali case. Lawyers for Usama
Mostafa Hassan Nasr (known as Abu Omar)
and his wife Nabila Ghali argued that Italian
police and intelligence operatives were
responsible for colluding with the CIA in Abu
Omar’s kidnapping in February 2003 and ill-
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treatment in Milan, his subsequent illegal
rendition to Egypt, and his torture and other
ill-treatment in secret detention in Cairo. The
case remained pending at the European
Court of Human Rights. In December,
President Mattarella granted a pardon to a
CIA agent and a partial pardon to another
one; both agents had previously been
convicted in their absence by Italian courts
for their role in the kidnapping and rendition.
In February, new counter-terrorism laws
were adopted that increased prison sentences
for “persons who are recruited by others to
commit acts of terrorism”, and provided
penalties for persons who organize, finance,
or promote travel “for the purpose of
performing acts of terrorism”. The laws also
made it a crime for a person to participate in
a conflict on a foreign territory “in support of a
terrorist organization”, and granted the
government the authority to keep a list of
websites used for recruitment and to instruct
Internet service providers to block such sites.
BACKGROUND
Jamaica continued to have one of the highest
homicide rates per capita in the world. Violent
crime remained a key concern for the public.
Between January and June, police recorded
1,486 reports of serious and violent crimes,
classified as murders, shootings, rapes and
aggravated assaults. According to media
reports, there were more than 1,100 murders
during the year, an increase of approximately
20% compared with 2014.
The Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act
2015 came into force in April, removing
powers of arrest and detention for possession
or use of small quantities of cannabis and
allowing members of the Rastafarian faith to
use the drug for religious purposes.
In May, Jamaica was examined under the
UPR. Jamaica accepted 23 of the 177
recommendations made.
The government took steps to establish a
National Human Rights Institution.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Despite the government’s promises, Italy
again failed to establish a national human
rights institution in accordance with the
Principles relating to the Status of National
Institutions (Paris Principles).
JAMAICA
Jamaica
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Patrick Linton Allen
Head of government:
Portia Simpson Miller
Excessive use of force by the police and
extrajudicial executions continued. A
Commission of Enquiry into alleged human
rights violations during the 2010 state of
emergency was under way. Violence and
discrimination against lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people continued. In August Jamaica held
its first gay pride march.
Human rights organizations continued to
highlight concerns around arbitrary arrests
and ill-treatment in police custody.
After years of rising numbers of police
killings (over 200 per year from 2011 to
2013), the numbers began to decline in 2014
and 2015. The Independent Commission of
Investigation (INDECOM), an independent
police oversight agency, reported 50 killings
involving the police in the first half of 2015,
fewer than for the same period of 2014.
A long-overdue Commission of Enquiry into
human rights violations committed during the
2010 state of emergency began in December
2014 and was scheduled to be completed in
early 2016. During the state of emergency, 76
civilians were killed by security forces,
including 44 who were alleged to have been
extrajudicially executed.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Major backlogs in the judiciary led to
continued delays and hampered access to
justice. In particular, investigations into police
killings remained slow. With a high number of
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new cases and few resources, the capacity of
the Coroner´s Court to help resolve the
backlog also remained limited.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
According to the Jamaica Constabulary Force,
29 children were murdered between January
and June, suggesting a failure by the state to
protect children from extreme violence and
abuse. Conditions of detention and treatment
of juvenile offenders were poor. The NGO
Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) documented high
levels of attempted suicide among children
and young people in juvenile prisons, raising
serious concerns about the psychosocial
health and well-being of juveniles in state
institutions. JFJ also reported that juvenile
offenders were not presented promptly before
a judge, exceeding the constitutional period to
assess the legality of detention and
contravening the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and
Gays (J-FLAG) received 47 reports of human
rights violations against LGBTI people.
Homelessness and displacement of LGBTI
youths remained a concern. Young people
pushed out of their homes because of their
sexual orientation or gender identity
continued to live in storm drains and
abandoned buildings. Local NGOs supported
homeless LGBTI youths, while the state did
little to help. By mid-year, J-FLAG had
provided social and crisis services to 329
LGBTI people and continued to receive
requests for advice from LGBTI Jamaicans
planning to seek asylum in other countries.
In August, a gay pride celebration was held
in Jamaica for the first time. The Minister of
Justice called for tolerance during the
celebration and expressed his support for the
rights of LGBTI people to express themselves
peacefully.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
High levels of gender-based violence and
domestic violence continued with high
numbers of women killed by their spouse or
partner. Lesbian, bisexual and transgender
women were at risk of sexual violence due to
their real or perceived sexual orientation and
gender expression.
The government was finalizing a National
Strategic Plan of Action to Eliminate Gender-
based Violence in Jamaica. A Joint Select
Committee of Parliament was under way to
review the Sexual Offences Act 2009. Civil
society organizations made recommendations
during the review, which included widening
the definition of rape, decriminalizing sex
work, and using gender-neutral language
throughout the Act.
JAPAN
Japan
Head of government:
Shinzo Abe
Despite the post-World War II Constitution
that renounced the “use of force as means
of settling international disputes”, in July
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushed through
the House of Representatives new
legislation that would allow Japan’s self-
defence forces to join collective military
actions overseas. Negative public reaction
opposing the legislation included one of the
largest demonstrations in decades. The
Japanese and South Korean governments
reached a settlement on the military sexual
slavery system before and during
World War II; the outcome was severely
criticized by survivors. Executions of people
on death row continued.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
There remained no legal protection against
discrimination based on real or perceived
sexual orientation or gender identity.
Consensual sex between men remained
criminalized. Between January and July, the
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
Despite a 2014 recommendation by the
CERD Committee , the ruling coalition
opposed legislation prohibiting racial
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discrimination. A group of national lawmakers
nonetheless submitted a bill to the Parliament
that would require the government to create
anti-discrimination programmes. Discussion
of the bill began in August. With the increase
of demonstrations targeting ethnic Koreans,
some municipal governments, including
Osaka, proposed ordinances to curb hate
speech against foreigners and minorities.
legally binding certification, and have
visitation rights in hospitals and the ability to
co-sign tenancy agreements. The Setagaya
ward in Tokyo adopted similar guidelines in
July, while cities outside Tokyo announced
possible future arrangements for same-sex
partnerships.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Concerns around the refugee application
process continued. The Ministry of Justice
granted refugee status to only 11 people out
of more than 5,000 applicants in 2014. In
June the Ministry unveiled plans to introduce
a pre-screening procedure to exclude
“ineligible” applicants from entering the
process, claiming that people seeking job
opportunities accounted for the increased
numbers of applications for asylum. Criteria
for qualification were not clearly specified. In
August, a man from Sri Lanka filed another
lawsuit against the Ministry, which continued
to refuse him refugee status despite an Osaka
District Court ruling in his favour. This was the
first time that a government refusal to follow a
court decision on refugee status resulted in a
second lawsuit.
On the 70th anniversary of the end of World
War II, Prime Minister Abe expressed grief,
but only referred to apologies made by former
heads of government. The government
reached an agreement with South Korea in
December and acknowledged Japan’s deep
responsibility for the military sexual slavery
system before and during the war, which
resulted in women and girls being forced into
sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial
Army. The outcome was criticized as the
agreement did not take into account the views
and needs of survivors and they were not
involved in the negotiations.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The government maintained tight restrictions
on immigration and announced plans to
expand further the existing Technical Intern
Training Program to bring in more foreign
workers. The Program was subject to abuse
by employers, resulting in forced labour, lack
of effective oversight or protection for workers,
and other human rights abuses. As of June,
some 180,000 foreigners worked under the
Program.
The Act on the Protection of Specially
Designated Secrets, which came into effect in
December 2014, contained provisions that
could violate the right to access information
held by public authorities. Critics of the Act
stressed that the government could withhold
information without clear designation criteria,
that parliamentary committees overseeing the
designation of secrets were too weak, and
that journalists risked imprisonment for
soliciting and reporting information
designated as secrets. At the end of the year
the government had yet to set up an
independent oversight mechanism that would
include whistleblower provisions and could
effectively prevent abuse of the Act.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In April, the Shibuya ward in Tokyo became
the first municipality in Japan to pass an
ordinance that would acknowledge same-sex
unions as equivalent to marriage. Registered
same-sex partners would be offered non-
A bill revising the criminal procedure law to
require video or audio recording of
interrogations by police or prosecutors in their
entirety was passed at the House of
Representatives in August, but had not been
discussed at the House of Councillors by the
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end of the year. The proposed law was
applicable only to “serious crimes” to be tried
under the lay judge system, approximately
2% of all criminal cases. It also failed to
abolish or reform the
daiyo kangoku
system,
which allows the police to detain suspects for
up to 23 days prior to charge, facilitating
torture and other ill-treatment in order to
extract confessions during interrogation.
Security Directorate (PSD), which runs the
police and prisons, and the gendarmerie,
were prematurely retired. The Prime Minister
announced that this was due to a “lack of co-
ordination between security organizations”.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
JORDAN
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Head of state:
King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein
Head of government:
Abdullah Ensour
The authorities restricted freedoms of
expression, association and assembly, and
prosecuted and imprisoned government
critics. Torture and other ill-treatment
continued in detention centres and prisons,
and the State Security Court continued to
conduct unfair trials. Women were
discriminated against in law and in practice
and inadequately protected against sexual
and other violence. Courts passed death
sentences and executions were carried out.
Jordan hosted more than 641,800 refugees
from Syria.
Alleged supporters of IS and other armed
groups were prosecuted under anti-terrorism
laws and other legislation by the State
Security Court (SSC), a quasi-military court
whose procedures failed to meet international
fair trial standards.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
BACKGROUND
Jordan continued to be affected by the armed
conflict in neighbouring Syria, hosting
refugees and suffering civilian casualties in
cross-border firing from Syria. In February,
Jordanian warplanes launched further attacks
on areas in Syria controlled by the armed
group Islamic State (IS), after IS issued a
video showing its fighters burning to death the
captured Jordanian fighter pilot Muath al-
Kasasbeh.
Around 12 people reportedly died during
violent clashes with security forces who
raided several homes in Ma’an in southwest
Jordan in May and June. In May, following
the events in Ma’an and the death in custody
of Abdullah Zu’bi (see below), the Interior
Minister resigned and the heads of the Public
In August, the National Centre for Human
Rights (NCHR) said it had received 87
complaints of torture and other ill-treatment
during 2014. In response, Prime Minister
Ensour announced the appointment of a
ministerial committee including officials from
the General Intelligence Department (GID)
and Public Security Directorate (PSD), and
chaired by the government’s co-ordinator on
human rights, to examine the NCHR’s
findings. In December, the UN Committee
against Torture expressed concern at
“consistent reports of widespread use of
torture and ill-treatment of suspects by
security and law enforcement officials”
highlighting GID and Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) detention facilities.
Amer Jubran, a Palestinian-Jordanian
activist, said he was tortured and otherwise ill-
treated during two months in GID detention
and forced to sign a “confession”, which the
SSC panel of military judges accepted as
evidence against him when they sentenced
him in July to 10 years’ imprisonment on
charges that included possessing arms and
explosives and belonging to Hizbullah. In
November, the Court of Cassation confirmed
his conviction. His co-defendants, some of
whom also alleged that they were tortured by
the GID, received sentences of two to three
years’ imprisonment.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
In May, Abdullah Zu’bi died in custody in
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Irbid following his arrest for alleged drugs
offences. Three police officers were charged
with forcing a “confession” and beating
Abdullah Zu’bi to death; two others faced
charges of negligence and disobeying orders.
An official autopsy, conducted after a video of
Abdullah Zu’bi’s bruised body was shared on
the internet, attributed his death to a beating
inflicted in custody. At the end of the year it
remained unclear whether the accused police
officers had been tried. In another case, an
official autopsy concluded that Omar al-Naser
died due to being beaten in CID custody in
September; the case was referred to the
police Public Prosecutor. Police officers
accused of such crimes in Jordan are
prosecuted before a special police
court that is neither independent nor
transparent.
year, including a proposal to prohibit and
criminalize strikes by workers in “vital
sectors”.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION
During the year, thousands of people were
detained under the 1954 Crime Prevention
Law, which empowers regional governors to
authorize the detention of criminal suspects
for up to one year without charge, trial or any
means of legal remedy.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The authorities restricted the rights to
freedom of expression, association and
assembly using laws that criminalize
peaceful protest and other peaceful
expression. Tens of journalists and activists
were arrested and detained, including under
provisions of the Penal Code, which bans
criticism of the King and government
institutions, and the anti-terrorism law as
amended in 2014, which criminalizes
criticism of foreign leaders or states that is
deemed to harm Jordan’s relations with those
states. Those prosecuted included journalists,
pro-reformists and members of the Muslim
Brotherhood, some of whom were tried before
the SSC.
The Ministry of Justice proposed
comprehensive amendments to the Penal
Code, which were pending at the end of the
Women suffered discrimination in law and
practice, and were inadequately protected
against violence, including so-called “honour”
crimes. The Citizenship Law continued to bar
almost 89,000 Jordanian women with foreign
spouses from passing their nationality to their
children or spouses, denying them access to
state services. In January, however, the
government enabled the children of women
with foreign spouses to apply for identity
cards if they have resided in Jordan for at
least five years, thus increasing their access
to medical care, education, work permits,
property ownership and a driving licence.
Tadamun, the Jordanian Women’s
Solidarity Association, reported in September
that it had documented 10 possible “honour”
killings of women and girls between January
and August, based on media reports. In May,
the cabinet approved amendments cancelling
provisions of the Penal Code under which
rapists could escape prosecution by marrying
their victim. This did not apply to cases where
the rape victim was between 15 and 18 years
old, on the grounds that marriage to the
perpetrator could protect her from being
killed by family members in the name of
“honour”.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Jordan hosted more than 641,800 refugees
from Syria, including some 13,800
Palestinians, as well as a growing number of
refugees from Iraq. The authorities
maintained strict controls at official and
informal border crossings and denied entry to
Palestinians, single unaccompanied men
unable to prove family ties in Jordan, and
people without identity documents. In March,
Prime Minister Ensour told the Third
International Humanitarian Pledging
Conference that refugee numbers already
exceeded Jordan’s capacity. Yet international
humanitarian funding and resettlement
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allocations for Syria’s refugees in Jordan
remained inadequate.
Jordan forcibly returned scores of refugees
to Syria. In violation of international law it
denied entry to over 12,000 refugees from
Syria who remained in dire conditions in the
desert area on the Jordanian side of the
border with Syria; and, in December,
deported more than 500 Sudanese refugees
and asylum-seekers to Sudan, where they
were at risk of human rights violations.
“credible opposition”.
Falling oil prices led to an economic
downturn. The national currency was
devalued in August.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to impose death sentences
and executions were carried out. In February,
Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli, two
Iraqi nationals linked to al-Qa’ida, were
hanged. It appeared from the timing of the
executions that they were a response to the
killing by IS of a Jordanian pilot. In 2006,
Sajida al-Rishawi had told the UN Special
Rapporteur on torture that she had been
tortured in pre-trial detention.
KAZAKHSTAN
Republic of Kazakhstan
Head of state:
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Head of government:
Karim Massimov
Impunity for torture and other ill-treatment
remained largely unchallenged, and there
was still no independent and full
investigation into reports of torture following
the suppression of the Zhanaozen protests
in 2011. Freedoms of expression,
association and peaceful assembly
continued to be restricted.
BACKGROUND
A new Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure
Code and Code of Administrative Offences
came into force at the beginning of the year.
Early presidential elections were held
unexpectedly in April. President Nazarbayev
was re-elected to a fifth term in office,
winning 97.7% of the vote. OSCE election
monitors reported that the elections lacked
The new Criminal Code and Criminal
Procedure Code included positive
amendments. The changes included a
provision that allegations of torture should be
automatically registered and investigated as
criminal offences by a different agency from
the one whose officers were accused of
abuse, bypassing the prior internal screening
which had resulted in the dismissal of most
complaints. The statute of limitations in
relation to cases of torture was abolished, and
those charged or convicted of torture were
excluded from potential amnesties. The
maximum penalty for torture was increased to
12 years’ imprisonment. However, lawyers
reported that, while complaints of torture and
other ill-treatment were registered as crimes,
they were still not properly investigated. In
May, Iskander Tugelbaev was beaten in
prison; he was in a coma for three days,
which left him unable to speak or walk
unaided, according to his lawyer. At the end
of the year, he was still waiting to hear
whether the case would proceed to
prosecution.
From 1 January to 30 November, 119
complaints of torture were registered and 465
cases of torture were terminated. Eleven
cases reached court and five people were
found guilty, of whom only one was given a
prison sentence. These numbers did not
reveal the real scale of the problem, as many
victims were too afraid to register a complaint
of torture.
Public Monitoring Commissions and the
National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) had
the right to visit prisons and most places of
detention, but had limited capacity and
resources to do so, and faced bureaucratic
restrictions. The NPM could only undertake
unannounced visits with the Ombudsman’s
permission.
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The operating climate for the media remained
restricted, and media outlets were forcibly
closed or prevented from operating on
administrative grounds or because they were
accused of being a threat to national security.
Journalists continued to face harassment and
intimidation. Independent media outlets had
difficulty generating advertising revenue, as
businesses feared reprisals from the
authorities if they placed advertisements in
these publications.
In February, an appeal against the closure
of the newspaper
Adam Bol
was rejected.
Adam Bol
had been closed down on national
security grounds in December 2014, after it
published an interview with a member of the
opposition who was based in Ukraine. Later in
the year, the Almaty city authorities attempted
to close down its successor publication,
Adam,
on administrative grounds. In
September, a three-month ban came into
force, on the grounds that
Adam
was
registered to publish in Russian and Kazakh,
but was only publishing in Russian. In
October,
Adam
was ordered by a court to
close down upon the request of the Office of
the Prosecutor General, on the grounds that it
was illegally continuing to publish content via
its Facebook page.
Amendments to the Communications Law
adopted in 2014 gave the Office of the
Prosecutor General the power to force
internet providers to block access to internet
content without a court order, should that
content be deemed as “extremist” and a
security threat. These powers were used to
block access intermittently or permanently to
Kazakhstan-based news outlets and to
individual articles on international news sites.
The Criminal Code retained criminal
sanctions for defamation and for vaguely
worded offences of inciting social and other
“discord”. At least four people faced criminal
investigation for inciting national discord for
their posts on social media sites.
A proposed Law on Protection of Children
from Information Harming their Health and
Development included administrative
sanctions for “propaganda of non-traditional
sexual orientation” among minors.
1
It was
rejected by the Constitutional Council in May
for technical reasons, but was expected to be
revised and sent back to Parliament.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Clauses in the Criminal and Administrative
Offences Codes made it a criminal offence to
lead or participate in an unregistered
organization. “Leaders” of associations
became a separate category of offenders,
providing for harsher penalties; the definition
of “leader” was very broad, potentially
including any active member of an NGO or
other civic association. In practice, many
NGOs were denied registration for minor
infringements.
In October, legal amendments affecting
NGOs’ access to funding were passed by
Parliament, and were signed into law in
December. These will lead to the creation of a
central “operator” to administer and distribute
all state and non-state grants to NGOs,
including foreign funding, for projects and
activities that comply with a vaguely worded
list of issues approved by the government.
Failure to supply accurate information for the
operator’s centralized database could lead to
fines or a temporary ban on activities. Civil
society activists were concerned that this new
law would limit NGOs’ access to foreign
funding and constrain their activities.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Freedom of peaceful assembly remained
heavily restricted. Permission from local
authorities was needed to hold any kind of
street protest and this was often refused, or
permission was given to hold the event in a
non-central location. Penalties of up to 75
days’ administrative detention were
introduced for violations of the rules on
holding assemblies; “promotion” of a protest,
including via social media, was effectively
criminalized.
Authorities used “preventive” detention to
stop peaceful protests from going ahead. In
January, journalists were arrested on their
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way to a protest in Almaty in support of
Adam
Bol;
they were taken to local police stations to
“acquaint them with the law”, and released
shortly after.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to
freedom of peaceful assembly and of
association, who visited Kazakhstan in
January and August, called on the authorities
to allow an international investigation into the
use of lethal force against protesters in
Zhanaozen in 2011, and into reports of
torture and other ill-treatment of those
detained following the protests. He also
expressed concern that the criminalization of
“incitement of discord” in the Criminal Code
could be used to criminalize the activities of
political parties and trade unions.
1. Urgent action: Kazakhstan: Stop LGBTI “propaganda” legislation (EUR
57/1298/2015)
KENYA
Republic of Kenya
Head of state and government:
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta
Continued attacks in Kenya carried out by
al-Shabaab, the Somali-based armed group,
led Kenya to step up its counter-terrorism
operations, which resulted in an increase of
extrajudicial executions, enforced
disappearances and other human rights
violations. Human rights organizations
reporting on violations by security agencies
during these operations were increasingly
harassed. Some civil society organizations
were shut down or threatened with closure
through judicial or administrative measures.
of not complying with tax and regulatory
norms or accused of providing support to
terrorists. NGOs were threatened with
deregistration by the NGOs Co-ordination
Board (NGO Board), which was challenged in
court.
Kenya continued to ask the ICC to drop the
case involving Deputy President William Ruto,
arguing that the Office of the Prosecutor,
through local civil society organizations, had
procured some of the witnesses. In the build-
up to the Assembly of State Parties, MPs
affiliated with the ruling coalition ratcheted up
calls for the case to be dropped. No
measures were put in place to ensure justice
and reparations for victims of the 2007-2008
post-electoral violence. The President
announced during his State of the Nation
address on 26 June that Kenya would set up
a reparation fund to compensate victims, but
that it would not be limited to victims of the
2007-2008 post-electoral violence.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
BACKGROUND
In the context of counter-terrorism operations
and the prevailing security situation,
hundreds of individuals were forcibly
disappeared or extrajudicially executed. Civil
society organizations, especially those
documenting human rights violations in the
context of security operations, were accused
On 2 April, gunmen attacked Garissa
University College in northeastern Kenya,
near the Somali border. The attackers killed
147 students and injured 79 before
detonating suicide vests when cornered by
security forces. Al-Shabaab claimed
responsibility for the attack. The government
made publicly available their list of the most
wanted suspected members of al-Shabaab
and appealed to the public to provide
information leading to their arrest.
On 14 June, 11 people believed to be al-
Shabaab members and two Kenyan military
officers were killed in an attack on a military
base in Lamu, a town near the Kenya-Somalia
border. The attack occurred on the first
anniversary of a similar attack in Mpeketoni
town, in which suspected members of al-
Shabaab killed at least 60 people.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Politicians and community leaders blamed
Somali refugees for the attack on Garissa
University College. They publicly claimed that
the Daadab refugee camp, in Garissa, was
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the breeding ground for terrorism. Daadab
hosts at least 600,000 refugees and asylum-
seekers, most of whom are Somali.
The Deputy President called for the closure
of Dadaab refugee camp within three months
from April.
1
At a UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, meeting in Geneva on 4 October,
Kenya’s Interior Minister expressed concern
“about the alleged involvement or
complacency of some UNHCR personnel,
who facilitate terrorist activities” in the
country.
Around 350,000 Somali refugees were at
risk of being forcibly returned to Somalia,
which would amount to a violation of Kenya’s
obligations under international law and put
hundreds of thousands of lives at risk. There
were also at least 250,000 refugees from
other countries. Forcibly returning them
would have put them at risk of human rights
abuses, such as rape and killings. Kenya is a
party to the UN Refugee Convention and the
African Union Convention Governing the
Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in
Africa, both of which include the principle of
non-refoulement
that prohibits states from
forcibly returning people to a place where
they would be at real risk of human rights
violations.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 19 December 2014, the President
approved the Security Laws (Amendment) Act
(SLAA). Two of the sections contain
provisions restricting freedom of speech and
media freedom. As soon as the amendment
was adopted and signed into law, a coalition
including opposition parties filed a petition
before the High Court challenging many
provisions of the SLAA on the grounds that
they were contrary to the right to freedom of
expression.
On 23 February, the Constitutional and
Human Rights Division of the High Court
ruled on the constitutionality of the SLAA,
holding that eight clauses of the law were
unconstitutional. In its ruling, the High Court
struck down Section 12 of the law for
“violating the freedom of expression and the
media guaranteed under Articles 33 and 34
of the Constitution”. The section penalized
media coverage “likely to cause public alarm,
incitement to violence, or disturb public
peace” or that “undermines investigations or
security operations by the National Police
Service or the Kenya Defence Forces.” The
maximum sentence for offenders was three
years in prison, a fine of 5 million shillings
(US$55,000) or both.
On 25 October, the Parliamentary Powers
and Privileges Bill 2014 was passed,
criminalizing, among other things, any
publication deemed by the Speaker of
Parliament or parliamentary committee chairs
to amount to false or scandalous libel of
Parliament. The bill also prescribed a
500,000-shilling fine or two-year jail term, or
both, for journalists found guilty of
contravening the provision. Journalists
reporting on issues such as bribery or
corruption scandals were at risk for exercising
their right to freedom of expression. On
10November , John Ngirachu, a
Daily Nation
parliamentary editor, was arrested by Criminal
Investigation Department officers at
Parliament for allegedly breaching
confidentiality over a story highlighting
questionable spending within the Interior
Ministry.
On 7 July, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria
made a statement encouraging residents in
his constituency to slash with machetes
critics of the National Youth Service project in
the constituency. On 8 July, the National
Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC)
called for the Inspector General of the Police
to arrest and prosecute the legislator over
incitement. Kuria was detained at Kilimani
Police Station after the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko ordered
his prosecution for inciting his constituents.
Other politicians also faced charges for
incitement, including Nairobi Orange
Democratic Movement chair George Aladwa,
who appeared in court on 27 October. On
15 December, the DPP lodged an appeal with
the High Court to have Kuria and Aladwa
detained.
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CRACKDOWN ON CIVIL SOCIETY
ORGANIZATIONS
A week after the attack on Garissa University,
85 companies and NGOs, including Muslims
for Human Rights (MUHURI) and Haki
Africa, were designated as “specified entities”
by the Inspector General of the Police (IGP) in
a Gazette notice, a step before being
classified as a terrorist organization under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act.
On 20 and 21 April, the Kenya Revenue
Authority raided the offices of MUHURI and
Haki Africa, disabling their servers,
confiscating computer hard drives and other
documents to determine whether the two
organizations were tax compliant. Their hard
drives were returned on 23 December. The
Mombasa High Court ruled on 12 June that
the organizations had no links to terrorism,
but fell short of giving an explicit order to
unfreeze their bank accounts. The two
organizations appealed the ruling and on
12 November, the High Court found that the
Inspector General of the Police’s action to
freeze their accounts was unconstitutional
and therefore null and void. The judge
ordered the immediate unfreezing of the
accounts.
On 15 May, a task force created in 2014 by
the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution and
Planning to consult stakeholders on
amendments to the Public Benefit
Organizations Act 2013 released its report.
Among its key recommendations, the report
asked to monitor donors and beneficiaries, as
well as Public Benefit Organizations (PBOs),
for transparency and accountability. The
report also recommended that PBOs be
obliged to disclose the sources of their
funding and declare how they intend those
funds to be utilized. Civil society organizations
opposed the recommendations of the report,
arguing that many of them never came up
during the 2014 public hearings.
On 28 October, the NGO Board notified
957 NGOs, through its executive officer, of
their requirement to submit their audited
bank accounts within two weeks or be
deregistered. The NGO Board accused the
NGOs of misappropriation of funds, funding
of terrorism, money laundering, diversion of
donor money and failing to file their audited
books of accounts as required by law. On
30 October, the Cabinet Secretary for
Devolution and National Planning ordered the
revocation of the decision to issue the notice
of deregistration. The NGO Kenya Human
Rights Commission instituted a suit against
the NGO Board’s illegal and irregular actions.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
On 19 January, the police used tear gas
against schoolchildren of Langata Primary
School who were peacefully protesting against
a politician’s alleged move to seize their
playground and turn it into a car park. Five
pupils and a police officer were injured during
the protest. The officer in charge of the
operation was suspended.
FORCED EVICTIONS
During the night of 17 May, a bulldozer
accompanied by armed police woke up
residents of Jomvu in Mombasa County.
2
The
bulldozer demolished shops and homes that
had been marked with yellow crosses for
demolition, to pave way for the expansion of
the Mombasa-Mariakani Highway. The
authorities had not adequately engaged
residents of Jomvu in prior genuine
consultations on the evictions and alternatives
to them. Over 100 people were made
homeless overnight. Approximately 3,000
residents of Deep Sea, an informal settlement
in the capital, Nairobi, were threatened with
evictions multiple times to make way for the
EU-funded “Missing Link” road construction
project.
3
The community had challenged the
eviction in court and raised concerns around
due process and adequate compensation. On
8 July, the Kenya Urban Roads Authority told
residents that unless they withdrew their court
action challenging the eviction, authorities
would not engage with them.
On 21 August, more than 300 homes were
destroyed and an estimated 500 people were
forcibly evicted in a government operation in
Nairobi’s informal settlement of Mathare. No
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warnings were given and no alternative
housing was provided.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 24 April, the High Court ruled that
members of an LGBTI rights organization
could formally register their organization. The
Court rendered its decision following a
petition filed by the National Gay and Lesbian
Human Rights Commission to register under
the NGO Board Act. The NGO Board had
rejected the group’s request to register in
March 2013. The three-judge High Court
ruled that the NGO Board’s decision violated
Article 36 of Kenya’s Constitution and was
contrary to the right of freedom of association.
systematic surveillance. The government
arranged for more than 50,000 people to
work in other countries, collecting their
wages directly from employers and keeping
a significant portion for its own revenue.
Little progress was made in addressing
cases of abductions and enforced
disappearances of foreign nationals.
BACKGROUND
1. Crisis looms for Somali refugees as Kenya orders closure of Dadaab
refugee camp
(News story, 16 April)
2. Kenya: Driven out for development; forced evictions in Mombasa,
Kenya (AFR
32/2467/2015)
3. Kenya: Deep Sea residents at risk of forced eviction (AFR
32/2054/2015)
KOREA
(DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE’S
REPUBLIC OF)
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Head of state:
Kim Jong-un
Head of government:
Pak Pong-ju
North Koreans continued to suffer denial
and violations of almost every aspect of their
human rights. Authorities continued to
arbitrarily arrest and detain individuals
without fair trial or access to lawyers and
family, including nationals of the Republic
of Korea (South Korea). Households,
particularly those with members suspected
of having fled the country or trying to access
outside information, remained under
In the fourth year of Kim Jong-un’s rule,
international media continued to report
executions of senior officials. The Head of
State did not attend celebrations marking the
anniversary of the end of World War II in
China and Russia. Inter-Korean relations
remained tense. Explosions of North Korean
landmines in the demilitarized zone between
North and South Korea in early August
caused severe injuries to two South Korean
soldiers. South Korean broadcasts across the
border to seek an apology resulted in the
military on both sides exchanging artillery fire
later that month. The tension was resolved
after a 43-hour high-level dialogue; North
Korea expressed regret over the explosions,
and a mutual agreement was reached to
continue the reunions of separated families.
Natural disasters including a severe summer
drought and floods killed at least 40 people,
and affected more than 10,000 others,
according to state media.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to impose severe
restrictions on freedom of expression,
including the right to seek, receive and impart
information regardless of national borders.
Although there were three million domestic
mobile service subscribers among the
population of 25 million, virtually all nationals
were barred from international mobile
telephone services and access to the internet.
Only tourists and foreign residents were
allowed to purchase special SIM cards to
make calls outside the country or access the
internet using smart phones. The existing
computer network remained available,
providing access to domestic websites and
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domestic email services only, but even this
was not yet widely accessible.
North Koreans who lived close to the
Chinese border undertook significant risks in
using smuggled mobile phones that were
connected to Chinese networks in order to
make contact with individuals outside the
country. People who did not own one of these
phones needed to pay an exorbitant fee and
go through a broker. While calling outside
North Korea was not a criminal offence in
itself, the use of smuggled mobile phones to
connect to Chinese mobile networks exposed
all individuals involved to the risk of
surveillance, as well as arrest and detention
on various charges, including espionage.
The government continued to restrict
access to various outside sources of
information despite the absence of any
domestic independent newspapers, media or
civil society organizations. Authorities used
radio waves to obstruct the reception of
foreign television or radio broadcasts, while
also making foreign channels unreceivable on
legally available appliances. Individuals
keeping, watching or copying and sharing
foreign audiovisual materials risked arrest, if
the material was deemed to be “hostile
broadcasting or enemy propaganda” under
the criminal law.
government for such purposes as ideological
education were authorized to conduct home
visits at any time, and report on people’s
activities. Group leaders, together with
another dedicated unit of the State Security
Department, monitored people’s radio and
television habits. Households that were
suspected of watching foreign audiovisual
materials, or receiving money from a family
member who had fled the country, were
subject to heightened surveillance.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
North Koreans who made calls using
smuggled mobile phones reported that they
experienced frequent jamming of lines and
wiretapping of conversations, among other
forms of infringement on the right to privacy.
A special unit of the State Security
Department for covert intelligence and digital
operations used sophisticated, imported
monitoring devices to detect mobile phone
users who tried to make calls out of the
country. Individuals whose conversations
were overheard could be arrested if they were
found calling someone in South Korea, or if
they requested money to be sent to them.
Person-to-person systems of surveillance
also remained a threat to privacy.
Neighbourhood groups set up by the
North Koreans who fled the country reported
that arrests had increased, as border controls
of both people and goods had tightened
under Kim Jong-un’s rule. These arrests were
arbitrary, as they often took place as a
punishment for exercising human rights, as a
crackdown on the private market economy, or
for extorting bribes.
Hundreds of thousands of people remained
detained in political prison camps and other
detention facilities, where they were subjected
to systematic, widespread and gross human
rights violations such as torture and other ill-
treatment, and forced labour. Many of those
held in these camps had not been convicted
of any internationally recognizable criminal
offence, but were detained through “guilt-by-
association”, only for being related to
individuals deemed threatening to the state.
In May and June, three South Korean men,
Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-
gil, were given life sentences after being
convicted of espionage, among other charges,
through judicial procedures that fell short of
international fair trial standards. A South
Korean student, Joo Won-moon, who had
been arrested for illegally entering the country
in April, was released in October after more
than five months of detention without access
to his lawyer or family.
1
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The government dispatched at least 50,000
people to countries such as Libya, Mongolia,
Nigeria, Qatar and Russia to work in various
sectors including medicine, construction,
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forestry and catering. Workers were often
subjected to excessively long hours, poor
safety conditions, deprivation of information
about labour laws and lack of access to any
government agencies monitoring compliance.
Workers did not receive wages directly from
employers, but through the North Korean
government after significant deductions.
Workers remained under surveillance in the
host countries as they would be in North
Korea, and contact with the local population
was heavily restricted.
same months in 2013 and 2014. The public
distribution system was the main channel of
providing food to at least 18 million people –
three quarters of the population. With the
reduction in rations, the right to adequate
food of most individuals was severely
threatened.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
In the first 10 months of 2015, the South
Korean Ministry of Unification reported the
arrival of 978 North Koreans, among them a
teenage soldier who walked across the inter-
Korean border on 15 June. According to
South Korea media, the North Korean military
planted extra landmines in 2015 to prevent its
soldiers from fleeing to South Korea. The
numbers of arrivals were in line with the
1,397 people reported to have arrived in
2014, and similar figures for 2013 and 2012.
These figures remained low compared with
previous years, due to tight border controls.
North Koreans forcibly returned from China
or other countries continued to be at risk of
detention, imprisonment, forced labour and
torture and other ill-treatment. China ignored
non-refoulement
obligations in international
law by sending back North Koreans and
seemingly continued this practice through a
1986 agreement with North Korean
authorities. Russia was reported to be
formalizing a similar agreement.
Following intensified international scrutiny
after the publication in 2014 of a report by
the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human
Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, and related discussion at the UN
Security Council later that year, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights opened a
field office in Seoul, the capital of South
Korea, on 23 June. The new office had been
among the recommendations of the report,
and was tasked with monitoring and
documenting the human rights situation in
North Korea, as steps towards accountability.
Its opening was met with severe criticism
from the North Korean government. The UN
Security Council held another discussion of
human rights in North Korea on
10 December.
Other UN bodies made efforts to address
international abductions and enforced
disappearances, but yielded minimal tangible
progress. The North Korean government
wrote to the UN Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances in August with
regard to 27 outstanding cases; the Working
Group noted in its report that the information
provided was insufficient for clarification of
the cases.
RIGHT TO FOOD
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization
reported in September that, after increases in
three consecutive years, food production had
been stagnant in 2014, while the drought of
2015 had reduced the production of rice and
other cereals by more than 10%. Possibly as
a result, the government reduced the daily
food rations for households in July and
August from 410g to 250g per person, well
below the amount distributed during the
1. Further information: Student released by North Korea (ASA
24/2609/2015)
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KOREA
(REPUBLIC OF)
Republic of Korea
Head of state:
Park Geun-hye
Head of government:
Hwang Kyo-ahn (replaced Chung
Hong-won in June)
The authorities continued to restrict the
rights to freedom of expression, association
and peaceful assembly. Police used
unnecessary force during a vigil walk in
memory of the victims of the Sewol ferry
accident, and a protester was seriously
injured in a demonstration where police
used water cannons. Although the right of
conscientious objectors to be exempted
from military service continued to be
denied, lower courts made a number of
decisions in favour of recognizing
conscientious objection. Migrant agricultural
workers faced trafficking for exploitation.
BACKGROUND
their right to freedom of expression. The
government broadened the application of the
NSL to include new categories and additional
groups of individuals such as politicians,
serving parliamentarians and foreign
nationals.
In January, the Supreme Court upheld an
earlier Seoul High Court decision which found
Lee Seok-ki and six other members of the
opposition Unified Progressive Party (UPP)
guilty of charges under the NSL, shortly after
the Constitutional Court decision in late 2014
that dissolved the UPP because it had
violated the country’s “basic democratic
order”.
Also in January, US national Shin Eun-mi
was deported for allegedly speaking positively
about the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea (North Korea). Hwang Seon, a national
of South Korea, was arrested the same
month, charged in February under the NSL
with “causing social confusion” through a
speaking tour allegedly praising the North
Korea regime, and was released on bail in
June.
2
The outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory
Syndrome (Mers) resulted in 38 deaths,
restrictions to daily life and a severe blow to
the economy of the Republic of Korea. The
government was criticized by the public and
international actors for inadequate
preparation and delay in the response to the
virus. The selection of the new Chairperson of
the National Human Rights Commission of
Korea lacked transparency and there was
insufficient consultation with civil society
groups and other relevant stakeholders.
1
The
annual Pride Parade took place peacefully in
June although police initially rejected the
application, citing clashes between lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
participants and conservative protesters in
2014.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Detentions and prosecutions under the
National Security Law (NSL) were used to
intimidate and imprison people exercising
No effective steps were taken to recognize the
right of conscientious objectors to be
exempted from military service.
3
More than
600 conscientious objectors remained in
prison, facing economic and social
disadvantages beyond their jail terms due to
their criminal records.
However, a number of decisions
recognizing conscientious objection have
been made by lower courts, including three in
2015. While the Constitutional Court was still
examining the legality of conscientious
objection, in May the Gwangju District Court
acquitted three conscientious objectors
accused of breaking the law by refusing
military duty. District courts in Suwon and
Gwangju further acquitted three other
conscientious objectors in August.
The revision of the Military Service Act and
the Enforcement Decree of the Military
Service Act came into force on 1 July. Based
on this revision, information on individuals
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refusing to perform military service without
“justifiable” reasons was liable to be made
public on the internet, potentially leading to
violations of the rights to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion, to privacy and to
freedom from discrimination.
4
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
of the Assembly and Demonstration Act and
obstructing police in relation to the rallies.
The police claimed that some of these
protests were illegal, even though the
protesters said they were lawfully exercising
their rights to freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly.
In May, the Constitutional Court upheld the
constitutionality of Article 2 of the Teachers’
Union Act, which provided the government
with the legal basis to strip the Korean
Teachers and Education Workers Union of its
official status. At the end of the year the
original case challenging the government’s
action was still pending at the Seoul High
Court.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that
irregular migrant workers had the same rights
to form and join a union as other South
Korean workers, but the authorities continued
to delay registering the Seoul-Gyeonggi-
Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU). The
Seoul Regional Labour Office demanded that
the MTU change its rules and regulations
before finally granting registration in August.
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Migrant agricultural workers continued to be
trafficked for exploitation, including forced
labour. Many were compelled to work in
conditions they had not agreed to – including
excessive working hours and underpayment –
under the threat of punishment such as
dismissal and violence. Under the terms of
the Employment Permit System, it was
extremely difficult for migrant workers to seek
and secure alternative employment if they
were subject to exploitation or other abuse by
their employer.
DEATH PENALTY
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The Sewol ferry accident in April 2014, which
resulted in the deaths of more than 300
people, many of them students, generated a
series of overwhelmingly peaceful
demonstrations expressing discontent about
the government’s response. Police blockaded
street rallies marking the one-year anniversary
and used unnecessary force against
participants on a vigil walk in memory of the
victims, near Gwanghwamun in central Seoul
on 16 April.
5
In July, two prominent human rights
defenders, Park Rae-goon and Kim Hye-jin,
were detained by police for organizing
demonstrations to seek additional action from
the government in response to the accident.
6
The two were members of the standing
committee for the group “April 16 Alliance”
calling for an investigation into the accident.
They had been under investigation for three
months on charges which included violation
In July, lawmaker Yu In-tae of the New
Politics Alliance for Democracy submitted a
bill to the National Assembly that would
abolish the death penalty. This was the
seventh time that such a bill had been
introduced but none were brought to a vote
before the full Assembly.
1. South Korea: Secrecy of Chair appointment undermines independence
of National Human Rights Commission of Korea (ASA
25/2161/2015)
2. South Korea: National Security Law continues to restrict freedom of
expression (ASA
25/001/2015)
3. South Korea: Sentenced to life – conscientious objectors in South
Korea (ASA
25/1512/2015)
4. South Korea: Amnesty International’s submission to the UN Human
Rights Committee, 115th Session (19 October - 6 November 2015)
(ASA
25/2372/2015)
5. South Korea: Clampdown against Sewol ferry anniversary protest an
insult to the victims (Press
Release, 17 April)
6. South Korea: Arrest of two human rights defenders for organizing
demonstrations (ASA
25/2129/2015)
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KUWAIT
State of Kuwait
Head of state:
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-
Sabah
Head of government:
Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-
Hamad al-Sabah
The authorities tightened restrictions on
freedom of expression, including by
adopting a new cybercrime law, and
prosecuting opposition and online critics.
The government also adopted a law
requiring all citizens and residents to
provide DNA samples on anti-terrorism
grounds. Members of the Bidun minority
faced discrimination and were denied
citizenship rights. Migrant workers faced
inadequate protection against exploitation
and abuse. Courts continued to hand down
death sentences; no executions were
reported.
BACKGROUND
On 26 June a suicide bomber attacked the
Imam Sadiq Mosque, a Shi’a mosque in
Kuwait City, killing 27 people and wounding
more than 220 others. It was Kuwait’s most
devastating suicide attack to date.
In March, Kuwait joined the Saudi Arabia-
led international coalition that engaged in the
armed conflict in Yemen (see Yemen entry).
In June, the government accepted 179
recommendations made during the UPR of
Kuwait, including nine relating to freedom of
expression. It rejected 71 others, including
recommendations on the rights of Bidun and
advocating abolition of the death penalty.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
The authorities continued to restrict the right
to freedom of expression, prosecuting and
imprisoning government critics and online
activists under penal code provisions that
criminalize comments deemed offensive to
the Emir, the judiciary and foreign leaders. In
June, Parliament adopted a new cybercrime
law criminalizing and further restricting online
expression, due to come into force in January
2016, and extended prohibitions in existing
legislation to include online expression,
including social media and blogs.
There were prosecutions for insulting Arab
leaders on social media, including the late
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
In January, a court sentenced Bidun rights
activist Abdulhakim al-Fadhli to one year’s
imprisonment followed by deportation on
charges arising from his participation in a
February 2014 gathering that marked the
third anniversary of a demonstration calling
for Bidun people to be granted Kuwaiti
citizenship. His sentence was upheld on
appeal in December. He also received a
separate five-year prison term and a
deportation order after a court convicted him
on charges of insulting the Emir, damaging a
police vehicle and taking part in an illegal
demonstration.
In March, police arrested and beat human
rights activist Nawaf al-Hendal as he
monitored a peaceful opposition
demonstration. He was detained for two days
before being charged with “illegal gathering”.
Musallam al-Barrak, a prominent
government critic and former MP, began
serving a two-year prison term in June. He
had been sentenced in April 2013 to five
years’ imprisonment for a speech criticizing
the government; the sentence was reduced
on appeal. More than 60 others who
protested against his arrest by publicizing or
reciting extracts from his speech also faced
prosecution; two people were sentenced to
prison terms and 21 others received
suspended sentences.
In July, prosecutors questioned 13 people
over discussions on the social media site
WhatsApp about video footage taken in 2014
that appeared to show leading members of
the government advocating the Emir’s
removal from power. The 13, who included
members of the ruling family, were freed on
bail and banned from leaving Kuwait; their
trial was ongoing.
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COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The authorities increased security measures
following the June suicide bombing at the
Imam Sadiq Mosque. They tried 29 Kuwaitis
and foreign nationals, five in their absence,
on charges linked to the attack. Fifteen were
convicted and, of these, seven were
sentenced to death. In December, the Appeal
Court confirmed one of the death sentences
and commuted another to 15 years’
imprisonment; it had not ruled on the other
defendants’ appeals by the end of the year.
The authorities also prosecuted people
accused of supporting extreme jihadist armed
groups in Iraq and Syria. In July, the Criminal
Court sentenced six men to prison terms
ranging from five to 20 years, followed by
deportation, after convicting them of “hostile
acts” against Iraq and Syria, endangering
Kuwait’s relations with those countries, and
joining the banned organization Daesh
(another name for the armed group Islamic
State, or IS). Another two defendants were
acquitted. All eight defendants alleged in
court that security officials had beaten them
in pre-trial detention to coerce them to
confess. The court failed to investigate their
allegations.
In July, Parliament approved a new law
requiring all citizens and residents in Kuwait
to provide samples of their DNA, citing anti-
terrorism as the justification. Refusal to
comply with the law became punishable by
up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine.
Press reports in July indicated that the
government planned to implement an
emergency decree to extend the length of
time that a suspect can be held in detention
without charge; however, no such provision
had been enacted by the end of the year.
In September, further torture allegations
emerged after 25 Kuwaitis and an Iranian
went on trial before the Criminal Court
accused of espionage and terrorism-related
charges. The defendants said officials had
tortured them with electric shocks, hanging
by the legs and beatings to force them to
“confess”. The Court was due to deliver its
verdict in January 2016.
DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY
In April, the authorities arrested Sa’ad al-
‘Ajmi, a political activist and adviser to former
MP Musallam al-Barrak (see above), and
deported him to Saudi Arabia, claiming that
he held Saudi citizenship, which he denied.
In May, the Administrative Appeal Court
ordered the government to restore the Kuwaiti
citizenship of Abdullah Hashr al-Barghash, a
former MP whose nationality the authorities
revoked in July 2014. The government
appealed against the ruling. In November the
Administrative Appeal Court ruled that the
case fell outside its jurisdiction.
DISCRIMINATION – BIDUN
The government continued to withhold
Kuwaiti citizenship from over 100,000 Bidun,
or stateless residents of Kuwait, whom they
considered to be illegal residents. Bidun
rights activists faced arrest and prosecution.
Two days after the June mosque bombing, for
which 13 Bidun were among those arrested,
the authorities stopped issuing Bidun with
travel documents except for those seeking
medical treatment abroad.
In an August memorandum to Parliament,
the government’s Central System to Resolve
Illegal Residents’ Status, which administers
Bidun affairs in Kuwait, said that it was not
mandatory that 31,189 Bidun listed in the
1965 census, used by the government as the
basis for determining citizenship, should be
naturalized. The Central System said that
other considerations, such as security, should
be taken into account when considering their
right to Kuwaiti nationality. This determination
adds a further obstacle for Bidun to be
granted Kuwaiti nationality.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Kuwaiti women had the right to vote and
stand as candidates in elections, but
continued to face discrimination in law and in
practice. In particular, the law accorded
women fewer rights than men in family
matters, such as divorce, child custody and
inheritance.
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MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Migrant workers, including those in the
domestic, construction and other sectors,
faced exploitation and abuse. Parliament
passed a law in June that for the first time
gave migrant domestic workers,
predominantly women, labour rights including
one day of rest per week, 30 days’ annual
paid leave and an end-of-service payment
equivalent to one month’s salary for each year
worked.
DEATH PENALTY
At least 15 people were sentenced to death,
including five in their absence. No executions
were reported.
KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz Republic
Head of state:
Almaz Atambaev
Head of government:
Temir Sariev (replaced
Dzhoomart Otorbaev in May)
No impartial and effective investigation took
place into human rights violations, including
crimes against humanity, committed during
the June 2010 violence and its aftermath.
The authorities failed to take effective
measures to end torture and other ill-
treatment and bring perpetrators to justice.
The space for civil society continued to
shrink, against the background of growing
intolerance towards ethnic, sexual and other
minorities. Legislation restricting freedoms
of expression and association was
introduced and later withdrawn “for
consultation”. Prisoner of conscience
Azimjan Askarov remained in detention
while the homes of lawyers and the NGO
who worked on his and other ethnic Uzbeks’
cases were raided by security officials.
detention under the National Preventive
Mechanism and instructions on how to
document torture issued by the Ministry of
Health to medical personnel based on the UN
Manual on the Effective Investigation and
Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (Istanbul Protocol).
On 16 June 2015, the European Court of
Human Rights issued a judgment on
Khamrakulov v. Russia,
stating that forcible
return of ethnic Uzbek applicants from Russia
to Kyrgyzstan would expose them to risk of
torture and other ill-treatment.
Kyrgyzstan accepted the recommendations
of the UPR of Kyrgyzstan in June, aimed at
combating torture and other ill-treatment.
These concerned the investigation of
allegations, particularly those by members of
ethnic minorities, relating to the June 2010
violence and ensuring that the National
Centre for the Prevention of Torture be
adequately resourced and remained
independent.
IMPUNITY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment, and impunity
for these violations, remained commonplace
despite the introduction, in late 2014, of a
programme of monitoring of places of
Only a minority of alleged torture and of
gender-based violence cases led to an
effective investigation, and still fewer resulted
in the prosecution of perpetrators.
The NGO Coalition against Torture in
Kyrgyzstan documented 79 cases of torture
and other ill-treatment in the first half of
2015. A specialist investigation unit created
by the Prosecutor General’s Office in June
started criminal investigations into three cases
of torture. By October, 35 criminal cases in
relation to over 80 law enforcement officers
accused of acts of torture were under
consideration by the courts. However, only in
four cases dating back to 2011 did courts
hand down a guilty verdict.
The authorities made no genuine effort to
effectively investigate the June 2010 ethnic
violence in Osh and Jalal-Abad, where serious
crimes were committed by members of both
ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities, but
the latter sustained most deaths, injuries and
damage. Since then, ethnic Uzbeks have
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been targeted disproportionately for
prosecution. Nonetheless, Kyrgyzstan
rejected the UPR recommendations to
redress the lack of ethnic representation in
the police and security forces, and adopt
comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.
Lawyers defending ethnic Uzbeks detained in
the context of the violence have continued to
face harassment in connection with their
work.
On 21 May, the Sokolukski District Court
sentenced three staff members of a local
court in the Talas region to eight years each
for gang-raping a woman, Kalia Arabekova, in
December 2013. However, the judge refused
to order the arrest of the men pending their
appeal hearing, despite the victim’s repeated
complaints about the threats she was
receiving. On the night of 21 July, she was
assaulted, threatened and raped at her place
of residence by two masked men, one of
whom she was able to recognize as her initial
assailant.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Azimjan Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek human
rights defender and a prisoner of conscience
who was sentenced to life in prison for
purportedly participating in the 2010 ethnic
violence, remained in prison. His award by
the US State Department of the Human
Rights Defenders Award in July prompted an
angry response from senior Kyrgyz officials.
The President denounced the award as a
provocation aimed at inciting separatism and
the government rescinded a 1993 co-
operation agreement with the USA.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
In a climate of growing intolerance and
discrimination against members of the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex (LGBTI) community, a draft
homophobic law introduced in Parliament in
2014 was adopted in its second reading in
June by an overwhelming majority of MPs. It
proposed amendments to the Criminal Code
and other legislation which criminalized
“fostering positive attitude” towards “non-
traditional sexual relations”, and envisaged
sanctions ranging from fines to one-year
imprisonment. The draft law was withdrawn
before it could be voted in the third and final
reading, “for additional consultation”, and is
expected to be returned to Parliament again.
Human rights defenders and other civil
society activists faced increasing harassment
and pressure from the authorities in
connection with their work, and complained
of a growing climate of insecurity.
A draft law was reintroduced in Parliament
that would force NGOs receiving foreign aid
and engaging in any form of vaguely defined
“political activities” to adopt and publicly use
the stigmatizing label of “foreign agents”. The
President and senior political figures spoke
strongly in support of this initiative, modelled
on similar legislation adopted in Russia in
2012. The draft law was withdrawn “for
further discussion” in June, but was expected
to be back before Parliament for further
consideration and adoption.
On 27 March members of the State
Committee of National Security (GKNB) in
Osh searched the office of human rights NGO
Bir Duino (“one world”) and the homes of two
lawyers working for it, Valerian Vakhitov and
Khusanbai Saliev. During these raids, GKNB
officers seized documents relating to the
cases the lawyers were working on, as well as
computers and digital memory devices. The
lawyers’ complaint about the searches and
the local court’s decision authorizing them
was heard at Osh Regional Court and the
Supreme Court on 30 April and 24 June
respectively, both of which ruled that the
searches constituted illegal interference in the
lawyers’ work. Bir Duino has, among other
things, provided legal assistance to ethnic
Uzbeks who faced prosecution following the
June 2010 violence in Osh, including Azimjan
Askarov.
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LAOS
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Head of state:
Choummaly Sayasone
Head of government:
Thongsing Thammavong
Severe restrictions on freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly continued and authorities
prepared to further tighten control of civil
society groups. Two prisoners of conscience
arrested in 1999 for attempting a peaceful
protest remained imprisoned. One activist
was imprisoned for online criticism of the
government. Restrictions on practising
Christianity were reported, including arrests
and prosecutions. No progress was recorded
in the case of a prominent civil society
member, three years after his enforced
disappearance.
Mekong River dams potentially impacting
livelihoods in neighbouring countries.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
BACKGROUND
In June, Laos accepted 116 of 196
recommendations received during the second
UPR of Laos. While Laos did not reject
outright any recommendations, it indicated
disagreement with the remaining 80
recommendations which were noted. Several
of these pertained to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly, and to
human rights defenders.
Ahead of Laos chairing the ASEAN in 2016,
civil society groups in the region called for
their annual gathering, the ASEAN People’s
Forum, to be held outside the country on the
grounds that free discussion of key regional
rights issues will be impossible in Laos.
A concession for the construction of a
controversial hydropower dam on the Mekong
River at Don Sahong was approved by
Parliament, despite objections from
downstream countries as to the dam’s
expected ecological and social impact.
Construction of the US$3.5 billion Xayaburi
Dam entered its final stage. Plans for scores
more dams throughout the country were
either under development or under
construction, including eight mainstream
After the enactment of the Prime Ministerial
Decree on management of information
through the internet in 2014, at least two
individuals were arrested in relation to
information posted online.
A Natural Resources and Environmental
Department staff member was arrested in
June for posting a “confidential document”
on Facebook regarding a land concession
granted by the Luang Prabang local
authorities to Chinese investors. She was
released in August. Another woman, Phout
Mitane, was detained for two months after a
photograph she took showing police allegedly
extorting money from her brother was posted
online.
In October Bounthanh Thammavong, a
Polish national of Lao descent, was convicted
of criticizing the ruling party in a Facebook
posting and sentenced to four-and-a-half
years’ imprisonment. A diplomatic official
complained that Bounthanh Thammavong
was denied access to a lawyer during his trial.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
A new Decree on Associations and
Foundations, severely limiting the right to
freedom of association in violation of
international law, was still pending in
December. In May, the UN Special
Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, on
freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, and on the situation of human
rights defenders, expressed serious concerns
about numerous provisions of the Decree. It
requires associations and foundations to
“operate in accordance with the [ruling]
Party’s policy, government’s socio-economic
development plan, State’s laws and its
regulations”.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Sombath Somphone, a prominent civil society
member who was abducted outside a police
post in the capital, Vientiane, in December
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2012, remained disappeared with no
progress in his case. In March, a former
military general heading a non-profit
organization – widely believed to be a
government proxy – made a failed attempt to
have Sombath Somphone’s name removed
from the agenda of the ASEAN People’s
Forum event. No progress was made in the
case of Sompawn Khantisouk, an
entrepreneur who was active on conservation
issues. He remained disappeared since being
abducted by men believed to be police in
2007. Laos accepted some, but not all, UPR
recommendations calling for an impartial
investigation into Sombath Somphone’s
enforced disappearance and for Laos’
ratification of the International Convention for
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
DEATH PENALTY
Approximately 20 people were reported to
have been sentenced to death in 2015,
mainly for drug-related offences. While Laos
is not known to have carried out executions
since 1989, it failed to accept more than a
dozen UPR recommendations calling for an
official moratorium on the death penalty.
LATVIA
Republic of Latvia
Head of state:
Raimonds Vējonis (succeeded Andris
Bērziņš in July)
Head of government:
Laimdota Straujuma
Parliament passed amendments to the
Education Law which discriminated against
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex (LGBTI) people. Protection for
LGBTI people against hate crimes remained
inadequate. Over 262,000 people remained
stateless. Appeals against negative asylum
decisions had no suspensive effect, leaving
people at risk of being returned to countries
where their rights could be violated.
In June, Parliament passed amendments to
the Education Law requiring schools to
provide “morality” education based on
constitutional values, which include a
definition of marriage as the union between a
man and a woman. The new legislation risked
placing Latvia in breach of its international
obligations to respect freedom of expression
and the requirement of non-discrimination
with regard to LGBTI people’s relationships
and families. There was also concern that it
would restrict children’s access to sex and
sexuality education with potentially negative
impacts on their right to health.
Concerns remained about the lack of
express protection in criminal law against
incitement to hatred and violence on grounds
of sexual orientation and gender identity. In
the first nine months of 2015, Latvian NGO
Mozaika recorded 14 attacks against LGBTI
people. None resulted in serious injuries.
Victims told Mozaika they did not report the
attacks to the police for fear that they would
not be taken seriously.
In June, EuroPride, an international
gathering in support of LGBTI people’s rights,
took place in Riga, the capital, without major
incidents. About 5,000 people participated,
including three Latvian MPs. The authorities
allowed the parade to pass through the main
street of Riga and to cover 2.2km, a route
four times longer than in the past. The police
offered effective protection to participants.
DISCRIMINATION
‒
STATELESS PERSONS
There continued to be a high number of
stateless people – over 262,000 at the
beginning of 2015, according to figures of
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Stateless
people, the vast majority ethnic Russians,
were excluded from the enjoyment of political
rights.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The number of asylum applications remained
low, with about 200 received in the first eight
months of the year. Recognition rates also
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remained very low. However, in September
Latvia agreed to relocate 531 asylum-seekers
from other European countries. Concerns
remained about the excessive use of
detention for asylum-seekers and the non-
suspensive effect of appeals against negative
decisions under the accelerated asylum
procedure. The latter increased the risk of
individuals being returned to countries where
they could face serious human rights abuses.
LEBANON
Lebanese Republic
Head of state:
vacant since May 2014, when Michel
Suleiman’s term ended
Head of government:
Tammam Salam
Security forces used excessive force to
disperse some demonstrations and to quell
a protest by prisoners. Women continued to
be discriminated against in law and in
practice. Migrant workers faced exploitation
and abuse. The authorities took no steps to
investigate the fate of thousands of people
who disappeared or went missing during the
civil war of 1975 to 1990. Palestinian
refugees long-resident in Lebanon continued
to suffer discrimination. Lebanon hosted
over 1.2 million refugees from Syria but
closed its border and enforced new entry
requirements from January, and barred the
entry of Palestinians fleeing from Syria.
Courts handed down at least 28 death
sentences; there were no executions.
repercussions for Lebanon. Cross-border
firing and the participation of Hizbullah
fighters in the conflict in support of the Syrian
government threatened Lebanon’s security.
Some 1.2 million Syrians had claimed refugee
status in Lebanon by the end of the year. In
January, Lebanon ended its open-border
policy, preventing refugees without entry visas
from entering the country.
In August, fighting between rival factions at
Ain el-Helweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian
refugee camp, caused three deaths. Security
conditions in Tripoli remained fragile due to
tensions related to the Syrian conflict. In
Syria, the armed group Islamic State (IS)
continued to hold Lebanese soldiers and
members of security forces whom they
abducted in 2014, while Jabhat al-Nusra
freed the ones it held.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
There were several incidents of excessive use
of force, particularly by the Internal Security
Forces (ISF). In August, ISF officers and army
soldiers used excessive force against people
demonstrating in Beirut as part of the “You
Stink” protests against the lack of rubbish
clearance and other public services. Officers
fired live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas
canisters and water cannon, reportedly
injuring over 300 people. The Minister for the
Interior said eight members of the ISF would
face disciplinary action over the incident.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
BACKGROUND
Political disagreements between the main
political parties prevented the election of a
successor to President Suleiman, who left
office in May 2014. In June 2015, thousands
of people took to the streets of the capital,
Beirut, to protest against the government’s
failure to provide basic services amid an
escalating waste-management crisis,
accusing the authorities of corruption and a
lack of accountability and transparency.
The armed conflict in Syria had huge
In June, five officers were charged with using
violence against prisoners at Roumieh Prison
after two videos were posted on social media
showing ISF officers beating inmates.
Despite ratifying the Optional Protocol to
the UN Convention against Torture in 2000,
by the end of the year Lebanon had yet to
establish a national monitoring body on
torture, as the Optional Protocol requires.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Lebanon hosted around 300,000 Palestinian
refugees and 1.2 million Syrian refugees.
Palestinian refugees, many of whom entered
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Lebanon decades ago, remained subject to
discriminatory laws and regulations that deny
them the right to inherit property or access
free public education and prevent them from
working in 20 professions. At least 3,000
Palestinians who did not hold official identity
documents also faced restrictions in
registering births, marriages and deaths.
In January the government overturned its
open-border policy and began restricting
entry for Syrian refugees. Lebanon also
continued to bar the entry of Palestinians
fleeing the Syrian conflict. In May, Lebanon
instructed UNHCR, the UN refugee agency,
to provisionally suspend all new registrations
of Syrian refugees. Refugees from Syria who
entered Lebanon before January faced
problems in renewing residency permits.
Those who could not afford to renew annual
residency permits, which they required to
remain in Lebanon legally, became irregular
in status and liable to arrest, detention and
deportation.
The international community failed to
provide adequate support to help Lebanon
cope with the Syrian refugee crisis.
Humanitarian assistance remained
underfunded and there were few resettlement
places offered by third countries to the most
vulnerable refugees.
predominantly women, were especially
vulnerable as they were employed under the
kafala
sponsorship system that ties the worker
to their employer. In January, the Minister for
Labour refused to recognize the trade union
formed by migrant workers.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (STL) continued to try five men in
their absence for alleged complicity in the
killing of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri
and others in a car bombing in Beirut in
2005. In September, the STL acquitted
Lebanese journalist Karma Khayat and her
employer Al Jadeed TV of obstructing justice
but convicted her of contempt of court for
ignoring a court order to remove information
related to confidential witnesses, sentencing
her to a fine of €10,000.
IMPUNITY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The fate of thousands of people who were
abducted, forcibly disappeared or who went
missing during and after the civil war of
1975-1990 remained undisclosed. The
authorities failed to establish an independent
national body to investigate the fate of those
disappeared and missing.
Women continued to face discrimination in
law and in practice, particularly in relation to
family matters including divorce, child
custody and inheritance. Lebanese women
married to foreign nationals remain barred
from passing on their nationality to their
children. The same restriction did not apply to
Lebanese men married to foreign nationals.
The authorities failed to criminalize marital
rape or gender-based violence outside the
home.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts imposed at least 28 death sentences
for murder and terrorism-related crimes,
including some in cases where the
defendants were tried in their absence. No
executions have been carried out since 2004.
LESOTHO
Kingdom of Lesotho
Head of state
: King Letsie III
Head of government:
Pakalitha Mosisili (replaced
Thomas Motsoahae Thabane in March)
Political instability persisted following an
attempted coup in 2014. Tension within the
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Migrant workers were excluded from the
protections provided under national labour
laws, exposing them to exploitation and abuse
by employers. Migrant domestic workers,
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armed forces resulted in the killing of the
former Lesotho Defence Force (LDF)
commander, Lieutenant-General
Maaparankoe Mahao, in June. At least 23
soldiers were arrested in May, accused of
leading a mutiny. They remained in
detention and were allegedly tortured.
BACKGROUND
More than half the population live below the
poverty line and persistent droughts, flooding
and early frosts have led to low agricultural
productivity in recent years. Lesotho’s
economy is largely dependent on textile
manufacturing, income from the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU), diamond
mining, and remittances from miners in South
Africa. The country faces food insecurity
exacerbated by weather-related shocks,
widespread chronic malnutrition and the
second highest rate of HIV and AIDS in the
world. The worsening food deficit, as well as
the growing retrenchment of Lesotho
nationals working in countries such as South
Africa, exacerbated household poverty in
Lesotho.
General elections on 28 February failed to
produce a clear winner. A coalition
government was formed by Prime Minister
Pakalitha Mosisili’s Democratic Congress and
six other political parties. The Southern
African Development Community (SADC)
continued to mediate between the country’s
political rivals in order to de-escalate tension
between the military and the police, tension
that had its roots in the politicization of the
security sector.
his family disputed this, insisting his killing
was a carefully planned assassination by
former army colleagues.
A 10-member SADC Commission of Inquiry
led by Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi of Botswana
was set up on 3 July to investigate security-
related issues facing Lesotho, including the
killing of Maaparankoe Mahao. The
Commission concluded its work prematurely
on 23 October due to the lack of co-operation
by the government and the LDF.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
On 25 June, former LDF head Lieutenant-
General Maaparankoe Mahao was shot dead
in Maseru by soldiers seeking to arrest him
for allegedly plotting to lead a rebellion in the
army. Maaparankoe Mahao had been
dismissed from the LDF on 21 May. He
challenged his dismissal in court in June,
shortly before his killing, arguing that it was
illegal. The government claimed that
Maaparankoe Mahao had resisted arrest, but
Some LDF members fled to South Africa after
being harassed and threatened because of
their perceived loyalty to the former army
chief.
At least 23 soldiers thought to be loyal to
Maaparankoe Mahao were detained at
Maseru Maximum Security Prison in May.
They were charged with sedition and mutiny,
charges that carry the death penalty. They
appeared before a court-martial on 5 October,
but the court-martial was then suspended to
allow the SADC Commission to carry out its
work. The 23 remained in detention and were
allegedly tortured.
The soldiers challenged their detention and
the composition of the court-martial in the
Maseru High Court. On 5 October, the High
Court ordered the release of the 23 soldiers
on “open arrest”, a form of military bail, to
enable them to participate in the SADC
Commission of Inquiry. The LDF failed to
comply with the court order to release all the
soldiers. Only five soldiers were released by
early December on “open arrest”, with their
movements being monitored. The court-
martial resumed on 1 December but it was
later adjourned until 1 February 2016.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Members of the armed forces obstructed
police investigations into a number of high
profile criminal cases from 2014 and 2015
linked to politicized divisions within the armed
forces. These included attacks on the homes
of senior politicians, political killings and
abductions.
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On 17 August, former police commissioner
Khothatso Tšooana was compelled by the
government to take early retirement. He was
accused of incompetence, and of polarizing
and politicizing the Lesotho Mounted Police
Service.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
expression, association and assembly were
severely restricted. Detention without trial
persisted; torture and other ill-treatment
was common. Women, migrants and
refugees faced discrimination and abuses.
The death penalty remained in force; several
former senior officials were sentenced to
death after a deeply flawed trial.
Members of political elites and the army
continued to interfere with the broadcast
media. Journalists were subjected to
harassment and intimidation by political and
security authorities. There was no progress in
the case of Lloyd Mutungamiri, editor of the
Lesotho Times,
who was charged with
criminal defamation in September 2014 for
reporting on police corruption.
BACKGROUND
DEATH PENALTY
Lesotho retained the death penalty under
Statutory Law as a form of punishment. The
country achieved 20 years without carrying
out any executions, becoming abolitionist in
practice.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In January Lesotho’s human rights record was
examined under the UPR. Plans to set up a
Human Rights Commission, as
recommended during the UPR, progressed
during 2015.
LIBYA
State of Libya
Head of state:
Disputed
Head of government:
Fayez Serraj became Prime
Minister designate of the Government of National
Accord on 17 December. He replaced Abdallah al-
Thinni of the interim government and Khalifa Ghweil
of the National Salvation Government.
The armed conflict continued. Forces
affiliated to two rival governments, as well
as armed groups, committed war crimes and
other violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights abuses
with impunity. Rights to freedom of
Two rival governments and parliaments
claimed legitimacy and fought for control,
each supported by loose coalitions of armed
groups and forces over which they did not
exercise effective control; armed groups
exploited the absence of central authority to
consolidate their power. Operation Dignity,
comprising Libyan National Army battalions,
tribal militias and volunteers, supported the
government and House of Representatives
(HOR) based in Tobruk and al-Bayda. The
Tobruk and al-Bayda-based administration
was the internationally recognized
government until the adoption of the Libyan
Political Agreement in December (see below).
Libya Dawn, a coalition of militias from cities
and towns in western Libya, backed the
Tripoli-based self-declared National Salvation
Government (NSG) and General National
Congress (GNC). Military blocks fragmented
throughout the year contributing to the
chaotic situation.
In October, the HOR extended its mandate
by amending the constitutional declaration.
Both parliaments adopted new laws but it
remained unclear to what extent they were
enforced.
Most fighting between Libya Dawn and
Operation Dignity forces occurred along
Libya’s western coast and in the Nafousa
Mountains. Local ceasefires contributed to
reduced fighting, prisoner exchanges and
releases in western Libya. In the east, fighting
between Operation Dignity and the Shura
Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, a
coalition of Islamist armed groups including
Ansar al-Shari’a, caused civilian casualties
and extensive damage in Benghazi, and
trapped civilians without access to
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humanitarian aid.
Elsewhere, armed groups pursuing their
own ideological, regional, tribal, economic
and ethnic agendas fought for control. In
August, the armed group Islamic State (IS)
consolidated its control of the city of Sirte and
surrounding coastal areas. IS forces were also
present in the cities of Benghazi, Sabratha
and Derna, although they lost control of
Derna in June after clashes with the Shura
Council of Mujahidin in Derna, an apparently
al-Qa’ida-affiliated coalition of armed groups.
In December, following 14 months of
negotiations facilitated by the United Nations
Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL),
members of the political dialogue including
members of rival parliaments signed the
Libyan Political Agreement to end the
violence and form a “Government of National
Accord” consisting of a Presidency Council
and Cabinet. Despite being unanimously
endorsed by the UN Security Council, the
agreement did not cease hostilities and was
opposed by the heads of rival parliaments
who sought to reach a separate deal,
highlighting rifts within the political blocks.
In October, the Constitution Drafting
Assembly issued the first draft of a new
Constitution which included key human rights
provisions but failed to comply with Libya’s
international human rights obligations relating
to freedom of expression, non-discrimination
and the right to life.
In February, the HOR repealed Law
13/2013 on Political and Administrative
Isolation that had barred officials from the
previous administration of Mu’ammar al-
Gaddafi from holding positions of
responsibility within public institutions.
The lack of rule of law saw rising
criminality, with increasing abductions of
foreign nationals and others for ransom.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
Civilians continued to bear the brunt of the
conflict. According to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, by
October some 2.44 million people needed
humanitarian assistance and protection. The
number of civilian casualties remained
unknown, but some 20,000 were injured
between May 2014 and May 2015, the UN
estimated. At least 600 civilians were killed in
2015 according to the ICC Prosecutor.
Violence impeded civilian access to food,
health care, water, sanitation and education.
Many health facilities were closed, damaged
or inaccessible due to fighting; those still
functioning were overcrowded and lacked
essential supplies. Around 20% of children
were unable to attend school.
All sides committed serious violations of
international humanitarian law, including war
crimes, and human rights abuses. They
carried out reprisal abductions and detained
civilians including humanitarian workers and
medical staff because of their perceived
political affiliation or origin, often holding
them as hostages to secure prisoner
exchanges or ransoms. They tortured and
otherwise ill-treated detainees and carried out
summary killings. The warring parties also
launched indiscriminate and disproportionate
attacks and direct attacks on civilians and
civilian objects.
In May and June, Libya Dawn-affiliated
armed groups abducted scores of Tunisians,
including consular staff, in the capital, Tripoli,
apparently in retaliation after Tunisian
authorities arrested a Libya Dawn
commander. They were released weeks later.
IS forces committed scores of summary
killings of captured fighters and abducted
civilians, including foreign nationals,
suspected informants and opponents, and
men accused of engaging in same-sex sexual
relations or practising “black magic”. In Sirte
and Derna, IS enforced its own interpretation
of Islamic law, carrying out public execution-
style killings in front of crowds containing
children, and leaving victims’ corpses on
public display. They also carried out public
floggings and amputations, and publicized
some crimes, including their beheading and
shooting dead of at least 49 Egyptian and
Ethiopian Coptic Christians, in videos posted
on the internet.
1
IS forces carried out indiscriminate suicide
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attacks and direct attacks on civilians, such
as the January shooting and bombing of a
Tripoli hotel that killed at least eight people. In
August, following an attempt to oust IS forces
from Sirte, IS forces indiscriminately shelled a
residential neighbourhood forcing civilians to
flee, and destroyed homes of civilians they
perceived as opponents.
Libya Dawn and the Libyan Air Force
launched air strikes, some of which killed and
injured civilians. Evidence of use of
internationally banned cluster bombs was
found in at least two locations; Operation
Dignity forces appeared to be responsible.
Operation Dignity forces also attacked and
burned the homes of suspected supporters of
the Shura Council of Benghazi
Revolutionaries and others, and reportedly
abducted, detained, tortured and otherwise
ill-treated civilians. They also reportedly
committed summary killings of civilians and
captured fighters.
In the south, fighting along ethnic and tribal
lines often in urban areas, between Tebu and
Tuareg militias in Obari and Sabha, as well as
between Tebu and Zway militias in Kufra,
caused hundreds of civilian casualties in
addition to mass displacement and damage
to civilian objects.
Allies of Libya’s internationally recognized
government, including the USA, carried out
air strikes against IS and other armed groups
they accused of “terrorism”. In February, at
least one air strike by Egypt appeared to be
disproportionate; it hit a residential area killing
seven civilians and injuring others.
2
also called on the authorities to co-operate
with the ICC; despite this the authorities failed
to transfer Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi to the ICC
to face prosecution on charges of crimes
against humanity. He remained in militia
detention.
The ICC Prosecutor expressed concern
about IS crimes and alleged international
humanitarian law violations by Libya Dawn
and Operation Dignity forces but failed to
initiate new investigations, citing insufficient
resources and Libya’s instability, and called
on state parties to the Rome Statute of the
ICC to provide funding. The Prosecutor did
not seek judicial review of a 2013
admissibility decision allowing a Libyan court
to try former al-Gaddafi era Military
Intelligence chief Abdallah al-Senussi; he was
among nine defendants sentenced to death in
July.
In July, the HOR adopted a law granting
amnesty for some crimes committed since a
similar law was adopted in 2012. It excluded
terrorism; torture, including rape; and other
serious crimes, but not forced displacement.
In December, UN Security Council
resolution 2259 called on the new
Government of National Accord to hold to
account perpetrators of violations of
international humanitarian law and human
rights abuses.
INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT
IMPUNITY
In March, the UN Human Rights Council
asked the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights to investigate violations and abuses of
human rights committed in Libya since the
beginning of 2014. Also in March, UN
Security Council resolution 2213 called for an
immediate, unconditional ceasefire; the
release of arbitrarily held detainees and the
transfer of others to state custody; and
accountability, including targeted sanctions
against perpetrators. The Security Council
There were some 435,000 internally
displaced persons in Libya; many were
displaced more than once. Over 100,000
internally displaced persons resided in
makeshift camps, schools and warehouses.
Under UNSMIL sponsorship,
representatives of Tawargha and Misratah
signed a document setting out principles and
measures to allow the safe, voluntary return of
40,000 people forcibly displaced from
Tawargha in 2011 as well as plans for
reparations and accountability for human
rights abuses.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The criminal justice system remained
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dysfunctional and ineffective. Courts in Sirte,
Derna and Benghazi remained closed for
security reasons.
Judges, prosecutors and lawyers faced
attacks, abduction and threats. The body of
Mohamed Salem al-Namli, an appeal court
judge in al-Khoms, was found near Sirte in
August, 10 days after his abduction by IS.
Several GNC decisions further undermined
the independence of the judiciary. The GNC
appointed the President of the Supreme Court
in May, and appointed 36 judges to the
Supreme Court in October.
In Tripoli, judges suspended work in June
in response to alleged interference by
executive and legislative authorities, and
called for protection for the courts and
prosecutors.
Misratah authorities released scores of
detainees that they had held without trial
since the 2011 armed conflict, including
people displaced from Tawargha. Thousands
of other detainees remained held without
charge or trial across the country.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
UNFAIR TRIALS
Although the criminal justice system largely
failed to function, the Tripoli Court of Assize
tried 37 former officials from the
administration of Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi for
allegedly committing war crimes and other
offences during the 2011 armed conflict. The
trial was marked by serious violations of due
process, in particular defence rights and the
court’s failure to duly investigate allegations of
torture and other ill-treatment of defendants.
The defendants included Saif al-Islam al-
Gaddafi, a son of Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, who
was tried in his absence as he continued to
be held at an undisclosed location in Zintan.
On 28 July, the court sentenced him along
with Abdallah al-Senussi and seven other
defendants to death and imposed prison
sentences ranging from five years to life
imprisonment on 23 other defendants.
3
A
review of the convictions before the Supreme
Court was still pending at the end of the year.
Armed groups and unknown perpetrators
targeted media and NGO workers and human
rights defenders with assassinations,
abductions and threats.
In January, unknown assailants fired
rocket-propelled grenades at al-Nabaa
television station in Tripoli, a station perceived
to hold pro-Libya Dawn views.
In February, armed men abducted two
members of the National Commission for
Human Rights, a local human rights NGO, in
Tripoli; they were released a few weeks later.
Also in February, Intissar Husseiri, a civil
society activist, and her aunt were found dead
in a car in Tripoli; both had been shot in the
head. The General Prosecution opened an
investigation but did not disclose its findings.
In April, armed men killed journalist Muftah
al-Qatrani at his Benghazi office. The bodies
of five members of a crew from Barqa
television station, missing since August 2014,
were found near al-Bayda. The fate of
Tunisian media professionals Sofiane
Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari and Libyan
political activist Abdel Moez Banoun, all
missing since 2014, remained undisclosed.
The Tripoli-based NSG intermittently
blocked access to online media outlets
including Bawabat al-Wasat, perceived to be
critical of the NSG’s actions. In November,
the Ministry of Culture of the NSG issued a
statement urging civil society organizations
not to attend any meetings abroad without
prior notification, while the Minister of Culture
of the internationally recognized government
urged security agencies to ban any media or
civil society organizations funded by foreign
entities.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders
recorded more than 30 militia attacks against
journalists between January and November.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
common in prisons and detention centres
throughout Libya, under both the
internationally recognized government and
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the Tripoli authorities, as well as militias, and
led in some cases to death.
In August, a video circulated on social
media apparently showed officials torturing
As-Saadi al-Gaddafi and other detainees at al-
Hadba Prison in Tripoli. Later videos showed
officials threatening to torture As-Saadi al-
Gaddafi.
4
The prison director said he had
suspended those responsible but it was
unclear whether an investigation by the
General Prosecutor resulted in prosecutions.
The authorities informed UNSMIL that arrests
had been carried out without providing further
details. There were reports that those
responsible went into hiding.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women remained subject to discrimination
in law and in practice, and were
inadequately protected against gender-based
violence.
Armed groups intimidated and threatened
women activists and human rights defenders
to deter them from engaging in public affairs
and advocating for women’s rights and
disarmament.
Child marriage appeared to be increasing.
Girls as young as 12 years old were reportedly
married to IS fighters in Derna to protect their
families.
In October, the Tripoli-based GNC
amended the 1984 Law on marriage, divorce
and inheritance, introducing more
discriminatory provisions against women and
girls, and increasing the potential for child
marriage. The amendments allowed men to
divorce their wives unilaterally without
obtaining court approval and prohibited
women from acting as witnesses to marriage.
Women faced arbitrary restrictions on their
freedom of movement. Those travelling
without a male companion were harassed by
militias, and in some cases prevented from
travelling abroad, in accordance with a 2012
fatwa by Libya’s Grand Mufti.
seekers and migrants in Libya in need of
protection or assistance. Many faced serious
abuses, discrimination and labour
exploitation. Members of religious minorities,
especially Christians, were particularly
targeted by armed groups seeking to enforce
their own interpretation of Islamic law.
Foreign nationals who entered Libya
irregularly were subject to extortion, torture,
abduction and sometimes sexual violence by
criminal gangs engaged in smuggling and
people trafficking.
The Tripoli-based Department of
Combating Irregular Migration continued to
hold between 2,500 and 4,000
undocumented foreign nationals in indefinite
detention at 15 centres across the country,
where many faced torture, following their
detention or interception at sea.
Amid violence and abuses, thousands
sought to leave Libya and cross the
Mediterranean Sea to Europe in unseaworthy
vessels. By 5 December, some 153,000
refugees and migrants had reached Italy by
sea, most after departing from Libya; about
2,900 drowned while attempting the journey,
according to the International Organization for
Migration.
The internationally recognized government
prohibited the regular entry into Libya of
Syrian, Palestinian, Bangladeshi and
Sudanese nationals in January, and extended
the ban to include nationals of Yemen, Iran
and Pakistan in September.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for a
wide range of crimes. Former al-Gaddafi era
officials and perceived supporters of his rule
were sentenced to death. No judicial
executions were reported.
1. Cold-blooded murder of Copts in Libya a war crime (MDE
19/0002/2015)
2. Libya: Mounting evidence of war crimes in the wake of Egypt‘s air
strikes, (News
story,
23 February)
3. Libya: Flawed trial of al-Gaddafi officials leads to appalling death
sentences (News
story,
28 July)
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In September, the UN estimated that there
were around 250,000 refugees, asylum-
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4. Libya: Allegations of torture of As-Saadi al-Gaddafi and two others
must be thoroughly investigated (MDE
19/2310/2015)
LITHUANIA
Republic of Lithuania
Head of state:
Dalia Grybauskaitė
Head of government:
Algirdas Butkevičius
An investigation continued at the national
level into allegations that Lithuania hosted a
secret site for the CIA where detainees were
tortured. A decision on a related case was
pending at the European Court of Human
Rights. Legal gender recognition remained
unavailable to transgender people.
investigate the illegal transfer, secret
detention and torture of Abu Zubaydah, who
remained detained at the US detention facility
Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. A final decision by
the European Court was pending at the end of
the year.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Arvydas Anušauskas, a Member of
Parliament and former head of a
parliamentary committee that had
investigated allegations that Lithuania hosted
a CIA secret detention facility, publicly stated
that a December 2014 report by a US Senate
committee “makes a convincing case that
prisoners were indeed held at the Lithuanian
site”. In January 2015, the NGO Reprieve
published a dossier, including new evidence
sourced by Reprieve and information from the
US Senate report, which concluded “beyond
reasonable doubt” that detainees were held in
secret CIA detention in Lithuania in 2005 and
2006.
In April, a closed investigation into the
secret site allegations was reopened and
merged with an ongoing investigation into
claims by Saudi Arabian national Mustafa al-
Hawsawi that he had been held in secret
detention in Lithuania and tortured at some
point between 2004 and 2006. The
investigation was ongoing at the end of 2015.
In September, final submissions were filed
against Lithuania at the European Court of
Human Rights in a case brought by Abu
Zubaydah, who alleged that he had been held
in secret CIA detention in Lithuania between
February 2005 and March 2006. The
Lithuanian Prosecutor General had refused to
Transgender people continued to be denied
legal gender recognition because of legislative
gaps. At the end of the year, a bill aimed at
prohibiting gender reassignment was pending
before Parliament.
Several bills on registered partnerships
were considered by Parliament. In October, a
proposal introduced by the Ministry of Justice
on registered partnerships for different-sex
couples was rejected by Parliament. The
Minister of Justice explicitly opposed
registered partnerships for same-sex couples.
At the end of the year, a proposal aimed at
banning civil partnerships for all couples and
a second proposal to establish civil
partnerships for all couples were pending.
Several bills aimed at restricting the rights of
LGBTI people were under consideration by
Parliament.
MACEDONIA
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Head of state:
Gjorge Ivanov
Head of government:
Nikola Gruevski
The publication of audio recordings not only
revealed evidence of government corruption,
but demonstrated widespread covert
surveillance. The authorities failed to
respect the rights of refugees and migrants,
including by the use of unlawful detention
and the excessive use of force.
BACKGROUND
A political crisis followed the publication of
audio recordings of conversations between
ministers, members of the ruling party
(Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
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Organization – Democratic Party for
Macedonian National Unity) and public
officials.
The recordings, made public by Zoran
Zaev, leader of the opposition Social
Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM)
revealed government corruption, abuse of
office, electoral fraud and a lack of respect for
human rights and the rule of law, including
interference in the independence of the
judiciary.
Zoran Zaev was indicted, with others, for
crimes including espionage; the government
claimed that the recordings were fabricated
by foreign intelligence services. In May, mass
demonstrations called on the Prime Minister
to resign following his suggested complicity in
covering up responsibility for the killing of a
young man at a demonstration in 2011. The
Minister of Interior and the Director of
Security and Counter-Intelligence resigned in
May.
Following an EU-brokered agreement in
June, the opposition ended their boycott of
Parliament in September. After further EU
intervention, the SDSM took up ministerial
posts in an interim government in November,
and deputy prosecutors were appointed to
investigate the alleged criminal offences
revealed in the surveillance recordings. A
package of electoral reforms required before
elections in April 2016 was not in place at the
end of the year.
imprisonment under a sentence imposed in
2013 for defamation.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
On 9 May, special police units launched an
armed operation in Kumanovo, with the
alleged aim of preventing attacks against state
and civilian targets. In heavy exchanges of
fire, 14 ethnic Albanians and eight police
officers were killed. Thirty ethnic Albanians,
including former members of the Kosovo
Liberation Army, were arrested; some alleged
that they were beaten in detention. The
Ministry of Interior ignored calls for an
independent inquiry into the operation.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Over 2,000 journalists were estimated to be
under surveillance by the government.
Published recordings indicated the indirect
financing of pro-government media, and
political influence over the appointment of
journalists and news content.
Attacks on independent journalists
continued: in April, critical journalist Borjan
Jovanovski received death threats and in July
Sashe Ivanovski was punched by a deputy
Prime Minister. Investigative journalist
Tomislav Kezarovski was released in January
from house arrest following appeal, and
international condemnation of his
At least 600,000 migrants and refugees,
predominantly from Syria, travelled through
Macedonia, aiming to seek asylum in the EU.
Before June, refugees and migrants were
routinely pushed back to Greece, at the
border and from within the country, ill-treated
by border police and subjected to arbitrary
detention, and were vulnerable to exploitation
by smugglers and attacks by armed gangs.
1
In August, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency,
reported that the asylum system was unable
to provide effective protection.
After 19 June, following an amendment to
the Law on Asylum, 388,233 refugees
registered their interest in claiming asylum at
the border. However, most travelled by train
to the Serbian border. According to Ministry
of Interior statistics, only 86 asylum
applications were submitted after 19 June.
At the time, up to 7,000 people a day were
entering the country from Greece. On 19
August, the government declared a crisis on
the border and deployed paramilitary police
and the army, which used stun grenades and
baton rounds to push refugees back or
prevent them from crossing into the country.
Police again used excessive force against
refugees at the end of August, and arbitrarily
beat refugees in September. From
19 November, only Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian
nationals were allowed to enter the country;
police initially used excessive force to deny
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access to other nationalities arbitrarily
identified as economic migrants.
Over 1,000 mainly Syrian refugees and
migrants, including children, were unlawfully
detained in inhuman and degrading
conditions at the Reception Centre for
Foreigners in Gazi Baba, Skopje. Many
alleged they were ill-treated by Ministry of
Interior guards. The centre closed during July
following international pressure, including
from the UN Committee against Torture.
However, the unlawful detention of refugees
and migrants resumed after the November
border closure; around 55 people,
predominantly Iranian and Moroccan
nationals, were detained in December.
Some 10,210 Macedonians, many of them
Roma, fled discrimination and poverty to
apply for asylum in EU countries; few were
successful.
MADAGASCAR
Republic of Madagascar
Head of state:
Hery Rajaonarimampianina
Head of government:
Jean Ravelonarivo (replaced
Roger Kolo in January)
Extrajudicial executions by security forces in
the south, in the context of action to combat
cattle theft, continued with almost total
impunity. Journalists, students,
environmental activists and others were
harassed and intimidated. Some were
sentenced to terms of imprisonment.
BACKGROUND
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
During Pride week in June, activists protested
against the authorities’ failure to investigate
attacks on the lives of LGBTI individuals and
their organizations’ premises. In January,
Parliament voted to amend the Constitution to
define marriage as solely between a man and
a woman.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In February, the government finally submitted
an action plan to the Council of Europe in the
case of German national Khaled el-Masri, as
required by the 2012 judgment of the
European Court of Human Rights, although it
failed to provide for an effective criminal
investigation into his allegations. The Court
had ruled Macedonia liable for Khaled el-
Masri's incommunicado detention, enforced
disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment
in 2003, and subsequent handover to the US
CIA, which transferred him out of Macedonia
to a secret detention site in Afghanistan.
Fifty-five years after independence,
Madagascar remained the fifth poorest
maritime country in the world with an
estimated 92% of Malagasy living on less
than US$2 per day. It was ranked bottom of
its tier in the Human Development Index.
Political instability continued, putting
national reconciliation and economic
development at risk. On 26 May, opposition
members in the National Assembly voted
overwhelmingly in favour of removing
President Rajaonarimampianina from office.
The President challenged the legitimacy of
the vote and rejected the outcome. On
13 June, the High Constitutional Court ruled
in favour of the President.
Ongoing high levels of poverty among the
majority of the population undermined access
to economic and social rights including food,
water and education, and fuelled social
tensions. An outbreak of plague in August led
to at least 10 deaths. Severe flooding between
January and March left tens of thousands of
people displaced and at least 19 dead.
Cattle theft remained a serious problem,
leading to violent clashes between villagers
and cattle rustlers, in which dozens of people
died.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
1. Europe’s borderlands: Violations of the rights of refugees and
migrants in Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary (EUR
70/1579/2015)
Widespread killings of suspected cattle
rustlers continued. A military operation,
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Fahalemana 2015, launched in mid-August
to combat cattle theft, led to a number of
violent clashes between cattle rustlers and
security forces, with killings by both sides.
Several suspected cattle rustlers were
extrajudicially executed by the military. Local
people were injured and some were killed.
The killings were not investigated and no-one
was held to account.
On 26 August, eight soldiers and 15
suspected cattle rustlers died following a
clash at Ankazoabo-Sud. Witnesses reported
indiscriminate assaults by state security
forces on villagers presumed to be cattle
rustlers. In September, at least 18 people,
including at least one police officer, three
villagers and 14 suspected cattle rustlers,
were killed during violent clashes in Ivahona
commune. According to witness testimonies,
military officers later summarily executed the
suspects.
On 2 September, the extrajudicial
executions of three people were reported after
security forces entered Tsarazaza
Maevatanana village to make documentation
checks.
suffered multiple injuries. He was given a six-
month suspended sentence in September
after being convicted on charges including
incitement to disturb public order and to
overthrow the government.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In March, UNICEF reported that 47% of
children under five suffered chronic
malnutrition, and that their living conditions
were adversely affected by factors including
homelessness, poor nutrition and lack of
access to basic health care.
PRISON CONDITIONS
Prisons were overcrowded with more than
half of all detainees in pre-trial detention.
Food rations allocated to prisoners were cut
by more than half in 2015, according to the
ICRC, posing serious threats to health.
MALAWI
Republic of Malawi
Head of state and government:
Arthur Peter Mutharika
Attacks against people with albinism
increased sharply. In May, Malawi’s human
rights record was assessed under the UPR.
The government adopted 154 out of 199
recommendations, mainly rejecting those
concerning abolition of the death penalty
and repealing sections of the Penal Code
criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct
between consenting adults.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS
Environmental activists were at risk of
imprisonment for criticizing activities by
extractive industries, in particular illegal
logging of rosewood.
On 22 May, environmental activist Armand
Marozafy was sentenced to six months’
imprisonment and ordered to pay 12 million
ariary (US$3,650) after his personal email
reporting that two local tour operators were
involved in illegal rosewood trafficking was
leaked on social media. The court in
Maroantsetra found him guilty of defamation
under a controversial cyber criminality law.
DISCRIMINATION – PEOPLE WITH
ALBINISM
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
On 31 August, the gendarmerie used
excessive force to break up a demonstration
by students at Ankatso University in the
capital, Antananarivo. Student leader Jean-
Pierre Randrianamboarina was beaten and
There was a sharp increase in attacks on
people with albinism by individuals and gangs
seeking body parts to sell for use in
witchcraft. People with albinism and their
families lived in fear of attacks and in some
instances children with albinism stopped
going to school. The Association of People
Living with Albinism in Malawi recorded at
least 19 cases of killings, attempted
abductions or disappearances. Fifteen of
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those cases involved children, 10 of them
girls.
On 19 March, the President issued a
statement condemning attacks on people with
albinism, and called on security agencies to
arrest perpetrators and provide protection to
people at risk of attack. The Minister of
Internal Security reported that eight suspects
had been arrested in connection with some of
the attacks.
In May, police reported that they had
arrested four men for abducting and killing
Symon Mukota, a man with albinism, in
December 2014. The men were caught with
the deceased’s bones after failing to find a
buyer.
In September, a primary schoolteacher,
Philip Ngulube, pleaded guilty before the
Principal Magistrate in Mzuzu of attempting to
sell a woman with albinism to a foreign
national, who reported the matter to the
police. In December four people appeared in
court after being arrested in Mchinji district in
connection with the alleged murder of
Pepuzan Prescote, a man with albinism who
had disappeared in August. The four were
remanded in custody at Lilongwe Maximum
Prison.
Ethiopia, were held in overcrowded prisons
after being charged with illegal entry and
fined US$35 or imprisoned for between two
and nine months. However, in November the
International Organization for Migration in
collaboration with the Ethiopian government
facilitated the return of 223 Ethiopians. Earlier
in the year at least 164 of the most vulnerable
cases, including minors and elderly people,
were also returned to Ethiopia. At the end of
the year, 20% of the total prison population
were awaiting trial with some having been on
remand for years without appearing before a
court.
DEATH PENALTY
After years of delay, in February the process
was begun to re-sentence death row
prisoners following the 2007 High Court ruling
declaring mandatory death sentencing
unconstitutional. Forty-six prisoners were
released immediately and five were
sentenced to terms of imprisonment.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia
Head of state:
King Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah
Head of government:
Najib Tun Razak
The crackdown on freedom of expression
and other civil and political rights
intensified. The Sedition Act was amended
and a new Prevention of Terrorism Act was
passed. Police used unnecessary or
excessive force when arresting opposition
party leaders and activists.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
During the UPR the government accepted a
recommendation to take measures to protect
LGBTI people against violence and to
prosecute the perpetrators. The authorities
also agreed to guarantee that LGBTI people
have effective access to health services,
including treatment for HIV/AIDS. The
government rejected recommendations to
repeal provisions in the Penal Code
criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual
conduct between adults.
BACKGROUND
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Concerns remained about unregistered
migrants kept in detention beyond expiry of
their custodial sentences, with limited
prospect of being released or deported. At
least 500 such detainees, mostly from
In February, the Federal Court upheld the
conviction and five-year prison sentence of
opposition leader and prisoner of conscience
Anwar Ibrahim on sodomy charges dating to
2008. The charges were seen as politically
motivated and an attempt to silence
government critics.
1
In December, a National
Security Council bill was passed by
Parliament, effectively granting expansive
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powers to an appointed Council and the
security forces.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The Sedition Act was amended in April
resulting in a further erosion of freedom of
expression.
2
The scope of offences was
amended to cover electronic media, including
harsher penalties such as mandatory and
increased prison sentences. It was used to
silence government critics. At least 15 people
were charged under the Act, including
political cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque
(“Zunar”).
3
All cases were ongoing at the end
of 2015. On 6 October, five Federal Court
judges unanimously dismissed a case
brought by law lecturer Azmi Sharom,
challenging the constitutionality of the
Sedition Act.
In March, three journalists were arrested by
police and officers from the Malaysian
Communication and Multimedia Commission
for publishing a report concerning the
Kelantan state Hudud Bill, which criminalizes
certain acts, purportedly according to Islamic
principles. The amended Bill as proposed
allows corporal and capital punishment for a
number of acts, including “adultery”.
The authorities continued to use the
Printing Presses and Publications Act to set
restrictions on and suspend media outlets
and publishing houses, and ban materials
critical of the government. Licences for print
publications, revocable by the Home Minister
and difficult for independent outlets to obtain,
remained a stringent requirement.
124 of the Penal Code for acts “detrimental to
parliamentary democracy”.
The government imposed travel bans on
some opposition members. On 29-30 August,
the Bersih 4 rallies, which demanded free
and fair elections, among other things, were
held in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota
Kinabalu despite being declared illegal by the
government.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The Prevention of Terrorism Act, passed on
7 April, allowed for the detention of terrorist
suspects without charge or trial for up to two
years, renewable without judicial review of the
reasons for detention. The Act established a
Prevention of Terrorism Board which will have
powers to make detention or restriction orders
“in the interest of the security of Malaysia” on
the advice of inquiry officers who may obtain
evidence in any form, including evidence that
would not be admissible in court. The Bar
Council and human rights groups were
concerned that the Act could lead to torture
of detainees, and could facilitate repression of
legitimate dissent and freedom of expression.
The Security Offences (Special Measures)
Act continued to be used to arbitrarily arrest
and detain people alleged to have committed
security offences. It allowed for indefinite, so-
called preventive, detention without charge or
trial and undermined fair trial rights.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
Various laws were used against organizers
and participants of peaceful protests
throughout the year. The Peaceful Assembly
Act, Sedition Act, and Sections 120, 141,
124b, 124c and 143 of the Penal Code, were
used alone or in combination against
individuals involved in a street demonstration
in February, the #KitaLawan rally in March,
and the 1 May Workers Day rally. Peaceful
protesters were often charged under Section
Unnecessary or excessive use of force and
allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of
detainees by the police continued to be
reported. Caning continued to be used as a
form of punishment. There were 11 recorded
deaths in custody as a result of alleged torture
or other ill-treatment. The government
continued to reject calls to establish an
Independent Police Complaints and
Misconduct Commission as recommended by
a Royal Commission in 2005.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Malaysia faced international criticism as
thousands of refugees and migrants from
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Myanmar and Bangladesh attempted to land
on Langkawi Island, Kedah state, in May.
Malaysia and Indonesia eventually agreed to
provide humanitarian assistance and
temporary shelter for up to 7,000 refugees
and migrants for up to one year.
4
The discovery in May and August of more
than 100 mass graves on the Thai-Malaysian
border raised renewed concerns about
human trafficking.
activists were detained and later released
after being charged with criminal offences.
The government stated that flogging would
not be removed from Maldivian law.
BACKGROUND
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty continued to be retained as
the mandatory punishment for drug
trafficking, murder and discharge of firearms
with intent to kill or harm in certain
circumstances. In November the government
announced that legislative reforms to review
the mandatory death penalty laws would be
introduced in Parliament in early 2016.
Official figures indicated that 33 executions
were carried out between 1998 and 2015,
but no further details on executions were
made publicly available.
1. Malaysia: Anwar verdict will have chilling effect on freedom of
expression (News
story, 10 February)
2. Malaysia: Human rights “black hole” expanding (ASA
28/1356/2015)
3. Malaysia: Stop politically motivated arrests under the Sedition Act
(ASA
28/1235/2015)
4. Indonesia/Malaysia/Thailand: Further information: Ensure the safety
of refugees and migrants (ASA
01/1786/2015)
MALDIVES
Republic of Maldives
Head of state and government:
Abdulla Yameen Abdul
Gayoom
Judicial overreach included curtailing the
independence of the Human Rights
Commission of Maldives, which the
government failed to defend. Judicial
impartiality was a serious concern. Leading
political opponents of the government were
sentenced to long-term imprisonment after
grossly unfair trials. Hundreds of opposition
The Supreme Court increasingly assumed the
role of a legislature by unilaterally issuing
rulings that had the force of law, some of
which undermined human rights. One such
ruling reduced the period for launching an
appeal from 90 to 10 days, making it
extremely difficult for prisoners to prepare
their appeal. Another severely undermined
the constitutional independence of the
Human Rights Commission of the Maldives
(HRCM) when the Supreme Court declared
that it should “work like a ministry or an
extension of the government instead of an
independent body”. The government failed to
ensure the Commission’s independence.
Maldives’ human rights record was
assessed under the UPR in May. It focused
on a range of human rights concerns,
including flaws within the judicial system that
had not been addressed since the previous
UPR.
The new Penal Code finally came into force
in July. There were reports that some people
had been charged and tried under the new
Code. They included two women sentenced
by a Hithadhoo court to 100 lashes and
several months house arrest, each for giving
birth to a child years ago without being
married.
UNFAIR TRIALS
Constitutional safeguards for the right to a fair
trial were increasingly eroded. Although the
government maintained that due process was
followed, severe irregularities were revealed
during a series of trials leading to the long-
term imprisonment of the government’s
political opponents. They included the trials of
former President Mohamed Nasheed,
sentenced in March to 13 years for allegedly
ordering the detention of a judge during his
presidency; former Defence Minister
Mohamed Nazim, sentenced in March to 11
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years for allegedly keeping an unlicensed
weapon; and former Deputy Speaker of
Parliament Ahmed Nazim, sentenced in
March to 25 years for alleged corruption.
1
In these cases, the lawyers for the accused
were not given adequate time to prepare their
defence and the right of the defence to call
and examine witnesses was either denied or
severely limited. Impartiality was a serious
concern. In Mohamed Nasheed’s trial, two of
the three judges who tried and convicted him
had themselves acted as witness to the
alleged offence by signing a witness
statement as part of the initial complaint. In
the former Defence Minister’s trial, some of
the documents provided by the prosecution
and used as evidence at the trial were never
shown to the defence.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention concluded in October that the
detention of Mohamed Nasheed was
politically motivated and his trial unfair. The
Working Group stated that “the adequate
remedy would be to release Mr Nasheed
immediately and accord him an enforceable
right to compensation”. The government
rejected the Working Group’s opinion.
death threats, and police failed to carry out
effective investigations and bring the
perpetrators to justice. Political rallies were
attacked by gangs suspected of working in
collaboration with the police. None of the
attackers, even those allegedly known to the
police, had been brought to justice by the end
of the year.
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING
PUNISHMENT
Courts continued to sentence people, the vast
majority of them women, to flogging, most
commonly for fornication.
2
The sentences
were carried out. Despite flogging constituting
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,
and concerns voiced by the CEDAW
Committee in February, the government
stated that they would not remove the
punishment from Maldivian law.
DEATH PENALTY
No executions have been carried out for more
than 60 years, but the government continued
to declare that people sentenced to death
would be executed.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
1. Maldives: Assault on civil and political rights (ASA
29/1501/2015)
2. 60th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women: The Republic of Maldives - review of the combined
fourth and fifth periodic report (ASA
29/002/2015)
Judicial impartiality remained a serious
concern which the government failed to
address. The authorities frequently claimed
that they would not address any complaints
against the judiciary because courts were
independent. At the same time, the
government failed to strengthen the Judicial
Services Commission to enable it to address
impartiality and other issues related to the
judiciary.
MALI
Republic of Mali
Head of state:
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Head of government:
Modibo Keïta (replaced Moussa
Mara in January)
The internal armed conflict perpetuated a
climate of insecurity, particularly in the
north, despite the signing of a peace
agreement. Crimes under international law
and abuses by armed groups persisted in
different parts of the country.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Hundreds of political opponents of the
government taking part in peaceful
demonstrations were arrested, detained for
days or weeks, and released only after having
conditions imposed preventing them from
taking part in future demonstrations for a
certain period. Journalists, human rights
defenders and opposition politicians received
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BACKGROUND
Violent clashes and insecurity threatened
different parts of the country with attacks
against government forces and the UN
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization
Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). In June, the
government and the Co-ordination of the
Movement of Azawad (CMA) signed a peace
agreement in Algiers, Algeria, that included
initiatives for further decentralization and the
establishment of an international Commission
of Inquiry to investigate crimes under
international law, including war crimes,
crimes against humanity, genocide and
crimes of sexual violence. The peace
agreement also provided that there would be
no amnesty for those suspected of criminal
responsibility for the named crimes. In order
to remove any obstacle to the CMA signing
the peace agreement, arrest warrants were
lifted against 15 of its members who faced
charges including sedition and terrorism, and
others were later released from detention in
the capital, Bamako. In the same month, the
MINUSMA mandate was extended by one
year. At the end of the year, armed groups
still controlled Kidal, one of the largest
northern cities. In November, a nationwide
state of emergency was declared following an
attack on the Radisson Hotel in Bamako; it
was extended to the end of March 2016.
Clashes between armed groups, MINUSMA
and government forces continued, leading to
over 250 casualties – including over 60
civilians.
In August, a former minister and member
of the political opposition, Ousmane Oumarou
Sidibé, was made president of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (CVJR).
More than 130,000 Malian refugees were
still in neighbouring countries, and over
60,000 people remained internally displaced.
In July, members of the armed group al-
Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
attacked MINUSMA soldiers on the road
between Goundam and Timbuktu, killing six
MINUSMA soldiers and injuring five. In
August, an armed group attacked a residency
for UN subcontractors in Sévaré, killing over
10 people, including foreign nationals.
In October, six civilians were killed and two
injured after armed men used landmines and
rocket launchers to attack a convoy of
vehicles between Gossi and Gao in the north.
Vehicles belonging to MINUSMA
subcontractors were the main targets.
In November, armed groups killed 19
civilians during a siege at the Radisson Hotel
in Bamako in which more than 150 people
were taken hostage. Both Al-Mourabitoun and
the Massina Liberation Front claimed
responsibility.
At the end of the year Stephen McGowan
and John Gustafsson, kidnapped by
members of AQIM in northern Mali in 2011,
were still being held hostage.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
In January, MINUSMA soldiers fired live
bullets at civilians outside a UN base in Gao,
killing three and injuring four others during a
violent demonstration against the UN plan to
create a buffer zone in the northern town of
Tabankort. In March, the victims’ families
filed complaints against MINUSMA for
murder; a UN investigation recognized
MINUSMA officers as responsible for the
deaths and said that the police unit had used
unauthorized and excessive force. The full
report of the investigation was not made
public.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
In March, a masked gunman opened fire in a
bar-restaurant in Bamako, killing three
Malians and two foreign nationals. The armed
group Al-Mourabitoun claimed responsibility
for the attack.
In August, around 200 people peacefully
protested against heavy taxation in the
western town of Yélimané, in the Kayes
region. One day later, the police arrested 17
members of the Yélimané Dagkane
association; they were later charged with
inciting revolt, opposing legitimate authority
and participation in an unauthorized protest.
1
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Two other members, Bakary Diambou and
Daman Konte, were also arrested in Bamako
and charged with inciting rebellion. All were
provisionally released in November.
MALTA
Republic of Malta
Head of state:
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
Head of government:
Joseph Muscat
There was a further reduction in the number
of refugees and migrants entering Malta
irregularly by boat or disembarked there
after search and rescue operations.
Authorities continued to automatically
detain them, but introduced a review
process to assess the reasons for detention
in each case, leading to a shortening of
detention periods. New legislation was
approved to advance transgender and
intersex people’s rights. Abortion remained
prohibited in all circumstances.
IMPUNITY
In Bamako in March, seven human rights
organizations filed complaints on behalf of 33
victims, against 15 people, for war crimes and
crimes against humanity committed in 2012.
In June, the authorities lifted arrest warrants
issued against 15 CMA officials suspected of
committing crimes under international law.
In October, the UN Independent Expert on
the situation of human rights in Mali
expressed deep concern about the time taken
to investigate and bring to trial cases of war
crimes and human rights violations
committed during the 2012 conflict. In the
same month, eight supporters of General
Amadou Sanogo, leader of the military junta
that ruled Mali for part of 2012, escaped from
prison. They were facing trial for the murder
and kidnapping of “red beret” soldiers who
had opposed the 2012 military coup. At the
end of the year, General Sanogo and 29
others, including General Ibrahim Dahirou
Dembélé, were still in detention and awaiting
trial for murder and complicity in kidnapping
of the “red berets”.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In September, Ahmed Al Faqi Al Mahdi,
member of armed opposition group
Ansardine and allegedly head of the Manners
Brigade (also known as Hesbah), which
occupied northern Mali in 2012, was
surrendered to the ICC by Niger, following the
issuance of a warrant of arrest against him.
He is suspected of war crimes over the
destruction of nine mausoleums and a
mosque in Timbuktu in 2012. The
preliminary hearings were due to be held in
January 2016.
1. Mali must release 17 prisoners of conscience detained for two months
(AFR
37/2675/2015)
Malta participated under the Frontex Triton
operation in the rescue of refugees and
migrants crossing the central Mediterranean
irregularly on overcrowded and unseaworthy
vessels. However, authorities maintained a
restrictive interpretation of search and rescue
obligations at sea. By the end of the year, 104
people had arrived on Malta irregularly by
boat. This was a reduction over previous
numbers as most people rescued at sea were
disembarked in Italy.
In January, a boat carrying about 122
people from sub-Saharan Africa drifted in the
central Mediterranean for about eight days.
When it eventually reached Maltese territorial
waters, about 35 people had either died or
disappeared at sea. Maltese authorities
rescued the 87 men found alive on board and
disembarked them in Malta, where they were
placed in precautionary quarantine due to
fears they could carry diseases. The asylum-
seekers remained held there even after the
quarantine was lifted.
The authorities continued to automatically
detain asylum-seekers and migrants arriving
irregularly, in breach of international law
obligations. However, a review process to
assess the grounds for detention in each
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individual case was introduced in practice,
and then codified through subsidiary
legislation adopted in December. The
introduction of such a review process,
combined with the reduced number of
arrivals, led to most people being released
within three months, a significant reduction in
the length of detention. In December, the
government adopted a new policy aiming at
the abolition of automatic detention, to align
with EU legislation and previous judgments of
the European Court of Human Rights.
In January, the Minister of Interior told
Parliament that no records had been kept
between 2004 and 2012 of allegations of
excessive use of force by officers of the
detention services against refugees and
migrants in detention, nor of any related
investigation or disciplinary proceedings.
Serious abuses against detainees had been
described within the findings of the inquiry,
published in December 2014, on the death in
custody of Malian national Mamadou Kamara
in 2012.
In May, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
human rights of migrants published his report
on his December 2014 visit to Malta. His
recommendations included that detention of
migrants should not be automatic but
decided on a case-by-case basis, and that all
detainees should have full access to justice,
including a more accountable system for
lodging complaints within detention and
reception centres.
As of the end of November, Malta had
received 1,561 asylum applications. The vast
majority were submitted by individuals who
had been able to travel regularly to Malta or
who had been living in the country already
before the reason for their asylum application
materialized, particularly Libyan nationals.
In June, the government initiated
consultations aimed at the adoption of a
National Migrant Integration Strategy to
facilitate non-EU nationals’ integration within
Maltese society.
At the end of the year, the government was
still refusing to disclose detailed information
about the search and rescue operation of a
trawler carrying over 400 people which sank
in October 2013, resulting in about 200
deaths. According to testimonies from
survivors and other evidence, failures by
Italian and Maltese authorities delayed the
rescue operation.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In April, Parliament approved unanimously
the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and
Sex Characteristics (GIGESC) Act. Welcomed
by LGBTI organizations internationally, the
Act includes ground-breaking provisions for
the advancement of transgender and intersex
people’s rights. It prohibits discrimination on
grounds of gender identity and provides for a
simplified procedure allowing transgender
individuals to obtain legal recognition of their
gender without the requirement to undergo
any medical treatment or psychological
assessment. The Act also outlaws any sex
assignment treatment or surgical intervention
on the sex characteristics of an intersex
minor, if these can be deferred until the
person can provide informed consent. At the
end of the year, over 40 people were reported
as having obtained legal recognition of their
gender on the basis of the new legislation,
doubling the total number recorded in the
previous 15 years.
In January, for the first time the Maltese
Refugee Commissioner granted international
protection to a transgender person on
grounds of gender identity. The parliament
had amended the Constitution in 2014 to
protect individuals against discrimination on
grounds of sexual orientation or gender
identity.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Women continued to be denied access to
abortion, which remained prohibited in all
circumstances, including when the woman’s
life is at risk.
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MAURITANIA
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Head of state:
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Head of government:
Yahya Ould Hademine
Three anti-slavery activists were imprisoned
and a blogger received a death sentence for
apostasy, as restrictions on freedoms of
expression and assembly increased; a new
law on civil society associations further
threatened these freedoms. Conditions of
detention remained harsh, while the
practice of torture and other ill-treatment
was widespread, with long periods of police
custody allowed by anti-terrorist legislation.
New laws defined torture and slavery as
crimes against humanity and strengthened
measures to combat them.
BACKGROUND
In November, Mauritania’s human rights
record was investigated under the UPR.
1
Mauritania adopted more than 136
recommendations, including the
establishment of a national mechanism to
combat torture. It rejected 58
recommendations, including the abolition of
the death penalty and removing the crime of
apostasy from legislation.
Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist
Movement in Mauritania, to two years in
prison for belonging to an unrecognized
organization, participating in an unauthorized
assembly and assaulting security officers. The
three activists were arrested in November
2014 with other protesters while campaigning
against slavery and raising awareness among
the local population of the land rights of
people of slave descent. Their sentences were
upheld by the Appeal Court of Aleg in August
3
2015.
In August, the UN Special Rapporteur on
the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association called on the National
Assembly to reject a draft law on civil society
associations that had been approved by the
Council of Ministers without public
consultation.
In November, retired colonel Oumar Ould
Beibacar was arrested at a political rally in the
capital Nouakchott, during which he spoke of
the extrajudicial execution of military officers
in the 1990s. He was detained at the
Nouakchott Directorate for National Security
and released six days later but remained
under judicial supervision.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY
AND ASSOCIATION
Freedoms of expression and assembly were
curtailed, which led to the detention of
prisoners of conscience.
In December 2014, Mohamed Mkhaïtir, a
blogger who was held in pre-trial detention for
almost a year, was sentenced to death for
apostasy at the Nouadhibou Court in
northwest Mauritania. He had written a blog
criticizing the use of religion to marginalize
certain groups in society, and was still in
2
detention at the end of 2015.
In January, the Rosso Court in southern
Mauritania sentenced Brahim Bilal Ramdane,
Djiby Sow and Biram Dah Abeid, a former
presidential candidate and president of the
Prisoners suspected of belonging to al-Qa’ida
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the
armed group Islamic State (IS), as well as
women and children, were subjected to
torture and other ill-treatment. These
practices were routinely used to extract
“confessions” and punish and humiliate
suspects. The use of torture and other ill-
treatment was also facilitated by the 2010
anti-terrorist law, which allowed for detainees
suspected of terrorist acts to be held in police
custody for up to 45 days. This limit was
regularly exceeded, including by more than a
year in one case.
One prisoner in the Nouakchott civil prison,
arrested in April 2015 and accused of
belonging to IS, was allegedly tortured while
in pre-trial detention. His eyes were
blindfolded, and he was handcuffed,
punched, and beaten with batons. After
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seven days he said he was forced to sign a
“confession”. He alleged torture at his
hearing in June 2015, but was ignored and
convicted. There has been no investigation
into his allegations.
One woman was allegedly tortured in pre-
trial detention, where she said officers tore
her clothes and slapped her to force a
confession. After her trial, she was taken out
of prison and brought to a police station
where she was again beaten. The prison
authorities saw the bruising on her body upon
her return and the case was brought to the
attention of the public prosecutor.
Children were also beaten in both pre-trial
detention and in prison, where they shared a
courtyard with adults. One of them reported
being handcuffed and beaten for four days so
he would confess. Other reported torture
methods included being whipped with cables,
suspended from the ceiling and having water
poured into the nostrils.
Prisoners in the Salahdine prison reported
that they were never allowed to practise any
exercise in the courtyard and that the water
given to them was dirty, making some of them
ill.
In August, new laws defined torture as a
crime against humanity, prohibited secret
detention and created a national body with a
mandate to investigate detention centres at
any time.
October, after the adoption of the law on
torture. They remained disappeared at the
end of the year.
The authorities have still not opened an
investigation into the cases of 14 men
convicted of terrorism-related offences, who
were victims of enforced disappearance in
2011. They were held in harsh conditions in
Salahdine prison, where one of them died in
May 2014; the remaining 13 were transferred
to Nouakchott central prison in May and July
2014.
SLAVERY
In August, a new law was adopted against
slavery (amending the 2007 law), defining
slavery as a crime against humanity, doubling
the prison term for offenders and defining 10
types of slavery, including forced marriage.
In December, two people were placed in
detention and charged with acts of slavery.
DEATH PENALTY
Although no executions were carried out in
over 20 years and in spite of a de facto
moratorium, death sentences continued to be
imposed. In July, two men were sentenced to
death after being convicted of the rape of a
young girl. In December, one person who had
been sentenced to death for terrorist acts
escaped from the Nouakchott central prison.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
1. Mauritania: Actions speak louder than words: Amnesty International
submission to the Universal Periodic Review, November 2015 (AFR
38/1813/2015)
2. Mauritania must immediately release Mohamed Mkhaïtir, blogger
sentenced to death for apostasy (AFR
38/0002/2015)
3. Mauritania must immediately release jailed anti-slavery activists and
human rights defenders (AFR
38/0001/2015);
Mauritania: Anti-
slavery activist’s harsh sentence upheld on appeal (News
story,
20
August)
In February, Khadim Ould Semen, Mohamed
Ould Cbih and Mohamed Khaled Ould
Ahmed, three prisoners sentenced to death
for a shooting at Tourine, were victims of
enforced disappearance. They were part of a
sit-in organized in prison after a prisoner was
not released on the due date. Prison
authorities reported that violence occurred
during the sit-in. The prison guards fired tear
gas canisters and beat the prisoners with
batons before taking the three men away,
who have not been seen since. In July, the
Minister of Justice said that he was unable to
clarify their whereabouts and that a
delegation would be allowed to visit them in
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MEXICO
United Mexican States
Head of state and government:
Enrique Peña Nieto
Impunity persisted for grave human rights
violations including torture and other ill-
treatment, enforced disappearances and
extrajudicial executions. More than 27,000
people remained missing or disappeared.
Human rights defenders and journalists
continued to be threatened, harassed or
killed. The number of detentions,
deportations and complaints of abuse of
irregular migrants by the authorities
increased significantly. Violence against
women continued to be widespread. Large-
scale development and resource exploitation
projects were carried out without a legal
framework regarding the free, prior and
informed consent of Indigenous
communities they affected. The Supreme
Court upheld same-sex couples´ rights to
marry and adopt children.
as a bill before Congress to create special
economic zones in the impoverished south.
Other measures announced in the package
such as new laws on torture and
disappearances had yet to be implemented.
The share of people living in poverty rose
from 45.5% to 46.2% between 2012 and
2014, according to official data released in
July. The share of those living in extreme
poverty decreased from 9.8% to 9.5% in the
same period.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that 40
days of pre-charge detention (arraigo) is
constitutional for serious offences, a practice
that has been condemned by several treaty
bodies.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
BACKGROUND
President Peña Nieto reached the middle of
his six-year administration term. The ruling
Institutional Revolutionary Party retained a
majority in elections to renew the lower house
of the National Congress; several states
elected governors and other local officials.
A new General Transparency Law enacted
in May strengthened protections on the right
to access information.
The government defended its education
reforms against mass protests from teacher
unions and social movements. It prosecuted
members of teacher unions in cases that
appeared to be politically motivated and
transferred four defendants to a maximum
security prison in October.
A 10-point security plan, announced in
November 2014 by President Peña Nieto
after mass demonstrations against the
enforced disappearance of 43 students,
resulted in a number of state governments
taking control over municipal police, as well
Violence related to organized crime remained
a serious concern. Despite official figures
reporting a slight increase in homicides from
35,930 in 2014 to 36,126 in 2015, the
figures combined manslaughters and
murders, omitting the fact that the monthly
average number of murders increased by 7%.
While fewer soldiers were deployed in law
enforcement operations, numerous human
rights violations were still attributed to armed
forces. There were plans to increase the
presence of marines in law enforcement
tasks.
Human rights violations at the hands of
armed forces and police remained common,
especially in the states of Tamaulipas,
Michoacán and Guerrero, where major
security operations were carried out.
In April, the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights deemed that the 2014 reform
to the Code of Military Justice did not fully
comply with several of the Court’s previous
rulings, since it failed to exclude from military
jurisdiction human rights violations committed
against members of the armed forces.
Congress failed to further reform the Code to
comply with the Court’s rulings.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
Perpetrators of extrajudicial executions
continued to enjoy almost absolute impunity.
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For the second consecutive year, the
authorities published no statistics on the
number of people killed or wounded in
clashes with the police and military forces, as
part of the fight against organized crime.
Journalists alleged that 16 unarmed people
were killed by federal police officers and other
security forces in Apatzingán, Michoacán, in
January. The National Human Rights
Commission ordered an investigation into the
killings. More than 40 people were killed in
May during a police operation in Tanhuato,
Michoacán. Investigations into the crimes
were not made public and no one had been
prosecuted at the end of the year.
In June, the NGO Centro Prodh uncovered
that a military order “to take down criminals”
(meant as “to kill” in this context) was the
basis for operations carried out in 2014 in
Tlatlaya, state of Mexico, when soldiers killed
22 people who allegedly belonged to a gang.
The authorities claimed that the event was a
shootout with gunmen, but the National
Human Rights Commission and a special
congressional commission of inquiry
separately concluded that a majority of people
were shot when they no longer posed a
threat. Seven soldiers were arrested, but only
three remained in jail pending trial at the end
of the year. The Federal Attorney General’s
Office did not investigate any military officers
or others with command responsibility who
failed to prevent or stop these crimes.
tackle torture were announced, including
internal investigation guidelines on torture
from the Federal Attorney General's Office.
On 10 December, President Peña Nieto
presented a bill to Congress for a General Law
on Torture, resulting from a constitutional
reform that enabled Congress to legislate on
torture and disappearances at federal and
state levels.
As in previous years, the special medical
examination procedure of the Federal
Attorney General’s Office for cases of alleged
torture was not applied in most cases, with a
backlog of more than 1,600 requests on file.
1
Officials generally failed to apply the
procedure in compliance with the principles
of the Istanbul Protocol. In many cases,
investigations into torture and other ill-
treatment did not advance without the
presence of an official examination.
Independent medical experts continued to
face obstacles to carry out their work and
have their examinations accepted as evidence
in criminal trials.
In September, in its first ruling on the
country, the UN Committee against Torture
found that the torture by soldiers of four men
in 2009 who had been charged with crimes
including kidnapping breached the UN
Convention against Torture. Following the
ruling, the four men were acquitted of all
charges; however, the soldiers had not been
charged at the end of the year.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
widespread among law enforcement and
investigative officials and little progress was
made to eradicate it. Authorities denied the
magnitude of the problem, while torture
complaints at both federal and state levels
persisted. The government was unable to
provide information on any charges laid or
sentences handed down at a federal level. In
April, three police officers were charged with
torture in Baja California state; the charges
were rejected by a judge and appealed by the
prosecutor.
Legislative and policy developments to
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Enforced disappearances with the
involvement of the state and disappearances
committed by non-state actors continued to
be widespread. By the end of the year, the
government reported that 27,638 people
(20,203 men and 7,435 women) were
missing but did not specify how many were
subjected to enforced disappearance. The
few criminal investigations that took place into
these cases were generally flawed, with
authorities failing to search for the victims.
Impunity for these crimes remained almost
absolute. In October, the Attorney General
created a Special Prosecutor’s Office to
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handle cases of disappeared or missing
people.
Groups of victims and their families as well
as human rights organizations engaged in a
national debate and produced a series of
requirements for the General Law on
Disappearances. On 10 December, President
Peña Nieto sent a bill to Congress which fell
short of international standards.
In January, the Federal Attorney General
again stated that 43 students from a teacher
training college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, who
were forcibly disappeared in September 2014
and remained missing, were killed, burned
and dumped in a river. The remains of one
student were identified, but the whereabouts
of the other 42 remained undisclosed. In
September, an Interdisciplinary Group of
Independent Experts (GIEI) appointed by the
Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights determined that the investigation was
seriously flawed and concluded that the
conditions of the site made it impossible to
burn the bodies in the way described by the
authorities. The GIEI confirmed that military
intelligence agents in plain clothes followed
and watched the students during the attacks
and detentions, and that municipal, state and
federal authorities were aware of the attacks.
By the end of the year, approximately 100
people had been arrested and were on trial,
but none had been charged with enforced
disappearance.
established. The number of requests for
protection under the Mechanism remained
steady and approximately 90% of requests
were admitted. Impunity for threats and acts
of aggression remained.
In June, Mayan journalist Pedro Canche
was released after spending nine months in
pre-trial detention under unsubstantiated
charges of sabotage brought against him as a
reprisal for peacefully exercising his right to
freedom of expression. Other journalists
continued to be harassed by authorities,
some of whom fled their hometown or
suspended their work for fear of reprisals. In
July, photojournalist Rubén Espinosa Becerril,
activist Nadia Dominique Vera Pérez and
three other women were found dead in an
apartment in Mexico City. Both Rubén
Espinosa and Nadia Vera had left the state of
Veracruz months earlier due to threats.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
AND JOURNALISTS
The Supreme Court continued to analyze a
legal challenge to Mexico City’s 2014 Law on
Mobility. The law threatens freedom of
peaceful assembly, including through a prior
authorization regime for demonstrations, a
lack of provisions on spontaneous
demonstrations and government powers to
ban protests in specific places. Amnesty
International and other international
organizations submitted a joint
amicus
brief to
the Court, arguing that certain provisions in
the law violate international law standards.
Human rights defenders and journalists
continued to be threatened, harassed,
attacked or killed. Those defending the
environment and land rights continued to be
at particular risk. A number of journalists
working on issues related to the state of
Veracruz were killed. The federal Mechanism
for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
and Journalists lacked resources and co-
ordination, which left human rights defenders
and journalists inadequately protected. The
Prevention, Monitoring and Analysis Unit was
installed three years after the Mechanism was
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Violence against women and girls remained
endemic, including killings, abductions and
sexual violence. The National System for the
Prevention, Sanction and Eradication of
Violence against Women announced for the
first time the activation of a “Gender Alert”
mechanism in the state of Morelos and parts
of the state of Mexico. The “Gender Alert” is
designed to mobilize authorities to combat
widespread gender-based violence and elicit
an effective, official response to cases of
violence.
In July, five men were handed multiple life
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sentences for the abduction, sexual
exploitation and killing of 11 women in the US
border town Ciudad Juárez, whose remains
were found in the desert surrounding the
town in 2012. The court’s ruling recognized
the endemic nature of gender-based violence
in the area, and ordered new investigations
for other perpetrators involved.
by migration authorities, police and the
military were registered along Mexico’s
southern border.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Migrants and asylum-seekers passing through
Mexico continued to be subjected to mass
abductions, extortion, disappearances and
other abuses committed by organized crime
groups, often working in collusion with state
agents. A majority of reported abductions took
place in the state of Tamaulipas. Mass
attacks against migrants by criminal groups
persisted throughout the country, with no
proper investigations nor access to justice
and reparations for victims. In June, armed
men attacked a group of approximately 120
Central American migrants in Sonora state; no
investigation had been carried out at the end
of the year. An expert forensic commission
formed in 2013 to identify remains of
migrants massacred in San Fernando,
Tamaulipas, and nearby municipalities
reported on the identification of victims to
relatives in Central America. Authorities
continued to obstruct the Commission’s work
by withholding information and complicating
the delivery of remains to families.
The flow of refugees and migrants from
Central America continued to increase, many
of them leaving their country due to violence.
The implementation of the Southern Border
Plan led to increased numbers of
deportations and detentions of migrants
entering the country. As of November,
178,254 irregular migrants had been
apprehended and detained by the National
Institute of Migration, compared with 127,149
in 2014; however, this was not reflected by a
commensurate increase in the number of
asylum claims granted. The number of
deportations of Central American migrants by
Mexico overtook those by the USA.
Complaints of heavy-handed joint operations
The country still lacked a legal framework on
the right of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior
and informed consent regarding development
projects affecting their lands and traditional
way of life. Two Indigenous Yaqui leaders who
had been imprisoned for protesting against
the construction of an aqueduct were
released because of a lack of evidence
against them. The aqueduct’s operation,
however, continued even after a national
anthropology authority found that it
threatened the survival of the Indigenous
community.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
The government reacted harshly to
international criticism of its human rights
record. In March, the UN Special Rapporteur
on torture was publicly questioned after he
published a report describing torture as
widespread in the country. A report on
Mexico by the UN Committee on Enforced
Disappearances was described by the
government as “not contributing additional
elements” to address the problem.
In May, the Supreme Court decided that
the country was not bound to comply with
judgments of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights that relate to restrictions on
human rights contained in the Constitution.
The decision contradicted international law
and risks perpetuating human rights
violations such as
arraigo.
For the first time since 1996, the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights
visited Mexico in September to assess the
human rights situation. In its preliminary
observations the Commission highlighted,
among others, the issues of torture, enforced
disappearances, violence against women and
extrajudicial executions, and expressed
concern about the impunity for such crimes.
The UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights visited the country for a similar
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purpose and stated that “there is broad
consensus nationally, regionally and
internationally on the gravity of the human
rights situation in Mexico today”.
1. Paper promises, daily impunity: Mexico's torture epidemic continues
(AMR
41/2676/2015)
MOLDOVA
Republic of Moldova
Head of state:
Nicolae Timofti
Head of government:
Gheorghe Brega (replaced
Valeriu Streleț in October as acting Prime Minister,
who replaced Chiril Gaburici in July, who replaced
Iurie Leancă in February)
Corruption scandals and economic
deterioration prompted a series of anti-
government protests. The number of
registered complaints of torture and other
ill-treatment slightly decreased, while
impunity for torture persisted. The Chişinău
Pride march took place under police
protection but hate crimes on the basis of
sexual orientation or gender identity were
not effectively addressed.
several high-profile resignations, including of
three successive Prime Ministers in the
course of the year.
Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of
Moldova and former Prime Minister Vladimir
Filat was stripped of his parliamentary
immunity by an unexpected vote in
Parliament on 15 October, and remanded as
a suspect in a corruption case.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
BACKGROUND
In May, it transpired that US$1 billion had
disappeared from three Moldovan banks
through questionable transactions in
November 2014. On 6 September, tens of
thousands of people attended a peaceful
demonstration in the capital, Chişinău,
demanding the resignation of the President
and the government, and hundreds of
protesters camped in tents in the city centre.
Eight activists from a left-wing party tried to
forcibly enter the Prosecutor General's Office
and were detained; their leader, Grigore
Petrenco, and six others were repeatedly
remanded and accused of trying to incite
mass disturbances. A handful of protesters
were still camping in central Chişinău at the
end of the year.
Political and media revelations led to
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees by
the police persisted, in spite of ongoing
reform of the Ministry of Interior. The
Prosecutor General’s Office registered 319
complaints during the first half of the year, a
negligible reduction from the same period in
2014. Impunity remained a concern, with
criminal investigations initiated in 53 cases,
and only six reported convictions resulting in
imprisonment for the perpetrators.
The persistent issue of inhuman and
degrading conditions in pre-trial detention
gained new prominence in connection with
public awareness of the detention of Vladimir
Filat and of members of the “Grigore
Petrenco group”.
On 30 June, the Supreme Court of Justice
reviewed the four-year sentence of former
Minister of Interior Gheorghe Papuc, who had
been convicted of negligence during events
on 7 April 2009 that had resulted in the death
of Valeriu Boboc and dozens of injured street
protesters. The Court issued him with a fine of
MDL20,000 (US$1,000) instead and
acquitted Vladimir Botnari, former police
commissioner of Chişinău, who had
previously been given a two-year conditional
sentence.
In March the Chişinău Court of Appeal
found a former police officer guilty of “abuse
of power and intentional infliction of serious
bodily or health injury” in connection with the
death of Valeriu Boboc, and sentenced him to
10 years’ imprisonment. The officer had fled
Moldova and was sentenced in his absence.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Television viewers across the country
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complained of unexplained broadcast
interruptions by Jurnal TV in early September,
prompting speculation that the disruption had
been caused by national telecommunications
operator Moldtelecom to limit the coverage of
the 6 September mass protest in Chişinău.
Some cable television providers reportedly
took Jurnal TV off air at the same time, citing
technical issues.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
An LGBTI march took place on 17 May in
Chişinău, under police protection. Counter-
demonstrators, including Orthodox Christian
activists, attempted to disrupt the event and
pelted eggs and firecrackers at the
participants. Five attackers were arrested by
the police but it is unknown whether they
were charged with any offence.
once it goes into effect in September 2016.
Impunity for torture and other ill-treatment,
particularly by law enforcement officials
during interrogations to obtain
“confessions”, remained widespread.
Residents of urban areas continued to be at
risk of forced eviction. Discrimination and
harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people
remained of concern. Journalists often
practised self-censorship for fear of
prosecution. Human rights defenders and
journalists continued to raise increased
difficulties in carrying out human rights
work.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
DISCRIMINATION
Hate crimes, which are not a distinct crime
under the Criminal Code, remained under-
reported and poorly investigated, instead
being qualified as hooliganism or robbery.
LGBTI organization GenderDoc-M
registered at least four instances of hate
crimes and 19 hate-motivated incidents.
In September, the Supreme Court of
Justice overturned the decision of the lower
court and acquitted Bishop Marchel of the
Moldovan Orthodox Church of hate speech,
incitement to discrimination and spreading
false information. The Bishop had called for
LGBTI individuals to be barred from working
in educational, catering and medical
institutions because, he claimed, "92% of
them have HIV”.
Impunity persisted for many allegations of
torture and other ill-treatment committed by
law enforcement officials. Since the closure in
2014 of the Special Investigation Unit,
complaints of torture against law enforcement
officers were investigated by police
themselves and not an independent body,
raising concerns regarding impartiality. Only
certain officials tasked with investigation
within the justice system were considered
liable under Article 251 of the Criminal Code,
thereby potentially allowing others suspected
of extracting forced testimonies to escape
accountability. Complaints of mental torture
were dropped more often than those of
physical ill-treatment because of alleged
difficulties in establishing the facts.
UNFAIR TRIALS
MONGOLIA
Mongolia
Head of state:
Tsakhia Elbegdorj
Head of government:
Chimediin Saikhanbileg
In December, a new Criminal Code was
passed, fully abolishing the death penalty
Regular instances of denial of pre-trial rights
continued to be reported, such as the right to
freedom from torture and other ill-treatment,
as well as the rights to access health care,
families and lawyers. Instances were reported
of police and prosecutors using deception
and intimidation against suspects and their
family members.
HOUSING RIGHTS – FORCED EVICTIONS
Residents of
ger
districts (areas without
adequate access to essential services) of the
capital, Ulaanbaatar, claimed that they were
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under constant fear of forcible eviction from
their homes. Problems were exacerbated by
the lack of transparency in city development
plans and lack of clear prohibition against
forced evictions in law or policy. Some
residents of Bayanzurkh district in
Ulaanbaatar claimed they were harassed and
threatened into signing development plans
and contracts to turn over their land.
MONTENEGRO
Montenegro
Head of state:
Filip Vujanović
Head of government:
Milo Djukanović
Threats and attacks against independent
media and journalists continued; few
perpetrators were brought to justice. Police
used excessive force during mass protests
organized by opposition parties against the
government’s failure to address poverty,
crime and corruption.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people continued to face widespread
discrimination. According to an LGBTI rights
organization, police officers were often
reluctant to intervene. Their responses to
LGBTI people alleging discrimination revealed
deeply discriminatory attitudes, and they
often became abusers themselves by further
harassing individuals.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
Defamation laws, as outlined in Mongolia's
criminal and civil laws, were used against
journalists reporting content deemed
offensive, including corruption and the
activities of legislators. Many journalists and
independent publications practised a degree
of self-censorship due to fear of legal
reprisals.
DEATH PENALTY
In December a new Criminal Code removing
the death penalty for all crimes was adopted
by the State Great Hural (Parliament). At least
two individuals were sentenced to death,
including one who was reported to have been
17 years old when the crime was committed.
One of the sentences was commuted to 25
years’ imprisonment on appeal.
1
In October the State Prosecutor rejected a
request to review the legality of the final
judgment in the “Deportations Case” which
had acquitted nine former police officials of
the enforced disappearance in 1992 of 60
Bosnian refugees. Amnesty International had
considered the verdict to be inconsistent with
domestic law and international humanitarian
law.
In September the UN Committee on
Enforced Disappearances expressed
concerns about shortcomings in war crimes
proceedings, which may have led to impunity,
urged the authorities to recognize the relatives
of the disappeared as victims, and called on
the new Commission on Missing Persons to
establish the whereabouts of 61 people
missing since the armed conflicts of the
1990s.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
1. Mongolia: Open letter on the death penalty
(ASA 30/2490/2015)
In May a Commission established to
investigate historical attacks on journalists
requested access to relevant classified
documents; the request was rejected without
legal reasoning by the agency responsible for
protection of personal data.
A witness to the 2004 murder of
Dan
newspaper editor Duško Jovanović was
promised protection before testifying. In
August, his widow left the country after her
car was vandalized. Damir Mandić’s
conviction for complicity in the murder was
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confirmed in October.
In November, on the eve of International
Day to End Impunity for Crimes against
Journalists, the prosecutor closed the
investigation into the beating in 2007 of
journalist Tufik Softić, despite the arrest and
detention of two suspects in 2014.
Journalists and human rights defenders
were vilified in pro-government media. In
January, TV Pink called for the imprisonment
of Tea Prelević, director of the NGO Human
Rights Action, following her advocacy on
behalf of a trafficked woman.
In April, Podgorica Court found that the
security services’ surveillance since 2010 of
the NGO MANS, which conducts
investigations into corruption and organized
crime, had been unlawful, and awarded
compensation to MANS employees.
adequately assessing the available evidence.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Proposed Pride marches in Nikšić were
prohibited on three occasions on security
grounds; the Podgorica Pride took place
without incident in December.
In May, three men were each sentenced to
three months’ imprisonment for a verbal
attack in April on Stevan Milivojević, director
of the NGO LGBT Forum Progres.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Hundreds of riot police used excessive force
and tear gas on 17 October to remove a camp
outside Parliament, established during mass
demonstrations that commenced on 27
September. Opposition leaders and Members
of Parliament were injured. Two journalists
were detained. On 24 October, members of
the Democratic Front opposition party
attempted to force their way into Parliament
after being denied entry, injuring 20 police
officers. Police reacted with tear gas, shock-
grenades and rubber bullets, injuring 27
protesters, including those who had not used
violence. The Council for Civil Control of the
Police, which subsequently reviewed three
incidents, found police officers responsible for
ill-treatment and abuse of authority. In
November, two members of the Special Anti-
Terrorist Unit were detained on suspicion of
the ill-treatment of Miodrag Martinović.
Some 1,107 Roma, Egyptians and Ashkali
people displaced from Kosovo in 1999 had
been granted legal status in Montenegro.
However, 595 others remained at risk of
statelessness, pending approval of their
applications; most of the 700 who had not
applied were believed to have left the country.
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, 144 Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians
were assisted to return to Kosovo. In
December, 48 Kosovo Roma and Egyptian
families who had lived at Konik camp since
1999 were finally resettled into new
apartments.
Over 4,000 Montenegrins sought asylum in
the EU, 3,233 of them in Germany.
Montenegro remained a transit country for
migrants and refugees, mainly Syrian
nationals. By the end of November, out of
1,570 applicants, 14 had been granted
refugee status, and two subsidiary protection.
MOROCCO /
WESTERN SAHARA
Kingdom of Morocco
Head of state:
King Mohamed VI
Head of government:
Abdelilah Benkirane
The authorities restricted rights to freedom
of expression, association and assembly,
arresting and prosecuting critics, harassing
human rights groups and forcibly dispersing
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In April the European Court of Human Rights
ruled that Montenegro should pay
compensation to Dalibor Nikezić and Igor
Milić, who were ill-treated at Spuž prison in
2009, finding that the state prosecutor had
discontinued criminal proceedings without
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protests. Torture and other ill-treatment and
unfair trials were reported. Women
continued to face discrimination. Migrants
and asylum-seekers were arbitrarily arrested
and subjected to unnecessary and excessive
use of force. Courts continued to impose
death sentences; there were no executions.
BACKGROUND
In March, Morocco joined the Saudi Arabia-
led coalition of states that engaged in the
armed conflict in Yemen (see Yemen entry).
In April, the government published a draft
bill to amend the Penal Code, part of broader
plans to reform the justice system. Human
rights groups said the draft failed to rectify
existing deficiencies in the Code. Other draft
laws to amend the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the Statute of Judges, and to
establish a Higher Judicial Council, remained
under consideration.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities prosecuted journalists
deemed to have insulted public figures, state
institutions and the government’s human
rights record, and convicted some on
apparently trumped-up, common-law
charges. They continued to crack down on
human rights advocates, activists and artists,
subjecting some to prosecutions and
restrictions on movement.
In March, a court in the capital Rabat
sentenced journalist Hicham Mansouri to 10
months’ imprisonment after convicting him of
adultery in an unfair trial brought on
1
apparently politically motivated charges. In
July, a court in Kenitra convicted caricaturist
Khalid Gueddar of public drunkenness and
causing “offence to a public institution ”,
imposing a three-month prison sentence.
Several independent journalists were
convicted on charges of false reporting,
defamation and insult, and given heavy fines.
2
In August, the Court of First Instance in
Meknes convicted Hamid Elmahdaouy,
editorial director of the online news website
Badil.info, of reporting false news and
publishing an unregistered newspaper, after
the website reported on the explosion of a
car. The court fined him and suspended
Badil.info for three months. In November, the
Court of First Instance in Casablanca
convicted Taoufik Bouachrine, editorial
director of
Akhbar Al Yaoum
newspaper, of
defamation after the newspaper published a
story based on leaked diplomatic cables. The
court sentenced him to a two-month
suspended prison term and a fine of 1.6
million Moroccan dirhams (about
US$150,000).
The authorities prevented several human
rights activists from leaving Morocco to attend
events abroad and subjected them to
interrogations. In November, seven Moroccan
civil society activists, including Maati Monjib,
an historian and co-founder of the NGO
Freedom Now, were prosecuted on various
charges including harming internal state
security after training people to use a citizen
journalism smartphone application. They
faced penalties of up to five years in prison if
convicted.
The authorities also banned cultural events,
including the public performance of a play
about African migrants in Morocco.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Groups that criticized the government’s
human rights record were harassed by the
authorities, who prevented them from
carrying out legitimate public events and
internal meetings, often informally through
verbal warnings or by using the security
forces to block access to venues. They
restricted research activities by international
human rights groups, including Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch and
NOVACT International Institute for Nonviolent
Action.
In June the authorities expelled two
Amnesty International staff members who
were visiting Morocco to investigate
conditions for migrants and refugees at the
3
country’s border with Spain. The authorities
said they had not given permission for the
visit, despite previously informing Amnesty
International that no such permission
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was required.
The authorities continued to bar the legal
registration of several human rights
organizations. At the end of the year, 41 of
the 97 local branches of the Moroccan
Association for Human Rights (AMDH),
Morocco’s largest human rights group,
remained unregistered and in legal limbo
because local officials refused to accept their
registration applications or provide receipts
for those deposited. In June the
administrative tribunal of Fes ruled that
authorities in Tahla could not refuse to accept
the registration documents filed by the local
AMDH branch and should issue a receipt.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT – SAHRAWI
ACTIVISTS
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The security forces dispersed protests by
human rights defenders, political activists,
unemployed graduates and students,
sometimes by force. Some protesters were
arrested, fined and imprisoned.
In January, a court in Ouarzazate
sentenced Mustafa Faska and Omar Hourane
to three years’ imprisonment after convicting
them on charges that included robbery,
violence and forming a criminal gang after
they participated in protests against a silver
mine in Imider, where a peaceful sit-in protest
has continued since 2011.
In July the authorities prevented three
members of the al-‘Adl Wal Ihsane (Justice
and Spirituality) organization from leaving
Morocco for failing to pay fines imposed for
“holding an unauthorized meeting” in a
private home. They had previously told a
court that they would go to prison rather than
pay the fines.
In September, security forces arrested 80
members and supporters of the Annahj
Addimocrati (Democratic Path) party as they
sought to participate in marches and
distribute flyers calling for a boycott of
communal and regional elections. None faced
charges. Some accused the mostly plain-
clothes security officers of using excessive
force.
The authorities targeted Sahrawi activists who
advocated for the self-determination of
Western Sahara and reported human rights
abuses. They forcibly dispersed gatherings,
often using excessive force, and prosecuted
protesters. Some Sahrawi prisoners went on
hunger strike to protest against torture and
other ill-treatment. The authorities also
restricted access to Western Sahara for
foreign journalists, activists and human rights
defenders, barring entry to some and
expelling others.
More than two years after his arrest,
Mbarek Daoudi, a former soldier and
advocate of Sahrawi self-determination,
received a five-year prison sentence on what
appeared to be politically motivated charges
of possessing ammunition without a licence
and attempting to make a weapon. He alleged
that interrogators forced him to sign an
incriminating statement under torture
following his arrest in September 2013. In
December, Hamza Ljoumai was sentenced to
a two-year prison term after taking part in a
protest for self-determination in 2013. He
said that police officers tortured him in
custody and forced him to sign an
interrogation report he was not allowed to
read.
In March, the NGO Sahrawi Association of
Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations
Committed by the Moroccan State obtained
official registration 10 years after it first
submitted its application to the authorities,
although its activities remained restricted.
Other Sahrawi rights associations, such as the
Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights
Defenders, continued to be denied official
registration, which they require to operate
legally.
In April the UN Security Council extended
the mandate of the UN Mission for the
Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)
for another year, again without including any
human rights monitoring component.
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TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
the sentences.
The authorities failed to ensure that detainees
and prisoners were adequately protected
against torture and other ill-treatment. In
particular, the authorities failed to promptly
investigate allegations or ensure
accountability.
In September, the Moroccan authorities
closed the investigation into the torture
allegations of Ali Aarrass, which they had
opened in May 2014 following a decision by
the UN Committee against Torture. Ali
Aarrass, who received a 12-year prison
sentence on terrorism charges in 2012 after
Spanish authorities forcibly returned him to
Morocco, remained imprisoned despite calls
for his immediate release by the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention and had yet to
receive a response by the Court of Cassation
nearly three years after his appeal.
Some prisoners launched hunger strikes in
protest against alleged ill-treatment by prison
staff and harsh prison conditions, including
overcrowding, poor hygiene and lack of
access to medical care.
The authorities responded to allegations of
torture against Moroccan officials, filed in
French courts and submitted to UN bodies,
by prosecuting the complainants on
defamation and other charges. Those
prosecuted included Zakaria Moumni, who
said he was tortured in detention in 2010,
ACAT-France, a French anti-torture NGO, and
two torture complainants who were assisted
by ACAT-France.
4
In July, France and
Morocco adopted an amendment to a judicial
co-operation agreement between the two
countries. The amendment decreed that all
complaints alleging violations on Moroccan
territory, including by French nationals, are to
be transferred to Moroccan courts, thus
denying victims of torture or other serious
abuses in Morocco any means of obtaining
remedy through French courts.
In June a court in Fes sentenced two
prison officials to five-year prison terms for
causing the death of an inmate at Ain Kadou
Prison in Fes in 2008. The victim’s family
appealed against the apparent leniency of
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The authorities detained Younous Chekkouri,
a former detainee of the US detention facility
at Guantánamo Bay, immediately upon his
return to Morocco in September and
investigated him on terrorism-related charges.
In May the government passed a new law
making it a crime for Moroccans to join a
terrorist group abroad, punishable by up to
10 years in prison. The amendment
compounded problematic aspects in existing
anti-terrorism legislation including the
provision for 12 days’ pre-charge detention
with delayed access to legal counsel, and the
vague concept of “advocacy of terrorism”,
punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
IMPUNITY
Victims of serious human rights violations
committed between 1956 and 1999
continued to be denied justice.
5
The
authorities failed to implement
recommendations made by the Equity and
Reconciliation Commission, which examined
human rights violations between 1956 and
1999, including a national strategy to combat
impunity.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women faced discrimination in law and in
practice, and were inadequately protected
against sexual and other violence.
In March the King asked the government to
revise Morocco’s restrictive abortion laws. In
May the authorities said that access to
abortion would be extended to women whose
health was at risk due to foetal impairment or
who were pregnant as a result of rape or
incest; the authorities had not published draft
legislation by the end of the year.
In July the authorities charged two women
with public indecency, apparently for wearing
short skirts. The charges were dropped
following a national and international public
outcry.
The government failed to move forward on
a draft law, announced in 2013, criminalizing
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violence against women and children.
3. Amnesty International staff members expelled from Morocco (Press
release, 11 June)
4. Shadow of impunity: Torture in Morocco and Western Sahara (MDE
29/001/2015)
5. Morocco/Western Sahara: Time for truth 50 years after enforced
disappearance of opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka (MDE
29/2747/2015)
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex sexual relations
remained a crime. In May and June, courts in
Oujda and Rabat convicted five men on
charges that included indecency and
engaging in homosexual acts, and sentenced
them to prison terms of up to three years,
reduced to five months on appeal.
MOZAMBIQUE
Republic of Mozambique
Head of state and government:
Filipe Jacinto Nyussi
No one was held responsible for the murder
of a constitutional law expert who stated
that a proposal by the opposition party on
provincial autonomy was constitutional. The
Public Prosecutor charged two men with a
crime against the security of the state for
criticizing former President Armando
Guebuza. A new Penal Code came into
force. Draft laws impacting on the rights of
women and girls were passed into law.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Migrants and asylum-seekers from countries
in sub-Saharan Africa faced arrest and
alleged that Moroccan and Spanish border
authorities used unnecessary and excessive
force to prevent them gaining entry to Spain.
Moroccan authorities allowed the summary
return of some migrants who did gain
irregular entry to Spain (see Spain entry).
In February the authorities arrested over
1,000 migrants and asylum-seekers in raids
in and around the northeastern port city of
Nador. They transported them to cities in
southern Morocco and detained them for
several days before releasing them. In May,
the government announced that it would
build a wall along Morocco’s border with
Algeria. In November, two migrants allegedly
died of asphyxiation after the authorities lit a
fire outside a cave they had taken refuge in
during a raid near the northern city of Fnideq.
BACKGROUND
POLISARIO CAMPS
The Polisario Front again failed to take any
steps to hold to account those responsible for
human rights abuses committed in the 1970s
and 1980s in camps under its control.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts handed down death sentences; there
have been no executions since 1993.
1. Morocco: Further information: Jail term of press freedom advocate
upheld: Hicham Mansouri (MDE
29/1754/2015)
2. Morocco: Court orders suspension of news website, editors fined for
“false news” and “defamation” (MDE
29/2260/2015)
Filipe Nyussi of the Mozambique Liberation
Front (FRELIMO), the ruling party, was sworn
in as President on 15 January, after winning
57% of the votes cast in October 2014.
Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the
Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO),
the main opposition party, rejected the
election outcome and boycotted the opening
of Parliament in January. Throughout the
year, RENAMO campaigned for provincial
autonomy in the central and northern regions,
where the party claimed it had taken the
majority of votes. In April, Parliament rejected
a bill put forward by RENAMO that aimed to
formalize regional autonomy.
In September, clashes between national
armed forces and RENAMO’s militia resumed
following several months of post-electoral
tension. On 13 September, Afonso
Dhlakama’s convoy was hit by gunfire while
he was campaigning in Manica province. The
result of an investigation into the incident was
still pending at the end of the year.
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A stagnation of the country’s poverty level
in the past decade contributed to fuelling
social clashes.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
In October, the Council of Ministers approved
the Regulation of the Access to Information
Law, which had come into force in December
2014. The law established the responsibility
of governmental authorities and private
entities with regard to the release and
dissemination of information that is in the
public interest; deadlines for providing the
information; and a legal mechanism
whenever a request for information is denied.
A new Penal Code came into force in July.
It includes a number of positive revisions
such as the decriminalization of abortion, the
option of non-custodial sentences as an
alternative to prison, and the criminalization
of actions that are destructive to the
environment.
Under the new Code, abortion is legal when
the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother’s or
the foetus’ health, when it is the result of rape
or incest, or when the abortion is undertaken
during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy by a
qualified health professional at an official
health centre.
The need to approve the Regulation on the
decriminalization of abortion and the fact that
the Criminal Procedure Code has not been
revised constitute an obstacle for the
implementation of the new legislation.
breaching the State Security Law.
On 16 September, the Kampfumo
Municipal District Court acquitted both men
on the grounds that publishing a letter did not
qualify as a crime under Mozambican law.
The Public Prosecutor appealed against the
Court’s decision. The Court had not yet
decided on the appeal at the end of the year.
On 3 March, Gilles Cistac, a constitutional
law expert, was shot dead by four gunmen in
Maputo, the capital. A prominent academic,
he had publicly stated that RENAMO’s
proposal on provincial autonomy was
constitutional, drawing criticism from
FRELIMO. Hundreds of human rights activists
and students marched in Maputo on 7
March, calling for justice for his murder. The
police publicly launched an investigation into
his killing but those responsible had not been
identified by the end of the year.
ARBITRARY DETENTIONS
For the third year running, no action was
taken to hold anyone to account for the
arbitrary and unlawful detention of José
Capitine Cossa. He was detained without
charge or trial in Machava Maximum Security
Prison and released in 2012.
MYANMAR
Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Head of state and government:
Thein Sein
Authorities failed to address rising religious
intolerance and incitement to discrimination
and violence against Muslims, allowing
hardline Buddhist nationalist groups to grow
in power and influence ahead of the
November general elections. The situation
of the persecuted Rohingya deteriorated still
further. The government intensified a
clampdown on freedoms of expression,
association and peaceful assembly. Reports
of abuses of international human rights and
humanitarian law in areas of internal armed
conflict persisted. Security forces suspected
of human rights violations continued to
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 19 June, the Public Prosecutor formally
charged Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco with a
crime against the security of the state for
defaming former President Armando
Guebuza. The accusation was based on an
open letter published on Carlos Nuno Castel-
Branco’s Facebook page in November 2013,
which criticized Armando Guebuza’s
governance record.
The Facebook post was later published in
Mediafax,
a newspaper. Fernando Mbanze,
editor of
Mediafax,
was charged with
“abusing freedom of the press” and
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enjoy near-total impunity.
BACKGROUND
On 8 November, Myanmar held much
anticipated general elections, which saw the
opposition National League for Democracy
claim the majority of seats in Parliament. A
new government was scheduled to be in
place by the end of March 2016. Although
widely praised as being credible and
transparent, the elections were otherwise
marred by the disenfranchisement of minority
groups and ongoing restrictions on freedom of
expression.
In June, the military blocked an attempt to
amend the 2008 Constitution to remove its
legislative veto over constitutional
amendments and a clause which bars
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from
being elected President by Parliament.
In July Myanmar ratified the Chemical
Weapons Convention and signed the ICESCR.
sentenced to two years in prison with hard
labour for “insulting religion” in an October
2014 speech criticizing the use of Buddhism
to promote discrimination and prejudice.
Women’s rights activists and other human
rights defenders who spoke out against the
four “protecting race and religion” laws were
subjected to harassment and intimidation,
including sexually abusive threats.
The Rohingya minority
The situation of the Rohingya minority
continued to deteriorate. Most remained
effectively deprived of citizenship rights under
the 1982 Citizenship Law, and continued to
face severe restrictions on their right to
freedom of movement, limited access to life-
saving health care, and denial of their rights
to education and equal employment
opportunities. There were ongoing reports of
arbitrary arrests and torture and other ill-
treatment of Rohingya in detention, as well as
deaths in custody at the hands of security
forces. Access to Rakhine State for
international observers remained severely
restricted.
In February, the President announced the
revocation of all Temporary Registration Cards
(TRCs) – also known as “white cards” –
leaving many Rohingya without any form of
identity document. The move effectively
barred Rohingya – and other former TRC
holders – from being able to vote in the
November elections. The exclusion of the
Rohingya was further cemented by the
disqualification of almost all Rohingya who
applied to contest the elections as
candidates. Many other Muslims were also
disqualified on discriminatory grounds.
The deteriorating situation of the Rohingya
led increasing numbers to leave Myanmar.
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, 33,000 people – Rohingya as well as
Bangladeshi nationals – left the Bay of Bengal
by boat during the year. In May, a crackdown
on trafficking in neighbouring Thailand saw
thousands of people – many Rohingya fleeing
Myanmar – stranded at sea on overcrowded
boats controlled by traffickers and people
DISCRIMINATION
There was an alarming rise in religious
intolerance, and in particular anti-Muslim
sentiment, with hardline Buddhist nationalist
groups growing in influence. The authorities
failed to address incitement to discrimination
and violence based on national, racial and
religious hatred.
Between May and August Parliament
adopted four laws aimed at “protecting race
and religion”, originally proposed by hardline
Buddhist nationalist groups. The laws – the
Religious Conversion Law, the Buddhist
Women’s Special Marriage Law, the
Population Control Healthcare Law and the
Monogamy Law – were passed despite
containing provisions that violate human
rights, including by discriminating on religious
and gender grounds. There were fears that
they would entrench widespread
discrimination and fuel further violence
against minority groups.
1
People who spoke out against
discrimination and rising religious intolerance
faced retaliation from state and non-state
actors. On 2 June, writer Htin Lin Oo was
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smugglers. Many were beaten and held
hostage for ransom.
2
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Authorities continued to arrest and imprison
people for peacefully exercising their rights,
including student protesters, political activists,
media workers and human rights defenders,
3
in particular land and labour activists. By the
end of the year at least 114 prisoners of
conscience were behind bars while hundreds
of others released on bail were facing charges
– and prison – solely for the peaceful exercise
of their rights.
In March the police violently dispersed a
largely peaceful student protest against the
new National Education Law in the town of
Letpadan in Bago Region. Over 100 student
protesters, leaders and their supporters were
subsequently charged with a range of
criminal offences for their participation in the
protests. Among them was student leader
Phyoe Phyoe Aung, who was facing over nine
years’ imprisonment if convicted for her
peaceful activities. In the subsequent days
and weeks, authorities subjected students
and their supporters to surveillance and other
forms of harassment in a blatant attempt to
intimidate and punish those connected with
the student protests.
4
In October, one month ahead of the
general elections, authorities detained several
people for social media posts mocking the
military. Among those detained was ethnic
Kachin peace activist Patrick Kum Jaa Lee,
whose repeated requests for bail were
rejected, despite him suffering from ill-health
in detention. These people were charged
under the 2013 Telecommunications Act,
raising alarm that authorities may be moving
their repression to the digital sphere.
A prisoner amnesty on 30 July saw the
release of 11 prisoners of conscience among
the 6,966 prisoners released. Prisoner of
conscience Tun Aung was released in
January following a Presidential pardon.
On 5 January, President Thein Sein
reconstituted a committee established in
2013 to scrutinize cases of remaining
prisoners of conscience. According to state
media, the new Prisoners of Conscience
Affairs Committee would be “promptly
carrying out prisoners of conscience affairs at
the grassroots level”. However, by the end of
the year, there was no information regarding
its mandate, resources or activities and it was
unclear whether it was operational.
5
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY
Broad and vaguely worded laws were used to
stifle dissent and restrict the rights to freedom
of expression, association and peaceful
assembly. They included the Peaceful
Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law,
Penal Code provisions criminalizing “unlawful
assemblies”, “insulting religion” and
“incitement”, and the Unlawful Associations
Act among others. There were no attempts to
review or amend laws which restricted these
rights.
Authorities intimidated and monitored
human rights defenders and peaceful
activists, subjecting them to multiple forms of
harassment and surveillance – including
being followed; having their photo taken when
attending events and meetings; searches in
their offices and homes; and harassment and
intimidation of their family members,
colleagues or friends.
Journalists remained subjected to
harassment, arrest, prosecution and
imprisonment solely for carrying out their
activities peacefully, leading some to self-
censor.
6
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
On 15 October, the government and eight
ethnic armed groups signed the Nationwide
Ceasefire Agreement, aimed at putting an end
to decades of armed conflicts between the
military and the many armed ethnic groups.
However, the authorities’ decision to exclude
some armed ethnic groups from the accord
meant that the seven other groups invited to
sign the agreement – including all those in
active conflict with the Army – chose not
to do so.
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Fighting intensified in Kachin and Shan
states, with ongoing reports of killings,
enforced disappearances, rape and other
crimes of sexual violence and forced labour.
7
The government continued to deny full and
sustained access for humanitarian workers to
displaced communities.
In February thousands were displaced, with
reports of killings when renewed fighting
broke out between the Myanmar Army and
the armed group the Myanmar National
Democratic Alliance Army in the Kokang Self-
Administered Zone. The President imposed
Martial Law in the region on 17 February,
lifting it nine months later on 17 November.
In October, new military offensives in central
Shan State led to the displacement of around
6,000 people. Up to 4,000 were still
displaced by the end of the year.
In September, the government signed the
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict. The Army was
reported to have discharged 146 children and
young adults from its forces. There were
continued reports that child soldiers were
being recruited by state and non-state actors.
held to account for any human rights abuses
by the end of the year.
8
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED
PEOPLE
According to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
there were over 230,000 internally displaced
people in Myanmar. These included over
100,000 people displaced by fighting in
Kachin and Northern Shan states and
130,000 people, mostly Rohingya, in Rakhine
State displaced since violence erupted there
in 2012. In July, 1.7 million people were
temporarily displaced by massive floods
across the country.
Some 110,000 refugees and others from
Myanmar lived in nine camps on the
Thailand-Myanmar border, uncertain of their
future. Many expressed concerns about
returning to Myanmar, pointing to ongoing
militarization, persistent impunity, the
continued presence of landmines, and limited
education and employment opportunities as
barriers to voluntary returns.
IMPUNITY
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
The legal framework remained inadequate to
prevent businesses from causing or
contributing to human rights abuses. There
was no legislation prohibiting forced evictions,
nor adequate environmental safeguards
ensuring that people were protected against
negative human rights impacts of water, air or
soil pollution caused by extractive and
manufacturing industries.
Thousands of people were at risk of being
forcibly evicted from their homes and farms to
make way for the controversial Letpadaung
copper mine in central Myanmar. The wider
Monywa mining project, of which Letpadaung
forms part, has a long history of human rights
abuses, including forced evictions, violent
repression of protests by the authorities, and
environmental impacts posing a threat to local
people’s health and access to clean water.
None of the companies involved had been
Members of the security forces continued to
violate human rights with near-total impunity.
Investigations into human rights violations by
the security forces were rare, and when they
did occur they lacked transparency and
independence. Perpetrators were seldom
held to account. Victims and their families
continued to be denied their rights to justice,
truth and reparation.
9
In May, the Myanmar National Human
Rights Commission (MNHRC) announced
that it had been made aware that a military
court had acquitted two army officials of
charges relating to the death of journalist
Aung Kyaw Naing (also known as Par Gyi),
who was shot dead in military custody in
October 2014. The court-martial was held
despite a police investigation and court
inquest already being underway. Aung Kyaw
Naing’s family was unaware of the court-
martial until the MNHRC announcement. No
one had been brought to justice for the killing
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by the end of the year.
State officials, including members of the
security forces, remained protected from
prosecution for past human rights violations
by immunity provisions in the 2008
Constitution. In December, a bill was
submitted to Parliament which would
guarantee former Presidents lifetime
immunity from prosecution for “actions” –
which could include human rights violations,
crimes against humanity and war crimes –
taken while they were in office. The bill had
not been adopted by the end of the year.
(ICJ): Parliament must reject discriminatory "race and religion" laws
(ASA
16/1107/2015)
2. Deadly journeys: The refugee and trafficking crisis in Southeast Asia
(ASA
21/2574/2015)
3. "Going back to the old ways": A new generation of prisoners of
conscience in Myanmar (ASA
165/2457/2015)
4. Myanmar: End clampdown on student protesters and supporters (ASA
16/1511/2015)
5. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch: Open letter on the
establishment of the Prisoners of Conscience Affairs Committee (ASA
16/0007/2015)
6. Caught between state censorship and self-censorship: Prosecution
and intimidation of media workers in Myanmar (ASA
16/1743/2015)
7. Myanmar: Investigate alleged rape and killing of two Kachin women
(ASA
16/0006/2015)
8. Open for business? Corporate crime and abuses at Myanmar copper
mine (ASA
16/0003/2015)
9. Myanmar: Four years on, impunity is the Kachin conflict’s hallmark
(ASA
16/1832/2015)
10. Myanmar: Stalled reforms: Impunity, discrimination and ongoing
human rights abuses: Amnesty International submission to the
Universal Periodic Review (ASA
16/2276/2015)
DEATH PENALTY
No executions were carried out. At least 17
new death sentences were imposed during
the year.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In November, Myanmar’s human rights
10
record was assessed under the UPR.
Myanmar rejected key recommendations to
review specific laws which restrict the rights
to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly and refused to
acknowledge the systemic discrimination
facing the Rohingya minority.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar made
two official visits to the country during the
year, yet she was hampered in carrying out
her mandate. In August, she was only given
permission to travel for five days, had
difficulties meeting with government
interlocutors, and was denied access to
Rakhine State. She also reported surveillance
and harassment of civil society members who
met with her. By the end of the year, there
was still no agreement to establish an Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) in Myanmar. While OHCHR
staff were able to operate in Myanmar, they
did not have full and sustained access to the
country, impeding their ability to undertake
their work.
NAMIBIA
Republic of Namibia
Head of state and government:
Hage Gottfried Geingob
The long-running Caprivi detainees’ treason
trial concluded. Violations of the right to
freedom of expression continued. Cases of
women being killed as a result of domestic
violence were reported. A journalist was
assaulted and briefly detained by police for
taking a photograph of police arresting a
criminal suspect.
CAPRIVI DETAINEES’ TRIAL
1. Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists
The Caprivi detainees’ trial concluded on 7
September. Judge Elton Hoff found 30 of the
65 accused guilty of charges of high treason,
nine charges of murder, and 90 counts of
attempted murder. Thirty-two people were
acquitted and released, and a further three
were found guilty of other charges. The
detainees were originally arrested and
charged in 1999 for allegedly attempting to
secede the then Caprivi region from the rest
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of the country. They had spent more than 14
years in remand prison. The majority of them
suffered health problems linked to age and
prolonged detention and many of their
relatives had no means of visiting them. Many
of the Caprivi detainees were possible
prisoners of conscience because they were
arrested solely on the basis of their actual or
perceived political views, ethnicity or
membership of certain organizations. The
length of their pre-trial detention violated the
rights of the accused to a fair trial. Ten of the
accused died in police custody before the
High Court trial commenced in Grootfontein,
Otjozondjupa Region, in 2003, while another
12 who went on trial died before its end.
Most of the detainees reported being
tortured or otherwise ill-treated at the time of
their arrest.
In passing his verdict, Judge Hoff upheld a
2001 Supreme Court decision, making
confessions extracted under coercion
inadmissible and also dismissed testimonies
secured by torture or illegal police behaviour.
Oshikoto Region. In the same month, Justine
Shiweda, a 50-year-old teacher at Onalulago
Primary School in Oniipa constituency, was
shot dead by her husband. In 2014, UNAIDS,
the joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, and
Victims 2 Survivors, a Namibian NGO, called
for gender-based violence to be declared a
national disaster.
NAURU
Republic of Nauru
Head of state and government:
Baron Waqa
There were ongoing concerns about
independence of the judiciary and
restrictions on freedom of expression.
Asylum-seekers continued to be housed at
the Australian-run immigration processing
centre on Nauru amid reports of sexual and
other physical abuse, including of children.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The right to freedom of expression continued
to be violated.
On 5 December,
New Era
journalist
Nuusita Ashipala was physically assaulted by
a police officer in Oshakati, Oshana Region,
and was locked up in a police van for about
30 minutes for taking pictures of police
officers arresting a criminal suspect at the
Game shopping complex. She was ordered to
delete the pictures from her camera before
being released without charge.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Violence against women, in particular so-
called passion killings, remained a concern.
On 21 April, the police reported the death
of a 26-year-old mother of two from the
Oneshila informal settlement in Oshakati East.
She had been murdered in full view of her
children by her male partner.
On 20 June, Martha Iyambo died after
being stabbed by her ex-boyfriend at Oyovu
village in the Omuntele constituency,
In April the government blocked access to
Facebook for several weeks, claiming it
needed to stop the sexual exploitation of
children. On 12 May, new criminal laws
imposed seven-year prison sentences for
publishing statements which coerced,
intimidated or caused emotional distress.
These laws failed to comply with international
human rights law and standards on the right
to freedom of expression and imposed
excessive penalties.
Court cases continued against five
opposition MPs who were suspended from
Parliament in 2014 after being accused of
criticizing the government in international
media. All five had their passports cancelled.
In June three of the MPs were also detained,
two without bail for one month, after
participating in protests criticizing the
government.
FAIR TRIALS
Concerns remained about the independence
of the judiciary and unreasonable delays after
judicial officers were effectively dismissed in
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early 2014, jeopardizing the right to
a fair trial.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
By 30 November, 543 people, including 70
children, remained in the Australian-run
centre on Nauru. Approximately 621 refugees
were living on temporary visas in the
community. The reopening of Australia’s
immigration processing centre on Nauru in
2012 led to numerous human rights abuses.
In March, an independent report released by
the Australian government made
recommendations to address ongoing
concerns about the safety of women and
children in the centre (see Australia entry).
The Nauru government stated it was deeply
concerned by the findings and would make
all resources available to help Australia
implement the changes. However, in August
a report by the Australian Senate into the
abuse allegations stated that the current
conditions and circumstances were not
adequate, appropriate or safe. Despite key
recommendations, Nauru had yet to
implement a child protection framework.
In October the Nauru government
announced that the centre would be an
“open” facility, with those housed there free
to come and go. It also announced that the
remaining 600 asylum claims would be
processed “within a week”. By the end of
December processing had still not been
completed.
Ongoing reports of violence against
refugees in the community raised concerns
that Nauru remained ill-equipped to provide
the necessary safeguards to protect asylum-
seekers and to meet the needs of refugees
who were settled.
A ban on foreign journalists visiting the
island was made explicit in a statement from
the Nauru government in October.
to establishing a National Preventive
Mechanism to monitor places of detention at
the earliest opportunity.
In November, Nauru’s human rights record
was assessed for the second time under the
UN UPR. The government agreed to ensure
judicial independence, introduce specific
laws against family violence, and to improve
measures to safeguard the rights of refugees
and asylum-seekers.
NEPAL
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Head of state:
Bidhya Devi Bhandari (replaced Ram
Baran Yadav in October)
Head of government:
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
(replaced Sushil Koirala in October)
A new Constitution was rushed through in
the aftermath of the devastating earthquake
of 25 April. Adopted in September, it was
marked by human rights shortcomings and a
federalist structure rejected by ethnic
groups in the Terai. Violent clashes between
protesters and police led to more than 50
deaths. Discriminatory relief distribution
after the earthquake impacted marginalized
groups, and reconstruction efforts were
delayed in all affected areas.
Discrimination, including on the basis of
gender, caste, class, ethnic origin and
religion, remained rife.
BACKGROUND
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In May, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention
of Torture inspected Nauru’s police station
and prison, as well as the Immigration
Detention Centre. The government committed
On 25 April, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake
struck Nepal, followed by hundreds of
aftershocks. By October, the Home Ministry
had reported 8,856 deaths and 22,309
people injured in the original earthquake. A
total of 602,257 homes were recorded as
having been completely destroyed and a
further 285,099 partially destroyed. Over
100,000 displaced people were forced to live
in camps for months. Access to basic health
services was challenging or non-existent for
many and food security was fragile.
The Constituent Assembly failed to adopt a
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new Constitution by the 22 January deadline
but, following the earthquakes, rushed to an
agreement on a text that was adopted in
September. Madhesi and Tharu groups
organized often violent protests in response to
the proposed federal structure, and security
forces resorted to the use of force. Starting
from the third week of September,
obstructions at the various entry/exit points at
the India-Nepal border prevented trucks
carrying fuel, food and medicine from
entering from India, causing severe
shortages.
IMPUNITY
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
The draft Constitution presented for public
consultation in July raised major human
rights concerns, with the rights of women,
and marginalized communities such as Dalits,
inadequately protected. There were serious
concerns around the citizenship provisions
which discriminated against single women
and same-sex couples, and around provisions
including freedoms of religion and expression,
access to justice, preventative detention,
sexual and reproductive rights and child
rights. During the public consultation,
approximately 40,000 recommendations from
human rights organizations and the public
were received by the Constituent Assembly,
but it failed to make necessary changes and
key concerns remained unaddressed in the
final text, adopted on 20 September.
On 8 August, four major political parties
brokered an agreement to define Nepal as a
federal republic in the new Constitution and
to split it into seven federally administered
states. Ethnic groups in south and mid-west
Nepal protested against the new structure
which they saw as denying them political
representation. This resulted in a surge of
often violent protests in the Tarai region.
Security forces resorted to excessive,
disproportionate or unnecessary force in
several clashes with protesters. By October, at
least 47 civilians and 10 police had been
killed in clashes.
On 26 February, the Supreme Court ruled
against provisions that recommend amnesties
for crimes under international law in the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Act,
passed by the Constituent Assembly in April
2014. The government rejected the Supreme
Court’s decision and filed a review petition.
The TRC and a Commission on Enforced
Disappearances, established under the Act,
began operating despite the amnesty
provisions, risking further impunity for
perpetrators of international crimes
committed during the armed conflict.
Accountability for human rights abuses
continued to be seriously undermined by
police failures to register First Information
Reports, conduct investigations and follow
court orders. These included cases of alleged
extrajudicial executions, gender-based
violence, torture and other ill-treatment, and
trafficking of women and children.
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Just over 500,000 Nepalese migrated through
official channels for work, largely in low-
skilled sectors such as construction,
manufacturing and domestic work. Many
continued to be trafficked for exploitation and
forced labour by recruitment agencies and
brokers. Recruiters deceived migrant workers
about their pay and conditions, and charged
fees despite the government’s “free visa”
policy which allowed migrant workers to travel
abroad without cost. Women aged under 30
were banned from migrating for work to Gulf
States. While this was intended to protect
women, it meant many were forced to use
informal channels, thus increasing their risk
of exploitation and abuse. Following the April
earthquakes, migrant workers in the Gulf,
Malaysia and other countries also
encountered problems with returning to their
families in Nepal.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment by police
continued, particularly during pre-trial
detention, to extract confessions and
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intimidate individuals. Following the
Constitution-related violence in the Tarai,
reports of pre-trial detention spiked.
By the end of 2015 the Constituent
Assembly had failed to pass legislation
defining and providing criminal penalties for
torture, or to reform the Penal Code and
Criminal Procedure Code in line with
international law and standards. A bill
criminalizing torture was before the Assembly.
This did not meet international standards as it
recognizes torture and other ill-treatment as
taking place only in police custody, limits
punishments for perpetrators and
compensation for victims, and places a 90-
day limitation for registering complaints.
HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION POST-
EARTHQUAKE
There were serious concerns that relief efforts
failed to ensure that the needs of all
earthquake-affected populations were met,
particularly those from marginalized groups.
Reports from survivors indicated numerous
incidents of discrimination based on caste,
socioeconomic status and gender in relief
distribution.
In June the government refused to waive
costly and time-consuming customs duties
and procedures for aid deliveries. These
decisions worsened the already serious risk of
leaving affected populations without access to
desperately needed aid. By October, the
government had not set up the National
Reconstruction Authority or spent the
US$4.1 billion pledged at a donor conference
on 25 June for earthquake reconstruction.
At the end of 2015, the rights of affected
populations to basic needs such as adequate
housing, recognition under law, food, water
and sanitation, and to freedom of movement,
including protection against forced relocation
of displaced persons, remained at risk.
2011 was applied in only a handful of
criminal cases due to a lack of awareness
about the Act and victims’ fears of reporting
attacks.
Women from marginalized groups,
including Dalits and impoverished women,
continued to face particular hardship because
of discrimination. Laws criminalizing rape
continued to be inadequate and to reflect
discriminatory attitudes towards women.
Gender-based discrimination also limited the
ability of women and girls to control their
sexuality and make choices related to
reproduction, including use of contraception;
to challenge early marriages; to ensure
adequate antenatal and maternal health care;
and to access sufficient nutritious food. It also
put them at risk of domestic violence,
including marital rape. One consequence was
that women and girls continued to be at high
risk of developing uterine prolapse, often at
an early age.
NETHERLANDS
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Head of state:
King Willem-Alexander
Head of government:
Mark Rutte
Solitary confinement continued to be used
in immigration centres. The government
failed to introduce measures to prevent
ethnic profiling by the police.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Immigration detention
Solitary confinement continued to be used in
immigration detention centres, both as a
means of control and as a punitive measure.
1
In March, body scan equipment was
introduced in detention centres, making strip
searches of detained migrants largely
unnecessary.
In September the government tabled a
draft law regulating immigration detention.
The law mentions the need to consider
alternatives to detention. However, it includes
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination, including on the basis of
gender, caste, class, ethnic origin and
religion, persisted. The Caste-based
Discrimination and Untouchability Act of
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provisions that would, in practice, likely lead
to harsher conditions for detained irregular
migrants and asylum-seekers.
2
The law also
fails to establish an effective mechanism to
prevent the detention of vulnerable groups,
and the authorities’ power to use solitary
confinement remain unchanged.
profiling, or institute systematic monitoring of
stop-and-search operations.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Economic, social and cultural rights
The government failed to implement the
recommendation by the European Committee
of Social Rights that all people, including
irregular migrants, should unconditionally
have access to shelter and basic necessities.
In April, the government put forward a
proposal to establish shelters in a limited
number of municipalities, but make
accommodation there dependent on the
willingness of the irregular migrant to co-
operate in their deportation.
In July the government published proposals
to amend the powers of the intelligence and
security services, including provisions which
in effect would legalize indiscriminate bulk
collection of telecoms data. The proposals
also failed to include necessary safeguards,
such as prior judicial approval of decisions to
intercept personal communication or hack
electronic devices.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The government refused to take steps to
evaluate or amend the current operation of
the Dutch National Prevention Mechanism,
established under the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture, despite ongoing
criticism of its independence and efficacy.
Refoulement
The government continued its attempts to
deport rejected asylum-seekers to southern
and central Somalia, including – under
certain circumstances – to al-Shabaab-
controlled areas, against guidelines issued by
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. In August,
the government decided to temporarily halt
forced returns of Uighurs to China, in
anticipation of a new guidance report.
In May, Mathieu Ngudjolo, a former
Congolese militia leader, was returned to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo despite
alleged fears for his safety, after the Council
of State rejected his request for asylum.
Mathieu Ngudjolo was acquitted by the ICC of
war crimes and crimes against humanity, a
decision confirmed on appeal on
27 February.
1. Netherlands: Isolation in detention (Press
release,
3 March)
2. Netherlands: Submission to the UN Committee against Torture (EUR
35/2104/2015)
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Jerry Mateparae
Head of government:
John Key
Economic, social and cultural rights lacked
sufficient legal protection. Māori
(Indigenous people) continued to be over-
represented in the criminal justice system.
Family violence was widespread and levels
of child poverty remained high. Asylum-
seekers were detained alongside remand
prisoners.
DISCRIMINATION – POLICING
In response to concerns about ethnic profiling
by the police, the government committed to
undertaking measures focused on awareness
raising and training of police officers.
However, it still did not introduce clear
guidelines to limit widespread stop-and-
search powers that increase the risk of ethnic
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
The government did not give a formal
response to the recommendations made by
the Constitutional Advisory Panel in 2013 to
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improve the Bill of Rights Act 1990.
Economic, social and cultural rights
continued to lack full protection in domestic
legislation.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Security Bureau's (GCSB) “full-take
collection” of data on the Pacific region. The
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
opened an inquiry into the way the GCSB
undertakes its foreign intelligence activities.
Both the UN Committee against Torture and
the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
expressed concern at the disproportionate
representation of Māori in the criminal justice
system. Māori, who are 15% of the general
population, make up 51% of the total prison
population and 65% of the female prison
population.
The High Court in July held that a blanket
ban on prisoners’ right to vote was
inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention expressed concern that New
Zealand was using the prison system to
detain some asylum-seekers alongside
remand detainees.
NICARAGUA
Republic of Nicaragua
Head of state and government:
Daniel Ortega
Saavedra
Human rights defenders as well as
Indigenous and Afro-descendant groups
were threatened and intimidated in
retaliation for their work, particularly in the
context of public protests. News outlets and
civil society organizations faced harassment.
Several people were killed and hundreds
displaced as a result of an intensifying land
conflict in the North Caribbean Coast.
Violence against women continued; a total
ban on abortion remained in place.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Acknowledging that the level of family
violence was “horrific”, the Ministry of Justice
in August initiated a consultation, including
on the need for a review of existing legislation.
In the document, the Ministry acknowledged
that “gender is a significant risk factor for
victimization and harm across all forms of
family violence” and that the substantial
majority of intimate partner violence involving
coercive control occurs against women.
Young women were identified as particularly
vulnerable, and at increasing risk when they
have children.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
BACKGROUND
New Zealand retained three reservations to
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The 2015 Technical Report on Child
Poverty found that up to 29% of New Zealand
children lived in relative poverty and 9% were
living in severe poverty, impacting on their
access to adequate housing, health care, food
and education.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
The Sandinista National Liberation Front party
continued to excercise significant control over
all branches of government. In November, the
government formally approved an
environmental impact study that would allow
the construction of a major infrastructure
project known as the Gran Canal
Interoceánico, a channel connecting the
Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, to go
forward. Its fate was uncertain due to
financial constraints.
The extent of surveillance powers and the
sharing of that information with foreign
intelligence partners remained unclear.
Leaked National Security Agency documents
revealed the Government Communications
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LAND DISPUTES AND INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) ordered Nicaragua to provide
protection measures to the Miskito people,
after the ongoing conflict between the
Indigenous community and
colonos
(settlers)
attempting to take over the community's
ancestral land escalated in September. The
Center for Justice and Human Rights of the
Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua reported that
between 2013 and 2015, 24 Miskitos had
been killed, 30 attacked and hundreds more
displaced.
Indigenous, Afro-descendant and other
groups protesting against the Gran Canal
Interoceánico were intimidated, attacked and
arbitrarily detained, according to the
Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights
(CENIDH). In October, police officers created
a roadblock to stop thousands of
campesinos
(peasant farmers) from protesting against the
canal; several protesters were attacked by
pro-government groups, according to the
human rights organization Popol Na
Foundation. Protesters accused the
government of granting the licence for the
canal without the free, prior and informed
consent of the Indigenous Peoples who could
be displaced by its construction.
Activists protesting against mining projects
in Nicaragua were also intimidated and
harassed, according to the CENIDH.
In a hearing in October before the IACHR,
Nicaraguan and regional human rights
organizations discussed their concerns about
human rights abuses against women and
girls, including the total ban on abortion and
access to justice for women and girls
suffering from acts of violence or abuse. The
Nicaraguan Network of Women Against
Violence reported that 35 women and girls
were murdered (classified as “femicide” in
the Criminal Code) in the first half of the year,
down from 47 in the same period in 2014.
However, the NGOs expressed concern about
reforms passed in 2013 that weakened the
Comprehensive Law against Violence against
Women (Law 779), by offering women
mediation with their abusive partners in some
cases of domestic violence.
1. Nicaragua: Defensores de derechos humanos deportados
arbitrariamente
(AMR 43/1687/2015)
NIGER
Republic of Niger
Head of state:
Mahamadou Issoufou
Head of government:
Brigi Rafini
The armed group Boko Haram committed
crimes under international law, escalating
the conflict and leading to an increase in
the number of people displaced. The
authorities introduced a state of emergency
in Diffa region. Human rights defenders
were arbitrarily arrested. The government
restricted freedom of expression. Thousands
of refugees were deported back to Nigeria.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Government officials and supporters sought to
repress and stigmatize the work of civil
society organizations and media outlets that
had been critical of the ruling party. In May,
two members of the Center for Justice and
International Law, a regional human rights
organization, were denied entry into the
country and deported when they arrived at
the airport in the capital, Managua, to attend
a human rights event. No official reason was
given.
1
BACKGROUND
Boko Haram (which changed its name in
April to Western African Province of the
Organisation of the Islamic State) intensified
its attacks against civilians, mainly in the
southeastern Diffa region bordering Nigeria
and Lake Chad. The resulting displacement
and destruction, in addition to measures
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taken by the government in response, had a
major impact on the economy of the
region, causing severe food shortages.
Following an attempted coup in December,
nine soldiers were arrested and will be tried
before a military tribunal.
ARMED CONFLICT
Boko Haram carried out more than 20 attacks
against civilian objects and army positions in
Diffa region killing at least 190 civilians and
60 security force members.
In April, Boko Haram members attacked
the Isle de Karamga, surrounding the island
with boats at night and shooting dead 28
civilians and 46 soldiers. There were further
attacks in Diffa region between June and
December, including suicide bombings.
The security forces carried out reprisal
attacks and arrested more than 1,000 people.
In February, the Nigerien army bombed a
convoy of trucks carrying smoked fish to
Nigeria, a trade banned under the state of
emergency as it is believed to be a source of
food and revenue for Boko Haram.
In February, at least 36 civilians were killed
in the village of Abadam-Niger, on the
Nigerian border, when an unidentified military
plane bombed a funeral party.
In September, the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
expressed concerns about attacks on civilians
by both Boko Haram and the Nigerien army.
against this measure was detained without
charge for two days.
According to OHCHR, the Ministries of
Interior and Defence interfered in the judicial
process, leading to the rearrest of Boko
Haram suspects acquitted for lack of
evidence. The same ministries refused to
investigate allegations of torture and other ill-
treatment by the army, claiming that this
could demoralize troops.
OHCHR also expressed concern about the
arrest in July of 40 children in Diffa region
and their detention in Koutoukale and Kollo
prisons before they were transferred to the
juvenile section in Niamey prison.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The impact of abuses committed by armed
groups was exacerbated by the state’s
response, notably forced displacement and
restrictions on freedom of movement.
In February, the government decreed a
state of emergency in the entire Diffa region.
It was extended for three months in May and
reinstated in October. The state of emergency
prohibited the circulation of vehicles with two
wheels, or registered in Nigeria, as well as
sales of pepper and fish. In July, after suicide
attacks involving women wearing burqas, the
authorities prohibited veils covering the
cheeks. In July, an imam who protested
Freedom of expression was severely
restricted, sometimes in the name of national
security.
In June, two newspapers,
L’Actualité
and
L’Opinion,
were banned from publishing for
one month for “violating the journalists’
charter”. The Superior Council for
Communication gave no further explanation.
In May, Moussa Tchangari, Secretary
General of Alternative Citizens’ Spaces, was
arrested while taking food to eight village
chiefs in Diffa region who had been arrested
for “failure to cooperate with the authorities in
the fight against Boko Haram”. His
organization had criticized the government’s
failure to protect human rights in view of Boko
Haram attacks. He was provisionally released
after 10 days.
1
Nouhou Azirka, President of the Movement
for the Promotion of Responsible Citizenship,
was detained in police custody for
“endangering national defence” in May. He
had stated in a television interview that
soldiers in Diffa region had complained of
poor working conditions. He was provisionally
released after four days.
2
In November, five journalists were arrested,
including Souleymane Salha, journalist of the
weekly
Le Courrier.
He was released without
charge after 10 days.
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INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE AND
REFUGEES
The number of refugees and displaced
people rose significantly, exacerbating the
humanitarian situation, particularly in the
south. By the end of the year, Niger was host
to more than 115,000 people displaced by
conflict in Nigeria, Libya and Mali, and to
more than 100,000 internally displaced
people and returnees.
In April, the Governor of Diffa ordered the
evacuation of islands on Lake Chad, following
a Boko Haram attack. At least 14 people died
from hunger, thirst and heat during the long
march to the camp of N’guigmi. Soldiers
reportedly prevented them from being
transported to the camp by local carriers and
essential resources such as water and food
were lacking when they arrived.
In January and May, the army forced
thousands of refugees back to Nigeria,
accusing them of bringing Boko Haram
attacks to the area.
year. Torture and other ill-treatment by the
police and security forces were widespread.
Demolitions of informal settlements led to
the forced eviction of thousands of people.
Death sentences continued to be imposed;
no executions were reported.
BACKGROUND
PRISON CONDITIONS
Prisons remained very overcrowded. Civil
society groups reported that at the end of
2014, 1,000 people were held in Niamey
civilian prison, which has a capacity of 350.
1. Niger: The fight against Boko Haram must not serve as an excuse to
violate freedom of expression (News
story, 19 May);
Urgent Action,
Human rights defenders held without charge (AFR
43/1716/2015)
2. Urgent Action: Human rights defenders held without charge (AFR
43/1716/2015)
NIGERIA
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Head of state and government:
Muhammadu Buhari
(replaced Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in May)
The conflict between the military and the
armed group Boko Haram continued,
resulting in the deaths of thousands of
civilians and over 2 million internally
displaced people (IDPs) at the end of the
The general election took place on 28 March
to elect the President and members to the
Senate and the House of Representatives; the
governorship and state assembly election was
held on 11 April. The candidate from the
opposition All Progressives Congress (APC)
party, Muhammadu Buhari, won the
presidential election. The new cabinet
members were sworn in on 11 November.
In July, President Buhari retired the military
service chiefs appointed by former President
Goodluck Jonathan – including two military
officials whom the authorities failed to
investigate for their potential responsibility for
crimes under international law – and replaced
them.
Protests for an independent state of Biafra
took place in the south and southeast. On
14 October, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and
director of Radio Biafra, was arrested and
charged with criminal conspiracy, managing
and belonging to an unlawful society and
intimidation. On 17 December, the Federal
High Court in the capital Abuja ordered his
unconditional release from the custody of the
Department of State Services. However, he
was not released and was charged with
treason on 18 December; he remained in
detention at the end of the year.
In November, the report of an investigative
committee established by the President on
the procurement of arms and equipment in
the security sector found, among other things,
fictitious contracts amounting to several
billion US dollars. The President ordered the
arrest of all those implicated in the report,
including Sambo Dasuki, the National
Security Adviser for 2012-2015. He remained
in detention at the end of the year.
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ARMED CONFLICT
Boko Haram
Boko Haram continued to commit war crimes
and crimes against humanity in northeastern
Nigeria, killing thousands of civilians.
1
In
January, the group expanded the territory
under its control by seizing the towns of Baga
and Monguno in Borno state. Boko Haram
fighters deliberately killed civilians,
particularly men of fighting age, detained
others and destroyed buildings. In the attack
on Baga, Boko Haram killed hundreds of
civilians in what may be its deadliest attack to
date. Satellite images revealed that more than
3,700 buildings had been damaged or
destroyed in the attack.
Thousands of civilians lived under Boko
Haram’s violent rule, either in the captured
towns or after being abducted and taken to
camps. Many women and girls were raped
and forced into marriage.
From March, a sustained offensive by the
military, with assistance from the armed
forces of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, forced
Boko Haram out of major towns in
northeastern Nigeria. However, Boko Haram
continued to kill civilians through raids on
smaller towns and villages as well as bomb
attacks.
2
Bomb attacks targeted markets, transport
hubs, bars, restaurants and places of worship
in cities across the northeast, as well as Abuja
3
and the towns of Jos, Kano and Zaria. Boko
Haram used young women and girls as
suicide bombers in many of the incidents.
The military announced the recovery of
more than 1,400 people from Boko Haram-
controlled territory, mostly women and
children. The fate of 219 schoolgirls abducted
from the town of Chibok, Borno state, on 14
April 2014 remained unknown.
Security forces
The military committed war crimes and
possible crimes against humanity in its
response to Boko Haram between 2011 and
2015.
4
President Buhari promised to
investigate evidence of several instances of
war crimes by the military between June and
December. However, no further action was
taken to initiate independent and impartial
investigations. In its November report on
preliminary examinations, the Office of the
Prosecutor of the ICC identified eight potential
cases involving the commission of crimes
against humanity and war crimes by Boko
Haram (in six cases) and the security forces
(two cases).
Extrajudicial executions by the military of
people suspected of being members of Boko
Haram continued.
The military arrested people during
“screening operations”, where members of
the public were lined up in front of
informants, or arrested at their homes. Others
were arbitrarily arrested as they attempted to
flee attacks by Boko Haram or areas
controlled by the group. In many cases the
arrests were made without reasonable
suspicion or without adequate investigation.
Suspects detained by the military had no
access to their families or lawyers and were
not brought before a court. They were mostly
young men, although women, children and
older men were also detained.
Muhammad Mari Abba, a doctor and
consultant for the WHO who was arrested in
2012 in Yobe state, had not been charged
and remained in incommunicado detention at
the end of the year.
Alhaji Bukar Yaganami, a businessman
who was arrested in Maiduguri, Borno state,
in 2013, remained in military detention at the
end of the year, in spite of a July 2014 court
order for his release on bail.
Conditions in some military detention
centres seemingly improved. Detainees were
given three meals a day, access to washing
facilities and to medical assistance. However,
suspects continued to die in detention.
Routine torture and other ill-treatment led to
deaths in detention centres, as suspects
continued to be held incommunicado.
Small numbers of suspects were released
throughout the year; the military announced
the release of 310 suspects in July and
September, following the completion of
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investigations. Many had been detained for
over a year. Some detainees received 10,000
naira (approximately US$50) or clothes upon
their release, while others received nothing.
On 21 December, the Federal High Court
in Abuja discharged five police officers of the
alleged murder of Boko Haram leader
Mohammed Yusuf in 2009.
Internally displaced people
In September, the International Organization
for Migration estimated that over 2.1 million
people were internally displaced in northern
Nigeria; 92% of them lived in host
communities, while the remainder lived in
camps. The camps in Maiduguri were
overcrowded, with inadequate access to food
and sanitation. The government established a
committee to investigate allegations of human
trafficking and sexual abuse of IDPs, with the
complicity of security and camp officials. The
results of the investigation had not been
made public by the end of the year.
Act was passed into law. The Act adopted
new provisions which improved the criminal
justice system. Key provisions included
compensation to victims of crime, non-
custodial sentences and electronic records of
proceedings.
However, prisons remained overcrowded
and court processes slow; frequent strikes by
court employees, such as court clerks, over
pay and the consequent closure of courts led
to delays in trials and the supervision of pre-
trial detention.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
On 12-13 December, the military killed over
100 members of the Islamic Movement of
Nigeria, a Shi’ite sect, in Zaria, Kaduna state.
The group’s leader, Ibraheem Zakzaky, was
arrested at his residence and remained in
incommunicado detention at the end of the
year. Hundreds of others were also arrested.
On 17 December, the military killed five
people when they opened fire on members of
the IPOB who were demonstrating in Onitsha,
Anambra state, in celebration of the initial
announcement of Nnamdi Kanu’s release.
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
Violence between ethnic groups continued to
claim lives. In Riyom and Barikin Ladi, local
government areas in Plateau state,
communities clashed over allegations of cattle
rustling and land disputes. Perpetrators of
violence were rarely investigated and
prosecuted.
Torture and other ill-treatment by police and
military remained pervasive. Extrajudicial
executions, extortion, and arbitrary and
prolonged detention were rife.
In July, the police announced they were
reviewing the Force Orders, including Force
Order 237, which allows police officers to
shoot suspects and detainees who attempt to
avoid arrest or escape – whether or not they
pose a threat to life. The Inspector General of
Police also announced that over the past
three years, almost 1 billion naira (US$5
million) had been paid out as compensation
to victims of human rights violations by the
police.
Many police divisions, including the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the Force
Criminal Investigation Division, kept rooms
where suspects were tortured while being
interrogated. In November, the Inspector
General of Police announced the creation of a
Complaints Response Unit and a reform
initiative for the SARS, in response to public
concerns about alleged violations by police
officers across the country.
The Anti-Torture Bill – intended to prohibit
and criminalize the use of torture – was
passed by Parliament in June. It had not
been signed into law by the end of the year.
DEATH PENALTY
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In May, the Administration of Criminal Justice
The authorities continued to sentence people
to death. No executions were known to have
been carried out.
In January and March, 66 soldiers were
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sentenced in General Court Martials to death
for various charges including mutiny. Their
sentences were commuted to 10 years’
imprisonment each in December.
On 28 May, Moses Akatugba was pardoned
after 10 years on death row.
On 25 June, the Upper Sharia Court in
Kano sentenced Islamic scholar Abdulaziz
Dauda, also known as Abdul Inyass, and
eight of his followers to death for blasphemy.
In September, the Governor of Cross River
state signed into law a bill making the death
penalty mandatory for kidnapping.
against the planned demolition of their
houses in 2009.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
HOUSING RIGHTS
The rights of LGBTI people continued to be
curtailed. Human rights defenders reported a
significant increase in the number of arrests
of LGBTI people and of police extortion.
The Coalition for the Defense of Sexual
Rights, a coalition of NGOs working on the
rights of LGBTI people in Nigeria, cited over
200 cases across the country where people
perceived to be LGBTI were beaten by mobs
and handed over to the police.
Mass forced evictions continued.
The new governments of the states of
Lagos and Kaduna rendered thousands of
people homeless and vulnerable to other
human rights violations when they conducted
mass forced evictions without consultation,
compensation and the provision of alternative
accommodation.
In August, hundreds of residents of the
Bayan Alhudahuda community in Zaria were
given a demolition notice of 28 days, ordering
them to demolish their own houses or risk
being charged a fee for the authorities to do
so. Ninety-two homes, with between 10 and
40 residents each, were demolished. Two
weeks later, the affected residents were still
sleeping in the classrooms of a nearby school,
mosques and marketplaces.
In September, around 10,200 residents of
the Badia-East community, Lagos, were
forcibly evicted from their homes less than 24
hours after being notified that the
Ojora
(traditional ruler of the community) had been
granted the right to take possession of them.
Many of the residents continued to sleep on
the demolition site for up to three weeks
afterwards and remained homeless.
In July, 10 residents of Bundu Ama in the
city of Port Harcourt received 6.5 million naira
(approximately US$30,000) as part of the
payment of 11 million naira awarded by the
ECOWAS Court against the federal
government. This was compensation for
unlawful shootings during a peaceful protest
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In May, former President Jonathan signed the
Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act
into law. The law criminalizes female genital
mutilation and “subjecting a widow to harmful
traditional practices". However, the Act’s
definition of rape falls short of international
standards in that it does not sufficiently cover
all forms of coercion. The law could also be
strengthened by explicitly prohibiting marital
rape.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Section 38 of the Cyber Crime Act, which
became law in May, requires internet service
providers to keep all traffic and other data of
subscribers for two years and make that data
available to law enforcement agencies upon
request, without a court order, thus violating
the rights to privacy and freedom of
expression.
In March, two Al Jazeera journalists
covering the conflict in northeastern Nigeria
were detained by the military in Maiduguri.
They were released after 13 days.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
Twenty years after the execution of
environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and
eight others, oil pollution continued to cause
devastation to the Niger Delta region, harming
the livelihoods and health of its inhabitants.
There were hundreds of new spills during the
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year, and oil companies failed to clean up the
contamination of previous spills, some of
which occurred decades ago.
5
The government continued to fail to hold oil
companies operating in the Niger Delta to
account. It did not provide the oversight
needed to ensure that companies do more to
prevent spills from happening, or to respond
to them in a timely and adequate manner.
Companies’ response to spills was frequently
slow and clean-up was inadequate.
Oil companies continued to blame the vast
majority of spills on sabotage and theft, a
claim which was based on a flawed oil spill
investigation process led by the oil companies
rather than the government watchdog, the
National Oil Spill Detection and Response
Agency (NOSDRA).
NOSDRA published details and a map of
investigations into spills online, but it did not
release information about the response to
spills and clean-up.
In August, President Buhari announced
that his government would begin the clean-up
and restoration of the oil-damaged Ogoniland
region, in line with the recommendations of
the UN Environment Programme.
A sum of £55 million (US$83 million) paid
out by the oil company Shell was distributed
to the Bodo community, following the
settlement of a court case in the UK in 2014.
However, Shell had yet to clean up the
damage caused by two massive spills at Bodo
in 2008.
NORWAY
Kingdom of Norway
Head of state:
King Harald V
Head of government:
Erna Solberg
A new, independent national human rights
institution was established. The Ministry of
Health proposed legislation to improve
access to legal gender recognition for
transgender people. Serious concerns
remained about rape and other violence
against women.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
On 1 July the National Institution for Human
Rights was re-established as an independent
body reporting to Parliament. Prior to this,
since its establishment in 2002, it had been
part of the Norwegian Centre for Human
Rights based in the Law Faculty at the
University of Oslo.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
1. "Our job is to shoot, slaughter and kill": Boko Haram’s reign of terror
in north east Nigeria (AFR
44/1360/2015)
2. Boko Haram: Civilians continue to be at risk of human rights abuses
by Boko Haram and human rights violations by state security forces
(AFR
44/2428/2015)
3. Nigeria: Boko Haram: Bombing campaign sees civilian deaths spiral
(AFR
44/2498/2015)
4. Nigeria: Stars on their shoulders, blood on their hands – war crimes
committed by the Nigerian military (AFR
44/1657/2015)
5. Nigeria: Clean it up: Shell's false claims about oil spill response in
the Niger Delta (AFR
44/2746/2015)
On 19 January, the Court of Appeal dismissed
an appeal by a Rwandan national against his
2013 conviction by the Oslo District Court for
murder during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
The Court of Appeal confirmed his sentence
of 21 years’ imprisonment for premeditated
complicity in the murder of 2,000 people in
two massacres, and of seven people in a
separate incident. He appealed against the
decision to the Supreme Court. He was not
charged with genocide, as the article defining
genocide only entered into force in 2008 and
does not have retroactive effect.
DISCRIMINATION – TRANSGENDER
PEOPLE
In June, the Ministry of Health proposed
legislation granting transgender people
access to legal gender recognition from the
age of 16 on the basis of self-identification.
Children aged between seven and 16 will
have access to legal gender recognition with
the consent of parents or guardians. The
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proposed law is expected to be presented to
Parliament and put to a vote during 2016.
1
Despite this positive development, violence
motivated by discriminatory attitudes towards
transgender people was still not criminalized
as hate crime.
application for protection examined in another
country en route to Norway.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Serious concerns remained about rape and
violence against women, in particular around
the legal definition of rape in the Penal Code,
low conviction rates and inadequate access
for rape survivors to reparation and
rehabilitation. In January the National Police
Directorate published an evaluation which
concluded that police investigations were
unsatisfactory in 40% of sexual violence
cases reported to the police.
In October, after two years’ delay, the
government launched a national action plan
to implement the UN Guiding Principles on
business and human rights. The action plan
lacked clarity on due diligence and the extent
to which the guiding principles ought to apply
to Norwegian companies operating in the
country and those operating abroad.
1. Norway: High hopes for a watershed moment on transgender rights
(News
story, 10 April)
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
OMAN
Sultanate of Oman
Head of state and government:
Sultan Qaboos bin Said
Al Said
The authorities restricted freedom of
expression and increased arrests and
harassment of political and human rights
activists and government critics. Women
continued to face discrimination in law and
in practice. The death penalty remained in
force; no executions were reported.
According to government statistics, 31,145
people claimed asylum in Norway during the
year, a three-fold increase on 2014.
In April, the government announced that
children of asylum-seekers whose
applications had been rejected and who had
been returned to their countries of origin
between 1 July 2014 and 18 March 2015,
after spending four and a half years or more
in Norway, could seek to have their cases
reopened. The move followed strong criticism
of the immigration authorities’ previously
narrow interpretation of the principle of the
best interests of the child in asylum and
removal proceedings.
On 25 November the Ministry of Justice
issued an instruction which denied access to
the asylum procedure in Norway for any
person who applied for protection after having
lived in or transited through Russia. Third-
country nationals, including those without any
regular legal status in Russia, faced being
returned to Russia. This caused particular
concern for Syrian asylum-seekers. The
decision followed Parliament’s adoption of
amendments to section 32 of the Immigration
Act 2008, earlier in November, removing any
requirement for Norwegian authorities to
consider whether asylum-seekers had had an
BACKGROUND
Oman’s human rights record was examined
under the UPR in November. Oman said it
would consider all 233 recommendations and
was due to respond by 31 March 2016.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to restrict freedom
of expression, arresting and prosecuting
online journalists, bloggers and others on
public order charges or under vaguely worded
penal code provisions that criminalize
insulting the Sultan. The authorities also
harassed activists by confiscating their
identification papers and banning them from
foreign travel.
In March, the authorities detained online
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activist Talib al-Saeedi for three weeks and
released him without charge. The same
month, a court in the southern city of Salalah
sentenced blogger Saeed al-Daroodi, arrested
in October 2014, to one year in prison and a
fine; he was convicted of “trying to
overthrow the government” and
“spreading hate”.
In April, an appeal court in Salalah released
human rights activist Saeed Jaddad after he
appealed against his one-year prison
sentence and a fine following his conviction
under the Cyber Crimes Law. In November
his sentence was upheld and he was arrested
to serve his prison sentence. In a separate
case, in September, the Appeal Court in
Muscat upheld his three-year prison sentence
and a fine on charges of “undermining the
prestige of the state”, “incitement to protest”
and “using social media to disseminate
information that infringed the sanctity of
public order”.
The authorities arrested at least eight men
in July and August following comments they
had made on social media websites and their
alleged links to Mohammad al-Fazari, a
human rights activist and founder and editor
of the
Citizen
online journal, who fled Oman
in July.
Former Shura Council member Dr Talib al-
Ma’mari and city councillor Saqr al-Balushi
remained in prison serving four-year and one-
year terms respectively, after an unfair trial in
2014. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention had in December 2014 stated that
Dr Talib al-Ma’mari was arbitrarily detained
and that the government should release and
compensate him.
In April, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of
association reported on his 2014 visit to
Oman. Among other findings, he described
“the legal environment for the exercise of the
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association”, including online expression, as
“problematic” He urged Oman to ratify key
international human rights treaties and
withdraw its reservations to other treaties to
which it is a party. The government criticized
the Special Rapporteur’s visit and rejected his
findings.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women were not accorded equal rights with
men in criminal law, which attached less
weight to the evidence of a woman than to the
evidence of a man, and under personal status
law, which accorded men greater rights in
relation to divorce, child custody, inheritance
and conferral of nationality.
DEATH PENALTY
Oman retained the death penalty for a range
of crimes; no executions were reported.
PAKISTAN
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Head of state:
Mamnoon Hussain
Head of government:
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif
Executions resumed following the Pakistani
Taliban-led attack on the Army Public
School in Peshawar in December 2014.
Adding to concerns over fair trials, newly
established military courts were authorized
to try all those accused of terrorism-related
offences, including civilians. A new National
Human Rights Commission was established
with a mandate to promote and protect
human rights, but was restricted from
investigating allegations of human rights
abuses against the intelligence agencies.
Religious minorities continued to face
discrimination, persecution and targeted
attacks. Human rights activists experienced
harassment and abuse. In March, Baloch
activists were barred from leaving the
country to speak at a conference in the USA
about human rights violations in Balochistan
and Sindh. A new policy for international
NGOs was passed in October, giving the
government the power to monitor their funds
and operations and to close them down on
the basis of activities considered to be
against the interests of Pakistan. In
November, the government restored a
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separate Ministry of Human Rights, which it
had merged with the Ministry of Law and
Justice in 2013.
BACKGROUND
Following the attack on the Army Public
School in Peshawar on 16 December 2014 in
which 149 people were killed, including 132
children, the political and military leadership
announced a 20-point National Action Plan
(NAP) to counter terrorism. Its
implementation started with the immediate
resumption of executions for prisoners
convicted of terrorism-related offences. In
January, the President signed the 21st
Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2015 and
the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act 1952,
giving military courts jurisdiction for two years
to try civilians for terrorism-related offences.
Under the NAP the government also pledged
to curb hate through speech and literature,
protect minorities, and prevent terrorism. By
October, up to 9,400 people had been
arrested according to government figures on
allegations of inflaming sectarian hate; some
booksellers and publishers claimed they were
unfairly targeted by police who were under
pressure to make arrests. Major floods for the
fifth year in a row displaced hundreds of
thousands and killed more than 200 people.
In October, an earthquake in the Hindu Kush
range of Afghanistan killed at least 28 people
in Pakistan.
kidnapping, and terrorism-related charges.
Faisal Mehmood and Aftab Bahadur were
among those executed despite claims and
supporting evidence submitted by their
lawyers that they were juveniles at the time of
the offences for which they were convicted. In
October, the Supreme Court upheld the death
sentence of Mumtaz Qadri for killing the
Punjab governor in 2011.
Military courts sentenced at least 27 people
to death and four to life imprisonment. Details
of the allegations and trial proceedings
remained unknown. Death sentences
imposed on at least two people were
challenged in the Peshawar High Court
(PHC), including by Haider Ali, whose parents
claimed he was a juvenile when arrested in
2009, and Qari Zahir Gul, whose parents
claimed he did not have a fair trial. The PHC
upheld both death sentences in October
during in-camera proceedings.
DISCRIMINATION – RELIGIOUS
MINORITIES
DEATH PENALTY
The Prime Minister announced the
resumption of executions of people convicted
of terrorism-related offences following the
Peshawar school attack in December 2014.
In March the moratorium on the death
penalty was lifted for all 28 offences for which
the death penalty is provided, including non-
lethal crimes. In November, a parliamentary
panel approved the punishment of life
imprisonment or the death penalty for the
rape of girls aged 13 or under.
More than 300 executions were recorded
during the year, most for murder and others
for rape, attempted assassination,
Religious minorities, both Muslim and non-
Muslim, continued to face laws and practices
that resulted in discrimination and
persecution. In February, Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for an
attack on a Shiite mosque in Peshawar that
killed at least 20 worshippers and injured 60.
In March, a suicide attack on two churches in
Lahore claimed by Jamaat ul Ahrar, a splinter
group of the TTP, killed at least 22 people.
Following the attack, a group of Christians in
the same neighbourhood killed two Muslim
men. In May, 45 Ismailis on a bus in Karachi
were attacked and killed; and various groups,
including TTP, Jundullah and the armed
group Islamic State (IS), claimed
responsibility. At least three Hindu temples in
Sindh province were attacked; there were no
reports of deaths or injuries.
Blasphemy laws remained in force, mostly
in Punjab province; they applied to people of
all religions but were disproportionately used
against religious minorities. An appeal against
the death sentence of Asia Noreen (also
known as Asia Bibi) in October 2014 was
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admitted in the Supreme Court but a hearing
date was not confirmed at the end of the year.
An appeal against Sawan Masih’s conviction
and death sentence for blasphemy allegations
that sparked a mob attack against residents
of Lahore’s Joseph Colony in 2013 remained
pending in the Lahore High Court. In its
judgment against Mumtaz Qadri, the
Supreme Court noted that criticism of the
blasphemy law did not amount to blasphemy.
It remained a criminal offence for members
of the Ahmadiyya faith to propagate, profess
or practise their religion openly.
Forced conversions and marriages of
Hindu girls to Muslim men continued,
particularly in Sindh.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
month later in Jamshoro district.
The NGO, Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan, documented a rise in killings of
suspects in Karachi during paramilitary
security operations, as 255 people were killed
in the first half of 2015. The political party
Muttahida Qaumi Movement claimed that
some of its members were abducted and
unlawfully killed.
In November, an amendment to the
Pakistan Army Act gave retrospective legal
cover to arrests by the armed forces and law
enforcement agencies. Lawyers for Qari Zahir
Gul and Haider Ali, who were tried in the
newly established military courts, claimed
they were subjected to enforced
disappearance and unlawful detention prior to
their trials.
Armed groups continued to carry out targeted
attacks against civilians, including health
workers and civilians affiliated with the
government.
At least eight members of polio vaccination
teams – six men and two women – were killed
by armed groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(KPK) province, the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan
province.
Armed groups continued to target civilians
affiliated with the government or government-
run projects. In April, 20 construction workers
from Sindh and Punjab were killed in Kech
district, Balochistan; the Balochistan
Liberation Front claimed responsibility. In
August, several armed groups, including
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, claimed responsibility
following a suicide attack that killed 18
people, including the Punjab Home Minister.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Enforced disappearances continued with
impunity, particularly in Balochistan, KPK and
Sindh. Bodies were later found bearing
apparent bullet wounds and torture marks.
Raja Dahir, affiliated with the banned Sindhi
nationalist party Jeay Sindh Mutihida Muhaz,
was subjected to enforced disappearance
after a raid on his home by security forces in
Sindh in June. His body was recovered a
The civilian population in FATA continued to
be affected by internal armed conflict. The
Pakistan Army continued its military
operations, started in 2014, against non-state
armed groups in North Waziristan and Khyber
tribal agency. The Army claimed that over
3,400 militants were killed and at least
21,193 arrested during these operations. Due
to the lack of transparency of the operations
and independent media coverage, and
previous concerns of disproportionate use of
force in similar operations, serious concerns
remained about the circumstances
surrounding the killings, and the treatment in
detention and fair trials of those arrested.
More than one million people remained
displaced as a result of the current and past
armed conflict in the northwest.
US drone strikes reduced in number and
were carried out mainly in North Waziristan.
Information about the impact on civilians was
scarce. Two foreign aid workers – US national
Warren Weinstein and Italian national
Giovanni Lo Porto – who had been held as
hostages by al-Qa’ida were among those
killed in a US drone strike in January,
highlighting again the wider concerns that
drone strikes lead to the unlawful killing of
civilians.
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The Pakistan Army launched its first drone
strike on 7 September, claiming it killed three
leaders of armed groups in North Waziristan.
Armed conflict continued in areas of North
Waziristan, with allegations by human rights
groups that civilians were killed and injured
as result of indiscriminate military operations.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Some journalists and media channels
exercised self-censorship for fear of reprisals
from the Pakistan Army and armed groups.
Following coverage of Pakistan’s response to
the intervention of Saudi Arabia in Yemen in
May, and the stampede in September at the
annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca where more
than 2,000 pilgrims died, the state-run
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory
Authority (PEMRA) issued warnings to the
media against airing reports deemed critical
of Saudi Arabia. In both instances PEMRA
invoked Article 19 of the Constitution, which
provides for exemptions to the right to
freedom of expression in cases of criticism of
the military, judiciary and Pakistan's relations
with “friendly countries”.
At least two media workers were killed and
six injured in connection with their work.
Zaman Mehsud was killed on 3 November in
Tank. The TTP claimed responsibility for the
attack saying it was for his writings against
them. TTP factions threatened journalists with
severe consequences if they did not provide
them with coverage. The Prime Minister’s
promise of March 2014 to appoint Special
Prosecutors to try cases involving attacks on
journalists had not been fulfilled by the end of
the year.
In April, human rights activist Sabeen
Mahmud was killed after hosting a discussion
on Balochistan at her cafe in Karachi. Her
driver, a key witness, subsequently was shot
dead, despite the Sindh Witness Protection
Act 2013 that was passed to protect
witnesses.
Three Baloch activists, including Abdul
Qadeer Baloch, Vice Chairman of the
organization Voice for Baloch Missing
Persons, were banned from travelling to the
USA in March to attend a conference
organized by Sindhi and Baloch activists.
They were detained at Karachi airport for a
few hours, accused of engaging in terrorism
and anti-state activities. No charges were
brought against them.
In October, a new policy was announced
requiring all international NGOs to register
and obtain permission from the Ministry of
Interior for carrying out activities. The policy
also empowered the government to monitor
their funds and operations and to close them
down on the basis of activities considered to
be against the interests of Pakistan.
In September, the National Assembly
Standing Committee on Information
Technology and Telecommunication
approved the proposed Prevention of
Electronic Crimes Bill which allows the
government to censor online content and
access internet users’ data. Activists raised
concerns about provisions which threatened
privacy and freedom of expression and
imposed heavy punishments. The Bill was
awaiting final approval by the National
Assembly at the end of the year.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Women and girls continued to face violence
and threats. At least 4,308 cases of violence
against women and girls were reported for the
first six months of 2015. The figure included
709 cases of murder; 596 of rape and gang
rape; 36 of sexual assault; 186 of so-called
“honour” crimes; and 1,020 of kidnapping.
Despite the enactment of the Acid Control
and Acid Crime Prevention Act in 2011, at
least 40 acid attack cases were recorded
between January and June.
In Sahiwal a number of knife attacks were
reported against women seen outside their
homes without a male companion. Up to six
cases were reported in one week in
September.
Tabassum Adnan, the founder of Khwendo
Jirga, Pakistan’s first all-women
jirga
(informal
judicial court), received the US State
Department's 2015 International Women of
Courage Award in KPK. Following the
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publicity received through the award, she
faced anonymous threats via phone and text
messages that forced her to relocate to
another city.
Despite efforts in recent years to enact
legislation protecting women from violence,
laws remained in force under which female
rape victims can be convicted for adultery.
Women continued to be denied equality and
protection in law, a situation exacerbated by
factors including the absence of legislation
against incest and a gender-insensitive
criminal justice system.
BACKGROUND
PALESTINE
(STATE OF)
State of Palestine
Head of state:
Mahmoud Abbas
Head of government:
Rami Hamdallah
The Palestinian authorities in the West Bank
and the Hamas de facto administration in
the Gaza Strip both restricted freedom of
expression, including by arresting and
detaining critics and political opponents.
They also restricted the right to peaceful
assembly and used excessive force to
disperse some protests. Torture and other
ill-treatment of detainees remained common
in both Gaza and the West Bank. Unfair
trials of civilians before military courts
continued in Gaza; detainees were held
without charge or trial in the West Bank.
Women and girls faced discrimination and
violence; some were victims of so-called
“honour” killings by male relatives. Courts in
both Gaza and the West Bank imposed
death sentences; no executions were
reported. Neither the Palestinian authorities
in the West Bank nor the Hamas authorities
in Gaza took steps to investigate and ensure
accountability for war crimes and other
serious abuses, including summary killings,
committed during the 2014 conflict with
Israel and previous conflicts.
Negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinian government and institutions under
Mahmoud Abbas remained stalled throughout
the year. Continuing tensions between Fatah
and Hamas undermined the Palestinian
national unity government formed in June
2014. Hamas continued to exercise de facto
authority in Gaza, where it announced a new
security force in July after President Abbas
made changes to the cabinet of the unity
government. Reports that Hamas engaged in
indirect negotiations with Israel regarding a
possible ceasefire and lifting of Israel’s air,
sea and land blockade of Gaza further
heightened tensions between Fatah and
Hamas. In January, the State of Palestine
applied to join the ICC; Israel opposed
Palestine’s application and withheld tax
revenue payments due to the Palestinian
authorities until April. Palestine formally
joined the ICC in April. In September,
President Abbas told the UN General
Assembly that the Palestine Liberation
Organization would no longer abide by
commitments it made under the Oslo
Accords, the 1990s peace agreements it
signed with Israel, while the Israeli authorities
continued to violate them; however, security
co-operation between Palestinian security
forces in the West Bank and Israel continued.
Gaza remained under an Israeli air, sea
and land blockade, in force continuously
since June 2007. The continuing restrictions
on imports of construction materials under
the blockade contributed to severe delays in
reconstruction of homes and other
infrastructure damaged or destroyed in recent
armed conflicts and widespread
impoverishment among Gaza’s 1.8 million
inhabitants. The Egyptian authorities tightly
restricted movement through Gaza’s only
other access to the outside world, closing the
Rafah Crossing for almost the entire year, and
destroying hundreds of tunnels used for
smuggling between Gaza and Egypt. Within
Gaza, there were sporadic clashes between
Hamas forces and supporters of Salafist and
other Palestinian armed groups, some of
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whom occasionally fired indiscriminate
rockets towards and into Israel from Gaza.
The West Bank saw rising tension between
Palestinians and Israelis, particularly from
September, when Israel further curtailed
Palestinian access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem, heightening protests and clashes
between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli
forces. The last three months of the year saw
a surge in Palestinian protests against the
Israeli occupation and in attacks by
Palestinians on Israeli forces and civilians, to
which Israeli troops and police responded
with lethal force. Seventeen Israeli civilians
were killed by Palestinian attackers during
this period, mostly acting alone and not
affiliated with armed groups, while Israeli
forces killed more than 130 Palestinians in
the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside Israel.
Independent Commission for Human Rights,
Palestine’s national human rights institution,
reported receiving a total of 613 allegations of
torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
between January and November, 179 from
the West Bank and 434 from Gaza, with the
majority of complaints in both areas against
police. Neither the Palestine national unity
government nor the Hamas de facto
administration in Gaza independently
investigated torture allegations or held
perpetrators to account.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Security authorities in the West Bank,
including Preventative Security and General
Intelligence, and those in Gaza, particularly
Internal Security, arbitrarily arrested and
detained their critics, including supporters of
rival political organizations.
UNFAIR TRIALS
In both the West Bank and Gaza, political and
judicial authorities failed to ensure adherence
to basic due process rights, such as prompt
access to legal counsel and to charge or
release. Palestinian security forces in the
West Bank held detainees for long periods
without trial on orders of regional governors,
and delayed or failed to comply with court
orders for the release of detainees in dozens
of cases. In Gaza, Hamas military courts
continued to convict defendants in unfair
trials, sentencing some to death.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The national unity government and Hamas
severely curtailed the rights to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly in the West Bank and Gaza
respectively. In both areas, security forces
arrested and detained critics or supporters of
rival political organizations; in the West Bank,
security forces detained Hamas supporters,
while in Gaza, Hamas security forces
detained supporters of Fatah. Security forces
in both areas dispersed opposition protests,
sometimes using excessive force, and
assaulted journalists reporting on protests,
damaged their equipment and harassed them
and social media activists, including by
repeatedly summoning them for questioning.
In the West Bank, Preventative Security
officers detained Birzeit University student
Bara’ al-Qadi for 13 days after arresting him
in January for criticizing a government official
in comments he posted on the website
Facebook. Preventative Security officers also
detained and questioned other student
activists, some of whom filed complaints
alleging ill-treatment, after a Hamas-affiliated
student group won Birzeit University’s student
council elections in April.
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
remained common and was committed with
impunity by Palestinian police and other
security forces in the West Bank, and Hamas
police and other security forces in Gaza. In
both areas, the victims included children. The
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Security forces were accused of using
excessive force to disperse protests and when
attempting to make arrests in both the West
Bank and Gaza.
In the West Bank in March, police and
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other security agents used force to break up a
peaceful sit-in protest in Ramallah by relatives
of political detainees held by the authorities,
kicking protesters and hitting them with gun
butts. In June, police raids on homes in
Balata, the West Bank’s largest refugee
camp, sparked violent confrontations. At least
one camp resident was wounded by gunfire.
Some camp residents who were arrested and
later released said they had been tortured in
detention.
In Gaza, police beat demonstrators in
Khuza’a, near the city of Khan Younis, who
were protesting against recurrent power cuts
in March; several protesters were injured and
some were arrested. In September, police
forcibly dispersed renewed protests against
power shortages in the city of Rafah, beating
demonstrators and seizing film and
equipment from journalists covering the
protests.
On 2 June, Gaza security forces killed
Yunis Sa'id al-Hunnar, an Islamist activist and
Hamas opponent, during a raid on his home
in the Sheikh Redwan area of Gaza City. The
Gaza Ministry of the Interior said security
forces shot him dead after he refused to
surrender and opened fire on them; however,
the authorities failed to conduct an
independent investigation. On 8 July, Gaza
police officers killed one man and wounded
two other people during a disturbance
following a funeral.
IMPUNITY
A climate of impunity continued to prevail.
The authorities again failed to investigate
unlawful killings, including summary
executions, and the firing of indiscriminate
weapons and other alleged war crimes
committed by the military wing of Hamas and
other Palestinian armed groups during armed
conflicts with Israel in 2014 and previously.
Nor did they conduct independent
investigations or hold to account officials
responsible for torturing and ill-treating
detainees or using excessive force against
protesters.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice, and
were inadequately protected against sexual
and other violence, including so-called
“honour” killings. At least 18 women and girls
were reported to be victims of such killings
during the year.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
murder and other crimes. Courts in the West
Bank handed down three death sentences;
courts in Gaza issued at least 10. There were
no executions.
PANAMA
Republic of Panama
Head of state and government:
Juan Carlos Varela
The trial of former President Manuel
Noriega relating to the enforced
disappearance in 1970 of Heliodoro
Portugal was suspended. An Indigenous
community held protests against a
hydroelectricity project that they said had
not received their free, prior and informed
consent. Civil society organizations
denounced poor conditions at a naval
prison.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Palestinian armed groups in Gaza
occasionally fired indiscriminate rockets into
Israel; no deaths resulted. While the Hamas
authorities prevented rocket firing much of
the time, they failed to prosecute those
responsible.
While most of the Palestinian attackers
responsible for stabbing, shooting and
carrying out other attacks on Israelis in the
West Bank and Israel, which killed 21 Israeli
civilians and a US national during the year,
were not members of Palestinian armed
groups, these groups frequently praised the
attacks.
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BACKGROUND
The Supreme Court approved new
investigations against former President
Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) for corruption
and the illegal wiretapping and electronic
surveillance of political opponents, journalists,
union leaders and other prominent members
of society. Ricardo Martinelli, who left the
country, denied the allegations against him
and said he was the victim of political
persecution.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In February, Panama’s National
Environmental Authority temporarily
suspended the construction of the Barro
Blanco hydroelectric dam, which had been at
the centre of a land dispute with the Ngöbe-
Buglé Indigenous community, for failings in
its environmental impact assessment.
However, the government later said that
construction of the nearly completed dam will
continue. The Ngöbe-Buglé community had
protested against the dam for several years,
saying they were not properly consulted
beforehand and that the dam will flood their
land.
Convention against enforced disappearance
in 2011, it had not recognized the
competence of the Committee on Enforced
Disappearances to receive and consider
communications from or on behalf of victims
or from other states parties.
In June, Ecuadoran national Jesús Vélez
Loor travelled to Panama to appear before a
prosecutor and answer questions about his
detention and torture by Panamanian
authorities between 2002 and 2003. The
Inter-American Court held a hearing in
February with representatives of the
government to discuss Panama’s failure to
fully comply with a 2010 judgment regarding
his case, which ruled that Panama must
investigate the human rights violations
committed against him and improve
treatment towards migrants.
PRISON CONDITIONS
IMPUNITY
The trial of former President Manuel Noriega
for the enforced disappearance of union
leader and activist Heliodoro Portugal in 1970
was suspended shortly before it was due to
begin in May. The suspension came after
Manuel Noriega’s lawyer appealed, arguing
that the trial would violate the terms of his
extradition from France in 2011. It was
unclear when the court would rule on the
appeal or if the trial would proceed.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
had ruled in 2008 that Panama was
responsible for Heliodoro Portugal’s enforced
disappearance as well as the failure to
investigate the crime. The Inter-American
Court ruled that the government must carry
out an effective investigation and ensure the
perpetrators are punished, as well as make
reparations to the family.
Although Panama ratified the International
Local civil society organizations, the UN
Special Rapporteur on torture and the head of
the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
called on the authorities to halt the transfer of
prisoners to a maximum security prison
located at the naval base on Punta Coco
Island. The UN experts said the prison
operated outside of the official penitentiary
system, had unsanitary conditions, and
prisoners were being moved there without
proper notification to their lawyers and
families. The director of the penitentiary
system, Gabriel Pinzón, denied that the
prisoners’ human rights were being violated
but said the government would establish a
sub-commission to investigate.
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PAPUA NEW
GUINEA
Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Governor General Michael Ogio
Head of government:
Peter Charles Paire O’Neill
The government took little action to address
violence against women or sorcery-related
violence.
Reports of unnecessary or excessive use
of force by police and military persisted.
Hundreds of men remained in detention at
the Australia-run immigration detention
centre on Manus Island.
on issues such as sexual and gender-based
violence.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Sexual and gender-based violence remained
pervasive. Legal reforms in recent years,
including the repeal of the Sorcery Act and
introduction of the 2013 Family Protection
Act, were not followed up by effective action,
such as improving social services, access to
health care, counselling and women’s
shelters. The police force remained
understaffed and under-resourced to deal
with the high volume of family violence
reports, preventing many women from
accessing justice. Lack of government
services in remote areas disproportionately
affected women in rural locations from
accessing health care and other services.
Reports continued of women and children
being subjected to violence, sometimes
resulting in death, following accusations of
sorcery. In May a woman was hacked to
death by a group of men after being accused
of sorcery. A video showing four women being
tortured as suspected sorcerers surfaced in
October. Although it had not been verified
independently by the end of the year, there
remained concerns about the continued high
level of incidents of sorcery-related violence.
A climate of intimidation and threats by
police and non-state actors continued against
human rights defenders who sought justice
Many incidents of excessive use of force by
police were reported throughout the year. In
January police in the capital, Port Moresby,
fired indiscriminately into a market after a
dispute between vendors and local council
officials, killing two vendors. No arrests had
been made by the end of the year.
In November, two policemen in Papua New
Guinea's East New Britain were charged with
murder over the death of a man in a police
cell.
Another officer was suspended pending an
investigation into the sexual assault of a
female inmate in a Kokopo police cell after
she was arrested over the death of her
husband.
In Enga province police and Papua New
Guinea Defence Force soldiers reportedly
pointed guns at two shop owners and allowed
people to steal their goods.
In December the Papua New Guinea Police
Commissioner said he will review the Royal
PNG Constabulary rules of engagement to
ensure that officers used firearms
responsibly.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
While some attempts were made to improve
accountability in individual cases, many
police abuses such as torture including rape,
and unlawful detention, went unpunished.
Marginalized groups, including sex workers
and LGBTI people, were particularly
vulnerable to abuses by the police while in
custody.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was retained in law; the
last execution was carried out in 1954. In
May, the Prime Minister announced that the
government would review its 2013 decision to
resume executions following a global outcry
against the implementation of death
sentences in Indonesia. Thirteen prisoners
are reported to remain on death row. Officials
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in the Attorney General's Office confirmed in
October that the government was considering
a different approach and that an official
announcement would be made at a later
date.
PARAGUAY
Republic of Paraguay
Head of state and government:
Horacio Manuel Cartes
Jara
Indigenous Peoples continued to be denied
access to their traditional lands. Sexual and
reproductive rights were not guaranteed and
abortion continued to be criminalized in
most cases.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
As of 30 November, 926 adult men were
detained at the Australia-run immigration
detention centre on Manus Island. Despite
some improvements to conditions at the
centre, concerns remained about prolonged
and arbitrary detention, as well as safety and
security following an attack on the centre in
February 2014. Plans regarding long-term
resettlement were uncertain. A number of
human rights restrictions applied to those
who were moved to a more “open” facility in
Lorengau. Concerns remained around
refoulement.
A two-week hunger strike involving more
than 700 detainees took place in January.
Concerns were raised about how the security
services dealt with this incident and its
aftermath.
1
In October, the Australian and Papua New
Guinean governments announced that
decisions regarding refugee status would
finally be made for remaining detainees and
that successful applicants would be resettled
across Papua New Guinea by the end of
2015. While around 40 men had previously
been released into alternative accommodation
on Manus Island, their movements and right
to work were severely restricted. Refugees
were granted only a one-year temporary visa,
as the necessary political and legislative
processes to create a new visa class for
refugees had not been completed.
The trial of those charged with the killing of
Manus Island detainee Reza Berati in
February 2014 began in March 2015. Three
other suspects, including nationals of New
Zealand and Australia, were also being
sought.
BACKGROUND
In October, the Special Rapporteur on the
right of everyone to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health highlighted that the
criminalization of abortion contributes to high
rates of early pregnancy and unsafe
abortions, and that widespread discrimination
and deep inequalities threaten the right to
health.
No progress was made in passing
legislation on non-discrimination. A bill had
been rejected by the Senate at the end of
2014 due to a lack of agreement to include all
prohibited grounds. In November, two new
draft bills to tackle discrimination were
introduced to the Congress.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
1. Australian and PNG authorities must respect asylum-seekers’ right to
protest (News
story,
19 January)
Indigenous Peoples faced delays in acquiring
titles and access to their ancestral lands.
In June, a second attempt by a landowner
to nullify the 2014 expropriation law – passed
to return their land to the Sawhoyamaxa
community – was rejected by the Supreme
Court. A resolution to a complaint filed by the
community against the occupation of their
land by the landowner’s employees was still
pending at the end of the year.
The Yakye Axa community was still unable
to resettle on their land – despite an
agreement between the authorities and the
landowne having been finalized in January
2012 – due to incomplete road works. No
government funds were made available for
the Xákmok Kásek community to buy their
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land back from the company owning it, in
spite of a 2014 agreement.
The Ayoreo Totobiegosode community
denounced the invasion and deforestation of
their traditional territory by cattle companies,
and the risks to those living in voluntary
isolation.
1
The Ayoreo Atetadiegosode community
denounced the deforestation, attacks by
private security guards and delay in the
regularization of their traditional territory.
2
The trial of three suspects in the deaths of
two adolescents in April 2014 at the Itauguá
Educational Centre juvenile detention facility
was announced in June.
WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS
IMPUNITY AND JUSTICE SYSTEM
Judicial proceedings against 13
campesinos
(peasant farmers) continued for their alleged
involvement in the killings of six police officers
and other related crimes in the context of a
2012 land dispute in the Curuguaty district.
No one was charged for the deaths of 11
peasant farmers who also died during the
clashes, raising concerns over the
investigation’s impartiality.
3
In July, 12 of the 13 accused
campesinos
requested to change their lawyers. The legal
representatives faced an administrative
measure started in 2014 for allegedly
delaying the process. The procedure was still
ongoing at the end of the year.
In October, the
campesinos’
trial was
suspended for the ninth time, after the
defence sought a recusal of the magistrate
court, arguing lack of impartiality. The
defence’s allegations were dismissed and the
trial continued at the end of the year.
In July, the appeal court confirmed that
there was insufficient evidence to prove Lucía
Sandoval’s involvement in the killing of her
husband in 2011. She filed a complaint for
the abuse she suffered at the hands of her
husband before his death. By the end of the
year she had not yet recovered the custody of
her children.
Legislation that was submitted in March to the
Deputy Chamber to prevent and punish
violence against women was still being
discussed at the end of the year. In June, a
public hearing in which civil society
organizations commented on the project took
place. In May, a bill to prevent and punish
sexual violence and establish integral support
for victims of sexual abuse was presented to
the Deputy Chamber, and was still under
debate at the end of the year.
Abortion was only permitted when the life
of the woman or girl was at grave risk, and
remained criminalized in all other
circumstances, including when the
pregnancy was the result of rape or incest, or
when the foetus would be unable to survive
outside the womb.
4
National and international outrage was
generated by the case of a 10-year-old girl
who was pregnant after being raped –
allegedly by her stepfather – and was denied
the possibility of having an abortion in April.
5
A year earlier, the mother had reported the
sexual abuse to the Prosecutor’s Office, but
the case was dismissed. The pregnancy went
undetected after visits to several public health
centres. After the girl gave birth in August,
her family denounced the lack of medical,
educational and financial support that had
been promised by the authorities.
Investigations into the supposed responsibility
of the imprisoned stepfather were ongoing at
the end of the year. The mother also faced an
investigation for breaching her duty of care;
the charges were dismissed in November.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Investigations into allegations of torture of
campesinos
during the 2012 clashes in the
Curuguaty district were ongoing. The defence
denounced delays and a lack of investigative
measures from the Prosecutor’s Office.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Lawyers who represented the rights of
Indigenous communities and
campesinos
faced administrative measures in carrying out
their work.
6
In December, a lawyer representing the
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Sawhoyamaxa and Yakye Axa Indigenous
communities was given a warning by the
Supreme Court following an administrative
investigation for criticizing a judge’s ruling on
an expropriation law that benefited the
community. An appeal to the warning was
pending at the end of the year.
Alto Huallaga, San Martín region, declared 30
years previously due to actions by the armed
opposition group Shining Path, was lifted.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
1. Indigenous group in voluntary isolation at risk (AMR
45/2041/2015)
2. Paraguay: Security guards threatening Indigenous group (AMR
45/2700/2015)
3. Paraguay: Continúa la impunidad a tres años de las muertes en
Curuguaty, 15 June 2015 (News
story,
15 June)
4. Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, June 2015 (AMR
45/2142/2015)
5. Paraguay: Life of a pregnant 10-year-old girl at risk (AMR
45/1554/2015);
Paraguay: Raped 10-year-old must be allowed an
abortion (Press
release,
29 April)
6.
Administrative inquiry against human rights defender in Paraguay is
disproportionate (AMR
45/1476/2015)
PERU
Republic of Peru
Head of state and government:
Ollanta Moisés Humala
Tasso
Government critics were attacked. Excessive
force by security personnel was reported.
Indigenous Peoples continued to be denied
their full rights. There was some progress in
tackling impunity. Sexual and reproductive
rights were not guaranteed.
BACKGROUND
In December, the President ratified a national
mechanism for the prevention of torture,
approved by Congress in 2014. A draft law to
search for those who disappeared during the
internal armed conflict had not been
submitted to Congress despite agreement
between the authorities and victims’ relatives
in 2014. Challapalca prison, situated over
4,600m above sea level in Tacna region,
remained open amid concerns that conditions
constituted cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment. In June, the state of emergency in
Critics of extractive industry projects were
subjected to intimidation, excessive use of
force and arbitrary arrests by the security
forces.
Máxima Acuña Atalaya and her family,
subsistence farmers in a longstanding land
dispute with the Yanacocha mining company,
continued to face harassment by the security
forces in attempts to drive them from where
they lived in Tragadero Grande, Cajamarca
region. In February, police demolished a
structure she was building to make her house
weatherproof.
In May, Ramón Colque was shot dead
when police opened fire against residents
attempting to block the Southern Pan-
American Highway during protests against the
planned Tía María copper mining project in
the Tambo Valley, Islay province, Arequipa
department. They claimed the project would
affect their access to clean water. Three other
men were killed, including a police officer,
and scores were ill-treated and arbitrarily
arrested. At the end of the year all detainees
had been released but many were still facing
charges. Community leaders were
1
intimidated.
In September, four civilians died and
scores of people were injured, including
police officers, during protests against the
copper mining project in Las Bambas and
Apurímac regions. A state of emergency was
declared in Apurímac and Cusco regions for
four weeks at the end of September.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Indigenous Peoples continued to be denied
their right to free, prior and informed consent
in relation to proposals affecting their
livelihoods.
In May, the authorities passed legislation
which allowed expropriation of land and
reduced the requirement to approve
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environmental impact assessments for major
development projects, amid concerns that the
law could affect Indigenous Peoples’ rights
and territories.
At the end of the year, the trial was still
ongoing of 53 people, including Indigenous
people and some of their leaders, who stood
accused of killing 12 police officers during
clashes with security forces in a 2009
operation to disperse a road blockade led by
Indigenous people in Bagua, Amazon region.
A total of 33 people died in the clashes,
including 23 police officers, and over 200
people were injured. No security personnel
have been held accountable.
Excessive use of force
The vast majority of deaths during protests as
a result of excessive use of force by security
forces remained unresolved.
In April, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said
that only two investigations had been opened
into deaths allegedly caused by excessive use
of force by police during protests. At least 50
cases had been documented by human rights
organizations since 2012.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
IMPUNITY
Internal armed conflict
Some progress was made in the investigation
of human rights violations during the internal
armed conflict (1980-2000).
In March, 10 military personnel were
charged with crimes against humanity for
sexual violence, including rape, inflicted on
scores of women from Manta and Vilca,
Huancavelica province. This was the first
case to have reached the courts of sexual
violence committed during the internal armed
conflict. According to the register of victims
established in 2005, over 4,400 women and
girls reported being raped or sexually abused
by the military during that period.
In May, retired Lieutenant-Colonel José
Luis Israel Chávez Velásquez was arrested in
connection with the disappearance of seven
people in Huancapi, Ayacucho region, in
1991. The arrest warrant was issued 11 years
before his arrest.
In September, the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights ruled that Peru was
responsible for the forced disappearance of
15 people, including seven children, from the
peasant community of Santa Bárbara, in
Huancavelica, in 1991, and ordered Peru to
prosecute those responsible, offer reparation
to the relatives and exhume and identify the
remains of the victims.
Women and girls continued to have limited
access to contraception. Free distribution of
emergency contraceptives, including in cases
of sexual abuse, continued to be banned.
According to figures from the National
Statistics Institute in July, teenage pregnancy
increased to nearly 15% of girls and women
aged between 15 and 19 in 2014.
In November, the Congress’ Constitutional
Commission rejected a draft law to legalize
abortion for victims of rape.
In May, the Public Prosecutor’s Office
reopened and extended the investigation into
the case of over 2,000 Indigenous and
women farmers who were allegedly forcibly
sterilized. Over 200,000 women were
sterilized in the 1990s under a family
planning programme, many without their
consent.
In November, a decree law establishing a
register of victims of forced sterilization was
issued as a first step to guarantee the right to
justice and adequate reparation.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In March, the Commission of Justice and
Human Rights rejected a law granting equal
rights to same-sex couples.
1. Peru: Urgently investigate two deaths amid anti-mining protests
(News
story,
6 May)
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PHILIPPINES
Republic of the Philippines
Head of state and government:
Benigno S. Aquino III
Torture and other ill-treatment by police
continued in a climate of impunity for
human rights violations. There were no
convictions under laws criminalizing torture
and enforced disappearances. Journalists,
judges, lawyers and Indigenous Peoples
were targeted and killed by unidentified
gunmen and suspected militia. Progress
towards realizing women’s sexual and
reproductive rights was halting. Tens of
thousands of victims of past human rights
violations sought redress.
BACKGROUND
Despite the 2014 peace accord between the
government and the armed group Moro
Islamic Liberation Front, an encounter
between police forces and rebel groups in
Maguindanao in January resulted in the
deaths of 44 elite police officers and 23
rebels. This stalled efforts to pass a landmark
law creating an autonomous Bangsamoro
region in the southern Philippines.
The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board
received 75,000 applications for
compensation from victims of Martial Law, in
force from 1972 to 1981 under the rule of
President Ferdinand Marcos. In July, the UN
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of
displaced persons raised a range of concerns
following his visit, including on Indigenous
Peoples displaced due to economic
development activities.
convicted under the Act by the end of 2015.
Several criminal investigations and
prosecutions were ongoing.
The national Commission on Human Rights
recorded 51 cases of torture in 2014,
involving 59 individuals. From January to
September, it recorded 47 more cases
involving 65 victims.
In May, the chief of police of Carmona,
Cavite province, appeared in a video hitting a
male detainee suspected of theft with a thick
piece of wood. The incident was shown on
national television, prompting the Philippine
National Police (PNP) to dismiss him from his
post.
After a year-long administrative
investigation, the PNP found two police
officers liable for the torture of Alfreda
Disbarro in 2013 and demoted them by one
rank.
The PNP initiated administrative
investigations against police officers accused
of torturing Jerryme Corre in 2012. There
were continuing criminal prosecutions for
torture in his case, as well as that of Darius
Evangelista, tortured in 2010.
Cases arising from the 2014 discovery of a
secret detention facility in Laguna province, in
which police officers apparently used a
“roulette wheel” to decide which torture
method to use on detainees, remained at the
preliminary investigation stage by the end of
the year.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The Senate conducted its first hearing on
police torture in January and a second in
December;
1
the inquiry into the issue had
been opened in December 2014.
Reports of torture continued, mostly citing
police officers as perpetrators. Despite the
criminalization of torture under the 2009 Anti-
Torture Act, no perpetrators had been
Three years after the enactment of the Anti-
Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Law in
December 2012, there have been no
convictions under the law.
Hearings continued in the trial of retired
army General Jovito Palparan, charged with
kidnapping and illegally detaining two women
university students in 2006. General Palparan
was arrested in 2014 and remanded in
custody. In October, his attempt to
temporarily leave his detention cell to register
and run for the Senate was denied by the
court.
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IMPUNITY
Hearings continued in the case of the 2009
Maguindanao massacre, in which 58 people,
including 32 media workers, were killed by
state-armed militias allegedly led by
government officials. It was feared that the
trial would not conclude before the end of
President Aquino’s term in June 2016. The
case continued, despite efforts by the
Supreme Court to expedite proceedings.
Witnesses and their relatives remained at risk
of being killed or intimidated, although 175
witnesses had testified and more than 100 of
the 200 suspects had been arrested. At least
eight witnesses and their family members
were killed since November 2009, but no one
was held accountable.
In August, assailants killed four men
accused of raping and killing a 14-year-old
girl in Marawi City. The suspects had been
arrested but were released after no charges
were filed. A local government official was
quoted as saying the families of the suspects
and of the victims agreed to the execution-
style killing in order to avoid
rido,
or a family
feud.
In September and November, three judges
were shot dead in broad daylight. Erwin Alaba
was killed outside his courtroom in Aurora
while Wilfredo Nieves was killed inside his car
in Bulacan on the way home. Reynaldo
Espinar was killed in a cockpit in Northern
Samar. Three lawyers were also shot dead in
the second half of the year. Amelie Ocanada-
Alegre was killed in August in Mandaue City
while Ramon Eduardo Elesteria was shot in
Bayawan City. Another lawyer, Pepito Suello,
was killed in Bukidnon in October on his way
to a hearing.
According to the International Association
of People’s Lawyers, at least 25 judges and
more than 80 lawyers have been murdered
since 1999. While investigations have been
conducted, no charges were reported to have
been brought.
shot near her house in Balanga City in
January. In February, radio anchor Maurito
Lim was shot outside a radio station in
Tagbilaran City and newspaper reporter
Melinda Magsino was shot in the head near
her apartment in Batangas City in April.
In August, three journalists were killed in
two weeks. Newspaper publisher Gregorio
Ybanez was shot in front of his house in
Tagum City. Radio anchor Teodoro Escanilla
was also shot in front of his house in
Sorsogon. Radio presenter Cosme Maestrado
was shot by four gunmen in Ozamiz City. In
October, another radio reporter, Jose
Bernardo, was shot at close range by two
unidentified gunmen.
According to the Center for Media Freedom
and Responsibility, if the killings were found
to be work-related, this would bring to 150
the number of journalists killed in the line of
duty since 1986, when restrictions on
freedom of expression were lifted after the
end of the former President Marcos regime.
Only 15 people had been convicted in
connection with the killings of journalists by
the end of 2015.
In September, the primary suspects in the
2011 killing of broadcaster and environmental
advocate Gerardo Ortega were arrested in
Thailand and extradited to the Philippines.
ABUSES BY ARMED MILITIAS
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Seven journalists were killed in 2015.
Newspaper reporter Nerlita Ledesma was
In September, three leaders of the Lumad, a
group of Indigenous Peoples in southern
Philippines, were killed in Surigao del Sur.
Dionel Campos and his cousin Aurelio Sinzo
were shot; Emerito Samarca, a school
director, was hogtied and stabbed to death.
According to the Indigenous people’s party
KATRIBU, 13 Lumads were killed and 4,000
evacuated in 2015 due to armed attacks by
suspected militia, including the three killed in
Surigao del Sur. The group recorded a total of
53 extrajudicial killings of Lumads during
President Aquino’s administration since
2010. Human rights groups accused an
armed militia allegedly trained by the military
of being behind the killings.
UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights of
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indigenous peoples and on the situation of
human rights defenders condemned the
killings. Charges were filed against several
suspects following an investigation by the
Department of Justice.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Authorities implemented the Reproductive
Health Law in November, three years after it
was passed into law. However, a year after
the Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of the Reproductive Health
Law, which provides certain
sexual/reproductive rights to women, it issued
in June a temporary restraining order
stopping the Department of Health from
procuring, distributing and promoting
contraceptive implants.
In May, the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women
found that the Philippines violated women’s
human rights by denying them access to a
full range of reproductive health services,
including universal and affordable
contraceptives.
1. Philippines: Senate hearing should be first step to tackling endemic
torture (News
story,
12 January)
As of November, the Polish Ombudsman,
national NGOs, the National Council of the
Judiciary and other authorities expressed
concerns regarding respect for the rule of law.
They referred to the President’s refusal to
swear in five constitutional judges who had
been elected by the previous Parliament
(Sejm) and to the amendments of the Law on
the Constitutional Court adopted by the newly
elected Parliament. In December, the
Constitutional Court confirmed the election of
three out of five replacement judges.
President Duda continued to uphold his
position that the replacement judges were
elected “illegally”. President Duda also signed
into law the constitutional tribunal bill, which
said the court must approve rulings with a
two-thirds majority, rather than the previous
simple majority, and required 13 of the
court’s 15 judges to be present for the most
contentious cases, instead of the previous
nine. A new law on media giving the
government direct control over management
positions in public service broadcasters was
widely criticized. A number of laws were
rapidly adopted by Parliament without public
consultation and debate.
POLAND
Republic of Poland
Head of state:
Andrzej Duda (replaced Bronislaw
Komorowski in August)
Head of government:
Beata Szydło (replaced Ewa
Kopacz in November)
Parliament failed to reform hate crime
legislation. The government committed to
relocate 5,000 refugees from Italy and
Greece, amid a climate of intolerance and
discriminatory speech, fuelled by some
public officials. The domestic criminal
investigation into the co-operation with the
CIA and the hosting of a secret detention
site was still pending.
DISCRIMINATION
Hate crimes
In March, the European Commission against
Racism and Intolerance recommended
extending the scope of provisions on racist
and xenophobic crimes to crimes perpetrated
with a homophobic or transphobic motive.
Parliament continued to discuss three joint
bills aimed at providing protection against
hate crime perpetrated on grounds such as
sexual orientation, gender identity or
disability. However, it failed to pass them
before parliamentary elections in October.
Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex people
On 26 May and 5 August, Parliament rejected
two bills on civil partnerships, including for
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same-sex couples, without initiating a debate
on the bills.
In September, Parliament approved the
Gender Accordance Act, which established a
framework for legal gender recognition of
transgender people. On 2 October, President
Duda vetoed the Act. Parliament failed to hold
a vote on the presidential veto before
parliamentary elections.
cases. These included earlier actions in May,
paying compensation, and the submission to
US authorities of a diplomatic note requesting
that the death penalty not be imposed or
applied to Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in military
commissions proceedings at the US detention
facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Roma
On 22 July, 10 Romani women, men and
children were forcibly evicted from an
informal settlement in the city of Wrocław.
They were given no notice by municipal
authorities and their houses and belongings
were destroyed while they were at work.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
After the December 2014 release of a US
Senate report documenting the torture of
detainees secretly held by the US CIA from
2002-2006, former President Aleksander
Kwasniewski and former Prime Minister
Leszek Miller acknowledged their co-
operation with the CIA and agreement to host
a secret site.
The former President subsequently stated
publicly that he took steps to end the activity
at the site, amid pressure from other Polish
officials who were concerned that coerced
interrogations were being conducted there.
The Polish criminal investigation into the
secret site allegations, launched in 2008,
continued and was criticized for severe
delays.
In February, the European Court of Human
Rights confirmed as final the July 2014
decisions in the cases of Zayn al-Abidin
Muhammed Husayn (Abu Zubaydah) and
Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The Court had ruled
against the Polish government for co-
operating with the CIA in the enforced
disappearance of the two men, their illegal
transfer, secret detention and torture.
Poland submitted an action plan to the
Council of Europe in August detailing the
measures it had taken or would take to
implement the final judgments in the men’s
The debates regarding relocation and
resettlement of refugees took place in a
climate of mounting discriminatory speech,
fuelled by some public officials throughout
the year.
In July, the government announced the
resettlement of 900 Syrian refugees from
Lebanon and 1,100 refugees currently in Italy
and Greece within its relocation programme.
In September, the government supported the
EU plan to relocate 120,000 refugees from
other European countries. On the basis of the
agreed quotas, about 5,000 refugees would
be relocated from Greece and Italy to Poland
in the next two years. Following the
parliamentary elections, the new
government backtracked from the
commitments under the EU resettlement and
relocation scheme.
At the end of the year, integration
measures remained insufficient and the
authorities did not adopt a comprehensive
integration strategy.
Authorities continued to use detention
disproportionately for migrants and asylum-
seekers. In September, the European Court of
Human Rights communicated the case
Bistieva v. Poland
to the government. The
applicant argued that the authorities’ decision
to detain her and her three children, while
waiting for the decision regarding their asylum
claims, had violated their rights to private life
and to liberty and security.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In April, Poland ratified the Council of Europe
Convention on preventing and combating
violence against women and domestic
violence. However, at the end of the year,
authorities had not yet adopted a
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comprehensive plan to implement the
Convention.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Sexual and reproductive rights
In September, Parliament rejected a draft bill
which aimed at banning abortion in all
instances and removing any reference to
prenatal diagnosis as well as the woman’s
right to information and testing.
On 7 October, the Constitutional Court
ruled that the legal duty imposed on objecting
doctors to refer women to an alternative
facility or practitioners, in order for them to
access legal abortion, was unconstitutional.
This was in spite of the European Court of
Human Rights’ earlier ruling that the right of
conscientious objections must not result in
barriers for women to access legal abortion
services in Poland.
There were reports of unnecessary or
excessive use of force by police and prison
conditions remained inadequate.
In May, a police officer was filmed beating
a man in front of his two children and father
outside the Guimarães football stadium. The
footage shows a police officer pushing a
seemingly peaceful football fan to the ground
and hitting him several times with a baton
while his children are restrained. The same
officer can also be seen punching the man's
father in the face twice as he intervenes to
stop the beating. According to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, the officer was given a 90-day
suspension from duty, pending disciplinary
proceedings.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In October the Constitutional Court ruled that
the provision which criminalizes “offending
religious feelings” was constitutional.
PORTUGAL
Portuguese Republic
Head of state:
Aníbal António Cavaco Silva
Head of government:
António Costa (replaced Pedro
Manuel Mamede PassosCoelho in November)
Roma and people of African descent
continued to face discrimination. There
were further reports of excessive use of force
by police and prison conditions remained
inadequate.
Only 39 of the 44 refugees previously
selected for resettlement in Portugal in 2014,
and none of those selected for resettlement in
2015, had arrived in the country by the end
of the year. Portugal further committed to
receive 4,574 asylum-seekers to be relocated
from Italy and Greece under the EU relocation
programme within the following two years.
However, only 24 people had been relocated
by the end of the year.
According to the Portuguese Refugee
Council, the reception centre for refugees in
the capital Lisbon remained overcrowded.
DISCRIMINATION
Roma
Discrimination against Roma continued to be
reported in several municipalities.
In July, the Mayor of Estremoz barred
Roma living in the Quintinhas neighbourhood
from using municipal swimming pools
following reported acts of vandalism by a
number of its residents. The decision was
challenged by the Commission for Equality
and against Racial Discrimination and a ruling
was pending at the end of the year.
BACKGROUND
Following a visit in January, the UN Special
Rapporteur on the independence of judges
and lawyers expressed concern that rising
court and legal fees were obstructing access
to justice for more people living in poverty as
a result of the economic crisis. The
Constitutional Court ruled that some austerity
measures affecting economic and social
rights were unconstitutional.
People of African descent
Racially motivated abuse and unnecessary
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use of force by police against people of
African descent continued to be reported.
In February, five young men of African
descent reported having been beaten and
subjected to racist comments by police
officers in the Alfragide police station, after
complaining about excessive use of force
during an arrest in the Alto da Cova da Moura
neighbourhood earlier the same day. They
received medical treatment for injuries
sustained and were charged with resistance
and coercion of an officer. Investigations into
their allegations of ill-treatment were ongoing
at the end of the year.
excessive use of force by law enforcement
officials continued.
BACKGROUND
In May, the Governor submitted a draft law to
Congress to create the office of human rights
Ombudsman and unify several functions
currently carried out by different authorities.
The government proposed austerity
measures in September, raising concerns
about their potentially negative impact on the
most marginalized and disadvantaged groups
and on labour rights.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In December, new legislation was adopted
giving same-sex couples the right to adopt
children.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
According to data provided by the NGO
UMAR, as of 20 November, 27 women had
been killed, and there were also 33 attempted
murders, particularly by people with
whom the women maintained intimate
relationships.
In July, a study by the New University of
Lisbon estimated that 1,830 girls residing in
Portugal had been subjected to, or were at
risk of, female genital mutilation (FGM). New
legislation entered into force in September,
introducing FGM as a specific crime in the
Penal Code.
PUERTO RICO
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Head of state:
Barack Obama
Head of government:
Alejandro García Padilla
The right of same-sex couples to marry
legally was recognized. However, lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) people continued to face
discrimination. The 2013 reform of the
police had limited impact and incidents of
Transgender people continued to face
difficulties in accessing gender reassignment
treatment because of a lack of adequate
protocols and legal gender recognition, and
health insurance providers’ refusal to cover
treatment costs. Although in August the
Governor issued instructions allowing for
gender to be changed on driving licences,
there were no provisions for changing gender
in other identity documents.
In June, the Governor issued instructions to
comply within 15 days with the landmark US
federal Supreme Court’s decision affirming
the right of same-sex couples to marry legally.
In July, the Secretary of the Family issued a
directive instructing officials to ensure equal
treatment for LGBTI couples wishing to adopt
a child and to use the “best interest of the
child” as the only criterion in deciding on
adoptions. In December, a court authorized
the first adoption of a child by a same-sex
couple.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Puerto Rican human rights organizations
continued to report incidents of excessive use
of force, discrimination by the police towards
Afro-descendants and Dominican
communities and a failure to investigate
reports of gender-based violence. In its June
periodic report, the technical advisor
monitoring the implementation of police
reforms reported allegations of human rights
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violations by the police in the context of
counter-narcotic operations.
Reforms of the Puerto Rico Police Force,
agreed between the government of Puerto
Rico and the US Department of Justice in
2013, had limited impact. They focused
primarily on acquiring new equipment and
amending internal policies and regulations.
Civil society organizations provided comments
and suggestions to the policy reviews,
including on the use of force and the
investigation of domestic violence, but it was
unclear to what extent their comments were
taken into account.
A bill submitted to the Senate by the Puerto
Rican branch of the American Civil Liberties
Union proposing the creation of an
independent board to oversee the work of the
police was rejected in May on the grounds
that police oversight was already carried out
by the Federal Department of Justice.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to restrict freedom
of expression. Qatari poet Mohammed al-
Ajami (also known as Ibn-Dheeb) remained a
prisoner of conscience. He had received a
15-year prison sentence in 2012 for writing
and reciting poems deemed by the authorities
to be offensive to the Emir and the state. In
February, the Minister for Foreign Affairs
denied that Mohammed al-Ajami was jailed
for his peaceful opinions.
1
In May, security authorities detained four
media workers, including British journalist
Mark Lobel, although they had official
authorization to visit Qatar to report on
conditions of migrant workers. They were
released without charge after two days and
were allowed to remain in Qatar.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
QATAR
State of Qatar
Head of state:
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al
Thani
Head of government:
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin
Khalifa Al Thani
The authorities arbitrarily restricted the
rights to freedom of expression, association
and peaceful assembly. A prisoner of
conscience was serving a lengthy sentence
for writing and reciting poems. Migrant
workers, including domestic workers and
those employed in high-profile construction
projects, continued to face exploitation and
abuse. Discrimination against women
remained entrenched in both law and
practice. The death penalty remained in
force; no executions were reported.
In March, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers reported
on her 2014 visit to Qatar. She concluded
that there were serious shortcomings that
negatively affected the enjoyment of human
rights in Qatar and the independence and
impartiality of those working in the justice
system.
The Court of Appeal in the capital Doha
confirmed the conviction of Filipino national
Ronaldo Lopez Ulep, who received a
sentence of life imprisonment in 2014 for
espionage. His conviction was largely based
on a pre-trial “confession” that he said
security officers had forced him to make
under torture. The Court of Appeal reduced
his sentence to 15 years’ imprisonment, while
also confirming the convictions and reducing
the sentences of two other Filipinos tried
alongside Ronaldo Ulep.
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
BACKGROUND
In March, Qatar joined the Saudi Arabia-led
international coalition that engaged in the
armed conflict in Yemen (see Yemen entry).
Migrant workers, who numbered more than
1.6 million according to the authorities and
made up more than 90% of Qatar’s
workforce, continued to face exploitation and
abuse. The Emir and the Minister for Foreign
Affairs both committed to addressing
exploitation of migrant workers in the
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recruitment chain during official visits to India
and Nepal respectively, from where many of
Qatar’s migrant workers originate. In October
the Emir approved changes to the
kafala
sponsorship system, creating a new system
for migrant workers to appeal a sponsor’s
decision to refuse them an exit permit to leave
the country and increasing the state’s
oversight of the process by which workers
seek to change jobs or leave Qatar. However,
migrant workers were still required to obtain
their sponsor’s approval to change jobs or
leave the country. The new regime would not
be enforceable until at least the end of 2016.
In February the Emir approved the
introduction of an electronic Wage Protection
System that sought to regularize the payment
of salaries by requiring all businesses to pay
workers by bank transfer.
Migrant workers commonly had their
passports confiscated by their employers, in
breach of Qatari law, exposing them to forced
labour and other abuses. Thousands of
workers in construction and related industries
continued to live in dirty, overcrowded and
often unsafe conditions. The government said
it would build new facilities to house up to
258,000 workers by the end of 2016, and
announced in August that it had completed
the construction of housing for 50,000
workers.
Thousands of domestic workers, most of
whom were women, and other migrant
workers employed by small companies or in
informal work arrangements continued to face
the greatest risk of abuse, including forced
labour and human trafficking. Workers
employed by large companies also
complained of chronic labour abuse such as
inadequate housing, low pay and late
payment of wages, poor working conditions,
and of being prevented from changing jobs or
leaving the country under the
kafala
system.
Following the devastating earthquakes in
Nepal in April and May, many Nepalese
migrant workers complained that employers
denied them exit permits to leave Qatar or
refused to pay their return airfares, a legal
requirement for those whose contracts had
ended. Without this support, few could afford
to return. Of those who did return to Nepal,
many complained that their employers in
Qatar withheld pay due to them.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women faced discrimination in law and in
practice, and were inadequately protected
against violence within the family. Personal
status laws continued to discriminate against
women in relation to marriage, divorce,
inheritance, child custody, nationality and
freedom of movement.
DEATH PENALTY
The Court of Appeal confirmed at least one
death sentence. No executions were reported.
1. Qatar: Release the poet, Mohammed al-Ajami (MDE
22/2760/2015)
ROMANIA
Romania
Head of state:
Klaus Iohannis
Head of government:
Dacian Cioloş (replaced Victor
Ponta in November)
Roma continued to experience
discrimination, forced evictions and other
human rights violations. Following the
release of the US Senate report on the CIA
secret detention programme, a new
investigation into Romania’s co-operation
was opened. In April, the UN Committee
against Torture reviewed Romania for the
first time in 18 years.
BACKGROUND
In November, Prime Minister Ponta resigned
following protests across the country that
were prompted by the deaths of 63 people in
a nightclub in the capital Bucharest on 30
October. A technocratic government headed
by Dacian Cioloş was appointed until the
December 2016 parliamentary elections.
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DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
Roma continued to face systemic
discrimination and were targeted with hate
crimes, including excessive use of force by
law enforcement officials. Anti-Roma
sentiment continued to be frequently
expressed in public and political discourse. A
report by the Superior Council of Magistracy
on access to justice for Roma and other
vulnerable groups concluded that the
judiciary was insufficiently sensitive to
discrimination and that legal aid rules failed to
ensure the affordability of legal representation
to vulnerable groups, particularly Roma. The
UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty
and human rights highlighted the “official
state of denial” regarding anti-Roma
discrimination and raised concerns over a
pattern of housing rights violations against
Roma, following his visit to the country in
November. A new Strategy for the
Inclusion of the Romanian Citizens of Roma
Ethnicity for 2015-2020 was adopted
in January.
the Pirita settlement in Baia Mare. Local
authorities stated that the demolition was
carried out under a policy to identify and
demolish buildings that were illegally
constructed on public land in Craica, Pirita,
Ferneziu and Gării – all informal settlements
inhabited mainly by Roma.
Police and security forces
In May, the UN Committee against Torture
expressed concern over persistent reports of
racist crimes against Roma, including the
excessive use of force by police resulting in
deaths in custody. In January, the European
Court of Human Rights ruled that the
authorities violated the right to life and the
right not to be subjected to inhuman
treatment and to discrimination of the Romani
community of Apalina, in Mureş county,
during a law enforcement operation in 2006
which resulted in 21 people suffering injuries,
including gunshot wounds.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Housing rights – forced evictions
In April, a demolition order issued by the
municipality of Cluj-Napoca against 300
Roma living in the centre of the city in
December 2010 was ruled unlawful by the
Cluj-Napoca District Court. The residents
were forcibly evicted within 24 hours and
resettled near a waste dump. The Court ruled
that the order was insufficiently reasoned,
and was executed without prior consultation
with affected residents and the offer of
adequate alternative accommodation. It also
failed to allow sufficient time for its legality to
be verified by the Prefect.
About 30 Roma, half of them children,
living in the town of Eforie Sud, in Constanţa
county, remained at risk of forced eviction at
the end of the year. They had been ordered to
vacate the publicly owned property they had
been occupying since October 2013 following
their earlier forced eviction from a long-
standing informal settlement.
1
In July, 22 Roma, including five children,
were forcibly evicted by local authorities from
After the release in December 2014 of the US
Senate report on the CIA detention and
interrogation programme, Ioan Talpeş, former
national security adviser to then President Ion
Iliescu, admitted that Romania allowed the
CIA to operate “one or two” secret sites in the
country. Talpeş stated that people were
“probably” detained and ill-treated in
Romania in 2003-2006, and that he had
informed the then president of the CIA
activities.
2
The Prosecutor General claimed in
January 2015 that an investigation into the
allegations had been initiated.
The case of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a
Saudi Arabian national currently detained at
the US detention facility at Guantánamo Bay,
Cuba, remains pending at the European Court
of Human Rights. He lodged a complaint
against Romania, alleging that he had been
held and tortured in a secret site in Bucharest
between 2004 and 2006.
In September, a European Parliament
delegation called on the government to
conduct an effective investigation into reports
of a secret site on its territory, after being
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denied access to a building in Bucharest that
allegedly hosted such a site.
report (News
story,
20 January); Europe: Breaking the conspiracy of
silence: USA’s European “partners in crime” must act after Senate
torture report (EUR
01/002/2015);
USA: Crimes and impunity: Full
Senate Committee report on CIA secret detentions must be released,
and accountability for crimes under international law ensured (AMR
51/1432/2015)
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In May, the UN Committee against Torture
criticized the treatment and living conditions
of people with mental disabilities in
psychiatric facilities, and the lack of
investigation into thousands of deaths in
these institutions over the last decade. There
are still around 25,000 children in 717
institutions across the country, despite long-
standing commitments to reduce the number
of people with mental and physical disabilities
in psychiatric institutions.
The Committee also expressed concern
over the inadequacy of police detention
facilities, the low number of prosecutions and
convictions in cases of ill-treatment and
torture and the lack of an independent
complaints mechanism for violations by law
enforcement officials.
RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
Russian Federation
Head of state:
Vladimir Putin
Head of government:
Dmitry Medvedev
Freedoms of expression and peaceful
assembly remained severely restricted. The
authorities dominated the print and
broadcast media, and further extended their
control over the internet. NGOs faced
further harassment and reprisals under the
“foreign agents” law, while their access to
foreign funding was further restricted by a
new law banning “undesirable”
organizations. Growing numbers of
individuals were arrested and criminally
charged for criticizing state policy and
publicly displaying or possessing materials
deemed extremist or otherwise unlawful
under vague national security legislation.
Four people faced prosecution under the
2014 law that made repeated violations of
the law on public assemblies a criminal
offence. Deep flaws in the judicial system
were further exposed through several high-
profile cases; a new law gave the
Constitutional Court the authority to overrule
decisions by the European Court of Human
Rights. Refugees faced numerous obstacles
in accessing international protection.
Serious human rights violations continued in
the North Caucasus, and human rights
defenders reporting from the region faced
harassment.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Asylum-seekers continued to face obstacles
in accessing asylum proceedings. Rejected
asylum seekers and Dublin returnees –
asylum-seekers due to be transferred from
one EU state to another, under the Dublin III
regulation – continued to be detained
unnecessarily. Recognized refugees faced
obstacles in accessing education, housing
and health care.
Around 900 people applied for asylum
between January and September 2015,
compared to around 1,150 people in the
same period in 2014. Romania opposed the
mandatory quotas for the relocation of people
in need of international protection from
Greece, Italy and other EU member states.
Following the adoption of the scheme in
September, Romania was earmarked to
receive 6,351 refugees over a period of two
years.
1. Romania: Eforie municipality threatens to evict Roma families third
time in two years (EUR
39/1560/2015)
2. Europe: Complicit governments must act in wake of US Senate torture
BACKGROUND
In the face of Russia’s growing international
isolation and mounting economic problems,
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the authorities sought to consolidate public
opinion around the notions of unity and
patriotism, “traditional values” and fear of the
country’s purported enemies abroad and
within. Opinion polls showed a consistently
high level of support for President Putin’s
leadership. Government critics were smeared
as “unpatriotic” and “anti-Russian state” in
the mainstream media, and were occasionally
assaulted. On 27 February, one of Russia’s
most prominent opposition activists, Boris
Nemtsov, was shot dead within sight of the
Kremlin. Mourners wishing to commemorate
him at the site of his death were harassed by
city authorities and pro-government
supporters.
The government continued to dismiss
mounting evidence of Russia’s military
involvement in Ukraine, while President Putin
decreed in May that human losses among the
military during “special operations” in
1
peacetime were a state secret.
The authorities estimated that as of
November, 2,700 Russian citizens had joined
the armed group Islamic State (IS) in Syria
and Iraq, the majority of them from the North
Caucasus. Independent experts gave higher
estimates.
On 30 September, Russia began air strikes
in Syria with the stated aim of targeting IS, but
also frequently targeted other groups opposed
to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Numerous civilian casualties were reported,
which Russia denied. On 24 November,
Turkey shot down a Russian military jet for
allegedly entering its airspace, leading to
mutual recriminations and a diplomatic
stand-off between the two countries.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Media freedom remained severely restricted,
through direct state control and self-
censorship. The editorial policy of most media
outlets faithfully reproduced official views on
key domestic and international events.
The authorities extended their control over
the internet. Thousands of websites and
pages were blocked by internet providers on
orders from the media regulator
Roskomnadzor. Those targeted in violation of
the right to freedom of expression included
political satire, information shared by lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) activists, information on public
protests and religious texts. A growing, but
still small, number of individuals faced
criminal prosecution for online postings,
usually on charges under anti-extremism
legislation; most of them received fines.
Yekaterina Vologzheninova, a shop
assistant from Yekaterinburg, was put on trial
on 27 October for her satirical posts on social
media in 2014 which criticized Russia’s
annexation of Crimea and its military
involvement in eastern Ukraine. The
prosecution alleged that she had incited
violence and “promoted hatred and enmity
towards the Russian government officials,
Russian volunteers fighting in eastern Ukraine
and the specific ethnic group, the Russians”.
2
Her trial was ongoing at the end of the year.
Harassment of independent media outlets
and journalists continued. Past incidents of
violence against independent journalists were
rarely effectively investigated. Two men were
arrested in connection with the beating of
journalist Oleg Kashin in November 2010,
and a third put on a wanted list. One suspect
claimed he had proof that the beating had
been ordered by the Governor of Pskov
region, which tallied with Kashin’s suspicions,
but the authorities declined to investigate the
allegation further.
Elena Milashina, a journalist from the
independent newspaper
Novaya Gazeta,
reported that a 17-year-old Chechen girl was
being forcibly married to a senior police
officer three times her age and reportedly
already married. The story was widely
reported and caused a public outcry.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov publicly
supported the senior police officer and
accused Milashina of lying and interfering in
the private lives of the Chechen people. On
19 May, the Chechen government-owned
online news agency Grozny-Inform published
an article containing thinly veiled death
threats against Milashina.
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The clampdown on freedom of expression
extended beyond journalists and bloggers.
Natalya Sharina, director of the state-run
Library of Ukrainian Literature in the capital
Moscow, was detained on 28 October under
extremism-related charges. The investigators
claimed that works by Ukrainian nationalist
Dmitry Korchinsky had been found at the
library, in a pile of literature that had not yet
been catalogued. She was detained at a
police station without bedding, food or drink
until 30 October when she was placed under
house arrest, pending possible charges.
3
On 15 September, Rafis Kashapov, an
activist from Naberezhnye Chelny, Republic
of Tatarstan, was convicted of inciting inter-
ethnic hatred and threatening the territorial
integrity of the Russian Federation; he was
sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. He
had been under arrest since 28 December
2014 in connection with posts on social
media that criticized Russia’s role in the
conflict in eastern Ukraine and the treatment
of Crimean Tatars in Russian-occupied
Crimea.
On 10 November, the Kirsanovski District
Court ruled that the environmentalist Yevgeny
Vitishko should be released. He had served
over half of his sentence following his
conviction on trumped-up charges in the run-
up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
However, on 20 November, a day before the
court’s decision came into force, the
Prosecutor’s Office appealed against the
decision; Vitishko was finally released on 22
December after an appeal hearing.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
of the May Day march, was disallowed for the
first time since 2005. Its organizer, Artem
Loskutov, was arrested and sentenced to 10
days’ detention for violating the law on
assemblies after he and several other
“monstrators” joined the official May Day
march instead.
For the first time, a peaceful street
protester was convicted under the 2014 law
which criminalized repeated participation in
unauthorized assemblies.
On 7 December, a Moscow court
sentenced Ildar Dadin to three years in a
prison colony for his repeated participation in
“unauthorized” assemblies between August
and December 2014. He had been placed
under house arrest on 30 January, after
serving a 15-day detention for joining a
peaceful protest in Moscow against the
politically motivated conviction of Oleg
Navalny, the brother of anti-graft campaigner
and opposition leader Alex Navalny.
Two other peaceful protesters from
Moscow, Mark Galperin and Irina Kalmykova,
also faced criminal prosecution under the
same law at the end of the year.
Prisoners of conscience Stepan Zimin,
Aleksei Polikhovich and Denis Lutskevich,
who had been detained in 2012 in
connection with the Bolotnaya Square
protests, were released during the year,
having completed their prison sentences.
Another prisoner of conscience, Sergey
Krivov, remained in prison; the authorities
brought criminal proceedings against at least
two further individuals in connection with the
Bolotnaya protests.
The right to freedom of peaceful assembly
remained severely curtailed. Protests were
infrequent, their number having declined
following restrictions introduced in earlier
years. Organizers were regularly refused
permission to hold street rallies or only
allowed to hold them in non-central locations.
Those who defied the ban or the rules were
penalized through fines and detention.
Monstration, a humorous annual street
event in Novosibirsk mocking the pomposity
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Freedom of association was further restricted.
By the end of the year, the Ministry of
Justice’s register of NGOs considered “foreign
agents” contained 111 entries, requiring the
NGOs concerned to put this stigmatizing label
on all their publications and observe onerous
reporting requirements. NGOs that defied
these requirements faced hefty fines. Not a
single NGO succeeded in challenging their
inclusion on the register in court. Seven were
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struck off the register after giving up all
foreign funding, and a further 14 NGOs
included on the register chose to close down.
The Human Rights Centre (HRC) Memorial
was fined Rub 600,000 (US$8,800) in
September after its sister organization, the
Historical and Educational Centre Memorial –
which was not on the register – did not mark
its publications with the label “foreign agent”.
The HRC Memorial lost its court appeal
against the decision. Following a regular
inspection of the HRC Memorial in
November, the Ministry of Justice concluded
that criticism by its members of the Bolotnaya
Square trials and of Russian policies in
Ukraine “undermined the foundations of the
constitutional system” and amounted to “calls
for the overthrow of the current government
and change of the political regime”. The
Ministry submitted its “findings” to the
Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation.
In May, a law was passed authorizing the
Prosecutor’s Office to designate any foreign
organization as “undesirable” on the grounds
of posing a “threat to the country’s
constitutional order, defence or state
security”, with the immediate effect of
rendering its presence, and any activity on its
behalf, unlawful. In July, the US-based
National Endowment for Democracy was
declared “undesirable”. Three more donor
organizations, the Open Society Foundation,
the Open Society Institute Assistance
Foundation and the US Russia Foundation for
Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law,
were declared “undesirable” in November
and December.
region, fined Klimova Rub 50,000 (US$830)
for “propaganda of non-traditional sexual
relations among minors”. On 2 October, a
court in St Petersburg ruled that the page
should be unblocked.
The authorities continued to violate LGBTI
individuals’ right to peaceful assembly. In
May, LGBTI activist Nikolay Alekseev
attempted to hold an unauthorized Pride
march in Moscow. It resulted in clashes with
anti-LGBTI protesters and 10 days’ detention
for three LGBTI activists, including Nikolay
Alekseev. In St Petersburg, LGBTI activists
were able to conduct some public activities
without interference from police.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI activists continued to operate in an
extremely hostile environment. Discrimination
against LGBTI individuals continued to be
widely reported.
On 25 March, a court in St Petersburg
ruled that the Children-404 group – an online
community set up by journalist Elena Klimova
to support LGBTI teenagers – be blocked. In
July, a court in Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk
Several high-profile trials exposed deep-
rooted and widespread flaws in Russia’s
criminal justice system, including the lack of
equality of arms, the use of torture and other
ill-treatment in the course of investigations as
well as the failure to exclude torture-tainted
evidence in court, the use of secret witnesses
and other secret evidence which the defence
could not challenge, and the denial of the
right to be represented by a lawyer of one’s
choice. Less than 0.5% of trials resulted in
acquittals.
Svetlana Davydova was one of the growing
number of cases of alleged high treason and
espionage, under vague offences introduced
in 2012. She was arrested on 21 January for
a phone call she had made to the Ukrainian
Embassy eight months earlier, to share her
suspicions that soldiers from her town
Vyazma, Smolensk region, were being sent to
fight in eastern Ukraine. Her state-appointed
lawyer told the media that she had
“confessed to everything” and declined to
appeal against her detention because “all
these hearings and the fuss in the media
[create] unnecessary psychological trauma
for her children”. On 1 February, two new
lawyers took up her case. She complained
that her initial lawyer had convinced her to
plead guilty to reduce her likely sentence
from 20 to 12 years. On 3 February, she was
released; on 13 March, in marked contrast to
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all other treason cases, criminal proceedings
against her were terminated.
In September, the trial of Nadezhda
Savchenko, a Ukrainian citizen and member
of the Aidar volunteer battalion, began. She
was accused of deliberately directing artillery
fire to kill two Russian journalists during the
conflict in Ukraine in June 2014. She insisted
that the case against her was fabricated and
the testimonies against her, including by
several secret witnesses, were false. Her trial
was marred by myriad procedural flaws.
On 15 December, President Putin signed a
new law under which the Constitutional Court
can pronounce the European Court of Human
Rights’ and other international courts’
decisions “unimplementable” if they “violate”
the Russian Constitution’s “supremacy”.
NORTH CAUCASUS
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
According to official figures, in the first nine
months of the year, 130,297 people were
given temporary asylum, 129,506 of them
from Ukraine and 482 from Syria. Only 96 of
the 1,079 applications for permanent refugee
status were granted, none of them to Syrian
nationals. NGOs reported numerous
obstacles, including corruption and deliberate
misinformation, intended to discourage those
seeking international protection from applying
for permanent or temporary asylum.
A family of six refugees from Syria,
including four children, were stranded in the
international transit zone of Moscow’s
Sheremetyevo airport for over two months. On
10 September, border officials denied them
entry claiming their travel documents were
fake. On 19 November, Khimki City Court
fined them Rub 10,000 (US$150) for trying to
enter the country under forged documents;
the following day, they were registered as
asylum-seekers and relocated to Tver region,
with help from the NGO Civic Assistance
Committee.
There were regular reports of forcible return
of individuals to Uzbekistan and other Central
Asian countries, where they risked being
subjected to torture and other serious human
rights violations.
Fewer attacks by armed groups were reported
in the North Caucasus than in previous years.
Law enforcement agencies continued to
rely on security operations as their preferred
method of combating armed groups, and
continued to be suspected of resorting to
enforced disappearances, unlawful detention,
as well as torture and other ill-treatment of
detainees.
Human rights reporting from the region
visibly declined, due to a severe clampdown
on human rights defenders and independent
journalists, who regularly faced harassment,
threats and violence, including from law
enforcement officials and pro-government
groups.
On 3 June, an aggressive mob surrounded
the office building of the human rights group
Joint Mobile Group in Chechnya’s capital
Grozny. Masked men forced their way into the
office, destroying its contents and forcing staff
to evacuate.
4
No suspects had been identified
by the end of the year.
On 6 November, the office and residence
in the Republic of Ingushetia of human rights
defender Magomed Mutsolgov were searched
by armed law enforcement officers, who
seized documents and IT equipment.
According to Mutsolgov, the warrant
authorizing the search stated that he was
“acting in the interests of the USA, Georgia,
Ukraine and the Syrian opposition”.
1. Russian Federation: Making troop deaths a secret "attacks freedom of
expression" (News
story,
28 May)
2. Russian Federation: Prosecuted for criticizing government: Yekaterina
Vologzheninova (EUR
46/2682/2015)
3. Russian Federation: Natalya Sharina. Librarian detained for holding
"extremist books" (EUR/2900/2015)
4. Russian Federation: Joint Mobile Group office ransacked by mob (EUR
46/1802/2015)
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RWANDA
Republic of Rwanda
Head of state:
Paul Kagame
Head of government:
Anastase Murekezi
While economic progress and development
continued, freedom of expression was
further restricted. Journalists, human rights
defenders and members of the opposition
faced a repressive environment. Rwanda’s
human rights record was examined under
the UPR mechanism in November.
BACKGROUND
an NGO, continued to face difficulties.
LIPRODHOR members were electing a new
executive committee on 5 September when
police arrived and interrupted the meeting.
On 21 November, a different new executive
committee was elected.
On 12 October, the executive secretary of
the regional NGO Human Rights League of
the Great Lakes Region, headquartered in
Rwanda, was taken in for questioning by the
immigration services. Seven members of the
newly elected executive council and oversight
committee were also taken for questioning by
police the next day. This took place in the
context of a dispute over leadership of the
organization.
Political debate was dominated by discussion
of planned amendments to presidential term
limits in the Constitution. More than 3.7
million people petitioned Parliament to lift the
two-term presidential term limit to allow
President Kagame to stand for a third term in
2017, although there were reports of pressure
to sign the petition. On 8 October, the
Supreme Court rejected a petition brought by
the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda
challenging the legality of amending the
Constitution. The Chamber of Deputies and
the Senate voted in favour of reducing the
presidential term from a seven to five-year
term renewable once, as well as a provision
that would allow the President in place at the
time of the amendment to stand for an
additional seven-year term. The revised
Constitution was adopted in a referendum on
18 December, and Paul Kagame confirmed
that he would seek re-election in 2017.
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Former prisoner of conscience Charles
Ntakirutinka, who was released in March
2012 after 10 years in detention, continued to
wait for a response to his request for a
passport submitted in April 2012. Other
former political prisoners and opposition
political figures also continued to report
difficulties obtaining travel documents.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders worked in an
increasingly challenging environment, facing
intimidation and administrative interference.
In January, two former police officers were
sentenced by Rubavu High Court to 20 years
in prison for the murder of Gustave
Makonene, Transparency International’s
Rubavu co-ordinator, who was killed in 2013.
The Rwandan League for the Promotion
and Defense of Human Rights (LIPRODHOR),
The Secretary-General of the opposition
political party United Democratic Forces ,
Sylvain Sibomana, and another party
member, Anselme Mutuyimana, remained in
detention for inciting insurrection or trouble
among the population after organizing a
meeting in September 2012. The party
complained about conditions of detention,
reporting that Sylvain Sibomana was denied
his medically prescribed diet from August and
that party president Victoire Ingabire was
temporarily refused access to her lawyer. The
party vice-president Boniface Twagirimana
was arrested on 4 December, and released
the next day.
There was no progress in the case of Jean
Damascène Munyeshyaka, national
organizing secretary of the Democratic Green
Party of Rwanda, who went missing on 27
June 2014.
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists continued to work in a difficult
environment, with some employing self-
censorship to avoid harassment.
On 29 May, the BBC Kinyarwanda services
were indefinitely suspended by the Rwanda
Utilities Regulatory Authority following the
recommendation of a committee of inquiry
led by the former Prosecutor-General, Martin
Ngoga. BBC services were originally
suspended in Rwanda in October 2014 in
response to the broadcast of the documentary
Rwanda’s Untold Story,
on the grounds that it
violated Rwandan laws on genocide denial,
revisionism, inciting hatred and divisionism.
Fred Muvunyi, chair of the Rwanda Media
Commission, the media’s self-regulatory body,
resigned in May and left the country,
reportedly following a dispute over the
handling of the BBC case, as well as
criticisms contained in the Commission’s
(unpublished) report on the state of the
media in Rwanda.
detention. Tom Byabagamba and Frank
Rusagara were relatives of David Himbara, a
former presidential adviser now in exile.
Retired captain David Kabuye, who was
arrested by Rwandan military intelligence in
August 2014, completed a six-month jail term
in March 2015 for illegal possession of
firearms. He was rearrested and later
acquitted on new charges of inciting
insurrection or trouble among the population
and defamation. Just days before his
acquittal, David Kabuye appeared as a
prosecution witness in the case against Frank
Rusagara. The trials were believed to be
politically motivated.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
UNFAIR TRIALS
The singer Kizito Mihigo was found guilty on
27 February of plotting against the
government, forming a criminal group and
conspiracy to commit an assassination.
Evidence presented by the prosecution
included WhatsApp and Skype messages.
Having previously pleaded guilty and asked
for pardon, Kizito Mihigo was sentenced to 10
years in prison. His co-accused Cassien
Ntamuhanga, a journalist, and Jean Paul
Dukuzumuremyi, a demobilized soldier, were
sentenced to 25 and 30 years respectively.
Agnes Niyibizi, an accountant, accused of
being a treasurer for the Rwanda National
Congress (a group of political dissidents in
exile), was acquitted.
The military court trial of Colonel Tom
Byabagamba, retired General Frank Rusagara
and retired Sergeant François Kabayiza
accused, among other charges, of inciting
insurrection or trouble among the population
and illegal possession of firearms, continued
throughout the year. François Kabayiza
claimed in court that he was tortured in
Trials of individuals suspected of involvement
in the 1994 genocide continued in courts
outside Rwanda. The International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) officially closed
on 31 December.
Rwanda’s intelligence chief, General
Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, was arrested in
the UK in June, on a warrant issued by the
Spanish authorities in connection to the 2008
war crimes indictment brought against 40
Rwandan officials by Judge Andreu Merelles,
under the principle of universal jurisdiction. A
UK court dismissed the extradition request in
August, and the Spanish Supreme Court
ruled on 10 September to revoke the arrest
warrants and close the case.
After hearings in April, the ICTR Appeal
Chamber ruled in
Nyiramasuhuko et al
on
14 December that the six appellants’ right to
be tried without undue delay had been
violated, and reduced the length of their
sentences. This was the last appeal judgment
before the ICTR. The six accused were
variously convicted in 2011 of crimes of
genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide,
incitement to commit genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes. Pauline
Nyiramasuhuko was the former Minister of
Family and Women’s Development.
Jean Uwinkindi, whose case was the first to
be transferred from the ICTR to a national
jurisdiction, was sentenced to life
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imprisonment by the Rwandan High Court on
30 December. ICTR indictee Ladislas
Ntaganzwa was arrested on 9 December in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The
Prosecutor of the UN Mechanism for
International Criminal Tribunals urged his
swift transfer for trial in Rwanda.
In September, a Swedish court started trial
proceedings against Claver Berinkindi,
accused of being one of the leaders of attacks
on a municipal building and school in Muyira
during the genocide. He faces charges of
murder, incitement to murder, attempted
murder and abduction, and was previously
found guilty in his absence by a Rwandan
court.
A French court controversially dropped the
case against genocide suspect Wenceslas
Munyeshyaka in October, citing a lack of
evidence. Wenceslas Munyeshyaka was a
priest in the capital Kigali and was accused of
taking part in killings and rapes during the
genocide, as well as helping the Interahamwe
militia to identify Tutsi to be killed and raped.
SAUDI ARABIA
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Head of state and government:
King Salman bin Abdul
Aziz Al Saud (replaced King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al
Saud in January)
The government continued to severely
restrict freedoms of expression, association
and assembly. The authorities arrested,
prosecuted and imprisoned human rights
defenders and government critics, including
under the 2014 anti-terror law, often after
unfair trials. Some of those detained were
prisoners of conscience. Torture and other
ill-treatment of detainees remained
common. Unfair trials continued before the
Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), a special
court for hearing terrorism-related cases,
with some trials resulting in death
sentences. Discrimination against the Shi’a
minority remained entrenched; some Shi’a
activists were on death row awaiting
execution. Women faced discrimination in
law and in practice and were inadequately
protected against sexual and other violence.
Thousands of migrants were summarily
expelled, many to countries where they were
at risk of serious human rights violations.
The authorities used the death penalty
extensively and carried out more than 150
executions.
REFUGEES
In April, President Kagame confirmed to
media that Rwanda was in discussion with
Israel to finalize a deal to receive failed
Eritrean and Sudanese asylum-seekers who
“voluntarily leave” Israel. The NGO
International Refugee Rights Initiative
reported in September that those sent to
Rwanda had their travel documents taken
away and were given the option of being
“transferred” to Uganda within days of
arriving or remaining in Rwanda
undocumented. They were not given the
opportunity to claim asylum in Rwanda.
At the end of the year, over 70,000
refugees were living in Rwanda after fleeing
the crisis in neighbouring Burundi.
BACKGROUND
Crown Prince Salman became King on 23
January, following the death of King Abdullah.
He appointed his nephew, Minister of the
Interior Prince Mohamed bin Nayef, as Crown
Prince, and his son, Prince Mohamed bin
Salman, as Minister of Defence and second in
line to the throne.
On 29 January, King Salman issued a royal
pardon which the authorities said resulted in
an unprecedented number of prisoner
releases. It excluded those held for “crimes
related to state security”, although these are
not defined or codified under Saudi Arabian
law. No prisoners of conscience were among
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those pardoned.
In January, the flogging of blogger Raif
Badawi provoked strong international
condemnation and strained relations between
Saudi Arabia and several European states.
Sweden announced that it would not renew a
deal to supply arms; in response, the
government temporarily withdrew Saudi
Arabia’s ambassador to Sweden and ceased
issuing business visas to Swedes.
The government faced further international
criticism in September following news that the
Supreme Court had upheld the death
sentences of Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr,
nephew of a prominent Saudi Arabian Shi’a
cleric who was also on death row, and two
other activists, Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon
and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher. All three men
were under 18 when they were arrested; they
said they were tortured into “confessing”.
Militants affiliated to the armed group
Islamic State (IS) carried out bomb attacks
that mostly targeted the minority Shi’a
community. The deadliest attacks hit Shi’a
mosques in the towns of al-Qudaih and al-
Dammam on 22 and 29 May, killing at least
25 people and injuring several others.
In December, the Deputy Crown Prince
announced that Saudi Arabia had formed an
“Islamic anti-terror coalition”, comprising 34
Muslim states but excluding others including
Iran and Iraq, to combat “terrorist
organizations”.
blockade that caused worsening
humanitarian conditions for Yemen’s civilians.
The US, UK and French governments
signed agreements to supply arms worth
billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia despite
mounting evidence that the Saudi Arabia-led
coalition had used arms of a similar nature to
commit war crimes and other serious
violations of international law in Yemen.
Huthi forces and their allies also committed
violations of international humanitarian law,
including possible war crimes, by repeatedly
carrying out indiscriminate shelling into
Najran and other civilian-populated areas of
Saudi Arabia near its southern border with
Yemen.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
ARMED CONFLICT IN YEMEN
On 25 March, a Saudi Arabian-led coalition of
nine states began a campaign of air strikes
against the Huthi armed group which had
gained control of large areas of Yemen,
including the capital Sana’a, ousting the
government, which relocated to Saudi Arabia.
In the subsequent months, coalition aircraft
and other forces carried out numerous
attacks, killing and injuring thousands, many
of them civilians. Some coalition air strikes
violated international humanitarian law,
possibly amounting to war crimes. The
coalition also deployed ground troops in
Yemen and mounted an air, land and sea
The authorities continued to arrest, prosecute
and imprison government critics, including
bloggers and other online commentators,
political activists, members of the Shi’a
minority, and human rights activists and
defenders, including women’s rights
defenders.
Blogger and prisoner of conscience Raif
Badawi continued to serve a 10-year prison
sentence following his conviction in 2014 for
“insulting Islam” and violating the cybercrime
law, including through the creation and
management of the Free Saudi Liberal
Network website. He was also sentenced to
be flogged (see below).
Writer and government critic Dr Zuhair
Kutbi was taken from his home in Mecca on
15 July by security officials, who beat him
with rifle butts and detained him at three
different locations before taking him to
Mecca’s General Prison. Three weeks before
his arrest, Zuhair Kutbi had appeared on the
Fi al-Samim
TV talk show, where he criticized
political repression in Saudi Arabia and called
for reforms. The authorities ordered
Fi al-
Samim
to be cancelled. In December, the
SCC convicted him of “inciting public
opinion”, “sowing discord” and “reducing
people’s respect of the law” through his
writings and talks, and sentenced him to four
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years in prison, followed by a five-year foreign
travel ban. He was also fined and banned
from writing for publication for 15 years.
The government did not permit the
existence of political parties, trade unions or
independent human rights groups, and the
authorities continued to arrest, prosecute and
imprison those who set up or participated in
unlicensed organizations. In November,
however, the cabinet approved a law of
associations based partly on a draft approved
by the Shura Council years earlier, but the
government did not indicate when it will take
effect. The authorities also continued to deny
Amnesty International access to Saudi Arabia
and took punitive measures against activists
and family members of victims who contacted
Amnesty International.
All public gatherings, including peaceful
demonstrations, remained prohibited under
an order issued by the Ministry of the Interior
in 2011. Those who sought to defy the ban
faced arrest, prosecution and imprisonment
on charges such as “inciting people against
the authorities”. In March, the government
warned that it would arrest and prosecute
anyone who publicly criticized Saudi Arabia’s
military actions in Yemen; in November, the
Ministry of Justice was reported to have said it
would sue anyone who compared Saudi
Arabia’s justice system to that operated by IS.
and one had served his sentence but was yet
to be released.
In January, the SCC appeal court in the
capital Riyadh confirmed the 15-year prison
sentence imposed on prominent lawyer and
human rights defender Waleed Abu al-Khai,
with the judge ordering that he serve the full
15-year term for refusing to apologize for his
“offences”. The court that first sentenced him
had said he should serve only 10 years of his
15-year sentence.
In October, the SCC sentenced Dr
Abdulrahman al-Hamid and Dr Abdulkareem
al-Khoder, both founding members of
ACPRA, to eight and 10-year prison terms
respectively, followed by foreign travel bans,
after convicting them on terrorism-related
charges. A criminal court had previously
sentenced Dr al-Khoder to eight years in
prison, which an appeal court overturned
before his case was referred to the SCC.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The authorities continued to imprison human
rights defenders, arresting and prosecuting
them under anti-terrorism legislation and
other laws. Those detained, on trial or serving
prison sentences included members and
activists of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights
Association (ACPRA), a group founded in
2009, which the authorities never licensed
and then banned in 2013. At the end of the
year, seven members of ACPRA, which
campaigned for the release or fair trial of
long-term political detainees, were serving
prison sentences of up to 15 years imposed
on vague, overly broad charges. Two were
free pending the outcome of their trial, one
was still detained without any charge or trial,
The authorities used the 2014 anti-terrorism
law to arrest and prosecute peaceful activists
and human rights defenders, as well as
people accused of violent opposition to the
government. Waleed Abu al-Khair was the
first human rights defender to receive a
prison sentence under the law and to have it
confirmed on appeal. Women’s rights activists
Loujain al-Hathloul and Maysaa al-Amoudi
were charged with offences regulated by the
law after they were arrested in late 2014 for
defying the ban on women driving cars. They
were detained for several weeks before their
release on 12 February. It was unclear
whether their trial would go ahead.
The authorities publicly deterred citizens
from joining or contributing funds or other
support to militant Sunni armed groups in
Syria and Iraq, and arrested suspected
members of armed groups. On 18 July, the
Ministry of the Interior said that during “the
past few weeks”, the authorities had arrested
431 people suspected of belonging to IS but
provided few details about any specific
charges or offences or under what law they
were detained.
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ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Security authorities carried out arbitrary
arrests and continued to hold detainees
without charge or trial for long periods, with
scores of people held for more than six
months without being referred to a competent
court, in breach of Saudi Arabia’s Law of
Criminal Procedures and its obligations under
international law. Detainees were frequently
held incommunicado during interrogation and
denied access to lawyers, in violation of
international fair trial standards.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
common and widespread, according to
former detainees, trial defendants and others.
There was impunity for past cases. In a
number of cases, courts did not exclude
statements elicited by torture, ill-treatment or
coercion and convicted defendants solely on
the basis of pre-trial “confessions” without
investigating their allegations that the
confessions had been obtained through
torture, in some cases sentencing the
defendants to death.
Some prisoners sentenced on political
grounds in previous years were reportedly ill-
treated in prison. Imprisoned ACPRA activist
Issa al-Nukheifi, sentenced to a three-year
prison term in 2013, accused prison
authorities of verbally abusing and subjecting
him to frequent strip-searches, and of
provoking and/or coercing other inmates to
threaten and attack him.
In April, prisoner of conscience Waleed
Abu al-Khair was assaulted in Riyadh’s al-
Ha’ir Prison by another inmate after he
complained to prison authorities about poor
conditions, including corruption and
inadequate food within the prison. He lodged
a formal complaint about the assault, after
which guards raided his prison cell, damaging
some of his belongings.
access to state services and employment.
Shi’a leaders and activists faced arrest,
imprisonment and in some cases the death
penalty, following unfair trials.
In January, the SCC appeal court
confirmed an eight-year prison term and
subsequent 10-year foreign travel ban
imposed in August 2014 on prominent Shi’a
cleric Sheikh Tawfiq Jaber Ibrahim al-‘Amr for
delivering religious sermons and speeches
deemed to incite sectarianism, defame the
ruling system, ridicule religious leaders, show
disobedience to the ruler, and advocate
change.
In September, families of Ali Mohammed
Baqir al-Nimr, Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon
and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher learned that
both the SCC appeal court and the Supreme
Court had upheld their death sentences. The
three men were convicted of committing
offences that included demonstrating against
the government, possessing weapons and
attacking the security forces, when they were
under 18 years of age. They denied the
charges and alleged that interrogators forced
them to “confess” under torture; however, the
trial court failed to investigate their
allegations. Ali al-Nimr’s uncle, Sheikh Nimr
Baqir al-Nimr, a Shi’a cleric from al-Qatif and
vocal critic of the government, and three
other Shi’a activists, were also on death row.
The SCC continued to try other Shi’a
activists for their alleged participation in
protests in 2011 and 2012.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
DISCRIMINATION – SHI’A MINORITY
The Shi’a minority, who mostly live in Saudi
Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province, faced
entrenched discrimination that limited their
Women and girls remained subject to
discrimination in law and in practice. Women
had subordinate status to men under the law,
particularly in relation to family matters such
as marriage, divorce, child custody and
inheritance, and they were inadequately
protected against sexual and other violence.
Domestic violence remained endemic,
despite a government awareness-raising
campaign launched in 2013. A law
criminalizing domestic violence which was
adopted in 2013 remained unimplemented in
practice.
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In December, women were allowed to vote
and to stand as candidates in municipal
elections for the first time, although not to
publicly campaign with male voters. Women
were elected to 21 of the 2,106 directly
elected municipal council seats.
DEATH PENALTY
MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The authorities continued to crack down on
irregular migrants, arresting, detaining and
deporting hundreds of thousands of foreign
workers. In March, the authorities announced
that they had arrested and deported 300,000
irregular migrants in the previous five months.
The authorities deported thousands of
migrants to Somalia and other states where
they were at risk of human rights violations, in
contravention of the principle of
non-
refoulement,
but ceased deportations to
Yemen in March due to the armed conflict.
Many migrants reported that prior to
deportation they were packed into severely
overcrowded makeshift detention facilities
where they received little food and water and
were abused by guards.
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING
PUNISHMENT
Courts continued to impose death sentences
for a range of crimes, including non-violent
drugs offences, often after unfair trials in
which they failed to adequately investigate
defendants’ claims that interrogators tortured,
coerced or misled them into making false
confessions in pre-trial detention.
In November, the General Court in Abha
sentenced Palestinian artist and poet Ashraf
Fayadh to death after convicting him of
apostasy. Earlier, an appeal court had
overturned his original sentence of four years’
imprisonment and 800 lashes, imposed after
he was convicted of breaching Article 6 of the
cybercrime law.
The surge in executions that began in
August 2014 continued throughout 2015. By
the end of June, Saudi Arabia had executed
at least 102 people, more than in the whole of
2014, and by the end of the year the total had
risen to more than 150. Many executions
were carried out for offences that did not
meet the threshold of “most serious crimes”
and should therefore not incur the death
penalty according to international law. Many
executions were carried out publicly by
beheading.
Courts continued to impose cruel and
inhuman punishments, such as flogging, as
discretionary additional punishments for
many offences, including slander, insult and
sexual harassment.
Blogger Raif Badawi received a 50-lash
public flogging in Jeddah on 9 January,
provoking an international outcry. In 2014 he
had received a sentence of 1,000 lashes; the
authorities did not subject him to further
floggings in 2015.
In November, an appeal court confirmed
the 2014 conviction of human rights defender
Mikhlif bin Daham al-Shammari on charges
that included “stirring public opinion by
sitting with the Shi’a” and “violating
instructions by the rulers by holding a private
gathering and tweeting”. The court confirmed
his sentence of two years’ imprisonment and
a flogging of 200 lashes.
SENEGAL
Republic of Senegal
Head of state:
Macky Sall
Head of government:
Mohammed Dionne
The authorities continued to restrict
freedom of peaceful assembly and to use
excessive force against protesters. Men and
women faced arrest because of their real or
perceived sexual orientation. Senegal came
under international scrutiny for the unfair
trial of Karim Wade. The conflict in
Casamance continued at low intensity.
Impunity was endemic for human rights
violations committed by security forces. The
trial of former Chadian President Hissène
Habré opened at the Extraordinary African
Chambers in Dakar, the capital, in July.
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BACKGROUND
In April, the African Commission on Human
and Peoples’ Rights reviewed the human
rights situation in Senegal. The Commission
raised concerns, including on the authorities’
failure to protect freedom of expression and
on arbitrary arrests and detentions.
1
Security forces arrested at least seven
people, including two male imams and two
women, on terrorism-related charges.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Security forces continued to use excessive
force.
In July, Matar Ndiaye died after being shot
in the leg during a police operation in Dakar.
A policeman allegedly fired without warning at
a group of men he was pursuing, and Matar
Ndiaye was caught in the line of fire. The
Criminal Investigation Division of the National
Police was in charge of the subsequent
investigation, raising concerns about its
independence and impartiality.
wealth. Seven co-defendants were also found
guilty of complicity for the same crime. The
CREI provides no right to appeal, contrary to
regional or international standards. In April,
the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
found the pre-trial detention of Karim Wade to
be arbitrary, including because of delays in
court proceedings and differential treatment.
In August, the Supreme Court upheld the
convictions.
In February, the Dakar Assize Court
sentenced two men to 20 years of forced
labour in relation to the death of a young
auxiliary police officer, Fodé Ndiaye, despite
their statements being obtained under torture.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Authorities continued to ban demonstrations
organized by political parties and human
rights defenders, and to prosecute peaceful
demonstrators.
In September, the Regional Tribunal of
Kolda sentenced 12 men to 21 days’
imprisonment for taking part in an
unauthorized assembly. About 100 people
demonstrated peacefully in the commune of
Diana Malary on 27 August to call on the
authorities to supply electricity. The
demonstration was dispersed with tear gas
and shots in the air, leading to
clashes between demonstrators and the
gendarmerie.
In April, the army exchanged fire with the
Movement of Democratic Forces in the
Casamance (MFDC) in the department of
Oussouye, with the media reporting casualties
on both sides. In July, an unidentified armed
group abducted 12 men in the region of
Sédhiou and released them after four days, in
exchange for a ransom.
Civilians continued to suffer from the
impact of ongoing conflict. At least one man
was killed by a landmine close to the Basse
Casamance National Park.
IMPUNITY
UNFAIR TRIALS
In March, the Court for the Repression of
Illicit Acquisition of Wealth (CREI) sentenced
Karim Wade, a former minister and son of
former President Abdoulaye Wade, to six
years’ imprisonment and a fine of
138,239,086,396 CFA francs
(€210,744,000) for illicit acquisition of
Although the authorities claimed they were
investigating killings by law enforcement
officers in the context of demonstrations, or
torture and other ill-treatment, few
investigations were completed or alleged
perpetrators tried. Of the 27 cases of torture
documented by Amnesty International since
2007, only six led to prosecutions resulting in
a sentence, with light sentences being
handed down each time. Of the seven cases
of people killed by law enforcement agencies
during demonstrations, none led to
successful prosecutions.
In January, the Regional Tribunal of Kolda
found two policemen guilty of acts of violence
and assault on Dominique Lopy, who died in
custody in 2007. The tribunal handed down a
sentence of six months’ imprisonment and
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ordered the policemen to pay 100,000 CFA
francs (€152) in damages to his family.
SERBIA
Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo
Head of state:
Tomislav Nikolić
Head of government:
Aleksandar Vučić
Over 600,000 refugees and migrants
travelled through Serbia on their way to the
EU. Prosecutions of war crimes continued to
be slow. In Kosovo, opposition parties
delayed the establishment of a Special War
Crimes Court and the implementation of an
EU-brokered agreement with Serbia.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
At least 22 people, including three women,
were arrested in relation to their perceived
sexual orientation. In August, the Tribunal of
Dakar convicted seven men of committing
“acts against nature” and sentenced them to
six months’ imprisonment and 18-month
suspended sentences. They were arrested in
July after the police raided an apartment
without presenting a warrant. Several
newspapers revealed the men’s identities and
published homophobic and defamatory
remarks. Six of them were transferred to a
prison in Diourbel, far from their families and
their support networks providing them with
food and medicine.
In July, in a separate case, another man
was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment
using the same law. Three women were also
arrested in Grand Yoff on 25 November.
On 24 December, the police arrested 11
men in Kaolack, who were detained for five
days and subjected to ill-treatment, including
insults and beatings, before being released.
BACKGROUND
Although Serbia’s formal recognition of
Kosovo was not explicitly required by the
European Commission for accession to the
EU, the opening of negotiations was delayed
by slow progress in the implementation of the
EU-facilitated “normalization agreement”
between Serbia and Kosovo. Accession talks
formally opened in December with chapter
35, on the formalization of relations with
Kosovo.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
The trial against former Chadian President
Hissène Habré opened in July. He was
charged with crimes against humanity, torture
and war crimes committed during his tenure
between 1982 and 1990. This was the first
time a court in an African state had tried the
former leader of another state (see Chad
entry).
1. Senegal: Failing to live up to its promises : Recommendations on the
eve of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights’ Review
of Senegal (AFR
49/1464/2015)
Few proceedings were concluded at the
Special War Crimes Court in Belgrade, the
capital. Seven defendants were acquitted of
rape as a war crime in Bijelina (one
defendant) and Skočić (six defendants), in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, following appeals.
The Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor
issued only three indictments; in September,
eight former Bosnian Serb police officers were
indicted for war crimes (rather than genocide)
for their part in the murder of over 1,000
Bosniak civilians in Kravica, Srebrenica, in
July 1995. Another 23 cases – involving over
200 suspects – remained under investigation.
A draft war crimes strategy to address the
backlog of cases was published in December.
On 16 December, proceedings were
reopened against former Serbian state
security officers Jovica Stanišić and Franko
Simatović, after the Appeals Chamber of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former
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Yugoslavia had overturned their 2013
acquittal. They were both accused of being
part of a criminal enterprise which aimed to
forcibly and permanently remove non-Serbs
from areas of Croatia and Bosnia and
Herzegovina in 1991-1995.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
In February, the UN Committee on Enforced
Disappearances urged Serbia to bring to
justice all those – including senior officials –
suspected of criminal responsibility for
enforced disappearances during the 1990s
armed conflicts, and to guarantee reparation
and legal status to relatives of the
disappeared. In November, a proposed bill on
the rights of war veterans and civilian victims
of war failed to recognize the right to
reparation for victims of enforced
disappearance and war crimes of sexual
violence; a December amendment was not
made public.
In March, five suspects were indicted for
the abduction of 20 passengers from a train
at Štrpci station in 1993; proceedings against
10 other suspects continued in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Those suspected of the
disappearance of the Bytyqi brothers in 1999
remained at large, despite promises made to
their relatives by the War Crimes Prosecutor
and the Prime Minister.
numbers arriving, and insufficient care was
provided to vulnerable individuals. Most
refugees travelled directly to the Hungarian
border until September, when Hungary
introduced restrictions on asylum for those
entering from Serbia, which it considered a
safe country of transit. Refugees then headed
for the EU through Croatia. Police continued
to ill-treat and financially exploit refugees and
migrants. In November, the authorities
allowed only Afghan, Iraqi and Syrian
nationals to enter the country; others
arbitrarily identified as economic migrants
were denied entry.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
REFUGEES, ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND
MIGRANTS
Over 600,000 refugees and migrants travelled
through Serbia, the majority of whom aimed
to seek asylum in the EU. Despite some
improvements in implementing the Asylum
Law, the authorities failed to provide effective
access to international protection. Of 485,169
registrations, only 656 applications for asylum
were submitted, and mostly discontinued; of
81 refugees interviewed by the end of
November, 16 were granted refugee status
and 14 subsidiary protection. In July, as
thousands of refugees entered the country
daily, a registration centre was opened at
Preševo, near the Macedonian border.
Reception conditions were inadequate for the
Thirty-four independent journalists were
attacked or received threats which were not
effectively investigated. The government
interfered in media freedom through selective
media subsidies and advertising. In
November, the Prime Minister accused three
investigative media outlets of working for
foreign governments to destabilize the
country.
Proceedings continued against Radomir
Marković, former head of state security, and
three former security service officers for the
murder in April 1999 of journalist Slavko
Ćuruvija.
Ljubiša Diković, Chief of Military Staff, sued
Natasa Kandić, former executive director of
the NGO Humanitarian Law Center, for
defamation after the NGO published evidence
in 2012 of war crimes in Kosovo, allegedly
committed by personnel under Ljubiša
Diković’s command.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
A new Law on Public Gatherings had not
been adopted by October, when an April
decision by the Constitutional Court that the
previous Law was unconstitutional entered
into force. Consequently, assemblies could
not take place, nor could they be prohibited.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
In July, the forced eviction of Roma from the
Grmeč settlement in Belgrade was stopped
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after an application for interim measures was
made to the European Court of Human
Rights. A draft law prohibiting forced evictions
from informal settlements, which broadly met
international standards, was proposed in
November.
Roma households that were forcibly evicted
from Belvil and other informal settlements in
2012 were resettled in new apartments in
January, July and September. Twenty-seven
apartments were funded by the European
Commission and 50 by the European
Investment Bank; one resettlement location
was racially segregated. Two families were
resettled to village houses. Concerns
remained about access to employment. No
housing solutions were identified for the
resettlement of 51 families, who mostly
continued to live in containers.
In July, the German government
announced plans for the deportation of
90,000 Serbian people whose asylum
application had been rejected or who had an
irregular status, 90% of whom were Roma.
Following a request by Kosovo President
Atifete Jahjag , the Constitutional Court ruled
in December that the agreement was
constitutional. In the interim, opposition MPs
continued to disrupt the Assembly. Mass
protests followed the first arrest of an
opposition MP for using tear gas. In
November, at least 50 activists were injured
when Kosovo police used excessive force
upon entering the Vetëvendosje offices to
arrest party leader Albin Kurti.
Inter-ethnic tensions were also heightened
by Kosovo’s unsuccessful application for
UNESCO membership (and thus the custody
of Serbian cultural monuments).
A Stabilization and Association Agreement
signed with the European Commission in
October paved the way for Kosovo’s EU
membership, but Kosovo was again denied
visa liberalization.
Crimes under international law
Measures to establish a special court to
prosecute former members of the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA) were repeatedly
delayed in the Kosovo Assembly. The
measures followed an EU-led investigation
into the abduction and transfer of Kosovo
Serbs and other prisoners to Albania in 1999,
where they were subsequently tortured and
murdered. Under international pressure,
legislation establishing the special court was
finally approved in August. Kosovo as well as
the host country, the Netherlands, had yet to
complete the remaining agreements for the
practical establishment of the court.
In May, two former members of the KLA
“Drenica group” were convicted of war crimes
against the civilian population, including
murder and torture respectively. Three other
members were convicted of torture, and six of
beating prisoners at the Likovc/Likovac
detention centre in 1998-1999.
Proceedings continued against a Kosovo
Serb politician, Oliver Ivanović, indicted for
ordering the murder of ethnic Albanians in
Mitrovica/Mitrovicë in April 1999 and inciting
unrest in February 2000, when 10 Albanians
were killed.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Belgrade Pride took place without
incident in September; the first Trans Pride
was held on the same day. A week later, three
members of a lesbian football team and a
campaigner against homophobia in sport
were violently assaulted by men believed to
be football fans. Hate crimes against LGBTI
people were seldom effectively investigated,
and legislation on hate crime was not
implemented.
KOSOVO
EU-brokered talks between Isa Mustafa,
Prime Minister of Kosovo, and the Serbian
Prime Minister concluded in August with
agreements, including on the creation of an
Association of Serbian Municipalities,
providing some autonomy for Kosovo Serbs.
After vociferous opposition led by the
Vetëvendosje party, including the discharge of
tear gas in the Assembly, the government
suspended the agreement in October.
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The National Council for Survivors of
Wartime Sexual Violence, led by President
Jahjaga, made progress towards establishing
a verification commission to process
reparation claims. In November, an action
plan to ensure their access to justice was
finalized; in December, a regulation on
victims of sexual violence in conflict was
adopted.
Enforced disappearances
1,650 people remained missing in the
aftermath of the armed conflict; no further
grave sites were identified in Serbia or Kosovo
despite exhumations at potential mass graves.
In Krushe e Vogel, where 68 men were
missing, the EU Rule of Law Mission in
Kosovo exhumed bodies – believed to have
been misidentified – from the cemetery,
without adequately notifying the men’s
relatives.
The UN Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK) failed to provide reparation
to the families of missing Kosovo Serbs,
whose abductions had not been effectively
investigated by UNMIK police. The EU-led
police and justice mission, having failed to
investigate these and other cases, proposed
to transfer them to the Kosovo authorities.
Kosovo citizens applied for asylum in the EU.
In Hungary, over 99% of applicants were
refused asylum in accelerated procedures
and deported. In 29,801 asylum decisions in
Germany, which deemed Kosovo a safe
country of origin, only 0.4% of Kosovo citizens
were granted asylum. Reintegration measures
for those deported to Kosovo remained
grossly inadequate.
By the end of November, 16,867 people –
predominantly Albanians and Kosovo Serbs –
remained displaced after the armed conflict,
and only 741 members of minority
communities had voluntarily returned to
Kosovo.
Discrimination
Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians continued to
suffer institutional discrimination, including in
access to social and economic rights. An
estimated 7,500-10,000 Roma, Ashkali and
Egyptians made up a disproportionate share
of those who left Kosovo to seek asylum in the
EU. The authorities failed to investigate hate
crimes, including physical attacks against
LGBTI individuals.
Freedom of expression
Government interference in freedom of the
media continued. By September, 22
journalists had been threatened or attacked.
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo,
supported by the OSCE, established a
confidential free hotline for journalists to
report attacks.
Inter-ethnic violence
In January, 80 people, including 50 police
officers, were injured in protests calling for
the dismissal of Aleksandar Jablanović,
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare. He had
called ethnic Albanians “savages” for
stopping a bus carrying Kosovo Serbs to a
monastery on Orthodox Christmas.
Kosovo Serbs were subject to threats,
robberies and attacks, including attempted
arson, in Goraždevac/Gorazhdec and
Klina/Klinë in May and in July, when the
vehicles of Serbian families were shot at. In
December, the property of two families in
Goraždevac/Gorazhdec was damaged by
gunfire.
SIERRA LEONE
Republic of Sierra Leone
Head of state and government:
Ernest Bai Koroma
At least 3,955 people died during the Ebola
epidemic, during which exploitation and
violence against women and girls increased.
State of emergency powers were used to
curtail the right to peaceful assembly of
political opponents. Police accountability
was limited. Visibly pregnant girls were
Refugees and internally displaced people
Between January and March, at least 48,900
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discriminated against and prevented from
attending school and taking their exams.
Criminal libel and other laws were used to
stifle freedom of expression.
BACKGROUND
An Ebola epidemic began in May 2014 and
was declared over on 7 November 2015. A
review of Sierra Leone’s Constitution was
launched on 30 July 2013 and is still
ongoing, with progress delayed due to the
Ebola crisis.
detention; they were discharged and released
in December.
1
On 6 August, 13 members of the armed
forces were acquitted after a two-year
detention, including eight months
incommunicado, for plotting to mutiny at the
Tekoh barracks in Makeni.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
EBOLA OUTBREAK
Sierra Leone was severely affected by the
Ebola epidemic that spread across West
Africa starting in March 2014, with at least
14,122 confirmed cases. More than 300
health workers were infected and the
epidemic weakened an already fragile health
care system, particularly for provision of
maternal care. Concerns were raised about
the lack of safe equipment and the working
conditions for health workers. The state of
emergency was extended in August 2015 for
a year; some restrictions, such as the ban on
public gatherings, were lifted. At the end of
the outbreak, the President stated he would
discuss ending the state of emergency with
Parliament.
Police accountability remained weak. Despite
the recommendations of three independent
inquiries into allegations of unlawful killings
since 2007, no police officer was prosecuted.
There was minimal investigation into two
other allegations of unlawful killings by the
police in Kono in 2014. There were also
allegations of unlawful killings in the
capital, Freetown, in 2015, where in one case
police officers were dismissed following an
internal disciplinary proceeding and charged
with manslaughter. In October, an
Independent Police Complaints Board was
launched.
WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS
ARBITRARY DETENTIONS
Numerous people were arbitrarily detained
and prosecuted under the Public Emergency
Regulations 2014 and by-laws, such as for
public gathering or trading after hours. Pre-
trial detention regularly exceeded
constitutional time limits and a high number
of people remained in pre-trial detention,
including juveniles.
On 21 April, 11 men were charged under
the Public Order Act 1965 and Public
Emergency Regulations 2014, in connection
with a riot about a suspected Ebola patient.
Six of the men were arrested in October
2014, and the remaining five in February and
March 2015, under an executive order issued
by President Koroma. The detainees had no
warrants or documentation supporting their
Exploitation and violence against women and
girls increased during the Ebola outbreak.
The Sexual Offences Act 2012 was still not
implemented properly by the police. There
was limited access to legal aid, shelter and
rehabilitation services for victims of sexual
and domestic violence. Health care services
for victims of sexual violence were also
inaccessible due to legal and cost barriers.
The Gender Equality Bill, which provides
for a minimum 30% representation of women
in Parliament and local councils and
ministries, departments and agencies, was
still not enacted.
In July 2015, Sierra Leone ratified the
Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in
Africa. Steps need to be taken to domesticate
its provisions.
In December, Parliament passed the Safe
Abortion Act. However, the President sent it
back to Parliament in January 2016 after
concerns by religious leaders.
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Education
In March, the Ministry of Education banned
pregnant girls from attending school and
sitting exams, in violation of their rights to
education and non-discrimination. The policy
seemed to be based on discriminatory views
and negative stereotypes of pregnant girls and
stigmatized an estimated 10,000 girls. The
ban was enforced in some schools through
humiliating and degrading treatment of girls.
2
ahead of a by-election. He was granted bail
after four days in detention; his trial was
ongoing at the end of the year.
1. Sierra Leone must release eight people arbitrarily detained after Ebola
riot (Press
release,
29 January); Two women released, 11 men charged
(AFR
51/1603/2015)
2. Shamed and blamed: Pregnant girls’ rights at risk in Sierra Leone
(AFR
51/2695/2015)
3. Sierra Leone: Ebola regulations and other laws must not be used to
curtail freedom of expression and assembly (News
story,
4 May)
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
In February 2015, Mamoud Tim Kargbo was
charged with five counts of defamatory libel
under the Public Order Act 1965 for
forwarding a WhatsApp message he received,
said to be defamatory to the President. He
was detained for 52 days, released on bail
during the trial, and eventually discharged on
28 July.
There were disproportionate restrictions on
freedoms of expression and assembly during
the state of emergency. Following the removal
of former Vice President Samuel Sam-
Sumana on 18 March 2015, there was an
increase in arrests of opposition members,
bans on peaceful protests and a crackdown
on dissent.
3
On 27 April, 15 members of Sierra Leone
People’s Party (SLPP), the main opposition
party, and a senior officer from the Human
Rights Commission were arrested in the town
of Kenema following a protest at the SLPP
office. They are currently on trial. There are
concerns about excessive use of force during
arrests by the police.
In August,
Monologue,
a radio programme
hosted by journalist David Tam Baryoh, was
suspended by the Independent Media
Commission (IMC) due to allegations that the
show infringed national security, and incited
violence and public disorder. In October, he
was fined 500,000 SLL (around US$100),
and is challenging the decision in court.
In December, Jonathan Leigh, managing
editor of the
Independent Observer,
was
arrested on accusations of publishing false
information about reports of political violence
SINGAPORE
Republic of Singapore
Head of state:
Tony Tan Keng Yam
Head of government:
Lee Hsien Loong
The People’s Action Party, whose founder,
former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, died
in March, continued to penalize government
critics for exercising their right to freedom
of expression. The media and human rights
defenders were tightly controlled through
revocation of licences and criminal charges.
Judicial caning and the death penalty were
retained.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Amos Yee, a 16-year-old blogger, was
sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment for
“uttering words with deliberate intent to
wound the religious or racial feelings of any
person” and “transmitting obscene
materials”, after he uploaded a video and
cartoon criticizing Lee Kuan Yew online.
1
The
UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights urged Singapore to consider
the case in light of its obligations under the
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In May, the Media Development Authority
suspended the licences permitting editors
Yang Kaiheng and Ai Takagi to operate the
news website, social media accounts and
mobile applications of
The Real Singapore
newspaper after it published articles that
allegedly “sought to incite anti-foreigner
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sentiments in Singapore”. The two faced
seven counts of sedition and a charge under
the Penal Code for failure to produce
documents required by the police.
Human rights lawyer M Ravi, who handled
cases involving the death penalty; freedom of
expression; lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) workers’
rights; and the rights of foreign workers facing
deportation, was temporarily suspended from
his practice in February, ostensibly on health
grounds. There were concerns this may have
been politically motivated.
but was released from custody in June with a
two-year Restriction Order.
1. Singapore: Amos Yee sentence a dark day for freedom of expression
(News story, 6 July)
2. Singapore: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review 24th
session, January-February 2016 (ASA
36/2664/2015)
SLOVAKIA
Slovak Republic
Head of state:
Andrej Kiska
Head of government:
Robert Fico
Discrimination against Roma remained
widespread. The European Commission
initiated infringement proceedings against
Slovakia for the discrimination against
Romani pupils in education. Anti-
immigration rallies were held across the
country, and Slovakia voted against
mandatory relocation quotas of refugees
from other EU member states.
DEATH PENALTY
Death sentences continued to be imposed,
including as mandatory punishment for
murder and drug trafficking. Muhammad bin
Kadar was executed at Changi Prison
Complex in April. He had been found guilty of
“intentional murder”, which continues to
carry a mandatory death sentence. Reports
indicated that a further two people were
executed during the year, but there was no
official announcement. In November,
Malaysian national Kho Jabing, convicted of
murder, was granted a stay of execution
pending a review of his case. At least 26
people remained on death row at the end of
2
the year.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
Police and security forces
Slovak NGOs reported new cases of excessive
use of force by police against Roma, and
raised concerns over the lack of effective
investigation in past cases. In September, the
UN Committee against Torture criticized the
absence of an independent mechanism to
investigate such reports as the existing body –
the Department of Control and Inspection
Service (SKIS) – remained subordinate to the
Ministry of Interior.
The investigation by the SKIS into the
alleged excessive use of force by police
during an operation in the Roma settlement of
Vrbnica on 2 April was still pending.
1
Nineteen Romani residents reported injuries
and damages to their houses, and 17 criminal
complaints were filed against police. No
police misconduct was acknowledged by the
authorities. The Public Defender of Rights
criticized the police operation and called on
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING
PUNISHMENT
Caning continued to be used as punishment
for a range of crimes by males aged 16 to 50.
It remained mandatory for cases such as drug
trafficking and immigration offences. The
Supreme Court in March ruled that caning
was not unconstitutional.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i and an unnamed
17-year-old, both deemed to have “self-
radicalized”, were arrested on terrorism-
related charges under the Internal Security
Act. M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i was detained
administratively for planning to join the armed
group Islamic State (IS) abroad. The 17-year-
old was arrested and detained in early May,
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the Public Prosecutor and the Ministry of
Interior to ensure that the allegations were
adequately investigated, including by
unearthing any potential racial motivation.
The UN Committee against Torture noted
that no charges were brought against the
police officers who participated in an
operation in the Roma settlement of Moldava
nad Bodvou on 19 June 2013 that resulted in
injuries to over 30 individuals, including
children.
The Committee also expressed concerns
over the decision of the District Court to
acquit 10 policemen accused of ill-treatment
of six Roma boys at a police station in 2009 in
Košice. The Public Prosecutor appealed
against the acquittal; the case remained
2
pending at the end of the year.
amendment to the Schools Act that contains
provisions on the education of children from
socially disadvantaged backgrounds. While
the amendment prioritizes integration in
mainstream schools and provides financial
incentives for schools educating pupils from
disadvantaged backgrounds, it does not
contain any provisions for eliminating ethnic
discrimination against Roma.
Enforced sterilization of Romani women
The UN Committee against Torture called for
an independent and effective investigation
into all cases of forced sterilization of Romani
women and girls performed in the early
2000s, and for the introduction of an
adequate compensation scheme for those
harmed.
Right to education
Romani children continued to be over-
represented in “special” schools and classes
for children with mild mental disabilities, and
placed in ethnically segregated mainstream
schools and classes. The segregation of
Romani children was reinforced by the
continued investment in so-called “container
schools” in Romani settlements, instead of
ensuring the integration of Romani students
in ethnically mixed mainstream schools.
3
In
its Annual Report, the Public Defender of
Rights criticized the diagnostic procedures for
placements in “special” schools and classes,
calling them discriminatory.
In April, the European Commission initiated
infringement proceedings against Slovakia for
breaching the prohibition of discrimination set
out in the EU Racial Equality Directive in
relation to the access to education of Roma.
4
The authorities justified the disproportionate
number of Roma in “special” schools and
classes by alleging there is a higher
prevalence of genetically determined
disorders among Slovak Roma due to
inbreeding.
5
The government presented new
measures to the European Commission in
August, aimed at reducing discriminatory bias
in diagnostic procedures.
In June, Parliament adopted an
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In February, Slovakia held a referendum on a
proposal to define marriage exclusively as a
union between a man and a woman, to ban
adoption by same-sex couples and to require
parental consent for the participation of
children in classes on sexual education and
6
euthanasia. The referendum was void as it
did not meet the 50% turnout requirement.
Slovakia does not legally recognize same-sex
partnerships and the Constitution already
defines marriage exclusively as a union
between a man and a woman.
COUNTER-TERROR
In June, riot police units raided the apartment
of a Tunisian national and former detainee at
Guantánamo Bay who resettled to Slovakia in
November 2014. The SKIS reportedly feared
for his life as he had not been seen or heard
of for two days. Following the intervention with
rubber bullets, he required medical attention
for injuries which left him unable to work for
seven days. The SKIS dismissed his
complaint on the grounds that the raid was
lawful and the coercive measures
proportionate, and alleged that he had
reacted aggressively.
In December, Parliament rushed through
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the adoption of new anti-terrorism measures,
including the extension of the maximum
period of pre-charge detention to 96 hours for
individuals suspected of terrorism-related
offences.
SLOVENIA
Republic of Slovenia
Head of state:
Borut Pahor
Head of government:
Miro Cerar
Slovenia struggled to provide adequate
reception conditions to the large number of
refugees and migrants that arrived in the
country. The authorities failed to restore the
status of the “erased” or provide adequate
redress, perpetuating the long-standing
violations of their rights. Discrimination
against Roma remained widespread.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Anti-immigration rallies were held across
Slovakia. In June, at least 140 people were
arrested after police clashed with
demonstrators reportedly throwing stones and
smoke bombs at a rally in Bratislava. The rally
was attended by thousands of people
protesting against mandatory EU quotas for
the relocation of refugees from other EU
member states.
In August, the Minister of Interior
announced that the country would admit 200
Syrian refugees, on condition that they be
Christians. Slovakia voted against mandatory
relocation quotas at a meeting of EU Interior
Ministers in September, but was obliged to
receive 802 refugees over a period of two
years following the proposal’s adoption by
qualified majority.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
1. Slovakia must urgently investigate allegations of arbitrary use of
force by police against Roma in the village of Vrbnica (EUR
72/1403/2015)
2. Slovakia: Justice still pending for Romani boys abused at police
station in 2009 (EUR
72/1158/2015)
3. Slovakia’s “container schools” worsen segregation of Roma children
from society (News
story,
13 March)
4. Slovakia is the second member state to be subjected to an
infringement procedure for breach of EU Anti-Discrimination Law
(EUR
72/1777/2015)
5. Slovakia: Racist stereotyping should not determine education policy –
International NGOs criticize Slovak Government (EUR
72/1834/2015)
6. Slovakia: Referendum on marriage panders to homophobic
discrimination (News
story,
2 February)
More than 375,000 refugees and migrants
arrived in Slovenia through the Western
Balkans route, a 250-fold increase on the
previous year. From September, hundreds of
people were detained for entering the country
irregularly, among them refugees from Syria.
Others were transported to reception and
accommodation centres, some of which did
not provide adequate shelter and care. The
overwhelming majority were able to transit
through the country and exit towards Austria;
141 people submitted an asylum application.
At least 20 refugees and migrants were
expelled to Croatia, which refused the
attempted return of hundreds of others.
DISCRIMINATION
Slovenia’s anti-discrimination framework
remained flawed as institutions created to
combat discrimination and consider
complaints – such as the Human Rights
Ombudsman and the Advocate of the
Principle of Equality – continued to be
undermined by weak mandates and
inadequate resources.
The “erased”
The authorities failed to provide redress for
the human rights violations committed against
former permanent residents of Slovenia
originating from other former Yugoslav
republics, known as the “erased”, whose
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legal status was unlawfully revoked in 1992.
No new options had been offered to the
remaining “erased” to restore their legal
status and related rights since the expiry of
the Legal Status Act in 2013. Less than half of
the 25,671 “erased” persons had their status
restored.
In June, the Constitutional Court ruled that
compensation claims made by “erased”
persons should not be subject to a statute of
limitations, and courts should take into
account the claimants’ special status.
married couples, including to adoption. A
referendum challenging the amendments was
called by opponents and subsequently
referred to the Constitutional Court,
preventing the amendments from entering
into force. The Constitutional Court ruled in
October that the referendum could be held.
On 20 December, 36% of the voting-age
population cast their vote and rejected the
marriage equality law by majority,
perpetuating the unequal treatment of same-
sex couples.
Roma
The majority of Slovenia’s 10,000 Roma
continued to face discrimination and social
exclusion. Many lived in isolated, segregated
settlements, lacking security of tenure and
access to basic services such as water,
electricity, sanitation and public transport.
Discrimination prevented Roma families from
accessing housing outside Roma-populated
areas.
Over 200 Roma living in the Dobruška vas
settlement in the Škocjan Municipality
remained without security of tenure. Following
the relocation of two Roma families in 2014,
no new proposals were presented to residents
at risk of forced eviction as a result of
redevelopment plans. In December, one
individual took the proceeding regarding his
house to the Administrative court. Residents
of the informal settlements in Loke and Rimš
in the neighbouring Municipality of Krško
faced similar risks in the face of
redevelopment plans that failed to put in
place safeguards against forced eviction or
provide adequate alternative housing.
The government announced in August that
it would prepare changes to the Roma
Community Act. However, a draft submitted
by the opposition was rejected by Parliament
in November without an alternative proposal.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
In April, the prosecution withdrew charges
against journalist Anuška Delić, who had
been indicted for publishing classified
information of public interest, although it
maintained that she acted wrongfully. Three
other journalists remained under investigation
for similar alleged crimes but proceedings
were halted before charges were filed. The
Criminal Code was amended in July to add a
public interest defence for the publication of
state secrets.
SOMALIA
Federal Republic of Somalia
Head of state:
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
Head of government:
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke
(replaced Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed in December 2014)
Head of Somaliland Republic:
Ahmed Mohamed
Mahamoud Silyano
Armed conflict continued between Somali
Federal Government (SFG) forces, African
Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
peacekeepers and the armed group al-
Shabaab in central and southern Somalia.
SFG and AMISOM forces expanded the
areas under their control by pushing al-
Shabaab out of key towns in the South-West
and Jubbaland regions. Over 500 people
were killed or injured by armed conflict and
generalized violence, and at least 50,000
people were displaced. All parties to the
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The law on marriage and family relations was
amended in March in order to legalize same-
sex marriage and ensure equal rights to
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conflict were responsible for crimes under
international law and human rights
violations, which remained unpunished.
Armed groups continued to conscript
children, and abduct, torture and unlawfully
kill civilians. Rape and other forms of sexual
violence were widespread. Continued
conflict, insecurity and restrictions imposed
by the warring parties hampered aid
agencies’ access to some regions. Three
journalists were killed; others were attacked,
harassed or fined heavy penalties in courts.
BACKGROUND
UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM)
was extended by the UN Security Council
until 30 March 2016.
Al-Shabaab faced internal fissures over
whether to remain aligned with al-Qa’ida or to
align with the armed group Islamic State (IS).
The situation remained tense in the town of
Jilib, 97km north of Kismayo, after al-
Shabaab deputy leader Mahad Karate
pressured the leader, Abu Ubaidah, to switch
allegiance to IS. In October, al-Shabaab
leaders leaning towards al-Qa’ida arrested 30
people in Jubbaland who were presumed to
be aligned with IS.
The SFG and AMISOM remained in control of
Mogadishu, the capital, and expanded areas
under their control by establishing federal
administrations in the Galmudug, South-West
and Jubbaland States. A joint offensive by
AMISOM and the Somali National Armed
Forces (SNAF) pushed al-Shabaab out of
towns in the Hiraan, Bay, Bakool, Gedo and
Lower Shabelle regions, although the armed
group maintained control of many rural areas.
The offensive displaced more people, while
armed clashes and al-Shabaab attacks
against civilians continued, particularly in
villages with changing control.
International support for government
security forces, allied militias and AMISOM
continued. The humanitarian situation
remained dire: by 9 October, over 3.2 million
people were in need of assistance, and over
855,000 were food insecure. Among the most
vulnerable were internally displaced persons
(IDPs), who comprised 76% of those facing
food insecurity.
In August, the country faced a political
crisis after MPs submitted a motion of no
confidence in President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud. In July, the Speaker of the Federal
Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari,
announced that the 2016 elections would not
be held by universal suffrage, although this
had been enshrined in the New Deal
Compact for Somalia. Opposition MPs
protested the decision as a ploy to extend the
President’s term. The human rights
monitoring and reporting mandate within the
ABUSES BY GOVERNMENT FORCES AND
ARMED GROUPS
Indiscriminate attacks
Civilians continued to be indiscriminately
killed and wounded in crossfire during armed
clashes, whether by suicide attacks,
improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or
grenade attacks. Al-Shabaab retained the
ability to stage lethal attacks in the most
heavily guarded parts of Mogadishu and other
towns, killing or injuring hundreds of civilians.
High-profile targets remained vulnerable to
such attacks. In September, a car explosion
at the gate of the presidential palace killed at
least six people. In February, al-Shabaab
carried out a mortar attack on the presidential
palace. In July, a suicide attack at the Jazeera
Hotel, which houses several embassies, killed
at least 10 people. The number of civilians
killed in various attacks was difficult to
establish due to the absence of a reliable
civilian casualty tracking system. The
government and AMISOM offensive resulted
in abuses by all parties to the conflict.
Direct targeting of civilians
Civilians remained at risk of being directly
targeted in attacks. In July, reports indicated
that AMISOM had directly targeted civilians
and killed at least 10 people in Marka. In
August, AMISOM revised the figure to seven
people, issued an apology and announced
that three soldiers had been charged with the
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killings. Extrajudicial killings, extortion,
arbitrary arrests, rape and other forms of
gender-based violence continued to be
carried out by government forces and aligned
militia, partly as a result of poor discipline and
weak command control. On 20 August, a
SNAF soldier shot and wounded a mentally ill
person in the town of Baidoa, after an
argument. In September, Jubbaland soldiers
executed at least four people, including a
woman, near the town of Doolow, Gedo,
suspecting that they were al-Shabaab
militants. Al-Shabaab continued to torture
and extrajudicially kill people they accused of
spying or of not conforming to their
interpretation of Islamic law. The group
carried out public killings and punishments
such as stoning to death, amputations and
floggings, particularly in areas where AMISOM
had withdrawn. On 23 April, al-Shabaab killed
a man by firing squad in the town of Jamame,
Lower Juba, for “insulting” the Prophet
Muhammad. On 25 July, al-Shabaab killed
MP Abdulahi Hussein Mohamud and his
guard in Mogadishu by spraying their car with
gunfire. On 6 September, al-Shabaab
beheaded a man in Qahira village, near the
Toosweyne settlement, Bay, after accusing
him of spying for Ethiopian peacekeepers. On
1 October, al-Shabaab militants shot and
killed several people in the village of
Kunyabarow, near the town of Barawe in
Lower Shabelle, for refusing to obey their
orders.
not implement the two Action Plans it signed
in 2012 to end the recruitment and use of
child soldiers, as well as the killing and
maiming of children.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE,
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
CHILD SOLDIERS
Children continued to suffer abuses by all
parties to the armed conflict. As of 5 June,
the UN documented 819 cases of
recruitment and use of child soldiers by al-
Shabaab, the national army and allied militia,
Ahla Sunna W’Jama’a, and other armed
groups. Somalia ratified the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child on 1 October, with
the reservation that it did not consider itself
bound by Articles 14, 20, 21 of the
Convention and any other of its provisions
that are contrary to the general principles of
Islamic Sharia. The federal government did
More than 1.3 million Somalis were internally
displaced in 2015. The SNAF and AMISOM
offensive disrupted trade routes. Similarly, al-
Shabaab blocked supply routes after being
pushed out of towns by AMISOM, disrupting
humanitarian access. Continued conflict and
El Niño rains starting in October threatened to
further negatively impact the humanitarian
situation.
In January and February, state security
forces evicted over 25,700 people without
due process from public and private land in
Mogadishu. They evicted an additional
21,000 in March. The majority of those who
were evicted moved to the outskirts of
Mogadishu, particularly to the Sarakusta and
Tabelaha areas, in deplorable living
conditions. Forced evictions by the interim
Jubbaland administration also occurred in the
towns of Kismayu and Luuq following an
attack on a police post near an IDP
settlement. By the end of the year, the federal
government had not yet adopted an IDP
policy, although a draft framework was
prepared in April 2014.
Over 1.1 million Somali refugees remained
in neighbouring countries and the diaspora.
In April, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency,
and the governments of Kenya and Somalia
formed a commission to supervise the
voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from
Kenya, as agreed in the September 2013
Tripartite Agreement. On 20 September, the
UNHCR announced it had repatriated 4,108
Somali refugees from the Dadaab refugee
camp in northeast Kenya to Somalia. In
January, there were 237,271 Somali refugees
in Yemen. By August, however, over 28,000
Somalis had returned to Somalia to escape
the escalating armed conflict in Yemen.
Meanwhile, other states hosting Somali
asylum-seekers and refugees, including Saudi
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Arabia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway,
the UK and Denmark, continued to pressurize
Somalis to return to Somalia, alleging that
security there had improved.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
Journalists and media workers continued to
be intimidated, harassed, attacked and killed.
In May, journalist Daud Ali Omar and his wife
Hawo Abdi Aden were shot dead by gunmen
who broke into their house in the Bardaale
neighbourhood of Baidoa. On 26 July,
journalists Abdihakin Mohamed Omar of the
Somali Broadcasting Corporation and
Abdikarim Moallim Adam of Universal TV
were killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a
hotel in Mogadishu, in which 13 people died.
Salman Jamal, a reporter for Universal TV,
was seriously injured in the attack.
Media freedom continued to be curtailed,
journalists were arrested and media houses
closed down. In May, the government ordered
all Somali media houses to use the acronym
UGUS (“the group that massacres Somali
people”) when referring to al-Shabaab. The
Somali Independent Media Houses
Association (SIMHA) called the order a threat
to journalists’ work. On 2 October, the
National Intelligence and Security Agency
(NISA) arrested Awil Dahir Salad and Abdilahi
Hirsi Kulmiye, two journalists working for
Universal TV, and held them for six days
without charge in Mogadishu. NISA officers
also raided and shut down the broadcaster’s
offices on the same day. Al-Shabaab
continued to suppress the media and
retained a ban on the internet in areas under
its control.
In Somaliland, the government curtailed
the freedom of expression of those who
criticized its policies. Somaliland does not
have a media law to protect journalists. Guleid
Ahmed Jama, a prominent human rights
lawyer, was arrested after he questioned the
execution of six prisoners on death row in an
interview with the BBC Somali Service. Other
human rights activists, Otto Bihi and Suldaan
Mohamed Muuse Cune, were also arrested
for opposing the postponement of presidential
elections to March 2017. Bihi was released
and Cune spent 12 days in custody without
charge. The government also restricted the
opposition’s freedom of assembly. On 11
May, security forces denied the main
opposition party, WADANI, permission to hold
a peaceful demonstration against the
extension of the President’s term by 22
months. The party’s leaders were arrested
and held for several hours after police
violently broke up peaceful marches in the
cities of Hargeisa, Berbera and Burao, and
the party’s offices were temporarily taken over
by government security forces.
DEATH PENALTY
Somalia continued to use the death penalty
despite its support for the UN General
Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the
death penalty. Members of Somali armed
opposition groups such as al-Shabaab,
government soldiers and people convicted of
murder were executed by firing squad.
Military Court processes fell short of
international fair trial standards, while
executions were often carried out in haste. In
September, seven soldiers were executed in
the city of Kismayo, Jubbaland, after they
were convicted by a military court of killing
civilians. In April, a military tribunal in
Mogadishu sentenced to death two men
accused of killing two members of the Federal
Parliament and three intelligence officers.
In Somaliland, civilian courts sentenced
people to death – at least 70 people were on
death row in February. In July, a civilian court
in Sool sentenced a mentally ill man to death
after he was convicted of killing his friend.
The government announced in February its
decision to resume executions after a nine-
year moratorium. In April, six prisoners who
were on death row at the Mandera maximum-
security complex were executed by firing
squad.
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SOUTH AFRICA
Republic of South Africa
Head of state and government:
Jacob G. Zuma
Torture and other ill-treatment and
excessive use of force by police continued,
although some measure of accountability
was obtained. Targeted violence against
refugees and asylum-seekers resulting in
deaths, displacement and property
destruction also continued. Access to
medical treatment for people living with HIV
continued to expand but was marred by
shortages in many areas. Progress was made
in addressing hate crimes based on people’s
real or perceived sexual orientation or
gender identity. Human rights defenders
faced intimidation and threats from ruling
party and state officials.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
BACKGROUND
The government came under increasing
pressure from opposition political parties, civil
society and communities over alleged
corruption and poor service delivery, among
other issues. Parliamentary processes were
undermined by irregular responses to
repeated challenges to the ruling African
National Congress (ANC) party by opposition
parties. Frustration with the slow pace of
reform to address the legacy of apartheid
resulted in protests across the country in
different sectors, including tertiary education
institutions. Continuing high levels of
inequality led to widespread protests about
service delivery in multiple communities
across the country.
Criminal justice institutions, including the
police oversight body and the prosecuting
authority, were destabilized by scandals and
internal tensions, affecting their credibility.
Tension between the government and the
judiciary increased.
In January, South Africa ratified the
ICESCR.
On 25 June, President Zuma released the
report and recommendations of the Marikana
Commission of Inquiry into the deaths of 44
people at the Lonmin Marikana mine in North
West Province in August 2012. The
Commission found that the “decisive cause”
of events on 16 August was the unlawful
decision by senior police officials the night
before to disarm and disperse strikers,
forcibly if necessary, by the end of the next
day. The Commission found all officials
present at the meeting responsible for the
decision, and found that they had obstructed
and delayed the Commission by attempting to
conceal evidence and fabricating a version of
events to justify the deaths.
The Commission also found that at the first
scene, where police shot dead 17 people,
there was no objective evidence that the
dispersing strikers intended to attack the
police, and that deaths and injuries could
have been avoided if the police had deployed
minimum force methods more effectively. The
Commission concluded that some of the
officers might have exceeded the bounds of
reasonable self or private defence.
The Commission found that the police
presented no plausible justification for the
fatal shooting of 17 other strikers at the
second scene and that there was a complete
loss of command and control. It
recommended the establishment of an expert
team, under the authority of the Director of
Public Prosecutions, to conduct a criminal
investigation into the killings. It also
recommended an investigation into the
conduct of a senior police officer who failed to
deploy medical units under his control to the
first scene, which led to the deaths of injured
strikers. Preliminary steps had been taken to
implement these recommendations by the
end of the year.
The President did respond to other
recommendations of the Commission,
including the establishment of a Board of
Inquiry into the fitness of the national
commissioner of police, General Riah
Phiyega, to hold office, and ordered her
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suspension. The prosecution service also
reinstituted criminal charges against some of
the workers involved in the strike in
connection with the deaths of two Lonmin
security guards and three non-striking
workers.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
The Independent Police Investigative
Directorate (IPID) reported 396 deaths as a
result of police action in 2014/2015, six more
than the previous year.
In the Durban High Court, the trial of 27
police officers, the majority of them members
of the now disbanded Cato Manor Organized
Crime Unit, on 28 counts of murder and other
charges, was further delayed until February
2016. The officers were facing criminal
charges in connection with the death of,
among others, Bongani Mkhize, a taxi
company owner who was killed in February
2009, three months after he obtained a High
Court order constraining the police from
killing him.
In November, four police officers from
Krugersdorp near Johannesburg were
arrested and appeared in court in connection
with the fatal shooting of a crime suspect,
Khulekani Mpanza, on 19 October. They were
charged with murder and defeating the ends
of justice. The arrests followed the media’s
publication of CCTV footage of the incident.
The acting National Commissioner of Police
ordered the suspension of the Krugersdorp
police station commander.
Sipho Ndovela, a witness to the murder of
one of the victims of the ongoing violence at
Durban’s Glebelands hostel, was shot dead
on 18 May in the precinct of Umlazi
Magistrate’s Court. He was due to provide
testimony identifying and implicating a key
figure behind the violence at the hostel
complex. From March 2014 more than 50
people had died in targeted killings. Official
investigations were undermined by the
authorities’ failure to protect individuals at risk
and prevent violations of the rights of
suspects detained for questioning by police.
IPID reported 244 deaths in custody in
2014-2015. They also reported 145 cases of
torture, 34 cases of rape and 3,711 cases of
assault by police officers in the same period.
In August, IPID referred the case of
Zinakile Fica to the Director of Public
Prosecutions for a decision on prosecution
following their investigation into his death in
police custody in March 2014. He had been
arrested at Glebelands hostel along with
others and died during interrogation at
Prospecton police station. The results of an
independent post mortem examination and
witness testimony indicated that he had died
from suffocation torture during police
interrogation.
On 11 November, eight police officers were
each sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment
after being convicted in August of the murder
of Mido Macia in February 2013. The police
had shackled the arrested man to the back of
their vehicle, dragging him behind it for about
200m before unlawfully detaining him in a
police station cell. The High Court in Pretoria
also found that seven of the accused had
assaulted Mido Macia in the cell where he
died.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In June, the Southern African Litigation
Centre took the government to court in an
attempt to force it to implement an ICC arrest
warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir,
who was in South Africa for an AU summit.
The North Gauteng High Court issued an
interim order on 14 June preventing
President Bashir from leaving the country
pending the finalization of the matter. On 15
June, North Gauteng High Court ordered the
state respondents, who included the Ministers
of Justice and Police, to arrest and detain
President Bashir for his subsequent transfer
to the ICC.
On 15 June, South African authorities
allowed President Bashir to leave South Africa
in direct contravention of the interim court
order. The North Gauteng High Court
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requested that the state submit an affidavit
explaining how President Bashir was allowed
to leave the country. The state submitted its
explanatory affidavit and filed for leave to
appeal against the High Court judgment. On
16 September, the North Gauteng High Court
denied the state leave to appeal, indicating
that the issue was moot, and that there were
no prospects of success on appeal. The state
petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeal in
October. Subsequently, South Africa stated it
was considering withdrawing from the ICC.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In October, attorneys on behalf of 56
representative applicants petitioned the South
Gauteng High Court, in
Nkala and others v.
Harmony Gold and others,
to certify their case
as a class action. The applicants were
seeking compensation from 32 gold mining
companies on behalf of thousands of
mineworkers, former mineworkers and the
dependants of deceased mineworkers, for
what they allege was a failure to adequately
prevent specific illnesses, namely silicosis
and tuberculosis, caused by exposure to silica
dust underground. Judgment was reserved in
the matter.
The Marikana Commission of Inquiry made
several findings against Lonmin Plc in its
report. The Commission concluded that
Lonmin did not use its best endeavours to
resolve the labour disputes that led to the
killings in August 2012 and that it failed to
employ sufficient safeguards to ensure
employee safety. The Commission also found
Lonmin deficient in its undertakings with
regard to its social and labour plans,
particularly in relation to its housing
obligations. The Commission dismissed
Lonmin’s argument that it could not afford to
implement its housing obligations and found
that its failure to comply created an unsafe
environment.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
During the year there were numerous
incidents involving violence against refugees,
asylum-seekers and migrants.
In January, local residents looted 440 small
businesses run by refugees and migrants in
15 different areas in Soweto, Gauteng
Province. Four people died, including locals
caught up in the violence. Nearly 1,400
refugees and migrants were displaced.
In April, a new wave of attacks, primarily in
the greater Durban area, led to at least four
deaths, many others seriously injured, and
looting. At least 5,000 refugees and migrants
fled their homes and small businesses to
three temporary official camps, or to informal
shelters.
The scale of the violence in the Durban
area had little precedent and appeared to
have been triggered by the widely reported
statement by traditional leader King Goodwill
Zwelithini that government must ensure all
“foreigners” leave South Africa. A preliminary
finding of an inquiry by the South African
Human Rights Commission into these alleged
comments noted the harmful nature of his
remarks but absolved the King of inciting
violence. The government condemned the
violence and established an inter-ministerial
committee to co-ordinate responses
nationally. In KwaZulu-Natal Province, the
provincial government appointed the former
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Navi Pillay, to lead an inquiry into the
violence. It had not been completed by the
end of the year.
In October, in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape
Province, a verified 138 out of a possible 300
refugee- and migrant-run shops were
attacked. The police later acknowledged their
failure to act on earlier warnings from civil
society organizations and conducted nearly
90 arrests of suspected perpetrators of the
violence, who appeared in court in late
October.
Hundreds of refugees and asylum-seekers
were detained unlawfully and risked
deportation during an apparent national-level
anti-crime initiative, Operation Fiela, launched
on 27 April. The police, backed by the
military, conducted raids and arrests in inner
city areas, including Johannesburg. After
raids and large-scale arrests on 8 May at the
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Central Methodist Church and a nearby
residential building, police and immigration
officials blocked legal access over four days to
as many as 400 refugees and asylum-seekers
held at Johannesburg Central Police Station,
despite emergency court orders for access.
On 12 May, the High Court ruled that officials
must provide the court with a full list of all
detainees and prohibited the authorities from
deporting any for two weeks, pending proper
legal consultations, which were allowed to
proceed.
In March, the Supreme Court of Appeal
ordered the Department of Home Affairs
(DHA) to re-open the Port Elizabeth Refugee
Reception Office. The Constitutional Court
dismissed the DHA appeal against the March
ruling. However, non-discriminatory access to
asylum determination procedures came
under a new threat from sweeping
government-proposed amendments to the
Refugee Act, including restrictions on access
to livelihood for asylum-seekers. The draft
legislation was still under consideration at the
end of the year.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
HIV remained the main cause of maternal
deaths. Nearly one third of pregnant women
were living with HIV but improved access to
free anti-retroviral treatment for pregnant
women since 2011 had contributed to the
significant decline, by almost a quarter, in the
institutional maternal mortality ratio (related
only to deaths taking place in health
facilities). Despite this progress, shortages of
doctors and nurses, the lack of appropriately
resourced health facilities and shortages of
emergency transport continued to hamper
efforts to reduce the high rate of maternal
deaths. Poor management of the Department
of Health at the provincial level was
emphasized by both the South African
Human Rights Commission and by a civil
society-led People’s Commission of Inquiry
into the Free State Healthcare System.
The expansion of free anti-retroviral drugs
through the public health system continued
but persistent stock shortages of essential
medicines across the country risked
undermining progress. The country continued
to battle an increased incidence of
tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug-resistant TB
cases, a serious health risk for people living
with HIV and AIDS.
Medical research reports continued to
indicate that young women, aged between 15
and 24, bear the burden of new HIV
infections. Women in this age group were up
to eight times more at risk of HIV infection
due to both biological and social factors. Data
collated from health districts reflected high
pregnancy rates among girls under 18,
accounting for “one in 14 deliveries in the
country” in 2014-2015. The report noted with
concern that birth rates in this age group
were highest in the poorest districts and that
the gap between the poorest and wealthiest
socioeconomic quintiles was increasing.
Significant progress for adolescent sexual
and reproductive rights was ensured with the
passing of the Sexual Offences Amendment
Act (Act no. 5) of 2015, which gave effect to
the Constitutional Court’s judgment in the
case of
Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused
Children v. the Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Development and Others
(2013) to protect the rights to dignity and
privacy and the best interest of the child
principle. The revised Act decriminalized
consensual sexual activity between
adolescents aged 12-16.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Progress was made in addressing hate crimes
based on people’s real or perceived sexual
orientation or gender identity with the
extension of government-led processes from
national to provincial level. Provincial Task
Teams were established in at least five
provinces to ensure a more effective flow of
information to the National Task Team, which
comprised civil society and government
officials.
The Rapid Response Team continued to
make progress with the resolution of
previously unresolved cases of targeted
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violence against LGBTI people. In May, the
Potchefstroom High Court convicted a man of
the August 2014 rape and murder of a
lesbian woman, Disebo Gift Makau, and
sentenced him to two life terms and 15 years
for robbery. The judge acknowledged that the
victim was targeted because of her sexual
orientation. In July, the Pretoria North High
Court convicted a man for the September
2014 rape and murder of a lesbian woman,
Thembelihle Sokhela, sentencing him to 22
years in prison. The judge in the case did not
take the victim’s sexual orientation into
account in his ruling.
Civil society monitors continued to express
concern at limitations in the police
investigation into the murder of David Olyn, a
gay man, who was beaten and burned to
death in March 2014 in Western Cape
Province. A trial began in October.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Harassment of human rights defenders and
organizations and undermining of oversight
bodies by ruling party and state officials
remained a major concern.
ANC members in Free State Province
targeted activists from the health rights group
Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), because
of their campaign to improve health services
in that province. In February, the ANC Youth
League used inflammatory language to
mobilize a march against TAC offices in
Bloemfontein and in July ANC members
interrupted a public meeting of TAC.
The Regulation of Gatherings Act continued
to be used by the authorities to limit the right
to protest. In October, 94 community health
workers and TAC activists who had been
arrested during a peaceful vigil at the offices
of the Free State Department of Health in July
2014 were found guilty of attending a
gathering for which no notice was given. The
ruling by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court
implied that any gathering of more than 15
people without notification to the police was a
“prohibited” gathering and therefore unlawful
and subject to a prison sentence. The
defendants were planning to appeal to the
High Court.
Surveillance by crime intelligence or state
security officers against human rights
defenders, including journalists and
community activists, continued to be
reported.
There was some measure of support for the
office of the Public Protector in the courts. In
October, in response to her investigation into
the chief operating officer of the state
broadcaster, the Supreme Court of Appeal
ruled that the Public Protector’s rulings,
findings and remedial actions could not be
ignored without a legal review.
The trial of a police officer for the October
2013 shooting and killing of 17-year-old
housing rights activist Nqobile Nzuza during a
protest in Cato Crest, Durban, was postponed
to February 2016. In March, two ruling party
councillors were arrested with another co-
accused for the September 2013 murder of
housing rights activist Thulisile Ndlovu in
KwaNdengezi, Durban. The case was
continuing.
SOUTH SUDAN
Republic of South Sudan
Head of state and government:
Salva Kiir Mayardit
In August, after more than 20 months of
intermittent negotiations, South Sudan’s
warring parties finally agreed to the terms of
a wide-ranging peace agreement. However,
despite the peace agreement and a
subsequent ceasefire declaration, conflict
continued in several parts of the country,
although at a lower intensity than
previously. All parties flouted international
human rights and international
humanitarian law during the fighting, but no
one was held accountable for crimes under
international law committed in the context
of the internal armed conflict. About 1.6
million people continued to be displaced
from their homes within the country, and
some 600,000 sought refuge in
neighbouring countries. At least 4 million
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people faced food shortages. The
government failed to take steps to realize
the right to health. Security agents
repressed independent and critical voices
from the opposition, media and civil society.
BACKGROUND
The armed conflict, which erupted in
December 2013, pitted forces loyal to
President Salva Kiir against those loyal to
former Vice-President Riek Machar. Armed
militia groups allied to each side participated
in the fighting, which continued throughout
2015, but was more sporadic than previously.
The Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD), an eight-country East
African organization, began mediating
between the government of South Sudan and
the Sudan People’s Liberation
Army/Movement in Opposition (SPLA/M-IO) in
January 2014. Despite numerous ceasefire
agreements, fighting continued throughout
2014 and into 2015.
On 3 March, the UN Security Council
established a sanctions regime of travel bans
and asset freezes against South Sudan,
targeting individuals suspected of committing
crimes under international law and human
rights abuses or threatening the peace,
security or stability of the country.
On 12 March, IGAD unveiled a new
mechanism to exert more concerted pressure
on the warring parties to resolve the conflict.
It included the three IGAD mediators, plus
five AU representatives (Algeria, Chad,
Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa), the UN,
the EU, China, the IGAD Partners Forum and
the Troika (Norway, the UK and the USA).
On 27 August, President Kiir signed a
peace agreement that had been signed 10
days earlier by opposition leader and former
Vice-President Riek Machar. The peace
agreement provided a framework for parties
to end hostilities and addressed a wide range
of issues including power sharing, security
arrangements, humanitarian assistance,
economic arrangements, justice and
reconciliation and the parameters of a
permanent Constitution.
1
The Uganda People’s Defence Force, who
were fighting alongside South Sudan’s
government, started withdrawing their troops
in October in accordance with the peace
agreement.
On 3 November, the government and the
SPLA/M-IO signed an agreement on a
permanent ceasefire and transitional security
arrangements that committed both sides to
demilitarizing the capital city, Juba, and other
key towns. In December the SPLA/M-IO sent
a delegation of members to Juba as part of
the advance team to prepare for the
implementation of the peace agreement.
The mandate of the UN Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS) was renewed in December
to include protection of civilians, monitoring
and investigating human rights, ensuring the
delivery of humanitarian aid and supporting
the implementation of the peace agreement.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
Conflict was concentrated in the northeast of
the country in parts of Jonglei, Unity and
Upper Nile states. It was marked by periods
of calm and others of intense violence. Both
sides continued to engage in clashes despite
the August peace agreement, the permanent
ceasefire declarations and the November
security arrangements agreement. More than
20 different armed forces were involved,
including government forces backed by
Ugandan soldiers on one side and a range of
rebel factions on the other. Armed youth
clashed regularly with government forces in
parts of Western Equatoria state.
Both government and opposition forces
disregarded international human rights and
international humanitarian law. Both sides
deliberately attacked civilians, often based on
their ethnicity or assumed political affiliations.
They attacked civilians sheltering in hospitals
and places of worship; executed captured
fighters; abducted and arbitrarily detained
civilians; burned down homes; damaged and
destroyed medical facilities; looted public and
private property as well as food stores and
humanitarian aid; and recruited children to
serve in their armed forces. Parties to the
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conflict also regularly attacked, detained,
harassed and threatened humanitarian aid
workers and UNMISS staff.
Violence in Unity state, which had
subsided, escalated from April. Government
and allied youth groups led an offensive in 28
villages in Rubkona, Guit, Leer and Koch
counties of Unity state in late April and early
May. They set entire villages on fire, beat and
killed civilians, looted livestock and other
property, burned people alive, committed acts
of sexual violence and abducted women and
children. In October, clashes in southern and
central Unity state intensified with grave
consequences for civilians. Thousands of
people were forced to flee in search of safety,
protection and assistance, of whom about
6,000 arrived in the UNMISS Protection of
Civilians site in Bentiu. Other people fled to
Nyal and Ganyiel in southern Unity state,
taking shelter in swamps and forests.
Although 1,755 child soldiers were
released by the Cobra Faction armed group in
the Greater Pibor Administrative Area in
March, abductions of children continued
throughout the year. For example, scores of
children, some as young as 13, were
abducted from Malakal in February and
hundreds were reportedly seized from the
northern villages of Kodok and Wau Shilluk in
early June. The UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) estimated in November that as
many as 16,000 children were associated
with armed forces or groups.
Conflict-related sexual and gender-based
violence was widespread. This included cases
of sexual slavery and incidents of gang rape
of girls as young as eight years old. There
were also cases of men and boys being
castrated.
were also hindered by the absence of victim
support and witness protection programmes.
The justice system failed to guarantee due
process and fair trial rights. Common
violations included arbitrary arrest and
detention, torture and other ill-treatment,
prolonged pre-trial detention and denial of the
right to legal counsel.
The internal armed conflict exacerbated
pre-existing challenges in the justice system,
particularly in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile
states. Militarization and the defection of
many police officers severely undermined law
enforcement capacities.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The criminal justice system was grossly
under-resourced and lacked capacity in
critical areas such as investigations and
forensics. It was further hampered by
interference or lack of co-operation on the
part of security organs and the executive
branch. Cases involving human rights abuses
The authorities failed to hold anyone to
account for crimes under international law
committed during the armed conflict or to
conduct thorough and impartial investigations
into these crimes.
The August peace agreement provided for
the establishment of three mechanisms: a
Commission on Truth, Reconciliation and
Healing; a Compensation and Reparations
Authority; and a Hybrid Court for South
Sudan. The Commission on Truth,
Reconciliation and Healing mandate covers
the peace-building process, and includes
gender-based crimes and sexual violence.
The Compensation and Reparations Authority
mandate is to compensate for property losses
incurred during the conflict. The Hybrid Court
would have jurisdiction over crimes under
international law and crimes established by
relevant laws of South Sudan.
In 2014, the AU Peace and Security
Council (PSC) set up an AU Commission of
Inquiry on South Sudan (AUCISS), chaired by
former Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo, to investigate human rights
violations and abuses committed during the
armed conflict in South Sudan. Its mandate
included recommending measures to ensure
accountability and reconciliation. Amnesty
International was among organizations which
campaigned throughout 2015 for the PSC to
publish the inquiry report.
2
On 27 October, the PSC published the
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report. It found evidence of systematic
violations of human rights and crimes under
international law by both warring parties,
often committed with extreme brutality. The
report found compelling evidence of
extrajudicial killings, including ethnically
motivated killings. Testimonies to the AUCISS
consistently indicated that some 15,000 to
20,000 ethnic Nuer were killed during the
first three days of conflict (15-18 December
2013). The report also found evidence of
torture and mutilation of bodies; abductions;
enforced disappearances; looting and
pillaging; forcing victims to engage in
cannibalistic acts; and forcing victims to jump
into fires. Strong evidence was found
supporting allegations of systematic sexual
violence, which was a common feature of the
atrocities committed by both sides. The
AUCISS concluded that there was a high
likelihood that rape was used as a weapon of
war.
The AUCISS recommended that those with
the greatest responsibility for atrocities be
prosecuted and that the needs of victims,
including reparations, be addressed. It called
for the establishment of an ad hoc African
legal mechanism under the leadership of the
AU and other mechanisms for transitional
justice similar to the provisions of the August
peace agreement. It also recommended the
reform of civil and criminal and military
justice systems so as to contribute towards
ensuring accountability.
During the year, only one public hospital in
the country provided psychiatric care, with its
inpatient ward having only 12 beds. People
with serious mental health issues were
routinely incarcerated in prisons. With little or
no medical care, mentally ill inmates were
often held chained, naked or in solitary
confinement.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
RIGHT TO HEALTH – MENTAL HEALTH
The massive abuses of human rights suffered
and witnessed in South Sudan have had
severe repercussions on the mental health of
many people, as has the widespread
incidence of forced displacement,
bereavement, destruction or loss of livelihood,
loss of family and community and inadequate
food and shelter. Recent studies found
extremely high levels of post-traumatic stress
disorder and depression among South
Sudanese populations. Despite this
overwhelming need, mental health services
are almost non-existent.
The space for journalists, human rights
defenders and civil society to do their work
without intimidation continued to shrink, as it
had since the start of the conflict. The
authorities, especially the National Security
Service (NSS), harassed and intimidated
journalists, summoning them for questioning
and arbitrarily arresting and detaining them.
Reporter Peter Julius Moi was shot dead in
Juba on 19 August, days after President Kiir
threatened to kill reporters working against
the country, a statement that was later said to
have been quoted out of context. Two other
journalists were killed in the course of their
work, one in May and one in December.
George Livio, a journalist with Radio Miraya,
was held in detention without charge or trial
throughout the year; he had been arrested in
August 2014, accused of collaborating with
rebels.
The print version of the
Nation Mirror
was
closed down in January 2015 after a photo of
former Vice-President Machar was placed
above one of President Kiir. In August, the
NSS closed down
The Citizen,
a daily English
language paper, and the Arabic daily
newspaper
Al Rai.
Several newspapers had
issues seized, some held temporarily, some
confiscated entirely. The NSS also closed
down two radio stations.
A senior lecturer at the University of Juba
had to leave the country because of security
concerns after hosting and moderating a
discussion about a controversial presidential
decree issued in October establishing 28
states.
The security forces continued to carry out
enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests
and prolonged detentions, and torture and
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other ill-treatment. Since the start of the
conflict, the NSS, Military Intelligence and
members of the police force have cracked
down on perceived political dissidents, many
of whom were detained in violation of
international law.
of crisis (News story,
23 July)
SPAIN
Kingdom of Spain
Head of State:
King Felipe VI de Borbón
Head of government
: Mariano Rajoy
Freedom of assembly was curtailed by new
legislation. New cases of ill-treatment and
excessive use of force by police officials
were reported. Security forces also carried
out collective expulsions and used excessive
force against individuals who attempted to
enter irregularly from Morocco into the
Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
Impunity remained a serious concern.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
In April, South Sudan became a party to the
UN Convention against Torture and its
Optional Protocol; the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocol
on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography; and CEDAW and its
Optional Protocol. By the end of the year,
South Sudan had still not deposited
instruments of ratification for the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and
the AU Convention Governing the Specific
Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, even
though Parliament voted for their ratification
in 2014.
In March, the Minister for Justice
announced that the National Security Service
Bill had become law as the President had
exceeded the 30-day time period set out in
the Constitution to assent to or return the
legislation following Parliament’s approval of it
in October 2014. There was domestic and
international opposition to the passage of this
law, and the President did not sign it. The law
granted the NSS sweeping powers, including
powers of arrest, detention and seizure,
without adequate independent oversight or
safeguards against abuse.
President Kiir returned the Non-
Governmental Organizations Bill back to
Parliament, after it received Parliament’s
approval in late May. The version of the Bill
passed by Parliament contained a number of
restrictive provisions. It would make
registration compulsory and criminalize
voluntary work without a registration
certificate.
BACKGROUND
In December, national elections led to a
fragmented parliament. The Popular Party,
led by the incumbent Prime Minister Mariano
Rajoy, came first but without sufficient seats
to form a new government on its own.
There were fewer demonstrations against
the government’s austerity measures than in
previous years, although the measures
continued, having a detrimental effect on
human rights.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
1. South Sudan: Warring parties must fully commit to ensuring
accountability for atrocities (News story,
26 August)
2. South Sudan: Release of AU Inquiry Report a vital step for resolution
Reforms to the Law on Public Security and
the Criminal Code entered into force in July.
Both provide for offences which may
disproportionately limit the legitimate exercise
of the rights to freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly. The Law on Public
Security imposed limitations on where and
when demonstrations could take place,
providing for additional penalties on those
holding spontaneous demonstrations in front
of certain public buildings. Police officers
were given broad discretion to fine people
who show a “lack of respect” towards them.
The Law on Public Security included an
offence of disseminating images of police
officers in certain cases. Concern at the
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impact of such legislation was expressed in
July by the UN Human Rights Committee.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In May, the UN Committee against Torture
expressed concern over the continuation of
the incommunicado detention regime. It
recommended that Spain amend the
definition of torture in its domestic law, and
conduct effective investigations into all
allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.
Cases of ill-treatment by law enforcement
officials were reported at the border and in
places of detention. Concerns arose regarding
delays and the effectiveness of relevant
investigations. Many cases had been closed
without prosecutions taking place, including
some where it was impossible to identify
police officers involved due to the lack of
identification tags on their uniforms.
A criminal trial against two law enforcement
officers for causing serious bodily harm to
Ester Quintana, who lost an eye as a result of
being hit by a rubber projectile fired by police
during a November 2012 protest in
Barcelona, had not commenced by the end of
the year. In September, the Catalonian
government agreed to pay €260,000 as an
out-of-court settlement to Ester Quintana.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
On 3 February, six individuals from sub-
Saharan Africa were summarily returned from
Ceuta to Morocco. Similar collective
expulsions, in which Civil Guard officers
forcibly returned to Morocco groups of
individuals who were within their control,
without any individualized assessment of their
situation and without affording them an
opportunity to claim asylum, had been
frequently reported in previous years,
particularly in Melilla.
In March, the Aliens Law was amended to
legalize the automatic and collective
expulsion of migrants and refugees from the
borders of the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and
Melilla. This provision paved the way for
further collective expulsions, which are
prohibited by international law. However,
attempts to cross the fences separating
Melilla from Morocco decreased after
February, when several makeshift camps in
the north of Morocco were dismantled by
Moroccan authorities.
In May, the UN Committee against Torture
expressed concern at the “practice of ‘hot
expulsion’ from the autonomous cities of
Ceuta and Melilla, where rejections at the
border prevented access to asylum
procedures.
In July, the UN Human Rights Committee
called on Spain to comply with the principle
of
non-refoulement
and provide access to
effective asylum procedures.
In August, investigations in Melilla into the
beating by Civil Guard officers of a migrant
who had tried to cross the border between
Morocco and Melilla and had been summarily
returned to Morocco in October 2014 were
closed. The court could not gather witness
statements from other migrants, as they too
had been collectively expelled in the course of
the same police operation. The man was
beaten by Civil Guards and then carried
unconscious to the Moroccan side of the
border. In spite of film evidence, the Ministry
of Interior alleged that it was impossible to
identify the officers involved. An appeal
against the decision to close the investigation
was pending at the end of the year.
In October, the investigation into the
excessive use of force by the Civil Guard at
the Tarajal beach in February 2014 was
closed without bringing any charges. Civil
Guard officers had used rubber projectiles
and smoke canisters to stop around 200
people trying to swim from the Moroccan to
the Spanish side of the beach; 23 people
were unlawfully pushed back to Morocco and
at least 14 people died at sea.
Restriction on asylum-seekers’ freedom of
movement continued as asylum-seekers in
Ceuta and Melilla were still required to obtain
police authorization to leave the enclaves for
the mainland. This breaches Spain’s national
laws and had been ruled unlawful by several
courts in Spain.
The Centre for the Temporary
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Accommodation of Migrants in Melilla was
severely overcrowded. Asylum-seekers
usually waited at least two months in Melilla,
or even several months in some cases, before
being transferred to the mainland. The
waiting period in Ceuta was longer.
As of the end of November, 12,500 asylum
applications were filed in Spain. In October,
Spain agreed to relocate 14,931 asylum-
seekers by 2016 under the European
relocation scheme. It offered only 130
resettlement places in 2015.
Almost 750,000 undocumented migrants
were living in Spain without adequate access
to health care. Several UN bodies
recommended that Spain guarantee universal
access to health care.
DISCRIMINATION
The new Law on Public Security stipulated
that identity checks should be carried out by
police without discriminating on ethnic and
other grounds.
In May, an Observatory on discrimination
for reasons of gender or sexual orientation
was established by the government. The
Observatory was created to receive
complaints from victims and witnesses and
provide a rapid response to acts of
discrimination on these grounds.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In October, amendments to the Procedural
Criminal Law failed to remove the use of
incommunicado detention, despite the
concerns of international human rights bodies
that such detention violated Spain’s
international obligations. Improvements were
limited to excluding the application of
incommunicado detention to children
under 16.
In July, the Human Rights Committee
recommended again that Spain provide Ali
Aarrass with an effective remedy for the
torture and ill-treatment he suffered in
Morocco. Ali Aarrass was extradited by Spain
to Morocco in 2010, despite fears that he
would be at risk of torture there and despite
interim measures requested by the
Committee that he not be expelled while they
examined the case.
In July, sections of the Criminal Code
related to terrorist acts were amended,
including a broad definition of what
constitutes an act of terrorism. The UN
Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression
noted that the amendments could criminalize
behaviours that would not otherwise
constitute terrorism and could result in
disproportionate restrictions on the lawful
exercise of freedom of expression, among
other limitations.
According to the Ministry of Health, Social
Policy and Equality, 56 women were killed by
their partners or former partners as of mid-
December.
In July, the CEDAW Committee urged Spain
to ensure that women victims of gender-
based violence have access to redress and
protection, that officials dealing with them are
adequately trained, and that perpetrators are
prosecuted.
At the end of the year, the government was
still refusing to provide reparation to Ángela
González Carreño. She had been a victim of
gender-based violence and her daughter had
been killed by her ex-partner in 2003, having
received no adequate protection despite
reporting previous instances of domestic
violence.
IMPUNITY
The definitions of enforced disappearance
and torture in Spanish legislation continued to
be inconsistent with international human
rights law. Restrictions on the exercise of
universal jurisdiction led to the closure of
major international cases. In particular, the
Audiencia Nacional Court decided in July to
halt its investigation into torture and other ill-
treatment at the US detention centre in
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This was despite the
submission in May of documents indicating
that Spanish agents had been implicated in
interrogations of detainees at the detention
facility. An appeal was pending at the end of
the year.
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Also in July, a military court closed
investigations into the torture of two prisoners
committed by five Spanish soldiers at a
Spanish military base in Iraq in 2004, on the
basis that it had not been able to identify
either the perpetrators or the victims.
Questions remained on the thoroughness of
the investigation by the military court.
The rights to truth, justice and reparation
continued to be denied to victims of crimes
committed during the Civil War and the
Franco era (1936-1975), as Spanish
authorities failed to adequately co-operate
with the Argentine judiciary investigating such
crimes. In March, the government rejected a
request by the Argentine courts for the
extradition of 17 people. Subsequently, a
group of UN experts urged Spain to comply
with its obligations to extradite or prosecute
those responsible for grave human rights
violations.
right to housing may have been infringed.
In June, the UN Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights asked Spain to
ensure access to legal remedies for people
who face foreclosure proceedings.
SRI LANKA
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Head of state and government:
Maithripala Sirisena
(replaced Mahinda Rajapaksa in January)
A new government in January brought
constitutional reforms and promises of
improved human rights protection. Many
human rights challenges remained,
including persistent use of arbitrary arrest
and detention, torture and other ill-
treatment, enforced disappearances and
deaths in custody, and a long-standing
climate of impunity for these and other
violations.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Legislation adopted in September required
girls under 18 and women with mental
disabilities to obtain parental or guardian
consent before they can access safe and legal
abortion services. Both the CEDAW
Committee and the UN Working Group on the
issue of discrimination against women in law
and in practice called on Spain to refrain from
restricting women’s and girls’ access to safe
and legal abortion. The UN Human Rights
Committee also recommended Spain to
ensure that no legal barriers force women to
resort to clandestine abortion, putting their
lives and health at risk.
BACKGROUND
HOUSING RIGHTS
According to statistics published in March by
the General Council of the Judiciary, 578,546
foreclosure procedures were initiated in Spain
between 2008 and 2014. In the first nine
months of 2015, 52,350 new foreclosure
procedures were initiated.
Measures adopted by the government in
previous years to improve the situation for
people at risk of losing their home were failing
to ensure an effective remedy for those whose
An investigation by the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights into alleged
abuses during the final seven years of the
armed conflict and its immediate aftermath
concluded in September that enforced
disappearances, unlawful killings, torture and
other ill-treatment, sexual violence, forced
recruitment and child recruitment, direct
military attacks on civilians, denial of
humanitarian relief and systematic
deprivation of liberty of displaced people on
the basis of ethnicity could amount to war
crimes and/or crimes against humanity. It
recommended legal and procedural
reforms to address ongoing violations, and the
establishment of a hybrid special court,
integrating international investigators, judges,
prosecutors and lawyers to try those accused
of alleged war crimes and crimes against
humanity. The government signalled its
agreement with the conclusions by co-
sponsoring a UN Human Rights Council
resolution in September calling for
implementation of the report’s
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recommendations, including ensuring
effective witness protection and consulting
with victims and families in the design of truth
and justice mechanisms.
responsible would be investigated and
punished.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Tamils suspected of links to the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were arrested
and detained under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act (PTA) which permits extended
administrative detention, and shifts the
burden of proof onto a detainee alleging
torture or other ill-treatment. In September
the government pledged to repeal the PTA
and replace it with anti-terrorism legislation
that complied with international standards. It
also pledged to review detention records and
claimed to have released at least 45
detainees after “rehabilitation”. Some
detainees were held for many years while
waiting for charges to be filed or cases to
conclude. Opposition leader Rajavarothiam
Sampanthan told Parliament in December
that 217 people remained detained under the
PTA; most had not been tried. The
number did not include those sent for
“rehabilitation”, another form of arbitrary
detention.
Complaints of excessive force in the policing
of demonstrations persisted, and impunity
remained for past incidents. Findings of
military investigations into the army’s killing of
unarmed demonstrators demanding clean
water in August 2013 were not made public
and no one had been prosecuted by the end
of 2015. A magisterial inquiry was ongoing.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Suspicious deaths in police custody
continued to be reported. Detainees died of
injuries consistent with torture and other ill-
treatment, including beatings or asphyxiation.
Police claimed suspects committed suicide or
in one case drowned while trying to escape.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees –
including sexual violence – continued to be
reported and impunity persisted for earlier
cases. In October, the Inspector General of
Police ordered an inquiry into the alleged
abuse of a 17-year-old boy and a man who
were arrested in September in connection
with the rape and murder of a five-year-old
girl in Kotadeniyawa. Their lawyer said the two
were beaten, stripped naked and
photographed by police in order to obtain
false confessions. Both were released without
charge. Shortly before the incidents the
government had promised the UN Human
Rights Council that it would issue clear
instructions to all branches of the security
forces that torture and other ill-treatment,
including sexual violence, and other human
rights violations are prohibited, and that those
Court testimony by a Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) official in connection with
habeas corpus petitions by families of five
youths who disappeared in 2008 from a
suburb of the capital, Colombo, confirmed
earlier reports by a former detainee that the
Navy had operated secret detention camps in
Colombo and Trincomalee where detainees
were allegedly tortured and killed.
The Presidential Commission to Investigate
into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons
received 18,586 reports of missing civilians,
but made little progress in clarifying their fate
or whereabouts or bringing perpetrators of
enforced disappearance to justice. In October
the government, noting a widespread lack of
confidence in the Commission, announced
that they were replacing it with another body.
In December, it signed and promised to ratify
the International Convention for the Protection
of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
and to criminalize enforced disappearances.
IMPUNITY
Impunity persisted for alleged crimes under
international law committed during the armed
conflict, including enforced disappearances,
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extrajudicial executions and the intentional
shelling of civilians and protected areas such
as hospitals. Impunity also remained for many
other human rights violations, including: the
January 2006 extrajudicial executions of five
students in Trincomalee by security
personnel; the killing of 17 aid workers with
Action contre la Faim in Muttur in August
2006; the January 2009 murder of
newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge;
and the disappearances of political activists
Lalith Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan in
Jaffna in 2011. Army personnel and affiliates
were questioned about the 2010
disappearance of dissident cartoonist
Prageeth Eknaligoda. The investigation was
ongoing at the end of the year.
The report of a 2006 Commission of Inquiry
that investigated the Trincomalee and Muttur
killings was finally released in October. It
criticized original police investigations as
lacking professionalism. The report of an
investigation into civilian deaths during the
armed conflict, also released in October,
called for new legislation recognizing
command responsibility and an independent
judicial inquiry into credible allegations that
members of the armed forces may have
committed war crimes.
details of meetings they participated in, as
well as anonymous threats after signing a
statement calling for an independent
international investigation into alleged war
crimes.
Balendran Jeyakumari, an activist against
enforced disappearances, was released on
bail in March after nearly a year in detention
without charge under the PTA. She was
rearrested and detained for several days in
September. On 30 June, the Colombo
Magistrate’s Court lifted a travel restriction on
Ruki Fernando which had been imposed in
March 2014 on the request of the Terrorist
Investigation Division (TID) after he and a
Catholic priest, Praveen Mahesan, were
arrested under the PTA following their
attempts to investigate the arrest of Balendran
Jeyakumari. Ruki Fernando remained banned
from speaking about the ongoing TID
investigation and his confiscated electronic
equipment was not returned.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY
AND ASSOCIATION
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In January, severed heads of dogs were left
outside the homes of Brito Fernando and
Prasanga Fernando of the human rights
organization Right to Life. They and colleague
Phillip Dissanayake also received anonymous
threatening phone calls alluding to their
activism against police allegedly involved in
enforced disappearances.
Human rights defenders in the north and
east continued to report police and military
surveillance and questioning around their
participation in local NGOs and political
meetings, demonstrations, campaigns for
human rights accountability and key
international events such as the
UN Human Rights Council sessions. Activists
from eastern Sri Lanka reportedly
received anonymous phone calls asking for
President Sirisena declared 19 May, the
anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s long
armed conflict, to be Remembrance Day, and
stressed that it was a day to commemorate all
war dead. This move suggested that earlier
restrictions on public commemorations by
northern Tamils would be lifted. Although
memorial events were permitted in most
areas, a heavy police presence was reported
at such gatherings in the north and east, and
ceremonies were reportedly prohibited by the
security forces in Mullaitivu, the site of the
final offensive.
Complaints persisted of harassment and
surveillance by security forces of people
attending gatherings and engaged in activism,
particularly in the north and east.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The new government reinstated Chief Justice
Shirani Bandaranayake, who was impeached
in 2013 for political reasons. She immediately
announced her retirement and was
succeeded by Kanagasabapathy Sripavan.
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The new government enacted the 19
th
amendment to the Constitution which placed
checks on the powers of the executive
presidency, including ending direct
presidential appointment and dismissal of
senior judges and members of key
institutions, including the Judicial Service
Commission, and transferring those powers to
a Constitutional Council.
was widely seen as a small victory against the
pervasive climate of impunity.
SUDAN
Republic of the Sudan
Head of state and government
: Omar Hassan Ahmed
al-Bashir
The authorities repressed the media, civil
society organizations and opposition
political parties, severely curtailing
freedoms of expression, association and
assembly. Armed conflict in Darfur, South
Kordofan and Blue Nile states continued to
cause mass displacement and civilian
casualties; human rights abuses were
perpetrated by all parties to these conflicts.
Government forces destroyed civilian
buildings, including schools, hospitals and
clinics in conflict areas, and obstructed
humanitarian access to civilians needing
support because of the ongoing hostilities.
DISCRIMINATION – RELIGIOUS
MINORITIES
Muslims and Christians continued to report
incidents of harassment by police, members
of the public and politicians, particularly in
the context of political campaigning by
hardline Buddhist political parties in the lead-
up to parliamentary elections in August.
Earlier incidents of violence and intimidation
against religious minorities were not
investigated. Deaths, injuries and property
loss sustained by Muslim residents of
Aluthgama Dharga Town and Beruwala in
riots in June 2014 went unpunished.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In May, the rape and murder of 17-year-old
Sivayoganathan Vidhya on the island of
Pungudutivu prompted large demonstrations
demanding justice for cases of violence
against women and girls. Local police were
criticized for refusing to search for the
missing teenager, reportedly telling her family
that she probably ran off with a lover. In
September, the rape and murder of a five-
year-old girl in Kotadeniyawa led to calls for
the death penalty to be reinstated, even after
it became known that police had tortured two
suspects in an attempt to force false
confessions.
Evidence continued to mount that sexual
violence may have been used systematically
against Tamils (detainees, surrendered LTTE
members and civilians) during and in the
immediate aftermath of the conflict,
strengthening calls for a justice mechanism to
address war crimes. The 7 October conviction
of four soldiers for the 2010 gang-rape of a
woman in a Kilinochchi resettlement camp
BACKGROUND
Parliament approved controversial
amendments to the 2005 National Interim
Constitution in January 2015. These
increased the powers of the National
Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and
granted the President greater powers to
appoint and remove senior officials, including
state governors and other senior
constitutional, judicial, military, police and
security posts. The constitutional amendment
to Article 151 transformed the NISS from an
intelligence agency focused on information
gathering, analysis and advice to a fully
fledged security agency exercising functions
usually carried out by the armed forces or law
enforcement agencies.
In April, presidential and parliamentary
elections took place. President Omar al-
Bashir was re-elected for five years amid
reports of low voter turnout, fraud and vote-
rigging. The main political opposition parties
boycotted the elections. In the run-up to
April’s presidential election, the government
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restricted freedoms of expression, association
and peaceful assembly and arrested dozens
of political opponents.
1
The climate of impunity fostered by lack of
accountability for crimes under international
law and other serious human rights violations
remained prevalent in conflict areas. The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights
reported in August that, during 2014, there
had been at least 411 violent incidents in
Darfur in which 980 individuals had been
injured or killed. These included abductions,
physical assaults and armed attacks against
civilians, particularly the internally displaced.
Few of these cases were investigated or
resulted in arrests. In South Kordofan and
Blue Nile states, the conflicts continued with
devastating impacts on civilians and limited
prospects of peaceful solutions.
2
Fighting
began in mid-2011 and the last direct peace
talks between the government of Sudan and
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-
North (SPLM-N), under the auspices of the
AU High-Level Implementation Panel
(AUHIP), were suspended in November
2015.
the entire print run of 14 newspapers from
the printers, without explanation. Some of the
newspapers were directly or indirectly funded
and supported by the ruling political party,
the National Congress Party (NCP). On 25
May, NISS agents confiscated the entire print
run of nine newspapers in Khartoum.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The suppression of civil society increased
during the year. In January, the NISS shut
down three civil society organizations on the
basis that they were violating their registration
licences. They were the Mahmoud Mohamed
Taha Cultural Centre, the National Civic
Forum and the Sudanese Writers’ Union. In
June, the Sudanese Consumer Protection
Society was shut down and two of its
members were arrested and interrogated by
the NISS. They were released without charge
after seven days. The Confederation of
Sudanese Civil Society Organizations reported
in July that, since the beginning of 2015,
more than 40 registered organizations had
failed to renew their licence due to
cumbersome legal procedures or obstruction
by the government’s regulatory body, the
Humanitarian Aid Commission.
The NISS intensified its harassment and
censorship of newspapers which regularly
faced arbitrary confiscation of their
publications. At least 21 different newspapers
had editions confiscated by the NISS on 56
different occasions. Newspapers also faced
arbitrary requirements imposed by the NISS.
For example, they were forbidden from
reporting critically on the conduct of the
security services, the armed forces, the police
and the President. Further, they were banned
from reporting corruption cases, human rights
violations and the situation in conflict areas.
Al Midan
newspaper, affiliated with the
Sudanese Communist Party, was prevented
from publishing in January and February. Its
editor, Madeeha Abdallah , faced several
charges under the 1991 Criminal Act
including undermining the constitutional
order, which carries the death penalty.
On 16 February, NISS agents confiscated
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The police and NISS agents repeatedly
repressed freedom of assembly before and
during the elections held from 13-17 April.
Opposition political parties were repeatedly
prevented from organizing public events
during the pre-election campaign period from
24 February to 10 April. On 28 February, the
police forcibly dispersed a meeting of
opposition political parties in Dongola, capital
of Northern state, seriously injuring many
participants . On 12 March, the police in
North Kordofan forcibly prevented members
of the National Umma Party from organizing a
public event. Police arrested 50 party
members and closed the party’s office. On 2
April, local authorities in Al Nihoud in West
Kordofan state prohibited a public event
arranged by the Sudanese Congress Party to
publicize its boycott of the election.
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In August, the NISS prohibited a political
symposium of the Sudanese Congress Party
(SCP) and arrested three senior members.
Also in August, the Minister of Justice
dissolved one of the oldest trade unions in the
country, the Sudanese Farmers’ Union, which
had been in existence since 1954. On 5
September, the authorities shut down the
Republican Party’s offices in Omdurman.
convicted three members of the opposition
SCP including its political secretary, Mastour
Ahmed Mohamed. They were convicted of
disturbing the public peace and each
subjected to 20 lashes.
ARMED CONFLICT
ARBITRARY ARRESTS, TORTURE AND
OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The NISS carried out arbitrary arrests and
detentions, a number of which were politically
motivated. Some detainees were released
without charge. None appear to have received
compensation and no security officers
appeared to have been held to account.
Farouk Abu Issa, leader of the opposition
alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF), Dr
Amin Maki Madani, head of the Alliance of
Sudanese Civil Society Organizations, and
Farah Al-Aggar, former senior member of the
NCP in Blue Nile state, were released on 9
April, after spending 124 days in detention.
They had been arrested in December 2014.
3
They were arrested after signing a document
calling for democratic transformation,
dismantling of the de facto one-party state
and an end to conflict in Sudan. Both Dr
Amin Maki Madani and Farouk Abu Issa had
been charged with capital offences under the
1991 Penal Code including “undermining the
constitutional system”.
In total, at least 30 political activists were
arrested across the country during the
election period. In North Darfur, students at
Al Fasher University organized peaceful
protests on 14 April calling for a boycott of the
presidential elections and a change of
government. The police and NISS arrested 20
students and charged them with various
offences under the Criminal Act, including
establishing a “criminal and terrorist
organization”, rioting and causing a public
nuisance. They were subjected to torture and
other ill-treatment while in detention. They
were all released pending trial.
On 6 July, a court in Khartoum tried and
Armed conflicts persisted in Darfur, Blue Nile
and South Kordofan, with devastating impacts
on civilians across Sudan, ranging from loss
of life to denial of humanitarian assistance
and lack of access to basic social services
such as education and health care. The UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs was targeting support to an estimated
5.4 million people affected by conflict in
Sudan in 2015.
South Kordofan and Blue Nile
Government forces continued to attack rebel-
held areas of the Nuba Mountains in South
Kordofan and Blue Nile using ground troops
and indiscriminate aerial attacks.
Amnesty International visited South
Kordofan in early May and documented
serious violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights,
including aerial and ground attacks targeted
against civilians and civilian objects and the
denial of humanitarian access. Lack of
humanitarian access perpetuated other
human rights violations, including violations of
the rights to health, education, food, safe
water and adequate housing. Amnesty
International concluded that the Sudanese
government was committing war crimes in
4
South Kordofan.
Amnesty International obtained evidence
suggesting that government aircraft
deliberately bombed hospitals and other
humanitarian facilities, and dropped cluster
bombs on civilian areas of South Kordofan’s
Nuba Mountains in February, March and
June 2015. Between January and April, the
air force dropped 374 bombs in 60 locations
across South Kordofan. Since 2011, the air
force has bombed 26 health facilities
(hospitals, clinics and health units). By 2015
there were only two hospitals operating to
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serve a population of 1.2 million people.
A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital
was bombed in January: a Sudan Air Force
fighter jet dropped 13 bombs, of which two
landed inside the hospital compound and the
others just outside the hospital fence.
The aerial bombardments also had a
debilitating impact on the right to education in
South Kordofan. There were six secondary
schools in SPLM-N-controlled areas when the
conflict began, of which only three were still
operational in 2015. The number of children
in secondary schools in SPLM-N-controlled
areas fell from 3,000 to about 300-500, while
30 primary schools were closed with
enrolment numbers dropping by 23,000
since 2011.
The use of aerial bombardment and flights
over civilian villages and communities has
been a consistent practice of the Sudan Air
Force since 2011 and had a profound
psychological impact over the course of the
conflict. Aerial bombardments in May and
June 2015 disrupted cultivation activities
before the rainy season.
Fighting continued intermittently in Blue
Nile state between SPLM-N and government
armed forces, resulting in the displacement of
an estimated 60,000 civilians. In May, armed
clashes in Blue Nile led to the deaths of 22
civilians and the displacement of 19,000.
2015 report, the UN Panel of Experts on the
Sudan characterized the government strategy
in Darfur as one of “collective punishment of
villages and communities from which the
armed opposition groups are believed to
come or operate” and “induced or forced
displacement of those communities”, with
“direct engagement, including aerial
bombardment, of [armed rebel] groups when
their location can be identified".
Gender-based and sexual violence
remained widespread in Darfur. After her visit
to Sudan in May, the UN Special Rapporteur
on violence against women urged the
government to set up a Commission of Inquiry
to investigate allegations of mass rape,
including allegations that more than 200
women and girls were raped in late 2014 in
the village of Thabit.
1. Sudan: Entrenched repression: Freedom of expression and association
under unprecedented attack (AFR
54/1364/2015)
2. Sudan: Don’t we matter? Four years of unrelenting attacks against
civilians in Sudan’s South Kordofan state (AFR
54/2162/2015)
3. Health fears for detained opposition leaders (AFR
54/002/2015)
4. Sudan: Don't we matter? Four years of unrelenting attacks against
civilians in Sudan's South Kordofan state (AFR
54/2162/2015)
SWAZILAND
Kingdom of Swaziland
Head of state:
King Mswati III
Head of government
: Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini
Some prisoners of conscience and political
prisoners were released but repressive
legislation continued to be used to suppress
dissent. Freedoms of expression, association
and peaceful assembly continued to be
restricted.
Darfur
The armed conflict in Darfur entered its 12
year. Although large-scale fighting between
the government and armed groups had
subsided, there were sporadic clashes, acts
of banditry and incidents of intercommunal
violence. Restrictions on freedom of
movement and political liberties persisted
throughout Darfur. An estimated 223,000
people were displaced from their homes by
conflict during the year, bringing the total
number of internally displaced persons in
Darfur to 2.5 million.
In December 2014, the government re-
launched Operation Decisive Summer,
attacking villages in Jebel Marra and East
Jebel Marra by air and land. In its January
th
BACKGROUND
The USA ended Swaziland’s preferential trade
agreement under the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) in January, citing the
country’s failure to implement promised
human rights reforms. The loss of preferential
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access to the US market for textiles led to
factory closures and job losses. Following
international pressure, the government
responded by releasing a number of
prisoners, including prisoners of conscience.
The government flagrantly violated the
basic constitutional rights of unions and their
leaders, teachers, political parties and civil
society, but largely escaped sustained
criticism in international media. This was
partly because, on the surface, Swazi society
appeared close-knit and relatively
homogenous.
were assisting the prosecution in the case
against Sibusiso Shongwe, who was arrested
for a second time, in August, on further
charges of corruption. He was again released
on bail.
The suspension and dismissal of the Chief
Justice meant that the Supreme Court
postponed hearing appeals from May to July.
A number of Swazi judicial officers were
appointed to the Supreme Court in late June,
fulfilling requirements under the 2006
Constitution.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
UNFAIR TRIALS
A rule of law crisis that started in 2011
persisted and took a new turn in April with the
arrest of several judicial officers. It resulted in
the suspension and subsequent dismissal of
Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi, a Lesotho
national, for “serious misbehaviour”.
On 17 April, the High Court issued an
arrest warrant against Chief Justice
Ramodibedi and High Court Judge Mpendulo
Simelane on 23 charges brought by the Anti-
Corruption Commission, including defeating
the ends of justice and abuse of power. The
Chief Justice evaded arrest by refusing to
leave his home. On 7 May, the government
suspended Chief Justice Ramodibedi,
replacing him with an acting Chief Justice,
Bheki Maphalala. Following an inquiry by the
Judicial Services Commission into three
charges of abuse of office, King Mswati III
dismissed Michael Ramodibedi on 17 June.
On 20 April, Judge Mpendulo Simelane
and the Minister of Justice, Sibusiso
Shongwe, were arrested on charges including
abuse of power and defeating the course of
justice. High Court Judge Jacobus Annandale
and High Court Registrar Fikile Nhlabatsi
were also arrested on charges of defeating the
ends of justice after they tried to overturn the
arrest warrant against Chief Justice
Ramodibedi. They were all later released on
bail. Sibusiso Shongwe was dismissed as
Minister of Justice by King Mswati III on
21 April. Charges against Jacobus Annandale
and Fikile Nhlabatsi were dropped. The two
Politically motivated trials and laws that violate
the principle of legality continued to be used
to suppress dissent. There were some signs
of improvement with the release of prisoners
of conscience and political prisoners, but
these gains remained fragile without
fundamental legislative reform and full
commitment to human rights standards.
Editor Bheki Makhubu and human rights
lawyer Thulani Maseko were released on
30 June following an appeal hearing before
the Supreme Court. The Crown Prosecutor
conceded that the state had no case against
them. The two men had been arrested in
March 2014 and convicted of contempt of
court after a blatantly unfair trial. They were
arrested after publishing articles in
The
Nation
magazine, questioning judicial
independence and political accountability in
Swaziland. The fine imposed on the magazine
was also overturned.
The authorities continued to use the 2008
Suppression of Terrorism Act and the 1938
Sedition and Subversive Activities Act to limit
freedoms of expression, association and
peaceful assembly by arresting or threatening
to arrest human rights defenders and political
activists exercising their rights. Pre-trial
proceedings continued in five separate cases
of 13 people charged under these laws after
arrests dating back to 2009. All the accused
were out on bail but appeared in court on
remand. Ten were charged under both laws
for acts such as shouting slogans in support
of the proscribed opposition party, the
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People’s United Democratic Movement
(PUDEMO), possessing PUDEMO leaflets,
wearing PUDEMO t-shirts or calling for a
boycott of elections in 2013. All trials were
postponed pending the outcome of a
constitutional challenge to the two laws. The
High Court began hearing the application in
September but postponed the matter to
February 2016.
Among those charged were several people
involved in PUDEMO, including Secretary
General Mlungisi Makhanya, president Mario
Masuku and youth leader Maxwell Dlamini.
Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini were
arrested on 1 May 2014 and remanded in
custody in connection with slogans they
allegedly shouted at a Workers’ Day rally.
They were released on bail on 14 July 2015
by the Supreme Court. They had
unsuccessfully applied for bail twice in 2014,
and had appealed the High Court’s refusal to
release them to the Supreme Court.
June, a Mozambican national, Luciano
Reginaldo Zavale, died in police custody after
being arrested for possession of a stolen
laptop. Independent forensic evidence
indicated that he did not die of natural
causes. An inquest into his death started in
September.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Torture in police custody also persisted. In
March, while in custody at Big Bend Prison,
lawyer Thulani Maseko was held in solitary
confinement for three weeks as punishment
for an alleged breach of prison rules. He had
no access to legal counsel during the
disciplinary proceedings and the length of his
confinement can be regarded as a form of
1
torture and other ill-treatment.
PUDEMO president Mario Masuku was
denied access to adequate and independent
medical care for complications relating to
diabetes throughout his 14 months in pre-trial
detention at Zakhele Remand Centre and
Matsapha Central Prison.
Police prevented members of the Trade
Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA)
from meeting in February and March. The
Secretary General of the Swaziland National
Association of Teachers (SNAT), Muzi
Mhlanga, was assaulted by police during an
attempt by TUCOSWA to hold a meeting at
the SNAT offices in Manzini on 14 March.
After effectively being banned for over three
years, TUCOSWA was finally registered by the
Swaziland Ministry of Labour and Social
Security on 12 May.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Despite high levels of gender-based violence,
the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence
Bill had not been enacted by the end of the
year. The Bill had been under discussion by
Parliament since 2006. The original
progressive draft has been diluted and the Bill
now contains a narrow definition of rape and
excludes marital rape, among other concerns.
DEATH PENALTY
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Human rights defenders, political activists,
religious leaders and trade union officials
were threatened with violence by police,
arrest or other forms of pressure as a
consequence of their advocacy of human
rights, respect for the rule of law or political
reforms.
One person remained under sentence of
death. No death sentences were imposed
during the year. Two death sentences were
commuted to life imprisonment by the King.
1. Swaziland: Amnesty International condemns repression of
fundamental freedoms (AFR
55/1345/2015).
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Deaths in police custody under suspicious
circumstances remained a concern. On 12
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SWEDEN
Kingdom of Sweden
Head of state:
King Carl XVI Gustaf
Head of government:
Stefan Löfven
A police database of Romani individuals
received strong criticism from the
Parliamentary Ombudsman. The work of a
commission tasked with reviewing and
recommending improvements to the
criminal justice system’s investigation and
prosecution of rape remained ongoing.
DISCRIMINATION
On 17 March, the Parliamentary Ombudsman
issued a decision strongly criticizing the
maintenance of a database of Romani
individuals by the Skåne police department,
which had come to light following a
September 2013 investigatory journalism
1
exposé. The database registered the names
of more than 4,000 people, the majority of
whom had no recorded criminal convictions.
The Ombudsman placed ultimate
responsibility on the Skåne County Police
Commissioner, but also apportioned
responsibility to the Chief of the Criminal
Intelligence Unit and police staff working on
the database. The Ombudsman’s report –
unlike earlier reviews by the Commission on
Security and Integrity Protection and a
prosecutor – found that, in practice, the
database ended up being based on ethnicity,
in this case of an already marginalized ethnic
group.
process in rape cases, and reviewing the
penal provisions relating to the offence of
rape, including by considering a requirement
for genuine consent to the sexual act.
In October, the current affairs television
programme
Kalla Fakta
(Hard Facts)
broadcast an investigation which showed
doctors in three private clinics offering to
perform “virginity tests” on teenage girls,
against the girls’ will and at the request of
parents or older relatives. The programme
alleged that doctors engaged in the practice
were failing to report such cases to social
welfare authorities. All three clinics were
reported to the Health and Social Care
Inspectorate (IVO). The investigations of the
IVO, a government agency for overseeing
health care and social services, were ongoing
at the end of the year. The National Board of
Health and Welfare was assessing the need to
improve awareness of or issue further
guidance on consent and forced or intrusive
physical examinations in the health care
system.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In August, a senior judge tasked by the
government to assist the Ministry of Justice
issued a memorandum proposing that torture
be defined and specified as a crime in
domestic law. This was in response to
longstanding criticism by human rights
organizations and the UN Committee against
Torture, including in its concluding
observations of December 2014 on Sweden’s
periodic report.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
1. Sweden: Sharp criticism by Parliamentary Ombudsman of Skåne
police database of Romanis (EUR
42/1249/2015)
The work of a parliamentary commission
established by the government in 2014 to
examine how rape investigations and
prosecutions are dealt with by the criminal
justice system remained ongoing. The
commission, set up following an initiative by
the Parliamentary Committee on Justice, was
tasked with analyzing high rates of attrition in
investigating and prosecuting reported rapes,
recommending improvements to the legal
SWITZERLAND
Swiss Confederation
Head of state and government:
Simonetta Sommaruga
Sweeping new surveillance legislation was
passed. Concerns remained about excessive
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use of force by police, including during
deportations, and inadequate police
accountability mechanisms. Victims of
trafficking in human beings and foreign
nationals who were victims of domestic
violence faced obstacles to accessing
protection.
NCPT also reiterated concerns about a lack of
uniformity in deportation practices by police
forces in different cantons (administrative
regions).
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Administrative detention
Civil society organizations and the UN
Committee against Torture expressed concern
about the excessive use of detention for
irregular migrants in some cantons,
particularly in relation to the return of asylum-
seekers to EU countries under the Dublin
regulation. The Committee criticized
Switzerland for permitting the detention for up
to one year of asylum-seeking children aged
between 15 and 18.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In March, the Swiss People’s Party, which
ended the year as the largest single party in
the Federal Assembly, launched a popular
initiative seeking to place the Swiss
constitution above any international law
obligations. The so-called “self-determination
initiative would require a public referendum in
order to be passed; the surrounding debate,
however, contributed to a climate of hostility
towards international human rights treaties
including the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Trafficking in human beings
Civil society organizations criticized a federal
directive issued to cantons in July concerning
victims of trafficking. The new measures
made victims’ access to humanitarian
protection contingent on being willing to
testify in criminal proceedings against
traffickers. Victims of trafficking already in an
asylum procedure were excluded from
humanitarian protection measures.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In August, the UN Committee against Torture
criticized Switzerland’s ongoing failure to
incorporate the crime of torture into the Penal
Code. The Committee expressed concerns
about inadequate resourcing of the National
Commission for the Prevention of Torture
(NCPT), the national preventive mechanism.
The Committee also called on the Swiss
authorities to establish an effective
independent police complaints mechanism;
to amend legislation and improve training of
judiciary and law enforcement officials to
increase the rate of prosecutions for violence
against women; and to integrate the Istanbul
Protocol into training for law enforcement
officials.
Domestic violence
In August, the UN Committee against Torture
criticized the authorities for maintaining a
“severity” threshold to assess domestic
violence suffered by foreign nationals. Under
the Foreigners Law, violence must meet a
certain threshold in order for survivors to be
able to separate from their violent partner
without fear of losing their residence permits.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
In July, the NCPT issued a report raising
concerns about the inappropriate use of
restraints by police and security forces during
deportation. The report documented cases of
the total immobilization of vulnerable people
and the use of restraints against people who
offered no resistance to deportation. The
In September, Parliament adopted a new
surveillance law which granted sweeping
powers to the Federal Intelligence Service
including the interception of data on internet
cables entering or leaving Switzerland, to
access metadata, internet histories and
content of emails, and to use government
spyware (Trojans).
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SYRIA
Syrian Arab Republic
Head of state:
Bashar al-Assad
Head of government:
Wael Nader al-Halqi
Government forces and non-state armed
groups committed war crimes, other
violations of international humanitarian law
and gross human rights abuses with
impunity in the internal armed conflict.
Government forces carried out
indiscriminate attacks and attacks that
directly targeted civilians, including
bombardment of civilian residential areas
and medical facilities with artillery, mortars,
barrel bombs and, reportedly, chemical
agents, unlawfully killing civilians.
Government forces also enforced lengthy
sieges, trapping civilians and depriving
them of food, medical care and other
necessities. Security forces arbitrarily
arrested and continued to detain thousands,
including peaceful activists, human rights
defenders, media and humanitarian workers,
and children. Some were subjected to
enforced disappearance and others to
prolonged detention or unfair trials. Security
forces systematically tortured and otherwise
ill-treated detainees with impunity;
thousands of detainees died as a result of
torture and other ill-treatment between
2011 and 2015. Non-state armed groups
that controlled some areas and contested
others indiscriminately shelled and besieged
predominantly civilian areas. The armed
group Islamic State (IS) besieged civilians
in government-controlled areas, carried out
direct attacks on civilians and
indiscriminate attacks including suicide
bombings, alleged chemical attacks and
other bombardment of civilian areas, and
perpetrated numerous unlawful killings,
including of captives. US-led forces carried
out air strikes on IS and other targets, in
which scores of civilians were killed. In
September, Russia commenced air strikes
and sea-launched cruise missile attacks on
areas controlled by armed opposition groups
and on IS targets, in which hundreds of
civilians were killed. By the end of the year,
the UN estimated that the conflict had
caused the deaths of 250,000 people,
forced 7.6 million people to become
internally displaced and led 4.6 million
people to become refugees abroad.
BACKGROUND
Syria’s internal armed conflict, which began
after anti-government protests in 2011, raged
throughout the year. Government forces and
their allies, including Lebanese Hizbullah and
Iranian fighters, controlled the centre of the
capital Damascus and much of western Syria,
while an array of non-state armed groups
controlled or contested other areas,
sometimes fighting each other. They included
groups primarily fighting government forces,
such as those affiliated to the Free Syrian
Army and others including Ahrar al-Sham;
Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-
Qa’ida; IS; and forces of the Autonomous
Administration established in predominantly
Kurdish enclaves of northern Syria.
Divisions within the UN Security Council
impeded efforts to pursue peace, but the
Council adopted several resolutions on Syria.
In February, Resolution 2199 called on states
to prevent the transfer of arms and funds to
IS and Jabhat al-Nusra. In March, Resolution
2209 condemned the use of chlorine as a
weapon of war and said that those
responsible for its use should be held
accountable, while supporting the use of
military action, economic sanctions or other
means against those who did not comply. In
August, Resolution 2235 called for a Joint
Investigative Mechanism to determine
responsibility for the use of chemical weapons
in Syria.
Efforts by the UN to broker peace,
incrementally via a ceasefire in Aleppo or
through other multi-party talks, were
unsuccessful. International negotiations
known as the “Vienna Process” were
set to lead to direct talks between the Syrian
government and opposition forces
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in January 2016.
The independent international Commission
of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic,
established by the UN Human Rights Council
in 2011, continued to monitor and report on
violations of international law committed by
the parties to the conflict, although it
remained barred by the government from
entering Syria.
A US-led international coalition of states
continued to carry out air strikes against IS
and certain other armed groups in northern
and eastern Syria. The attacks, which began
in September 2014, reportedly killed scores
of civilians. Russia began air strikes in
support of the Syrian government on 30
September, nominally against IS but mostly
attacking armed groups fighting both the
government and IS and in October fired
cruise missiles at targets in Syria. The
Russian attacks reportedly killed hundreds of
civilians.
Several suspected attacks by Israel inside
Syria targeted Hizbullah, Syrian government
positions and other fighters.
Ghanem market in Duma on 16 August killed
around 100 civilians and wounded hundreds.
Aerial bombing accounted for half of all
civilian fatalities, according to the Violations
Documentation Center, a Syrian NGO.
Government forces also carried out dozens
of suspected chlorine gas attacks in areas
controlled by non-state armed groups,
particularly in Idleb governorate, causing
civilian casualties. In one attack on 16 March,
government helicopters reportedly dropped
barrels containing chlorine on and around
Sermin, Idleb governorate, killing a family of
five and injuring around 100 civilians.
Sieges and denial of humanitarian access
Government forces maintained prolonged
sieges of predominantly civilian areas in and
around Damascus, including Eastern Ghouta,
Daraya and Yarmouk, exposing the residents
to starvation and denying them access to
medical care and other basic services, while
subjecting them to repeated air strikes,
artillery shelling and other attacks.
Government forces, including Lebanese
Hizbullah fighters, began besieging Zabadani
and nearby towns and villages in
southwestern Syria in July, forcibly displacing
thousands of civilians to Madaya, which
government forces also besieged and
bombarded indiscriminately, causing civilian
casualties.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT –
VIOLATIONS BY GOVERNMENT FORCES
Indiscriminate and direct attacks on civilians
Government and allied forces continued to
commit war crimes and other serious
violations of international law, including direct
attacks on civilians and indiscriminate
attacks. Government forces repeatedly
attacked areas controlled or contested by
armed opposition groups, killing and injuring
civilians and damaging civilian objects in
unlawful attacks. They carried out
indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on
civilian residential areas, including artillery
shelling and air strikes, often using unguided,
high-explosive barrel bombs dropped from
helicopters. The attacks caused numerous
civilian deaths and injuries, including of
children. For example, a barrel bomb attack
on Baideen, Aleppo governorate, on 5
February killed at least 24 civilians and
injured 80. An air strike on the Sahat al-
Attacks on medical facilities and workers
Government forces continued to target health
facilities and medical workers in areas
controlled by armed opposition groups. They
repeatedly bombed hospitals and other
medical facilities, barred or restricted the
inclusion of medical supplies in humanitarian
aid deliveries to besieged and hard-to-reach
areas, and disrupted or prevented health care
provision in these areas by detaining medical
workers and volunteers. The NGO Physicians
for Human Rights accused government forces
of systematically attacking the health care
system in areas controlled by armed
opposition groups and of responsibility for the
deaths of the vast majority of the 697 medical
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workers killed in Syria between April 2011
and November 2015.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT – ABUSES
BY ARMED GROUPS
Non-state armed groups committed war
crimes, other violations of international
humanitarian law and serious human rights
abuses.
Use of indiscriminate weapons and direct
attacks on civilians
IS forces carried out direct attacks on civilians
as well as indiscriminate attacks. IS reportedly
also launched chemical attacks using
chlorine and mustard agents. The Syrian
American Medical Society said that its staff
treated more than 50 civilians with symptoms
indicating exposure to chemicals after IS
forces fired mortar and artillery shells into
Marea, a town in Aleppo governorate, on 21
August. One baby died from the exposure.
IS forces repeatedly attacked Kurdish-
controlled areas. At least 262 civilians were
killed in direct attacks by IS on civilians in the
town of Kobani on 25 June.
IS and other armed groups used imprecise
explosive weapons including mortars and
artillery shells in attacks on residential areas,
killing and injuring civilians. In August, armed
groups reportedly fired hundreds of mortar
shells into Fu’ah and Kefraya, two
predominantly Shi’a villages, and killed 18
civilians in indiscriminate attacks on Deraa
city.
Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and four days
later burned to death captured Jordanian Air
Force pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh. On 3 March,
IS members reportedly threw a man from a
tower in Tabqa, al-Raqqa governorate, and
then stoned him to death because of his real
or perceived sexual orientation
On 5 July in al-Raqqa, IS summarily killed
Faisal Hussein al-Habib and Bashir Abd al-
Ladhim al-Salem, two peaceful activists who
had reportedly documented IS abuses.
On 5 July, IS released a video that showed
some of its child soldiers apparently shooting
dead captured government soldiers in front of
a crowd in an amphitheatre in Palmyra. IS
forces deliberately destroyed ancient temples
and other cultural artefacts at Palmyra, a
UNESCO World Heritage site, after capturing
it in May. In August, IS decapitated Khaled al-
Asaad, the head of antiquities at Palmyra,
having detained him since May.
Other armed groups also committed
unlawful killings. In June, Jabhat al-Nusra
reportedly shot dead 20 civilians of the Druze
faith at Kalb Loze, Idleb. Jaysh al-Islam
summarily killed alleged IS members they
had captured, according to images released
from 25 June. In September, Jaysh al-Fateh
fighters led by Jabhat al-Nusra summarily
killed 56 captured government soldiers after
seizing the Abu al-Dhuhr Air Base in Idleb on
9 September.
Sieges and denial of humanitarian access
IS forces besieged some 228,000 people in
government-controlled western
neighbourhoods of Deyr al-Zur city. Local
activists said five civilians died in July from
lack of food and medical care. IS closed
health facilities and reportedly barred women
medical workers from working in areas it
controlled, curtailing civilians’ access to
medical care.
For most of the year non-state armed
groups also besieged some 26,000 people in
Zahraa and Nobel, northwest of Aleppo.
Unlawful killings
IS forces summarily killed captured
government soldiers, members of rival armed
groups, and media workers and other
captured civilians. In areas of al-Raqqa, Deyr
al-Zur and eastern Aleppo which it controlled,
IS enforced its strict interpretation of Islamic
law, carrying out frequent public execution-
style killings, including of people they
accused of apostasy, adultery or theft, or
because of their real or perceived sexual
orientation.
On 30 January, IS decapitated abducted
Abductions
Several non-state armed groups including IS
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engaged in abductions and hostage-taking.
On 23 February, IS forces abducted some
253 civilians from mostly Assyrian villages
along the Khabur river in al-Hasakeh. Some
48 were later released but there were fears for
the fate of those still missing, particularly after
IS released a video about the abductees in
October showing three unidentified bodies.
There was no news of the fate or
whereabouts of human rights defender Razan
Zaitouneh, her husband Wa’el Hamada,
Nazem Hamadi or Samira Khalil. The four
were abducted by unidentified armed men on
9 December 2013. They were taken from the
office of the Violations Documentation Center
and Local Development and Small Projects
Support Office in Duma, an area controlled by
Jaysh al-Islam and other armed groups.
30 April, coalition air strikes on suspected IS
targets in Bir Mahli, Aleppo governorate,
reportedly killed 64 civilians.
ATTACKS BY RUSSIAN FORCES
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT – ABUSES
BY THE PYD-LED AUTONOMOUS
ADMINISTRATION
In northern Syria, an Autonomous
Administration led by the Democratic Union
Party (PYD) controlled the predominantly
Kurdish Afrin, Kobani (also known as Ayn al-
Arab) and Jazeera enclaves. The
Administration’s security forces and police
forcibly displaced people from 10 villages and
towns, including Husseiniya in February, and
prevented displaced residents from returning
to their homes in Suluk, a town in al-Raqqa
governorate, in July after forcing IS to
withdraw from the area. They also carried out
arbitrary arrests, detentions and unfair trials
of suspected supporters of armed groups and
others. The Administration’s security forces
reportedly used child soldiers.
Russia intervened in the conflict in support of
the Syrian government, beginning a campaign
of air strikes on 30 September primarily
against armed opposition groups. The same
day, Russian air strikes on Talbiseh, Zafraneh
and Rastan in Homs governorate reportedly
killed at least 43 civilians.
On 7 October, Russian forces fired cruise
missiles into Syria from ships in the Caspian
Sea. One missile strike killed five civilians and
destroyed at least 12 homes in Darat Izza,
Aleppo governorate. On 20 October, two
suspected Russian air strikes hit the
immediate vicinity of Sermin field hospital in
Idleb governorate, killing 13 civilians and
putting the hospital out of action. On 29
November, a suspected Russian war plane
fired three missiles into a busy market in
Ariha, Idleb governorate, killing 49 civilians.
Altogether, the Russian attacks reportedly
killed at least 600 civilians and struck at least
12 medical facilities in areas controlled or
contested by non-state armed groups.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED
PEOPLE
ATTACKS BY INTERNATIONAL COALITION
FORCES
The US-led international coalition continued
its air strikes against IS and certain other
armed groups in northern and eastern Syria,
which it had begun in September 2014.
Some attacks resulted in civilian casualties.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
reported that 243 civilians were killed in
coalition attacks in Syria during the year. On
The continuing conflict caused massive
population displacement. Some 4.6 million
people fled Syria between 2011 and the end
of 2015, including 1 million who became
refugees during 2015, according to UNHCR,
the UN refugee agency. Some 7.6 million,
according to the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, were
internally displaced within Syria. Half of those
displaced were children. Turkey, Lebanon
and Jordan, the countries hosting the most
refugees from Syria, restricted access to
refugees fleeing the continuing conflict,
exposing them to further attacks and
deprivation in Syria. Lebanon and Jordan
continued to block the entry of Palestinian
refugees from Syria, rendering them
especially vulnerable. At least 500,000 Syrian
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refugees crossed by water or land into Europe
but many European countries and other
countries in the region failed to accommodate
a fair share of those fleeing.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Government forces held thousands of
detainees without trial, often in conditions that
amounted to enforced disappearance. Tens
of thousands of people remained subjected to
enforced disappearance, some since the
outbreak of the conflict in 2011. They
included peaceful critics and opponents of
the government as well as family members
detained in place of relatives wanted by the
authorities.
Those who remained forcibly disappeared
since 2012 included Abd al-Aziz al-Khayyir,
Iyad Ayash and Maher Tahan, members of
the National Co-ordination Body for
Democratic Change, who were arrested at an
Air Force Intelligence checkpoint on 20
September 2012.
Court or Military Field Courts.
Bassel Khartabil, a peaceful online freedom
of expression activist, remained arbitrarily
detained since his arrest in March 2012. He
was taken before a Military Field Court very
briefly in late 2012 but was not told the
outcome of the hearing. On 3 October 2015
he was moved from Adra Prison to an
undisclosed location.
The authorities released human rights
defender Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian
Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression,
on 10 August, and Hani al-Zitani and Hussein
Gharir, two members of the Centre, in July.
All three had been held since February 2012
and were on trial before the Anti-Terrorism
Court. The charges against them were later
dropped.
DEATH PENALTY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees by
government security and intelligence
agencies and in state prisons remained
systematic and widespread. Torture and other
ill-treatment continued to result in a high
incidence of detainee deaths.
Salaheddin al-Tabbaa, a 22-year-old
student and Syrian Arab Red Crescent
volunteer, died in detention in April according
to a death certificate the authorities gave to
his family in July. The certificate said he died
of a heart attack. He was in good health when
government security forces detained him in
September 2014. The authorities did not
return his body to his family, saying it had
been buried.
The death penalty remained in force for many
offences but few details emerged of death
sentences passed, and there was no
information on executions.
The Anti-Terrorism Court reportedly
sentenced to death 20 detainees held at
Hama central prison for engaging in peaceful
protests after grossly unfair trials in May and
June.
TAIWAN
Taiwan
Head of state:
Ma Ying-jeou
Head of government:
Mao Chi-kuo
Freedom of peaceful assembly continued to
be curtailed. Executions were carried out
and death sentences imposed.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Tens of thousands of civilians, including
peaceful activists, were detained by
government security forces. Many were held
in prolonged pre-trial detention, where they
were tortured and otherwise ill-treated. Others
received unfair trials before the Anti-Terrorism
On 10 February, the Taipei District
Prosecutors Office indicted 119 people in
connection with a protest movement against
the adoption of a trade and services deal with
China. The so-called “Sunflower Movement”
had organized protests that took place from
18 March to 10 April 2014 at the Legislative
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Yuan (Parliament), as well as the occupation
of the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) and other
similar protests that year. The charges
included instigating others to commit a crime,
trespassing, obstruction of officers
discharging their duty and violating the
Assembly and Parade Act. On 5 May, a
further 39 people were indicted on the charge
of trespassing, in relation to the occupation of
the Executive Yuan. Of the 39 people
indicted, 24 had filed private criminal lawsuits
against former Premier Jiang Yi-huah and
other high-ranking officials, seeking justice
and accountability for injuries sustained in the
clearing of the Executive Yuan complex.
Courts continued to reject the private
criminal lawsuits against the former Premier
and other high-ranking officials, but in August
lawyer Lin Ming-hui won NT$300,000
(approximately US$9,200) in an
administrative lawsuit seeking state
compensation for a head injury sustained in
the Executive Yuan incident. The Taipei City
government chose not to appeal. Another 30
people subsequently filed lawsuits seeking
state compensation.
By the end of the year no thorough,
independent and impartial investigation had
taken place into the police use of excessive
force during the removal of protesters from
the Executive Yuan and surrounding areas on
23/24 March 2014, or into actions of the
authorities during the “Sunflower Movement”
protests as a whole.
On 23 July, three journalists who were
covering a demonstration at the Ministry of
Education were arrested on charges of
trespassing when they followed a splinter
group of protesters who had climbed over a
fence and entered the Ministry building. After
the journalists refused to pay bail, they were
released without charge. On the following day
the Mayor of Taipei apologized for the
“violation of freedom of reporting” that had
occurred.
out unrelated executions even though in
some instances the appeals process had not
been exhausted. The Minister of Justice
denied that the executions were carried out to
assuage public sentiment and stated they had
been planned well in advance.
The High Court rejected a motion for a
retrial in the case of Chiou Ho-shun, the
longest-serving death row inmate in Taiwan,
who had been sentenced to death in 1989 for
robbery, kidnapping and murder. Chiou Ho-
shun’s lawyers had requested a retrial after
two police officers said they were willing to
testify that Chiou Ho-shun had told them at
the time that he had been tortured and forced
to “confess”.
In September, the High Court overturned
the conviction of Hsu Tzu-chiang, who had
been on death row for 20 years for
kidnapping and murder. Hsu Tzu-chiang was
found not guilty due to discrepancies in the
testimony of witnesses against him, and lack
of forensic evidence. In the same month the
High Prosecutors Office appealed the
decision to the Supreme Court, which was
pending at the end of the year.
TAJIKISTAN
Republic of Tajikistan
Head of state:
Emomali Rahmon
Head of government:
Qokhir Rasulzoda
Authorities continued to impose sweeping
restrictions on freedom of expression.
Several prominent human rights NGOs were
targeted for “inspections” by various
authorities, and some were “advised” to
close down. Members of opposition groups
faced increasing harassment, violence and
even death, both in Tajikistan and in exile.
Some political opposition activists and those
accused of religious extremism were
abducted and forcibly returned from several
former Soviet countries. Lawyers
representing opposition activists or those
charged with anti-state offences were
themselves at risk of harassment,
DEATH PENALTY
Amid public anger at the murder of an eight-
year-old girl in Taipei, the authorities carried
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intimidation and punitive arrest. Torture and
other ill-treatment remained widespread,
and lawyers were repeatedly denied access
to their clients.
BACKGROUND
The country faced increasing economic
difficulties. Due to the recession in Russia
and other traditional destinations for labour
migrants, foreign remittances (the equivalent
of half the country’s GDP) fell by 40-60% in
US dollar terms according to different
estimates, and many of the labour migrants –
reportedly over a million in Russia alone –
were expected to start returning to Tajikistan.
Parliamentary elections were held on
1 March in an atmosphere of increasing
reprisals against any political dissent, with
only pro-government parties gaining seats in
the newly elected legislature.
The government reported attacks by armed
groups against police on 4 September in and
near Dushanbe, the capital, with at least 26
people killed, including nine police officers.
Little independent information on the incident
emerged, due to the government’s control of
the media. The authorities blamed the
violence on former Deputy Minister of
Defence Abdukhalim Nazarzoda, who
escaped the scene but was killed in a security
operation on 16 September.
providers to block access to certain news or
social media sites, but evidence to the
contrary continued to emerge. Various media
and social media sites were blocked in May,
after a video was posted by a former high-
ranking police official announcing that he had
joined the armed group Islamic State (IS) in
Syria.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of expression remained severely
restricted and access to information was
increasingly controlled by the authorities.
Independent media outlets and journalists
who were critical of the authorities faced
intimidation and harassment, including
personal attacks in pro-government media,
particularly ahead of the parliamentary
elections. Regulations were introduced in
June requiring state agencies to submit all
public communications to Khovar, the state
information agency, and mandating media
outlets to report on official events exclusively
based on information vetted by Khovar.
The government’s Communications Service
denied that it had ordered internet service
Amendments to the Law on Public
Associations, enacted in August, oblige NGOs
registered as public associations with the
Ministry of Justice to notify it about any
foreign funding they receive. In June, the
Ministry proposed a new law requiring that all
non-profit organizations, including NGOs,
register with it. NGOs in Tajikistan feared that,
if passed, the law would give the government
the means to deny them registration and thus
prevent them from operating legally.
Several prominent NGOs were subjected to
“inspections” by various government bodies,
including the Ministry of Justice, the Tax
Committee, the Prosecutor General's Office,
and the State Committee on National
Security, under the pretext of “national
security considerations”. Some NGOs were
informally “advised” to close down. In June,
the Tax Committee initiated liquidation
proceedings against the public foundation
Nota Bene. In August, the Bureau on Human
Rights and Rule of Law was issued a fine of
TJS 42,639 (over US$6,000) for purported
tax violations that were never explained.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
Members of opposition groups, including
Group 24 (banned by the Supreme Court as
“extremist” in October 2014) and the Islamic
Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), faced
increasing harassment and violence.
The leader of the political movement Youth
for Tajikistan Revival, Maksud Ibragimov, who
held Russian citizenship and lived in Moscow,
Russia, where he survived an assassination
attempt in November 2014, was put on
Tajikistan’s list of wanted individuals in
October 2014. According to his family, on
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20 January five men claiming to be Russian
immigration officials took him from his flat to
an unknown location. On 30 January,
Tajikistani authorities reported that Maksud
Ibragimov was in pre-trial detention in
Dushanbe on charges of “extremism”. In
June, he was sentenced to 17 years’
imprisonment.
On 5 March, Umarali Kuvvatov, an exiled
founding member of Group 24, was shot
dead by unknown men in Istanbul, Turkey.
1
He had earlier expressed concerns that the
authorities had ordered his assassination.
Following months of harassment of its
members, the IRPT lost its two remaining
seats in Parliament in the March elections.
On 28 August, the Ministry of Justice ordered
the IRPT to cease its activities by 7
September, claiming it lacked sufficient
popular support to qualify as a registered
party. In September, 13 high-ranking
members of the IRPT were arrested on
charges of involvement in “criminal groups”
and linking them to the violence on
4 September, which the party’s exiled leader,
Mukhiddin Kabiri, refuted. On 29 September,
the IRPT was designated a “terrorist
organization” by the Prosecutor General, on
the grounds that several of its members had
been involved in groups promoting
“extremism”, and that the party had used its
newspaper,
Salvation,
and other media to
spread “extremist ideas” and promote
2
religious hatred. The designation was later
confirmed by the Supreme Court.
On 13 January, human rights lawyer
Shukhrat Kudratov was sentenced to nine
years in prison on charges of fraud and
bribery. He claimed the charges were
politically motivated and linked to his work for
the defence of opposition activist and former
Minister of Energy and Industry Zaid Saidov
(sentenced in 2013 to 26 years in prison). On
28 September, police arrested Buzurgmekhr
Yorov, a lawyer representing detained IRPT
members, on unrelated charges of fraud and
forgery, and seized documents relating to the
IRPT cases in violation of Tajikistan’s
own laws.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
widespread despite the adoption in 2013 of
an Action Plan to implement
recommendations by the UN Committee
against Torture. By mid-August, the NGO
Coalition against Torture registered 25 new
cases of torture. In most cases, relatives and
victims declined to file complaints for fear of
reprisals, and many more cases of torture
were likely to have gone unreported. Criminal
prosecutions against law enforcement officials
suspected of torture were rare, and frequently
terminated or suspended before completion.
Lawyers were repeatedly denied access to
their clients in detention, often for several
days at a time. Individuals perceived to be
threats to national security, including
members of religious movements and Islamist
groups or parties, were at particular risk of
arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention,
torture and other ill-treatment. Shortly before
his own arrest, lawyer Buzurgmekhr Yorov
told the media that Umarali Khisainov (also
known as Saidumar Khusaini), one of his
IRPT clients who was arrested on
13 September, had complained about
beatings and other ill-treatment in police
custody.
On 9 April, Shamsiddin Zaydulloev was
arrested without a warrant at his family’s flat
in Dushanbe, and taken to the Drug Control
Agency building. His mother was able to see
him in detention the same day, where he
confirmed that he had been beaten. After
subsequently being denied access to
Shamsiddin Zaydulloev, his mother hired a
lawyer who was not allowed to visit his client
without the written permission of the
investigator in charge of the case. On
13 April, his parents learned that he had died
in police custody and noticed multiple bruises
on his body in the morgue. They took
photographs, hired a new lawyer and
demanded a forensic medical examination,
which concluded that Shamsiddin Zaydulloev
had died of pneumonia. The family contested
the findings and the Prosecutor General’s
Office ordered a second forensic examination,
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which found on 3 August that Shamsiddin
Zaydulloev had suffered serious injuries,
including five broken ribs and a fractured
skull, which may have caused his death. An
additional forensic examination was ordered
to finally establish the cause of his death, and
its outcome was still pending at the end of
the year.
from CCM and joined Ukwana, the opposition
coalition, as its presidential nominee. Both
parties allowed public assemblies to take
place, although widespread concern was
raised about the efficacy of the new biometric
voter registration system, with reports that
large constituencies had been unable to
register.
DISCRIMINATION
1. Tajikistani dissenters at grave risk after an opposition leader shot
dead in Turkey (Press
release,6
March)
2. Opposition party leaders arrested, risk torture (EUR
60/2465/2015);
Opposition members’ lawyer at risk of torture (EUR
60/2567/2015)
TANZANIA
United Republic of Tanzania
Head of state:
John Magufuli (replaced Jakaya Mrisho
Kikwete in November)
Head of government:
Kassim Majaliwa (replaced
Mizengo Peter Pinda in November)
Head of Zanzibar government:
Ali Mohamed Shein
The year was taken up by preparations for
the presidential and parliamentary elections,
which took place in October. Inefficiencies
were reported in the biometric voter
registration process, leading to concerns
that citizens would be prevented from
voting. Legislative restrictions on freedom of
expression were introduced. Human rights
violations, including killing and torture,
against marginalized and minority
populations continued with impunity.
Over 50 people were killed on the basis of
witchcraft beliefs between January and June,
while over 350 were killed in documented
incidents of mob violence. There have been
no meaningful investigations into these
killings. Reports indicated the particular
vulnerability of older women in rural areas, as
well as of children.
There was one report of a young child with
albinism being killed for body parts in
February 2015 in the Geita region. A further
three cases were reported across the country
in the first half of the year, involving
abduction, mutilation and dismemberment of
bodies. The government failed to institute
adequate safety measures for people living
with albinism.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
BACKGROUND
In April, the long-promised referendum on the
new Constitution was delayed indefinitely,
following delays in voter registration. A new
referendum date has not yet been clarified.
Presidential and parliamentary elections
took place in October. President Kikwete was
constitutionally unable to run for a third term.
In July, John Magufuli was chosen as the
ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party’s
presidential nominee. Also in July, former
Prime Minister Edward Lowassa defected
In January, the regional
East African
newspaper was banned from circulation in
Tanzania. Through the first half of 2015,
several journalists were arrested, harassed,
beaten and intimidated on the basis of their
work.
In 2015, four bills were introduced to
Parliament that collectively codified
unwarranted and disproportionate restrictions
on the right to freedom of expression. The
bills were introduced under a “certificate of
urgency”, limiting normally available channels
for public consultation. With some laws not
being published, there was considerable
confusion about their status and contents
throughout the year.
Of particular concern, the Cyber Crimes Act
2015 (adopted in April) contains overly vague
provisions, which purport to criminalize the
sharing of “false or misleading” information
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online. The Statistics Act 2015, passed by
Parliament in March, criminalizes and
introduces disproportionate custodial
sentences for the publication of “false or
misleading” statistics.
THAILAND
Kingdom of Thailand
Head of state:
King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Head of government:
Prayuth Chan-ocha
Military authorities extended their powers to
excessively restrict rights and silence
dissent in the name of security. Political
transition plans were delayed and repression
deepened. The numbers of people harassed,
prosecuted, imprisoned and arbitrarily
detained solely for the peaceful exercise of
their rights escalated sharply. Arrests and
prosecutions under the lese-majesty law
continued to increase. Internal armed
conflict continued.
BACKGROUND
authorities continued to enjoy wide-ranging
powers and impunity for violations under
Article 44 of the Interim Constitution and
further expanded military involvement in the
administration of justice. At the same time as
lifting martial law in most areas of the country
on 1 April, authorities issued a series of
orders, including National Council for Peace
and Order (NCPO) Order 3/2015, which
retained and expanded restrictive excessive
powers previously granted by martial law.
These included limiting redress for individuals
whose rights were violated. The government
further delayed implementation of its
roadmap to elections following the National
Reform Council’s rejection in September of
the draft Constitution.
The ongoing implementation of other NCPO
decrees, including orders on forest
conservation, led to violations such as forced
evictions and crop destruction.
A bomb attack in August targeting
worshippers and visitors at the Erawan Shrine
in the capital, Bangkok, killed 20 people and
injured 125 others.
In January, authorities impeached former
Prime Minister Shinawatra and filed charges
against her for dereliction of duty related to
her government’s rice subsidy scheme for
farmers.
In March, the European Parliament
announced it would impose a ban on fish
imports from Thailand to the EU unless the
government took sufficient measures to
address human trafficking and forced labour
of migrant workers in the fishing industry. In
June, Thailand remained on Tier 3 of the US
Department of State Annual Report on
Trafficking in Persons for failing to adequately
address persistent and widespread trafficking
of individuals for forced labour and sexual
exploitation. In October, the European
Parliament issued a non-binding resolution
raising concerns about ongoing repression of
rights.
Despite international calls for the lifting of
restrictions – announced as temporary
measures after the May 2014 coup –
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
Armed conflict continued in the southern
provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and
parts of Songkhla. Civilians were also targets
of attacks which were suspected to have been
carried out by armed groups.
Two paramilitary rangers charged with the
killings of three boys in Bacho, Narathiwat, in
February 2014 were acquitted in January.
Impunity prevailed for grave human rights
violations.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
A draft bill criminalizing torture and enforced
disappearance was put before Parliament but
had made no further progress by the end of
the year.
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment by
police and armed forces continued
1
throughout the year. Individuals held by the
army in incommunicado detention without
safeguards in unofficial places of detention
were at greater risk of torture. In September,
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a temporary military detention facility was
opened for civilian detainees; two detainees
died in custody there in October and
November.
Those seeking redress for torture continued
to face obstacles. In March, Bangkok
Remand Prison officials denied a National
Human Rights Commissioner access to
document injuries inflicted on political activist
Sansern Sriounren. He said that he was
tortured during incommunicado military
detention, including through beatings and
more than 40 electric shocks.
In several cases of deaths in custody as a
result of torture, limited steps were taken
towards accountability. However, impunity for
perpetrators of these and other instances of
torture prevailed.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
Peaceful critics of the authorities were at risk
2
of arbitrary detention and imprisonment.
Many faced arrest, charges and prosecution
throughout the year for a range of activities
including staging plays, posting Facebook
3
comments and displaying graffiti.
In violation of the right to fair trial, civilians
were brought before military courts and
charged with offences against “internal
security”, “the security of the monarchy” and
infringements of NCPO orders. Detainees
were denied the right to judicial appeal
against judgments for acts committed during
martial law. The Bangkok Military Court
summarily dismissed a number of legal
petitions questioning its jurisdiction over
civilians and seeking a ruling on the
incompatibility of the use of military courts
with Thailand’s international human rights
obligations.
NCPO Order 3/2015 authorized military
officers to arbitrarily detain individuals and
censor a variety of media, and criminalized
public political meetings of more than five
people.
4
Legislation requiring prior notification
for assemblies and criminalizing unapproved
exercise of the right to peaceful assembly and
protests near government buildings came into
force in August. Legislation providing for
increased authority for a committee to take
cyber security measures that could result in
the military’s excessive discretion to conduct
cyber surveillance activities and restrict
freedom of expression remained in draft form
at the end of the year.
Throughout the year, authorities made
public comments intimidating the media and
calling on them to actively censor “negative”
commentary. Military officers actively
conducted surveillance on and harassed
public commentators, including academics
and members of the media; they blocked
websites and enforced bans on media and
online criticism.
5
Dozens of individuals were charged and
prosecuted under Article 116 of the Penal
Code relating to sedition for peaceful acts of
dissent, including pro-democracy protests
expressing peaceful opposition to military
rule. The authorities charged and detained 14
members of the New Democracy Movement,
and several activists from the Resistant
Citizen group, who carried out separate
peaceful public protests in February, March,
May and June. Supporters of both groups
were charged, including Baramee Chairat, an
NGO chairperson and Amnesty International
board member; and a retired teacher who
handed flowers to Resistant Citizen activists
during their protest.
6
The authorities prioritized enforcement of
Article 112 of the Penal Code – the lese-
majesty law – and continued to treat criticism
of the monarchy as a security offence.
7
The
judicial process for such offences was
marked by secrecy, closed trials and denial of
the right to bail. Military courts handed down
more and longer sentences than in previous
years, including up to 60 years’
imprisonment. Military courts also increased
sentences handed down for lese-majesty
offences by ordering prison terms for separate
offences to be served consecutively.
Dozens of former parliamentarians,
journalists, academics and activists were
detained by the military under powers granted
by NCPO Order 3/2015 to detain people
without charge or trial in unofficial places of
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detention for up to one week without any
safeguards such as access to lawyers or
families. The government justified these
detentions as a means to control freedom of
expression and prevent or punish public
criticism.
Hundreds of people who had been
arbitrarily detained since the coup continued
to be subject to restrictions on their rights
imposed as conditions for release. Some were
subjected to surveillance, intimidation and
repeated short-term arrests.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
An unidentified gunman shot and killed land
rights activist Chai Bunthonglek of the
Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand in
Chaiburi, Surat Thani Province, in February.
Other members of the group reported ongoing
harassment and intimidation in connection
with their support for a community involved in
a land dispute with an oil palm company.
Court proceedings were initiated in October
against at least one military officer for a
violent attack in May 2014 on activists of the
Khon Rak Ban Ked group in Loei Province in
the northeast. The group continued to report
acts of harassment and intimidation by the
military. One member, Surapan Rujichaiwat,
was on trial on defamation charges for a
social media post calling for an investigation
into the activities of the mining company
Tung Khum.
Two journalists from the online news site
Phuketwan were acquitted of defamation
charges for reproducing a Reuters article
exposing official involvement in human
trafficking. The Supreme Court also issued an
order not to prosecute the NGO Cross Cultural
Foundation and its director, after an army
officer had pressed charges against the NGO
for raising public concern about allegations of
torture. The Court dismissed charges of
criminal defamation against Andy Hall, a UK
national, but he still faced prosecution and a
civil suit and possibly million-dollar fines for
reporting on labour abuses by a pineapple
wholesaler.
In May, the Prime Minister ordered a 10-day
crackdown on human trafficking and
smuggling camps following the discovery of
shallow graves at sites on the Thai-Malay
border, believed to be abandoned camps
used by traffickers. The senior police
investigator into the crimes sought political
asylum in Australia, citing fears for his life and
official interference in the investigation. A
human rights and humanitarian crisis
developed as smugglers responded to the
crackdown by abandoning overcrowded boats
at sea. Thai authorities prevented abandoned
Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar and
Bangladeshi passengers from landing in
Thailand and were slow to set up search and
rescue operations for boats in distress.
In the absence of legal protection of the
right to asylum, refugees and asylum-seekers
remained vulnerable to harassment, detention
and
refoulement.
In August and November,
authorities deported 109 people of Turkic
origin to China, where they were at risk of
violations,
8
as well as two people with
9
UNHCR-recognized refugee status.
Authorities arrested and detained scores of
asylum-seekers throughout the year,
including from Pakistan and Somalia.
DEATH PENALTY
Death sentences were handed down during
the year. No executions were reported.
Legislation was enacted expanding the scope
of crimes for which the death penalty is
applicable. Following a ruling by the Supreme
Administrative Court in July, prisoners on
death row may be held in shackles
permanently.
1. Thailand: Martial law detainees at risk of torture (ASA
39/1266/2015)
2. Thailand: Post-coup violations continue: is a “temporary situation”
becoming chronic? (ASA
39/1042/2015)
3. Thailand: Military’s shutdown of event highlights free speech
crackdown (News
story,
4 June)
4. Thailand: Post-coup violations concerns abide one year on and a
“temporary situation” is becoming permanent (ASA
39/1811/2015)
5. Thailand: Inter-Parliamentary Union must urge Thailand to stop
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persecution of dissenting former parliamentarians (ASA
39/2666/2015)
6. Thailand: Students charged for peaceful protest (ASA
39/1977/2015)
7. Thailand: Lese-majesty convictions assault on freedom (News
story,
23 February)
8. Thailand must not send Uighurs to Chinese torture (News
story,
9 July)
9. Thailand/China: Shameful collusion between China and Thailand in
targeting freedom of expression and ignoring refugee rights must end
(ASA
39/2914/2015)
Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF).
In September, a follow-up report by the UN
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances noted regret that Timor-Leste
had yet to debate a draft law on the
establishment of a Public Memory Institute,
intended to implement the CAVR and CTF
recommendations.
TIMOR-LESTE
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Head of state:
Taur Matan Ruak
Head of government:
Rui Maria de Araújo (replaced
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão in February)
Impunity persisted for gross human rights
violations committed during the Indonesian
occupation (1975-1999). Security forces
were accused of arbitrary arrests and
unnecessary or excessive use of force during
security operations in Baucau district.
Levels of domestic violence remained high.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
BACKGROUND
In February, Rui Maria de Araújo, leader of
the Revolutionary Front for an Independent
East Timor (FRETILIN) was sworn in as Prime
Minister. The new government included a
coalition of most political parties, including
Xanana Gusmão’s National Congress for
Timorese Reconstruction. In September,
Timor-Leste was reviewed by the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child.
IMPUNITY
Torture and other ill-treatment and
unnecessary or excessive use of force by
security forces continued to be reported.
Accountability mechanisms remained weak.
Dozens of individuals were arbitrarily
arrested and tortured or otherwise ill-treated
by security forces as part of joint security
operations in Baucau district between March
and August. These operations were launched
in response to attacks allegedly carried out by
Mauk Moruk (Paulino Gama) and his banned
Maubere Revolutionary Council (KRM)
against police in Laga and Baguia
subdistricts. Local human rights organizations
documented dozens of cases of beatings by
security officials who also destroyed property
of suspected KRM members.
1
In August,
Mauk Moruk was shot and killed. The
findings of investigations by the Provedor
(Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice)
were issued in November.
The justice system remained hampered by
a lack of access to courts and due process.
The expulsion of all international judicial
officers employed as judges, lawyers and
investigators in October 2014 continued to
throw into question pending trials, including
those addressing crimes against humanity.
Little progress was made in addressing
crimes against humanity and other human
rights violations committed by Indonesian
security forces and their auxiliaries from 1975
to 1999. Many suspected perpetrators
remained at large in Indonesia.
No progress by the authorities was reported
in implementing recommendations
addressing impunity from the Commission for
Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR)
and the bilateral Indonesia-Timor-Leste
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The 2010 Law mandating compulsory
prosecution in domestic violence cases
continued to be used although challenges
remained. NGOs raised concerns on access
to justice, limited protection for witnesses and
victims, and a backlog of cases causing few
women to actively file reports.
In November, the CEDAW Committee
recommended that Timor-Leste adopt laws to
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ensure comprehensive reparation for
survivors of rape and other forms of sexual
violence that occurred during the Indonesian
occupation and 1999 referendum, and that
there would be no impunity for sexual
violence committed during the occupation.
1. Dozens arrested and tortured in Timor-Leste (ASA
57/1639/2015)
TOGO
Togolese Republic
Head of state:
Faure Gnassingbé
Head of government:
Komi Sélom Klassou (replaced
Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu in June)
The authorities continued to restrict the
freedom of peaceful assembly by banning
demonstrations. The security forces used
excessive force against peaceful
demonstrators. Restrictions on the right to
freedom of expression and arbitrary arrests
and detentions persisted. A new Criminal
Code was enacted. It criminalized torture
but maintained homophobic provisions and
introduced the charge of publishing,
disseminating or reproducng false news
which could be used to target journalists,
human rights defenders and anyone
expressing dissent.
November. One policeman was killed on 26
November in clashes with protesters who
resorted to violence after security forces
opened fire on peaceful demonstrators.
1
Gendarmes and the military fired live bullets
at protesters on 25 March at a rally in the city
of Glei, 160km north of Lomé, the capital. At
least 30 people, including a woman and a
child, were wounded. Gendarmes and
soldiers charged at a crowd of 100 students,
shooting real bullets and hitting them with
batons. Students had gathered spontaneously
to protest against exams being held despite
the academic curriculum having been
disrupted by social movements throughout
the year. The gendarmes and soldiers who
used excessive force have not been brought
to justice.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND
The government continued to restrict freedom
of peaceful assembly by arbitrarily banning
demonstrations and detaining peaceful
demonstrators. On 20 August, in Lomé, the
security forces used tear gas to disperse a
peaceful demonstration of 100 people
protesting against the rise of the cost of living.
The gendarmerie arbitrarily arrested the three
protest organizers, including Kao Atcholi, a
human rights defender leading the
Association of Victims of Torture in Togo.
They were detained for a day and released
without charge.
President Gnassingbé was re-elected for a
third term in April with 58.8% of the vote. The
opposition contested the results of the
election.
In July, the National Assembly adopted
laws to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to
the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the
death penalty, and the Arms Trade Treaty.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
The security forces killed seven people and
wounded at least 117 others, including
pregnant women and children, in Mango in
northern Togo, during demonstrations against
the creation of a nature reserve in the area in
On 29 July, the Criminal Court of Lomé found
French national Sébastian Alzerreca guilty of
disrupting public order on the basis of
“misleading publications” he posted on social
media commenting on the results of the
presidential elections. He received a two-year
suspended prison sentence and was banned
from Togo for five years. The cultural centre
Mytro Nunya, which he founded, was shut
down. Sébastian Alzerreca left Togo in
August.
Zeus Aziadouvo, a journalist who produced
a documentary on prison conditions in Lomé,
and Luc Abaki, director of private TV station
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La Chaîne du Futur which broadcast the
documentary, were repeatedly summoned for
questioning and asked to reveal their sources,
including at the headquarters of the Research
and Investigation Services and at the High
Authority for Audiovisual and
Communications on 18 and 26 August
respectively.
Local media organizations reported
websites, including social media sites, being
blocked by internet providers in Togo shortly
before and after the publication of the results
of the presidential election.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
On 25 April, the Community Court of Justice
of ECOWAS ruled that Togo subjected Pascal
Bodjona, a Togolese politician and former
member of the government, to arbitrary
detention. It ordered Togo to try Pascal
Bodjona in a court of law and to pay him a
compensation of 18 million CFA franc
(approximately €27,440). Pascal Bodjona was
arrested on 1 September 2012 and charged
with fraud and complicity in fraud. He was
released on bail on 9 April 2013, rearrested
on 21 August 2014 on the same charges and
has been in detention without trial since then.
Seven out of 10 men convicted in
September 2011 of participating in a 2009
coup plot, including Kpatcha Gnassingbé,
half-brother of the President, remained in
detention throughout 2015. In November
2014, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention stated that their detention was
arbitrary and requested their immediate
release.
On 2 November, the National Assembly
adopted a new Criminal Code. While the Code
contains a number of positive human rights
developments, including the criminalization of
torture in line with international standards,
certain provisions undermine freedoms of
expression and assembly. The Code
maintains homophobic provisions
criminalizing sexual relations between
consenting adults of the same sex. It
criminalizes defamation and publishing false
news, with these offences carrying prison
terms. It reverses the requirement for
peaceful assemblies from prior notification to
prior authorization.
1. Togo: Les forces de sécurité ont tiré à bout portant sur des
manifestants non armés à Mango (News
story,
11 December)
2. Togo: One decade of impunity: Five steps to end impunity (AFR
15/1508/2015)
TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Head of state:
Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona
Head of government:
Keith Rowley (replaced Kamla
Persad-Bissessar in September)
Violence and discrimination continued
towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and intersex (LGBTI) people, and women
and girls. Abuse of children was a concern.
Trinidad retained the mandatory death
penalty for murder.
IMPUNITY
The climate of impunity for human rights
violations persisted. Ten years after nearly
500 people died in political violence during
the presidential election of 24 April 2005, the
authorities have taken no steps to identify
those responsible for the deaths. Of the 72
complaints filed by the victims’ families with
the Atakpamé, Amlamé and Lomé courts,
none are known to have been fully
investigated.
2
BACKGROUND
General elections took place in September
resulting in a new administration. Violent
crimes remained a key concern with 329
murders reported by the police between
January and September 2015, a similar rate
to the same period in 2014.
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EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Serious concerns remained about excessive
use of force by the police. The Police
Complaints Authority lacked staff and
sufficient powers to effectively investigate all
alleged misconduct by police officers.
orientation” be included as a protected
ground in the Equal Opportunities Act.
A transgender woman ran as an
independent candidate in the elections – the
first known transgender candidate to run for
public office.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
High levels of sexual and other physical
abuse of children remained a serious
concern. A new Children’s Act came into
force in May, increasing penalties for abuse of
children and raising the age of consent for
sexual relations to 18. A Children’s Authority
was established and received 1,500 reports of
child abuse within its first three months.
Despite progress in this area, civil society
groups reported that insufficient action had
been taken by the authorities to prevent child
abuse and cases were still poorly investigated
and handled.
Activists raised concern that the Children’s
Act decriminalized sex between children of
the opposite sex (unless exploitative), yet
criminalized consensual same-sex sexual
activity for those aged under 21 with a
potential penalty of life imprisonment, in
contravention of the rights of the child.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
High levels of gender-based violence,
including domestic violence, continued.
DEATH PENALTY
Mandatory death sentences continued to be
imposed for murder. The Judicial Committee
of the Privy Council substituted a conviction
for murder with one for manslaughter in the
case of a man with a mental disability, and
reduced his death sentence to a term of
imprisonment.
TUNISIA
Republic of Tunisia
Head of state:
Beji Caid Essebsi
Head of government:
Habib Essid (replaced Mehdi
Jomaa in January)
The authorities tightened restrictions on
freedoms of expression and assembly,
including by banning demonstrations in
some instances. There were new reports of
torture and other ill-treatment. Women,
girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and intersex (LGBTI) people faced
discrimination in law and in practice. Courts
continued to pass death sentences; there
were no executions.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex sexual activity
remained a crime. Local civil society groups
continued to receive reports of violence and
discrimination towards LGBTI people. Some
LGBTI people did not report these crimes or
seek access to justice, for fear of further
victimization from law enforcement officials or
exposure of their sexual orientation or gender
identity. Some youths reported being pushed
out of their homes or experiencing domestic
violence due to discrimination based on their
sexual orientation or gender identity. Social
services and shelters were not equipped to
respond to the needs of homeless LGBTI
people, according to local NGOs.
Parliament failed to act on a 2014
recommendation from the Equal
Opportunities Commission that “sexual
BACKGROUND
Militants apparently affiliated to armed
Islamist groups carried out gun attacks at the
Bardo Museum in the capital Tunis in March
and at a Sousse beach resort in June, killing
61 people, mostly foreign tourists, and
injuring many more. In November, an attack
in central Tunis on a Presidential Guard bus
killed 12 people. Clashes between the
security forces and armed militants occurred
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along Tunisia’s borders with Algeria
and Libya.
The government declared a nationwide
state of emergency in early July, following the
Sousse attack, renewing it at the end of July
and lifting it in early October. On 24
November, following the second Tunis attack,
the authorities again declared a state of
emergency that remained in force at the end
of the year, imposed a curfew in Greater
Tunis until 12 December, and closed
Tunisia’s border with Libya for two weeks.
The Truth and Dignity Commission, created
to address political, social and economic
crimes and investigate human rights
violations committed since 1 July 1955,
began hearing testimonies in May; in
December it said it had received more than
22,600 cases and extended the deadline for
the submission of cases by six months.
However, its work was overshadowed by the
resignations of some of its members,
allegations of corruption against its head, and
media criticism. In July, President Essebsi
announced a new draft law on special
provisions for reconciliation in the economic
and financial sectors. This would offer an
amnesty and immunity from further
prosecution to officials and business
executives accused of corruption and
embezzlement under the former
administration of President Ben Ali, if they
returned the stolen funds. If enacted, the
draft law would hamper future investigations
by the Truth and Dignity Commission. The
proposal sparked protests across the country
by the Manich Msamah (“I will not forgive”)
movement, several of which the security
forces dispersed using excessive force. The
draft law was awaiting enactment at the end
of the year.
In May, a new law was passed to create a
Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to oversee
the judicial system and increase its
independence from the executive. Although
an improvement, the law contained serious
flaws relating to the composition of the SJC.
In June, the temporary constitutional court
ruled the new law unconstitutional and in
December ruled a revised version of the law
unconstitutional as well.
In October, the Tunisian National Dialogue
Quartet, a coalition of trade union, human
rights and other civil society groups formed in
2013 to promote peace, democracy and
human rights in Tunisia’s transition, was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The government proposed a new law on
Repression of Attacks against Armed Forces
in March, following the Bardo Museum
killings and attacks on the security forces by
armed groups. If enacted, it would put
journalists, human rights defenders and
others who criticize the security forces and
army at risk of criminal prosecution and
would give security forces excessive powers to
use lethal force. The draft law had not been
enacted by the end of the year.
Parliament adopted a new counter-
terrorism law in July, following the Sousse
killings and what the authorities said was a
foiled terrorist attack in Gafsa. The new law,
which replaced a 2003 law used by the Ben
Ali government to repress political opposition,
further eroded basic rights. It defined
terrorism in vague and broad terms, gave
security forces wide monitoring and
surveillance powers, and extended the period
during which security forces can hold
terrorism suspects incommunicado for
interrogation from six to 15 days, increasing
the risk of torture and other ill-treatment. It
also imposed the death penalty for rape and
for terrorist acts resulting in death, weakened
fair trial guarantees by allowing courts to
conduct closed trials and withhold the identity
of witnesses, and criminalized expression
deemed to be “praising terrorism”. By
December, the government said the courts
had handed down 28 sentences in trials on
terrorism charges, including one in which
three defendants received death sentences.
In July, the authorities said they had
arrested over 1,000 terrorism suspects since
the Bardo Museum attack in March and
banned 15,000 other suspects from leaving
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Tunisia. The government also announced its
intention to construct a security wall along
Tunisia’s border with Libya. Following the
November attack in Tunis, the authorities
carried out thousands of raids, hundreds of
arrests and placed at least 138 people under
house arrest, amid reports of security officials’
harassment of families of terrorist suspects.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
There were new reports of torture and other
ill-treatment of detainees, mostly during
interrogation in the first days after arrest.
Five men arrested as terrorist suspects on
27 July alleged that interrogators beat and
tortured them by waterboarding. They filed
formal complaints after they were released on
4 August. Counter-terrorism police rearrested
them the same day and returned them to
their previous place of detention. On
5 August, they were taken for forensic
medical examinations. They were
provisionally released on 10 August. A special
parliamentary committee was appointed to
investigate their torture allegations but no
findings had been made public by the end of
the year.
Thousands of torture cases dating from the
Ben Ali administration were registered with
the Truth and Dignity Commission. While in
most cases those bringing the allegations
were men, a number of women spoke of
being beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted
in detention. It remained unclear how the
Commission would refer cases to prosecution
and whether such referrals would be to
specialized chambers or to the Public
Prosecutor.
The National Body for the Prevention of
Torture, created under a 2013 law, remained
inoperative as its members had still to be
appointed.
criminalizing defamation of public figures.
The state of emergency in force from 4 July
to 2 October gave the government powers to
suspend all strikes and demonstrations, ban
and disperse all gatherings deemed to
threaten public order, and control and censor
print, broadcast and other media and
publications. In some instances, security
forces used excessive force to disperse and
detain peaceful protesters who defied the
ban. On 8 September, the Minister of the
Interior declared that even peaceful protests
were contrary to the emergency law and
banned a demonstration planned for
12 September.
Police arrested teacher Abdelfattah Said in
July after he posted a video on the Facebook
website accusing security officials of being
behind the attack that killed 38 people in
Sousse. He was charged with complicity in
terrorism under the 2003 anti-terrorism law.
He was also charged with defaming a public
servant and broadcasting false news under
Articles 128 and 306 of the Penal Code for
posting a caricature of Prime Minister Essid.
In November, the terrorism charges were
dropped and he was fined and sentenced to a
one-year prison term on the false news
charge; he was cleared of defamation.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
The authorities curtailed freedom of
expression using laws enacted during the Ben
Ali administration, including the 2003 anti-
terrorism law and Penal Code articles
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice, and
were inadequately protected against sexual
and other violence. Survivors of sexual and
gender-based violence continued to suffer
from a lack of proper access to health and
support services and to judicial remedies.
Penal Code articles criminalized sexual
violence as an assault on personal decency
rather than a violation of the victim’s bodily
integrity. The Penal Code also allowed men
accused of raping a girl or woman aged
between 15 and 20 to escape prosecution by
marrying their victim.
A comprehensive draft law to combat
violence against women, which contained
provisions increasing protection to survivors of
sexual and gender-based violence and which
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had been leaked in December 2014,
remained under consideration at the end of
the year. In August, the Council of Ministers
approved a draft law which would remove
existing discrimination between men and
women in giving to or withdrawing from their
children travel documents and authorization
to travel. The law was approved by Parliament
in November.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people faced discrimination in law and
in practice, and were inadequately protected
against violence based on their sexual
orientation or gender identity. Article 230 of
the Penal Code criminalized consensual
same-sex sexual relations, punishing
“sodomy and lesbianism” with up to three
years’ imprisonment. Transgender individuals
were at particular risk of arrest and
prosecution on the charge of offending public
morals. The authorities failed to conduct
meaningful investigations into homophobic
and transphobic crimes.
A lesbian woman sought asylum abroad
after she was subjected to four separate
assaults during the year by men who attacked
her on the street, beating her with their hands
and feet and with broken bottles and on one
occasion cutting her neck with a knife. She
had been subjected to at least eight
homophobic assaults over a period of nine
years. She reported the latest assaults to
police but they failed to identify and arrest her
attackers and warned her that, as a lesbian
woman, she could face prosecution and
imprisonment.
A male student was sentenced to one year
in prison in September for engaging in
“sodomy”. At the court’s request, he was
subjected to an anal examination, in violation
of the prohibition of torture and other ill-
treatment. The examination was conducted
by the forensics department in Farhat
Hached Hospital in Sousse, supposedly to
establish “proof” of anal sex. The student had
initially been questioned by the police about
his relationship to a murdered man. He said
he admitted that he had had sex with the
man after police officers slapped him and
threatened to rape him and press murder
charges if he did not “confess”. He was
released on bail in November and his
sentence was reduced to two months on
appeal in December, which he had already
served.
In December, six students received
maximum three-year prison terms after a
court in Kairouan convicted them on charges
of “sodomy”. The six, who were subjected to
anal examinations after their arrest, were also
sentenced to be banished from Kairouan for
five years after they complete their prison
sentences.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The authorities generally allowed Libyan
nationals fleeing armed conflict in Libya to
enter Tunisia. Other foreign nationals,
including refugees and migrants, were only
allowed entry if they possessed valid entry
documents, and were required to depart from
Tunisia after a short transit stay.
The navy and coastguard rescued
hundreds of refugees, asylum-seekers and
migrants from boats in distress in the
Mediterranean, including many that had
departed from Zuwara in Libya. The
authorities took most of those they rescued to
the southern governorate of Medenine where
they were housed in temporary shelters.
There, some returned to their home countries
while others remained in a situation of
uncertainty.
Although signatory to the UN Refugee
Convention and its Protocol, Tunisia did not
have a comprehensive asylum law, which
contributed to the vulnerability of refugees,
asylum-seekers and migrants.
In August, the authorities arrested 10
Sudanese, Nigerian, Kenyan and Liberian
nationals who mounted a protest in Tunis
asking for resettlement, took them to the
Ouardia refugee detention centre and sought
to force them to cross the border from Tunisia
to Algeria, before eventually allowing them
back into Tunisia and eventually releasing
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them. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, had
rejected the refugee applications of the 10
individuals in 2012 but they had remained in
the Choucha camp established by UNHCR,
despite its official closure in 2013. The
individuals had all worked in Libya prior to the
conflict there.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
murder and other crimes; the new anti-
terrorism law provided for the death penalty
for some offences. Courts handed down 11
death sentences; no executions have been
carried out since 1991.
TURKEY
Republic of Turkey
Head of state:
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Head of government:
Ahmet Davutoğlu
The human rights situation deteriorated
markedly following parliamentary elections
in June and the outbreak of violence
between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
and the Turkish armed forces in July. The
media faced unprecedented pressure from
the government; free expression online and
offline suffered significantly. The right to
freedom of peaceful assembly continued to
be violated. Cases of excessive use of force
by police and ill-treatment in detention
increased. Impunity for human rights
abuses persisted. The independence of the
judiciary was further eroded. Separate
suicide bombings attributed to the armed
group Islamic State (IS) targeting left-wing
and pro-Kurdish activists and demonstrators
killed 139 people. An estimated 2.5 million
refugees and asylum-seekers were
accommodated in Turkey but individuals
increasingly faced arbitrary detention and
deportation as the government negotiated a
migration deal with the EU.
BACKGROUND
Politically motivated appointments and
transfers of judges and prosecutors continued
throughout the year, wreaking havoc on a
judiciary already lacking independence and
impartiality. Criminal Courts of Peace – with
jurisdiction over the conduct of criminal
investigations, such as pre-charge detention
and pre-trial detention decisions, seizure of
property and appeals against these decisions
– came under increasing government control.
In April, commemorations were held to
mark the 100
th
anniversary of the 1915
massacres of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
with peaceful demonstrations across the
country. No progress was made towards fully
recognizing the crimes committed.
At the general election in June, the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party), in
power since 2002, failed to secure an overall
parliamentary majority. It regained its majority
after a rerun of the elections in November,
securing nearly 50% of the vote.
A fragile peace process in place since 2013
between the PKK and the state disintegrated
in July. State forces launched attacks on PKK
bases in Turkey and northern Iraq, while the
PKK launched deadly attacks on police and
army targets. Armed clashes between the
youth wing of the PKK (YDG-H) and the
police and army in urban centres took a
particularly heavy toll on the lives of ordinary
residents. The mass deployment of security
forces to the southeastern provinces in mid-
December resulted in an intensification of
clashes and, according to local lawyers and
activists, the killings of scores of unarmed
residents. The Minister of the Interior stated
that over 3,000 “terrorists” had been killed
since the end of the ceasefire.
Following deadly PKK attacks in
September, nationalist mob attacks swept
Turkey, mainly targeting Kurds and their
property as well as offices of the Kurdish-
rooted, left-wing Peoples’ Democratic Party
(HDP). The Ministry of the Interior reported
on the deaths of two members of the public,
injuries to 51, and damage to 69 political
party buildings and 30 homes and
businesses. The HDP reported that over 400
attacks had taken place, including 126
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attacks on their offices.
Mass prosecutions under vague and broad
anti-terrorism laws continued. In March, all
236 military officers accused of the
“Sledgehammer” coup plot to overthrow the
AK Party government were acquitted after a
retrial. Proceedings continued on appeal in
the “Ergenekon” case of civilians accused of
plotting to overthrow the government.
Prosecutions targeting Kurdish political
activists for alleged membership of the PKK-
linked Kurdistan Communities Union
remained pending, following the 2014
abolition of the anti-terrorism and organized
crime courts with special powers. Waves of
detentions took place after the eruption of
violence between the PKK and state forces in
July. By late August it was estimated that
more than 2,000 people had been detained
for alleged links to the PKK, while over 260
were remanded in pre-trial detention.
Prosecutions were commenced of individuals
accused of membership of the “Fethullah
Gülen Terrorist Organization”, including US-
based cleric and former AK Party ally
Fethullah Gülen.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Respect for freedom of expression
deteriorated. Countless unfair criminal
prosecutions, including under criminal
defamation and anti-terrorism laws, targeted
political activists, journalists and others
critical of public officials or government
policy. Ordinary citizens were frequently
brought before the courts for social media
posts.
The government exerted immense pressure
on the media, targeting media companies and
digital distribution networks, and singling out
critical journalists, who were then threatened
and physically attacked by often unidentified
assailants. Mainstream journalists were fired
after criticizing the government. News
websites, including large swathes of the
Kurdish press, were blocked on unclear
grounds by administrative orders aided by a
compliant judiciary. Journalists were harassed
and assaulted by police while covering stories
in the predominantly Kurdish southeast.
In March,
Taraf
newspaper journalist
Mehmet Baransu was remanded in pre-trial
detention, charged with obtaining secret state
documents which he wrote about in 2010
and then passed to prosecutors, forming the
basis of the “Sledgehammer” coup plot
prosecution. He remained in pre-trial
detention at the end of the year.
In the six months to March, the Minister of
Justice gave permission for 105 criminal
prosecutions for insulting President Erdoğan
under Article 299 of the Penal Code. Eight
people were remanded in pre-trial detention.
Prosecutions under the provision, which
carries a sentence of up to four years’
imprisonment, continued throughout the year.
In September, a 17-year-old student was
convicted of “insult” for calling the President
“the thieving owner of the illegal palace”. He
received a suspended sentence of 11 months
and 20 days by a children’s court in the
central Anatolian city of Konya.
In November, the first hearing took place in
the trial of
Cumhuriyet
newspaper journalist
Canan Coşkun, accused of insulting 10 state
prosecutors when she alleged they obtained
discounted property because of their status
as prosecutors. She faced up to 23 years and
four months in prison. In November, the
newspaper’s editor-in-chief Can Dündar and
its Ankara representative, Erdem Gül, were
charged with espionage, revealing state
secrets and assisting a terrorist organization
after a story in the newspaper alleged that the
intelligence services had transferred weapons
to an armed group in Syria in 2014. The then
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had
previously claimed that the trucks were
delivering humanitarian aid. The two men
were remanded in pre-trial detention and
remained there at the end of the year. They
faced up to life imprisonment if convicted.
Diyarbakır-based Dutch journalist Frederike
Geerdink was acquitted of “making
propaganda for the PKK” in April, but
detained and deported after covering a story
in the southeastern province of Yüksekova in
September. In August, three Vice News
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journalists were questioned by police after
covering clashes between the PKK and
security forces, then charged with “assisting a
terrorist organization” and remanded in pre-
trial detention. British citizens Jake Hanrahan
and Philip Pendlebury were released and
deported after eight days; Mohammed
Rasool, an Iraqi Kurdish journalist, remained
in pre-trial detention at the end of the year.
Unprecedented steps were taken to silence
media linked to investigations of the
“Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization”. In
October, Digiturk, a private digital platform,
removed seven channels from its service.
Four days ahead of the 1 November election,
police accompanied a court-appointed
government trustee and forcibly entered the
head offices of the Koza İpek conglomerate,
cutting live broadcasts by two news channels,
Bugün and Kanaltürk, and blocking the
printing of the
Millet
and
Bugün
newspapers.
The fiercely opposition news outlets were re-
opened as staunchly pro-government. In
November, the state-owned Turkish Satellite
Communications Company (Türksat) removed
13 television and radio channels owned by
the Samanyolu Broadcasting Group. Hidayet
Karaca, the head of the group, remained in
pre-trial detention during the entire year.
In November, the head of the Diyarbakır
Bar Association and renowned human rights
defender Tahir Elçi was shot dead after
making a press statement in Diyarbakır. The
perpetrator remained unidentified by the end
of the year amid concerns over the
impartiality and effectiveness of the
investigation. He had faced death threats
after being charged the previous month with
“making propaganda for a terrorist
organization”, for saying on live national
television that the PKK was “not a terrorist
organization but an armed political movement
with considerable support”. He faced over
seven years’ imprisonment. The news
channel CNN Türk was also fined 700,000
liras (€230,000) for broadcasting the
remarks.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The right to peaceful assembly continued to
be limited in law and denied in practice,
depending on the issue being protested and
participants’ profiles. The practice of arbitrary
detentions at assemblies was given legal basis
by legislative amendments in March in the
Domestic Security Package, providing police
with powers to detain without judicial
supervision. Peaceful demonstrators
continued to be prosecuted and convicted.
Traditional May Day demonstrations in
Taksim Square in Istanbul were denied
permission to proceed for the third year
running. The same grounds of an unspecified
security threat and disruption to traffic and
tourism were offered by the authorities, who
instead proposed locations outside of the city
centre. Tens of thousands of police closed off
the entire Taksim district and surrounding
areas to demonstrators, traffic and tourists
alike.
For the first time in its 12-year history, the
authorities violently broke up the annual
national Pride march in Istanbul in June,
citing a lack of formal notification and
information about counter-demonstrators.
Discussions between representatives of the
Pride and the authorities leading up to the
event offered no indication that it would be
banned. Police used excessive force
including tear gas, water cannon and pepper-
ball projectiles against marchers during the
day and Pride partygoers in the evening. In
November, the Governor of Istanbul denied
permission for a criminal investigation into the
conduct of the police at the Pride march to be
opened.
Prosecutions on trumped-up charges
against Gezi Park protesters continued. In
April, an Istanbul court acquitted members of
Taksim Solidarity, an umbrella organization
opposing the redevelopment of Taksim
Square and Gezi Park, including five who had
been accused of “founding a criminal
organization”. Most trials ended in acquittal
but 244 were convicted at a trial of 255
people in Istanbul, on various charges
including under the Law on Meetings and
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Demonstrations. Two doctors were convicted
of “denigrating a place of worship” after
giving emergency treatment to injured
demonstrators in a mosque. A further case
against 94 people for participating in Gezi
Park protests in Izmir was opened in
September.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Allegations of excessive use of force at
demonstrations dramatically increased. Lethal
force was used by security forces during anti-
terrorism operations, many involving armed
clashes with the YDG-H. In many cases,
conflicting accounts and the absence of
effective investigations prevented the facts
from being established. In March, legislative
amendments in the Domestic Security
Package conflicted with international
standards on the use of force.
In January, 12-year-old Nihat Kazanhan
was shot dead by a police officer in the
southeastern city of Cizre. The authorities first
denied the involvement of police, but video
evidence emerged showing Nihat Kazanhan
and other children throwing stones at police
officers and, in separate footage, showing a
police officer firing a rifle towards the
children. Nihat Kazanhan was killed by a
single bullet to the head. The trial of five
police officers continued.
Local authorities imposed extended round-
the-clock curfews during police operations
targeting the YDG-H in cities in the southeast.
During the curfews, a total ban on residents
leaving their homes was imposed, water,
electricity and communications were cut and
outside observers banned from entering.
Curfews imposed on Sur on 11 December, as
well as Cizre and Silopi on 14 December,
were still in place at the end of the year.
Ceylanpınar said they had been severely
beaten in police custody in July and August,
first when they were being transferred to
Osmaniye No. 1 T-type prison in Adana
province and then at the prison itself. They
remained in pre-trial detention at the end of
the year.
Images circulated on the internet,
apparently taken by special operations police
officers, appearing to show the naked and
disfigured body of female PKK member
Kevser Eltürk (Ekin Wan) being paraded in
the streets of Varto in the eastern province of
Muş, after clashes with state forces in August.
Another photograph showed the body of Hacı
Lokman Birlik being dragged behind an
armoured police vehicle in the southeastern
province of Şırnak in October. The reported
autopsy indicated that the man had been shot
28 times. The authorities said that
investigations into both incidents were
continuing.
IMPUNITY
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reported cases of ill-treatment in detention
and other inhuman or degrading treatment in
the context of police or military operations
against the PKK increased.
Four men accused of murdering two
policemen in the southeastern city of
Impunity persisted for human rights abuses
committed by public officials. Investigations
were hampered by police withholding crucial
evidence, such as lists of officers on duty and
CCTV footage, and the passivity of
prosecutors faced with this obstructiveness.
Without a long-promised Independent Police
Complaints Commission, there was little
prospect of improvement. Where they took
place, prosecutions were often flawed.
There was a resounding failure to secure
accountability for police abuses during the
2013 Gezi Park protests. In January, police
officers and civilians were convicted for their
part in the beating to death of protester Ali
Ismail Korkmaz in the city of Eskişehir. In
June, an Istanbul court convicted a police
officer who used pepper spray on a peaceful
demonstrator, known as “the woman in red”.
A trial of a police officer for the killing of
Abdullah Cömert and a retrial for the killing of
Ethem Sarısülük, both protesters, continued.
No prosecution was brought for the killing
of 14-year-old Berkin Elvan or in hundreds of
other cases where people were injured by
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police. These included the case of Hakan
Yaman, who was filmed being beaten, burned
and left for dead by police officers in Istanbul.
He lost an eye but survived the attack. Two
and a half years on, the police officers in the
video had not been identified.
Two prosecutions were brought following
Kobani protests in southeastern Turkey in
October 2014, which left over 40 people
dead. One, in March, was against allegedly
pro-PKK youths, for the killing of four people
in Diyarbakır. The other, in June, was against
10 private security guards and family
members of the AK Party mayor for the fatal
shooting of three protesters in Kurtalan, Siirt
province. However, investigations in many
other cases had not progressed, including in
cases of individuals who were believed to
have been shot dead by police officers using
excessive force during police operations in
the southeast. The lack of ballistic reports,
crime scene investigations and the taking of
witness statements by prosecutors offered
little hope that the circumstances of the
deaths would be revealed.
In November, all eight defendants,
including former district Gendarmerie
commander Cemal Temizöz, were acquitted
in the landmark case brought for the
disappearances and killings of 21 people in
Cizre between 1993 and 1995, following a
deeply flawed trial.
hostage by the armed group Revolutionary
People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
The two hostage-takers were killed in a police
operation at the courthouse.
PKK attacks resulted in the deaths of
civilians, including physician Abdullah Biroğul
when his car was shot at in the southeastern
province of Diyarbakır.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Three suicide bomb attacks blamed on IS
caused major casualties. In June, four people
were killed when explosions targeted an HDP
rally days before the June elections. In July, a
bomb killed 33 young activists in the
southeastern city of Suruç as they made a
press statement about their mission to deliver
humanitarian aid to the neighbouring,
predominantly Kurdish city of Kobani in Syria.
In October, twin explosions in the capital
Ankara targeting a peace rally organized by
trade unions, civil society organizations and
left-wing parties killed 102 people.
In March, Istanbul Prosecutor Mehmet
Selim Kiraz was killed after being taken
Around 2.3 million registered Syrian refugees
and 250,000 refugees and asylum-seekers
from other countries including Afghanistan
and Iraq were accommodated in Turkey.
Some 260,000 Syrian refugees were
accommodated in well-resourced,
government-run camps, but most refugees
and asylum-seekers outside camps received
little or no assistance and were not granted
the right to work. In many cases they
struggled to survive, getting by through
exploitative and underpaid irregular work and
the charity of neighbours. Asylum
applications for non-Syrians were rarely
processed in practice. The government
signed an agreement with the EU in October,
aimed at preventing irregular migration from
Turkey to the EU.
In September, at least 200 refugees –
mostly Syrian – attempting to travel irregularly
to Greece were kept in incommunicado or
even secret detention at various locations in
Turkey. Many were pressured into agreeing to
“voluntarily” return to Syria and Iraq, in a
flagrant breach of international law.
TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan
Head of state and government:
Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov
No improvement in the human rights
situation was visible in 2015, and the
country remained closed to independent
human rights monitors. In January, the
government announced plans to introduce a
human rights Ombudsman. It remained
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impossible for independent civil society
organizations to operate freely. Freedoms of
expression and association were heavily
restricted, and many people faced limits on
their freedom of movement. Forced
evictions were reported. Sex between men
remained a criminal offence.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Although the principles of media
independence and prohibition of state
interference in media activities were
enshrined in law in 2013, in practice the
media remained subject to extensive state
censorship and no independent newspapers
or other media outlets were able to operate.
The authorities continued to use harassment,
intimidation and, in at least one case,
imprisonment to attempt to silence
journalists. Freelance journalist Saparmamed
Nepeskuliev, who had reported on corruption
for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
and the Alternative Turkmenistan News
service, was detained on 7 July and held
incommunicado for over a month. Although
unofficial sources told his family he was
sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on
drug-related offences on 31 August, it was
widely believed he was targeted for his
1
journalism work. Correspondents for RFE/RL
continued to be denied accreditation; they
were frequently harassed, intimidated and
even threatened with imprisonment.
Access to foreign media and other
information sources outside the country was
further restricted. During the first half of the
year, residents in the capital, Ashgabat, and
in other towns and cities were forced by local
housing authorities as part of an official
campaign to remove and destroy privately
installed satellite dishes, blocking their access
to foreign media outlets. Access to the
internet was monitored and restricted, with
social networking sites frequently blocked.
People who attempted to protest against
forced evictions near Ashgabat were
intimidated, threatened and, in some cases,
detained.
Religious practices were tightly controlled,
particularly those of religious minorities such
as the Armenian Apostolic Christians,
Catholics, Protestants and Jehovah’s
Witnesses. Under the Code of Administrative
Offences, religious groups must register with
the state, and if refused registration they must
publicize that they are banned. Forum 18, a
Norwegian human rights organization that
monitors freedom of religion, thought,
conscience and belief, reported that a
Jehovah’s Witness had been convicted of
“inciting religious hatred” and sentenced to
four years in prison. He was arrested during a
meeting for worship that he had organized in
his home.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Ongoing reports indicated that people were
still being tortured or otherwise ill-treated by
members of law enforcement agencies to
extract “confessions” and incriminate others.
Activist Mansur Mingelov remained in prison,
following his conviction in an unfair trial for
drug offences. He had publicized information
that members of the Baloch ethnic
community were tortured and ill-treated in
Mary province in 2012.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
The whereabouts of prisoners who were
subjected to enforced disappearance after an
alleged assassination attempt against then
President Saparmurat Niyazov in 2002
remained unknown. The authorities did not
respond to a request made in June during the
EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue to
provide relevant information. For 13 years,
the families of those detained have not
received any information about their
whereabouts or wellbeing.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
The requirement for citizens to obtain “exit
visas” to leave the country was abolished in
2006, but arbitrary restrictions on the right to
travel abroad still remained in practice. In
numerous cases, individuals discovered they
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were subject to a travel ban at the point when
they tried to leave the country. In July, the
daughter of exiled parliamentarian Pirimkuli
Tanrykuliev was prevented from travelling to
Turkey with her two children; passport control
officials stamped their passports with a
statement saying they were banned from
leaving the country.
After numerous attempts over several
years, former prisoner Geldy Kyarizov was
allowed to travel to Russia for specialist
medical treatment and to join his wife, as
were other members of his family. Since his
release from prison in 2007, Geldy Kyarizov
had been repeatedly prevented from doing
so. Members of his family accompanying him
on these occasions were subject to
intimidation and physical violence, including
a suspicious car accident in August – similar
to a previous incident involving his daughter
in early 2014 – which authorities refused to
investigate.
compensation, alternative accommodation
or land.
3
1. Turkmenistan: Freelance journalist’s whereabouts unknown:
Saparmamed Nepeskuliev (EUR
61/2229/2015)
2. Turkmenistan: Hundreds of families facing forced evictions
(EUR
61/1521/2015)
3. Deprived of homes, deprived of rights: Uncovering evidence of mass
forced evictions and house demolitions in Turkmenistan (EUR
61/2693/2015)
UGANDA
Republic of Uganda
Head of state and government:
Yoweri Kaguta
Museveni
Police brutality and restrictions of the right
to freedom of peaceful assembly increased.
Attacks against activists, journalists and
other media workers continued with
impunity. Opposition politicians seeking to
participate in the national elections
scheduled for early 2016 were arrested and
detained, along with their supporters.
HOUSING RIGHTS – FORCED EVICTIONS
Thousands of people lost their homes in
forced evictions and demolitions in and
around Ashgabat. Houses were demolished,
reportedly to make way for building works
linked to the forthcoming 5th Asian Indoor
and Martial Arts Games, due to take place in
2017, and as part of wider city redevelopment
programmes.
2
Estimates indicated that around 50,000
people were forcibly evicted in the worst
affected area, Choganly neighbourhood, north
of Ashgabat. Analysis of high-resolution
satellite imagery confirmed that nearly half of
the 10,000 houses and other residential
structures in Choganly had been demolished
by 28 April; later reports indicated that by
September the entire neighbourhood had
been demolished. Residents were neither
consulted about alternatives to eviction nor
provided with different or temporary
accommodation. The government claimed
that because some houses in Choganly were
intended as holiday homes (dachas) and
other houses were built illegally, their owners
or occupiers were not entitled to
BACKGROUND
The year was dominated politically by
preparations for the national elections,
scheduled for early 2016. High-level splits
within the ruling National Resistance
Movement (NRM) resulted in former Prime
Minister Amama Mbabazi announcing his
intention to run for presidential office as an
independent candidate. Police brutality,
arbitrary arrests, torture and the unlawful
disruption of numerous public assemblies all
subsequently increased. Opposition political
parties and their supporters were harassed,
arrested and detained.
Discrimination, harassment and violence
against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and intersex (LGBTI) people continued with
impunity. The authorities’ hostility towards
civil society organizations and human rights
defenders continued. Parliamentary debates
took place around the new Non-
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Governmental Organizations Bill, which was
passed by Parliament in November.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
The government oversaw the recruitment and
training of many thousands of “Crime
Preventers”, a militarized network of
community policing volunteers, believed to be
linked to serious human rights violations
across the country.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
On 16 July, Vincent Kaggwa, a 25-year-old
spokesperson of the NRM “Poor Youth” was
arrested at his home in Wandegeya, Kampala,
by security officers. He was detained for four
days, during which he was tortured and
questioned about his political support for
former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi.
On 14 September, Amama Mbabazi’s head
of security, Christopher Aine, was arrested in
Kampala. He was blindfolded, driven to an
unidentified “safe house”, and tortured before
being released on 17 September. Iron bars
and canes were used to beat him on several
parts of his body.
Reports indicated at least 10 separate
cases of assault, possible torture and unlawful
arrest by “Crime Preventers” from September
2014 to August 2015.
and unprofessional trends such as lack of
balance, sensationalism, incitement, abusive
language and relying on unauthorized and
unreliable sources of information”. Many
media observers saw this directive as an
attack on freedom of expression in the run-up
to the 2016 elections.
On 14 October, journalist Alfred Ochwo was
arrested and subsequently assaulted by
police officers after reporting on the arrest of
Kyadondo East MP Ssemujju Ibrahim
Nganda.
In July, disclosures by WikiLeaks revealed
commercial discussions between the Office of
the President and surveillance firm Hacking
Team. In October, Privacy International
reported on the sale and use of the intrusion
malware software to the Ugandan military to
target real or perceived political opponents.
Privacy International also reported on the
installation of FinFisher “access points” in
Parliament, key government institutions and
major hotels. The government denied these
claims.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists and other media workers
continued to face attacks from the police as
well as harassment and intimidation in the
course of their work, particularly in rural
areas.
On 12 January, cameraman Andrew
Lwanga was assaulted by police while filming
a gathering of youth activists, the Jobless
Brotherhood. He sustained severe injuries,
requiring hospital admission. A criminal trial
against the alleged perpetrator was ongoing.
On 23 January, radio journalists Gerald
Kankya and Simon Amanyire were attacked
by a mob in Fort Portal, Western Region.
On 8 July, the Uganda Communications
Commission issued a document to all
broadcasters, cautioning against “negative
Throughout the year, numerous public
assemblies organized by opposition political
parties were disrupted or prevented from
taking place by the Uganda Police Force. The
Public Order Management Act 2013 was
routinely used as the justification, with
organizers often being placed under
“preventive arrest”.
On 9 July, Amama Mbabazi and former
President of the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC) Kizza Besigye were separately
arrested and prevented from participating in
planned political events. Both were placed
under “preventive arrest”. Over the course of
the following days, 14 youth activists were
arrested and detained, including seven
arrested at the conclusion of a peaceful press
conference.
On 9 September, the police were deployed
in Soroti, Eastern Region, in large numbers,
ahead of a public gathering organized by
Amama Mbabazi. Eyewitnesses and others
reported that police used tear gas and rubber
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bullets against participants.
On 10 September, Amama Mbabazi was
forced to abandon a consultative meeting
planned in Jinja, Eastern Region, after police
used excessive force to block his route and
escorted him back to Kampala. Prior to his
planned arrival, police used rubber bullets
and tear gas to disperse several hundred of
his supporters. Tear gas canisters were fired
into a primary school yard.
On 10 October, Kizza Besigye attempted to
travel with a convoy of his political team to
Rukungiri. The Uganda Police Force
prevented the planned public assembly from
taking place. Kizza Besigye, along with
members of his entourage, was arrested and
detained. On the same day, FDC activist
Fatuma Zainab was arrested and undressed
by three police officers, prompting national
outrage. On 15 October, Kizza Besigye was
again arrested and placed under preventive
arrest.
programmes.
On 17 October, the offices of Soroti
Development Association and NGOs Network
were broken into.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In May, Ugandan singer Jemimah Kansiime
was arrested and jailed after releasing a
music video that reportedly violated provisions
of the Anti-Pornography Act 2014. A
Constitutional Court challenge against the law
remained pending.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
On 27 November, Parliament passed the
Non-Governmental Organizations Act 2015.
The new law, not yet assented to by President
Museveni, imposes criminal and civil
penalties on organizations for engaging in
activities that are “prejudicial to the interests
of Uganda or the dignity of the people of
Uganda”. The law fails to conform to regional
and international human rights standards,
including the right to freedom of association
guaranteed under the Constitution.
Throughout the year, the offices of several
human rights NGOs were broken into or
otherwise targeted. On 30 June, the offices of
Human Rights Network for Journalists-
Uganda were broken into. The organization
lost several computers, laptops and
documents. On 17 July, the offices of Uganda
Land Alliance were broken into, on the
outskirts of Kampala. A security guard was
killed in the course of the attack.
In July, the Uganda Registration Services
Bureau began investigations into the Great
Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies for
allegedly “de-campaigning” government
Attacks against persons on the basis of their
real or perceived sexual orientation or gender
identity continued throughout the year, with
an increase in reported cases in the latter half
of the year.
A draft of the Prohibition of Promotion of
Unnatural Sexual Practices Bill made
available in 2014 had yet to be debated by
Parliament. The draft law constituted a
continuation of the discriminatory ethos of the
nullified Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) 2014.
The new bill would create criminal sanctions
for “promoting” so-called “unnatural sexual
practices” which included consensual same-
sex conduct between adults. Like the AHA,
the Bill would criminalize advocacy,
education and health care for the LGBTI
community.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
On 6 January, Dominic Ongwen, a senior
commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army
(LRA) was taken into custody by US forces in
the Central African Republic, and
subsequently transferred to the custody of the
ICC. Dominic Ongwen was indicted by the
ICC in 2005 for crimes committed in Gulu,
Northern Region, in 2004. He faced three
counts of crimes against humanity and four
counts of war crimes. On 10 September, the
ICC pre-trial chamber recommended to the
ICC Presidency that Dominic Ongwen’s
confirmation of charges hearing be heard in
Uganda.
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ICC arrest warrants for Joseph Kony, the
LRA leader, and two other LRA commanders
remained in force. The men were still at large
at the end of the year.
On 30 March, Joan Kagezi, head of the
Directorate of Public Prosecutions Anti-
Terrorism and War Crimes Division, was shot
dead by undisclosed gunmen in Kampala.
UKRAINE
Ukraine

Head of state:
Petro Poroshenko
Head of government:
Arseniy Yatsenyuk
The year began with intense fighting in the
east of the country between separatist pro-
Russian and Ukrainian forces and ended
with sporadic fire interrupting a precarious
ceasefire. Impunity prevailed for war crimes
committed by both sides. Little progress was
made in investigating violations and abuses
related to the 2013-2014 pro-European
demonstrations in the capital Kyiv
(“EuroMaydan”) and in bringing perpetrators
to justice. The adoption of a law creating a
State Investigation Bureau was a welcome
step towards creating an effective
mechanism for investigating abuses by law
enforcement officials. Independent and
critical media and activists were unable to
operate freely in the self-styled People’s
Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as well
as in Crimea. In government-controlled
areas, media outlets and individuals
perceived to express pro-Russian or pro-
separatist views faced harassment. In June,
a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and
intersex (LGBTI) Pride march in Kyiv was
marred by violence despite police
protection. In November, amendments to
labour laws were introduced, expressly
prohibiting discrimination against LGBTI
people.
BACKGROUND
In January and February, heavy fighting
resumed in Ukraine’s eastern region of
Donbass, as Russian-backed separatists in
Donetsk and Luhansk sought to advance and
straighten their frontline. Amid heavy military
losses, Ukrainian forces ceded control over
Donetsk airport and the area around the town
of Debaltseve. More evidence emerged of
Russia heavily backing separatist fighters with
manpower and military weaponry, although it
continued to deny direct military involvement.
In February, an internationally mediated
agreement was reached between the
Ukrainian government and the de facto
authorities of the Luhansk and Donetsk
People’s Republics; a fragile ceasefire
ensued. In September, both sides pulled
back heavy weaponry, but mortar and small
gunfire exchanges were still occurring at the
end of the year, resulting in further casualties.
According to UN figures, the death toll
exceeded 9,000 by the end of the year,
including approximately 2,000 civilians. Over
2.5 million people were displaced, including
1.1 million outside Ukraine.
On 8 September, Ukraine referred the
situation in Donbass to the ICC, when it
lodged a declaration accepting the Court’s
jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on
its territory from 20 February 2014. However,
Parliament failed to ratify the Rome Statute.
Right-wing groups, which had received
negligible electoral support following the
EuroMaydan protests in 2014, were
implicated in a series of violent incidents. In
July, armed paramilitaries from the nationalist
organization Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) were
involved in a shoot-out with police in the
Zakarpattya region, resulting in three deaths.
In August, during a protest organized by the
non-parliamentary right-wing Svoboda party
in front of Parliament, four National Guard
officers were killed by a grenade. Several
Svoboda activists were arrested.
Local elections were held in October and
November in government-controlled territory.
However, voting was postponed until later in
the year in the city of Mariupol, and was not
held in several towns and villages across
eastern and southern Ukraine due to security
concerns.
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On 20 September, activists opposed to the
Russian occupation of Crimea established
checkpoints at the land border with Crimea,
halting the overland delivery of food and other
goods from mainland Ukraine. On
20 November, four electric power lines that
provided over 70% of electricity to Crimea
were blown up by unknown individuals,
causing a blackout across the peninsula.
Repair teams dispatched by the Ukrainian
authorities to restore the line were blocked by
anti-occupation activists. On 8 December, the
blockade was lifted but power lines were not
fully operational before the end of the year.
Ukraine’s GDP contracted by over 12%; its
currency lost over half of its value in US dollar
terms, bringing further hardship to a majority
of Ukrainians. Living conditions in the
separatist-controlled areas continued to
deteriorate markedly, with restrictions on the
movement of people and goods tightened
further by the authorities in Kyiv.
in the city of Odessa on 2 May 2014
published two reports during 2015. On both
occasions, the Panel found that the
investigations had “failed to satisfy the
requirements of the European Convention on
Human Rights”.
On 12 November, Parliament adopted a
law creating a State Investigation Bureau,
tasked with the investigation of alleged crimes
committed by law enforcement officials. The
law was pending presidential approval at the
end of the year.
ARMED CONFLICT
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Two years after the EuroMaydan protests,
little tangible progress was made in bringing
to justice law enforcement officials
responsible for the excessive, unnecessary
and illegal use of force. In November, the
Prosecutor General’s Office reported that
investigations into more than 2,000
EuroMaydan-related incidents were ongoing,
with criminal proceedings instigated against
270 individuals. The trial of two former riot
police (Berkut) officers on charges of
manslaughter and abuse of authority began in
connection with the killing of 39 protesters on
20 February 2014. On 7 December, the
Obolon district court in Kyiv sentenced
students Aziz Tagirov and Ramil Islamli to
four years’ imprisonment and four years of
probation respectively for beating, kidnapping
and threatening to kill a protester on
21 January 2014. No other convictions were
handed down for EuroMaydan-related crimes
in 2015.
The International Advisory Panel set up by
the Council of Europe to monitor
investigations into EuroMaydan and violence
During the escalation of fighting in Donbass in
January and February, indiscriminate shelling
of civilian areas continued, with both sides
blaming each other. Both sides committed
war crimes, including torture and other ill-
treatment of prisoners. There were also
confirmed reports of the deliberate killing of
captives by separatist fighters.
On 13 January, 12 passengers in a civilian
bus were killed near the city of Volnovakha by
a Grad rocket attack while waiting to pass
through a checkpoint controlled by Ukrainian
forces.
1
On 22 January, 15 people died when
2
a mortar hit a trolleybus in Donetsk. On
24 January, 29 civilians were killed and over
100 injured by missiles launched by
separatist forces into the densely populated
Vostochny neighbourhood in Mariupol.
Ihor Branovytsky was one of 12 Ukrainian
people defending Donetsk airport and taken
prisoner by the separatist Sparta battalion on
21 January. He was beaten unconscious
during his interrogation and killed with a shot
in the head by the battalion’s commander,
who later admitted in a phone interview to
having killed 15 other captives.
3
Members of Ukrainian forces Andriy
Kolesnyk, Albert Sarukhanyan and Serhiy
Slisarenko were last seen alive in footage
showing them being taken captive in the
village of Krasny Partizan on 22 January.
They all died shortly afterwards from gunshot
wounds, shot at close range.
A former prisoner reported spending
several weeks in captivity in a crowded
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basement cell, in a building near the village of
Velykomykhailivka that was used as a base by
Pravy Sektor paramilitaries. Prior to his
release in early 2015, he and at least 12 men
and one woman had been imprisoned for
varying periods of time in the same cell, and
subjected to daily beatings and other ill-
treatment.
4
Pravy Sektor’s spokesperson
confirmed the practice of imprisonment of
suspected separatists by its members but
denied all allegations of ill-treatment. Another
anonymous source corroborated the
allegations.
The Prosecutor General’s Office reported
that at least three criminal cases were opened
into alleged abuses by members of Pravy
Sektor, including abduction, beatings and
extortion committed between August 2014
and May 2015, as well as the ill-treatment
and disappearance of one man in November
2014, allegedly involving volunteer
paramilitaries and members of the Security
Service of Ukraine. All three investigations
were ongoing at the end of the year.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Ruslan Kotsaba, a freelance journalist and
blogger from the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, was
arrested on 7 February after posting a video
on YouTube in which he demanded an
immediate end to fighting in Donbass and
called on Ukrainian men to resist
conscription. He was remanded in custody
and, on 31 March, charged with “state
treason” and “obstructing legitimate activities
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. His trial was
ongoing at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The media remained generally free in
government-controlled areas. However,
against the backdrop of the Russian
occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014
and the ongoing conflict in Donbass, media
outlets perceived as espousing pro-Russian or
pro-separatist views faced harassment.
Broadcasters 112 Ukraine and Inter TV
received formal warnings from the National
Television and Radio Council for content such
as interviews and reports from separatist-
controlled areas, which featured local people
who expressed support for the separatists.
Three consecutive warnings would result in
their broadcasting licences being annulled.
Journalist Oles Buzina, who was well
known for his pro-Russian views and followed
by over 25,000 people on Facebook, was shot
dead by two masked gunmen in front of his
house on 16 April. After two suspects were
arrested on 18 June, the Interior Minister
Arsen Avakov announced on Facebook that
the case had been “solved”. Both men
protested their innocence and complained of
physical and psychological pressure by the
investigators. Their trial was pending at the
end of the year.
Four so-called “decommunization” laws
were passed in May, banning the use of
communist and Nazi symbols. In July, the
Ministry of Justice instigated court cases
seeking to ban the Communist Party of
Ukraine (CPU) and two smaller parties that
dubbed themselves “communist”. The latter
two parties – both effectively defunct – were
banned on 1 October, while the CPU was
banned on 16 December. It filed an appeal
on 28 December.
Journalists with pro-Ukrainian views or
reporting for Ukrainian media outlets were
unable to operate openly in separatist-
controlled areas. On 16 June, Russian
journalist Pavel Kanygin was detained for
several hours by local security forces in
Donetsk and severely beaten before being
released. He had written several reports for
the Russian newspaper
Novaya Gazeta
about
two Russian citizens taken prisoner by
Ukrainian government forces in Donbass, in
which he denounced an official Russian
cover-up about them being active military
servicemen.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
A Pride march was held in Kyiv on 6 June,
following extensive negotiations between
organizers and the authorities. Before and
after the march, President Petro Poroshenko
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spoke out strongly in support of LGBTI
people’s right to freedom of assembly.
However, the police agreed to provide
protection just one day before the event.
Dozens of right-wing activists broke through
police lines and attacked the march. Ten
participants and three policemen were
injured, and 25 attackers were arrested and
later released. Pride organizers received
threatening messages on their mobiles and
online. Four criminal cases against anti-
LGBTI protesters were opened and were still
ongoing at the end of the year.
In August, a court in Odessa banned a
proposed Pride march, citing the “threat to
public order” and participants’ safety.
Instead, the organizers held a smaller, indoor
LGBTI festival on 15 August, during which
several masked men hurled firecrackers and
smoke bombs at the organizers’ office.
On 12 November, Parliament introduced
amendments to labour laws, prohibiting
discrimination on grounds of sexual
orientation and gender identity. The move,
requested by the EU as part of the visa
liberalization process with Ukraine, had long
been resisted by the Ukrainian legislature.
The amendments were signed into law by the
President on 23 November.
CRIMEA
There was no effective investigation into six
cases of suspected enforced disappearances
of Crimean Tatar activists in 2014 and one
confirmed case of abduction, torture and
killing. This was despite a plethora of
evidence, including video footage, strongly
suggesting that pro-Russian paramilitaries
from the so-called “Crimean self-defence
force” were responsible for at least some of
these crimes.
Freedoms of expression, assembly and
association continued to be curtailed under
the de facto administration in Crimea, after its
occupation and annexation by Russia in
2014. Those expressing pro-Ukrainian
sympathies faced harsh reprisals. The
Crimean Tatar community was particularly
affected: its public events were regularly
banned, Crimean Tatar-language media
outlets were forced to close down and their
leaders were subjected to regular house
searches and faced criminal prosecution and
detention on politically motivated charges.
The Crimean Tatar Mejlis, a representative
body elected by members of the community,
faced further reprisals. Its current leader,
Ahtem Chiygoz, was arrested on 29 January
and accused of having organized “mass
disturbances” on 26 February 2014. The de
facto authorities repeatedly warned that the
Mejlis could be designated as an extremist
group under Russian law. The two previous
Mejlis leaders, Mustafa Dzhemiliev and Refat
Chubarov, remained officially barred from
their homeland. On 28 October, the de facto
Prosecutor of Crimea announced that
Chubarov could return, after a court in the
city of Simferopol had ordered his arrest on
6 October for “calls against the territorial
integrity of the Russian Federation”.
The Crimean Tatar-language TV channel
ATR was forced to stop broadcasting on
1 April, when the deadline for its re-
registration under Russian laws expired. It
had applied for re-registration at least four
times and was consistently denied it
arbitrarily. ATR resumed broadcasting from
mainland Ukraine, but its reporters were no
longer able to work in Crimea openly.
On 9 March, Aleksandr Kravchenko,
Leonid Kuzmin and Veldar Shukurdzhiev
were arrested at a small street gathering in
Simferopol intended to celebrate the 201
st
anniversary of the birth of the Ukrainian poet
Taras Shevchenko, at which they used
national symbols such as yellow and blue
ribbons. They were taken to a police station,
released after three hours and sentenced to
40 hours of community labour each, for
violating rules of public assembly. They
subsequently faced harassment by members
of the anti-extremism police unit, including
arrests and informal interrogations. Kuzmin
also lost his job as a history teacher.
Contrary to international humanitarian law,
Crimean anti-occupation activists Oleg
Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko were put
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on trial outside Crimea. They were tried under
Russian law in a military court in the city of
Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, and
sentenced to 20 and 10 years’ imprisonment
respectively, under disproportionate
terrorism-related charges. Their trials were
unfair and based on testimony allegedly
extracted under torture. The decision was
upheld by the Supreme Court of the Russian
Federation on 24 November.
joined the Saudi Arabia-led international
coalition that engaged in the armed conflict in
Yemen (see Yemen entry).
In May, the authorities denied entry to an
Amnesty International representative who had
been invited to speak at a construction
industry conference in Dubai.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
1. Eastern Ukraine: Investigate deadly artillery strike on civilian bus
(News story, 13 January)
2. Eastern Ukraine: Deadly attack on Donetsk trolleybus as ceasefire
unravels (News story, 22 January)
3. New evidence of summary killings of Ukrainian soldiers must spark
urgent investigations (News story, 9 April)
4. Ukraine: Breaking bodies: Torture and summary killings in eastern
Ukraine (EUR
50/1683/2015)
UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES
United Arab Emirates
Head of state:
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Head of government:
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al
Maktoum
The authorities arbitrarily restricted freedom
of expression, arresting and prosecuting
government critics. A new law on combating
discrimination and hatred imposed further
limits on the rights to freedom of expression
and association. Security forces subjected
dozens of people to enforced disappearance.
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
was common. Prisoners of conscience
remained imprisoned following unfair trials.
Women faced discrimination in law and in
practice. Migrant workers were inadequately
protected by law and faced exploitation and
abuse. The death penalty remained in force
and there was one execution.
BACKGROUND
In March, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The authorities used provisions of the Penal
Code, the 2012 cybercrime law and the 2014
anti-terrorism law to arrest, prosecute and
imprison critics. In July, the enactment of a
new law on combating discrimination and
hatred further eroded rights to freedom of
expression and association. The new law
defines hate speech as “any speech or
conduct which may incite sedition, prejudicial
action or discrimination among individuals or
groups”, punishable by a minimum of five
years’ imprisonment. It also empowers the
courts to order the disbandment of
associations deemed to provoke such speech
and imprison their founders for a minimum of
10 years.
In February, state security officials arrested
three sisters, Dr Alyaziyah, Asma and Mariam
Khalifa al-Suwaidi, after they posted
comments on Twitter relating to their brother,
a prisoner of conscience. The women were
subjected to enforced disappearance for
three months; they were released in May.
In May, the Dubai Criminal Court
sentenced an Indian national to one year in
prison, followed by deportation, after it
convicted him of blasphemy in relation to a
Facebook post deemed to “insult” Islam and
the Prophet Muhammad. Also in May, the
State Security Chamber of the Federal
Supreme Court, which hears cases related to
national security, sentenced Ahmed Abdulla
al-Wahdi to 10 years’ imprisonment after
convicting him of “creating and running a
social media account that insults the UAE’s
leadership and the country’s institutions”,
based on comments he had posted on
Twitter.
The same court handed down a three-year
prison sentence in June to Nasser al-Junaibi
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after convicting him on charges of “insulting
the royal family” and “spreading rumours and
information that harmed the country”, partly
on the basis of his Twitter comments
criticizing as a “judicial farce” the 2013 mass
trial of government critics and pro-reform
advocates known as the UAE 94 trial. Many of
the UAE 94 remained in prison and were
prisoners of conscience, including human
rights lawyer Dr Mohammed al-Roken.
In August, a mass trial of 41 people was
held before the State Security Chamber of the
Federal Supreme Court. Charges included
“plotting to overthrow the government and
replace it with an ISIL-like ‘caliphate’”. The
defendants included at least 21 people whom
the state security forces had subjected to 20
months of enforced disappearance since their
arrests in November and December 2013.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
State security forces arrested dozens of
people, including foreign nationals and
peaceful government critics, and subjected
them to enforced disappearance. They were
detained incommunicado in secret locations,
in some cases for more than a year.
In August, Dr Nasser bin Ghaith, an
academic, economist and former prisoner of
conscience, was subjected to enforced
disappearance by state security officers after
he criticized “Arab dictators” on Twitter. His
whereabouts remained undisclosed at the
end of the year.
Women continued to face discrimination in
law and in practice. In July, a court
sentenced an 18-year-old woman to nine
months’ imprisonment for engaging in illicit
relationships with men. She was 16 years old
when arrested and had been released on bail.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In February, two transgender women, both
foreign nationals, were charged with being
disguised as women and entering a place
restricted only to women. They were jailed
until they each paid a fine and were then
deported.
Some of those who were formerly subjected to
enforced disappearance said security officials
had tortured and otherwise ill-treated them in
detention. The authorities denied they had
used torture, and failed to independently
investigate, ignoring the recommendation in
May of the UN Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers that the
government should appoint an independent
committee of experts to investigate allegations
of torture.
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
UNFAIR TRIALS
The authorities used vague and overly broad
provisions of the Penal Code, cybercrime law
and anti-terrorism law to prosecute dozens of
people before the State Security Chamber of
the Federal Supreme Court, whose verdicts
are not subject to appeal, in breach of
international fair trial standards. One
defendant sentenced to death by the Court
was executed two weeks later (see below).
Migrant workers continued to face exploitation
and abuse despite protective provisions
contained in the 1980 Labour Law and
subsequent decrees. The
kafala
sponsorship
system made workers vulnerable to abuse by
their employers.
In April, an investigative report
commissioned by a UAE government agency
found that thousands of migrant construction
workers employed at New York University’s
campus in Abu Dhabi had been forced to pay
steep recruitment fees and had their
passports confiscated, despite university
guidelines designed to ensure fair working
and living conditions. Domestic workers,
overwhelmingly women, remained excluded
from the protections afforded to other migrant
workers and faced physical violence,
confinement to places of work, and other
abuses. Workers who engaged in strikes or
other forms of collective action faced arrest
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and deportation.
The authorities’ intolerance of criticism of
their record on migrant workers was
underlined when, in March, they denied entry
to Professor Andrew Ross, an expert on
labour issues at New York University.
restricting trade union rights.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
murder and other offences, and courts
continued to hand down death sentences. On
29 June, the State Security Chamber of the
Federal Supreme Court sentenced Alaa al-
Hashemi to death on terrorism charges. The
authorities executed her on 13 July. She had
been denied the right of appeal.
UNITED KINGDOM
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Head of state:
Queen Elizabeth II
Head of government:
David Cameron
Plans to repeal the Human Rights Act were
confirmed. The government continued its
opposition to participation in EU efforts to
share responsibility for the increasing
number of refugees arriving in Europe.
Criticism of surveillance laws gained
momentum.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In May, the Conservative Party won the
general election and formed a majority
government. The new government confirmed
its plans to repeal the Human Rights Act and
replace it with a British Bill of Rights. The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights and
the UN Human Rights Committee, among
others, raised serious concerns that repealing
the Human Rights Act could lead to the
weakening of human rights protections in the
UK.
1
In July, the government published a Trade
Union Bill. If passed, the Bill would place
more legal hurdles in the way of unions
organizing strike action, significantly
In August, the UN Human Rights Committee
raised concerns about the adequacy of the
parliamentary Intelligence and Security
Committee (ISC) as a mechanism to
investigate alleged UK complicity in the
torture of detainees held in counter-terrorism
operations overseas. Concerns about the
ISC’s independence and the power of the
government to prevent the disclosure of
sensitive material led the UN Human Rights
Committee to call on the government to
consider initiating a full judicial investigation
into the allegations.
On 30 October, former UK resident Shaker
Aamer was released from the US naval base
at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and returned to
the UK. Shaker Aamer had been detained
without charge or trial in Guantánamo since
February 2002.
In November, hearings began in the
Supreme Court concerning the civil claim of
married couple Abdul-Hakim Belhaj and
Fatima Boudchar, who alleged that they were
victims of rendition, torture and other ill-
treatment in 2004 by the US and Libyan
governments, with the knowledge and co-
operation of UK officials. The UK government
argued that the “act of state” doctrine should
prevent the case from going ahead, because
UK courts should not judge the conduct of
foreign states (who were involved in the
alleged rendition) for actions undertaken in
their own jurisdictions.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Broad counter-terrorism powers continued to
raise concerns.
2
In February, the Counter-
Terrorism and Security Act 2015 came into
force, introducing new powers, including
restrictions on the travel of people suspected
of involvement in terrorism-related activity
and exclusion from the UK of certain citizens
or others with a right to live in the UK who
reject government-imposed conditions on
their return home. It also introduced a
statutory duty, known as the “prevent duty”,
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on certain bodies, including schools and local
councils, to have “due regard to the need to
prevent people from being drawn into
terrorism”. NGOs and civil society raised
concerns about the potentially discriminatory
impact of the duty.
In October, the government introduced a
new “counter-extremism strategy”. The
strategy included plans for an Extremism Bill
that would introduce new powers to tackle
what it characterizes as extremism, including
bans on certain organizations, restrictions on
specifically identified individuals, and
restrictions on access to premises used for
the support of extremism. The proposals
caused concern that these new powers could
lead to the violation of people’s rights to
freedom of assembly, association, speech
and privacy.
In September, the Prime Minister
announced in Parliament that on 21 August a
Royal Air Force (RAF) drone strike was
carried out in the area of al-Raqqa in Syria,
killing three persons said to be members of
the armed group Islamic State (IS), including
two British citizens. The government resisted
calls from NGOs and parliamentarians to
make public the legal guidance on which the
air strike was authorized.
On 30 July, the Court of Appeal in
Serdar
Mohammed v. Secretary of State for Defence
ruled unlawful the detention of an Afghan
detainee by British armed forces for almost
four months. The Court found that the
detention was arbitrary and therefore in
violation of this person’s right to liberty under
Article 5 of the European Convention on
Human Rights, which also applies to overseas
detention.
SURVEILLANCE
Criticism of the UK’s surveillance laws gained
momentum over the year, with the UN
Human Rights Committee, among others,
expressing concerns and calling on the
government to ensure that the interception of
personal communications and retention of
communications data are done in conformity
with human rights law.
On 6 February, the Investigatory Powers
Tribunal (IPT) ruled, in a case brought by
Amnesty International and nine other NGOs
from four continents, that the government’s
procedures for the “soliciting, receiving,
storing and transmitting by UK authorities of
private communications of individuals located
in the UK, which have been obtained by US
authorities” violated the rights to privacy and
freedom of expression.
3
However, the IPT said
such an intelligence-sharing regime was now
lawful due to government disclosures made
during the legal proceedings.
Following the findings of the IPT, Amnesty
International and the other nine claimant
NGOs brought the case to the European Court
of Human Rights, arguing that the UK law
governing various aspects of communications
surveillance violated the country’s human
rights obligations, including in relation to the
rights to privacy and freedom of expression.
4
In July, the IPT notified Amnesty
International that government agencies had
spied on the organization by intercepting,
accessing and storing its communications.
5
The IPT found a breach of Articles 8 and 10
of the European Convention on Human
Rights, on account of the fact that the
intercepted communications were retained for
a longer period of time than foreseen under
the Government Communications
Headquarters (GCHQ) internal policies. The
IPT also found a breach of internal policies in
respect of the South Africa-based Legal
Resources Centre.
On 17 July, the High Court ruled that
Section 1 of the Data Retention and
Investigatory Powers Act 2014 was unlawful
under EU law pertaining to the right to
respect for private life and to protection of
personal data under the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights.
In November, the government published a
draft Investigatory Powers Bill for
consultation. The Bill provides for wholesale
reform of surveillance and data retention
laws. NGOs raised concerns that the Bill did
not contain adequate human rights
protections and provided for practices that
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threaten human rights.
NORTHERN IRELAND
termination of pregnancy in cases of fatal
foetal impairment, rape or incest.
On 26 June, the Belfast High Court upheld as
lawful the government’s decision not to hold
an independent inquiry into the 1989 killing
of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane.
The Northern Ireland Assembly failed to
introduce marriage equality legislation,
making it the only UK region that failed to do
so. Two court challenges to the ban on same-
sex marriages were heard in the courts in
Belfast in December.
The government, along with Northern
Ireland political parties and the Irish
government, failed to agree legislation that
would have established new mechanisms to
investigate deaths attributed to the conflict in
Northern Ireland, as had been promised
under the Stormont House Agreement.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Access to abortion in Northern Ireland
remained limited to exceptional cases where
the life or health of the woman or girl was at
risk.
6
In June, the Justice Minister was
reported to have submitted a draft paper to
the Northern Ireland Executive on reforming
the law on abortion in Northern Ireland, to
allow access to abortion in cases of fatal and
severe foetal impairment. This followed a
consultation on legal reform which had
concluded in January.
In August, the concluding observations of
the UN Human Rights Committee called on
the government to amend the country’s
legislation on abortion in Northern Ireland
with a view to providing for additional
exceptions to the legal ban on abortion,
including in cases of “rape, incest and fatal
foetal abnormality”. The Committee also
called for access to information on abortion,
contraception and sexual and reproductive
health options.
In November and December, the High
Court in Belfast ruled that the existing
abortion law in Northern Ireland was
incompatible with domestic and international
human rights law, as it prevents access to
The government continued its opposition to
full participation in EU efforts to share
responsibility for the increasing number of
refugees arriving in Europe. It exercised its
option not to participate in the EU’s relocation
scheme of 160,000 Syrian, Eritrean and Iraqi
refugees present in Greece, Hungary and
Italy. However, in September, following
mounting public pressure, the Prime Minister
announced that the country would expand its
Syrian resettlement programme from a few
hundred over three years to up to 20,000
places over the next five years. With respect
to the situation in Calais, France, the
government maintained its position of
contributing financial resources primarily to
secure the perimeters of the port and
Channel Tunnel, while declining to accept
any of the Calais refugees and migrants into
the UK asylum system [see France entry].
In March, Parliament passed the Modern
Slavery Act 2015, which increases
enforcement powers to monitor and tackle
slavery and human trafficking. The
government was criticized by NGOs for its
earlier decision to remove protections in the
immigration rules that helped overseas
domestic workers to escape situations of
slavery in the UK. In response, it
commissioned a review of the overseas
domestic worker visa which resulted in a
recommendation to reintroduce the option for
these workers to change employers.
In October, a new Immigration Bill was
published and included provisions to further
establish what the government characterized
as a “hostile environment” for undocumented
migrants. If passed by Parliament, it would
permit the removal of support for families who
were refused asylum in a final decision and
remove local authorities’ duties to provide
support to children leaving care at 18 on
grounds of immigration status; extend the
range of people who despite retaining a right
of appeal may be removed from the country
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before the appeal has been heard; and
transfer significant power from tribunals to the
Home Office over decisions on whether to
grant immigration bail and/or on what
conditions.
Independent inspectorates continued to
highlight grave inadequacies in the use of
immigration detention. In March, a report by
a cross-party parliamentary group found that
immigration detention was used excessively.
In July, the Minister for Immigration
suspended the Detained Fast Track – a
process whereby many asylum-seekers are
detained and have very little time to instruct
lawyers or gather evidence to support their
claim – following a High Court ruling,
confirmed by the Court of Appeal, that the
process was structurally unfair and therefore
unlawful.
violence services, the government announced
a £3.2 million domestic abuse fund in
August. However, the extent of cuts to
funding of specialist violence against women
services remained a major concern.
1. UN Human Rights Council: Oral Statement under Item 4 on the UK
Human Rights Act (IOR
40/1938/2015)
2. United Kingdom: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee
(EUR
45/1793/2015)
3. UK: "Historic" surveillance ruling finds intelligence-sharing illegal
(News
story,
6 February)
4. Amnesty International takes UK to European Court over mass
surveillance (News
story,
10 April)
5. United Kingdom: British government surveillance programmes and
interception of Amnesty International communication (EUR
45/2096/2015)
6. United Kingdom: Northern Ireland: Barriers to accessing abortion
services (EUR
45/1057/2015)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In May, the UN Special Rapporteur on
violence against women issued her report on
her visit to the UK. It concluded that while the
government had declared violence against
women to be a national priority, and had a
number of strategies and action plans at a
national level, in most cases initiatives had
resulted in isolated pockets of good practice.
The report indicated that this was due to the
lack of a consistent and coherent human
rights-based approach in the government’s
response to violence against women.
Amendments made to legislation through
the Serious Crime Act 2015 included a new
mandatory reporting duty for female genital
mutilation (FGM), which came into force on
31 October, requiring regulated health and
social care professionals and teachers in
England and Wales to report known cases of
FGM on girls under 18 years of age to the
police.
On 29 December, a new domestic violence
offence of coercive and controlling behaviour
came into force, carrying a maximum of five
years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
In response to concerns raised by domestic
violence organizations regarding cuts to
funding for specialist women’s domestic
UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA
United States of America
Head of state and government:
Barack Obama
There was no accountability nor remedy for
crimes under international law committed in
the secret detention programme operated by
the CIA. Scores of detainees remained in
indefinite military detention at the US naval
base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, while
military trial proceedings continued in a
handful of cases. Concern about the use of
isolation in state and federal prisons and the
use of force in policing continued. Twenty-
seven men and one woman were executed
during the year.
BACKGROUND
In March, September and November
respectively, the USA provided its one-year
follow-up responses to the UN Human Rights
Committee (HRC), the CERD Committee and
the UN Committee against Torture on their
2014 priority recommendations after scrutiny
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of the country’s compliance with the ICCPR,
the CERD and the UN Convention against
Torture.
In May, the USA’s human rights record was
examined under the UN Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) process. In September, the
USA accepted about three-quarters of the
343 recommendations made under the UPR
process. As in 2011, the USA said it
supported calls for the closure of the
Guantánamo Bay detention facility, the
ratification of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child and CEDAW, and for accountability
for torture. None had been implemented by
the end of the year.
reportedly learned of a cache of some 14,000
photographs relating to CIA “black sites” in
Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland, Romania,
Lithuania and possibly elsewhere, including
images of naked detainees being transported.
The photographs had not been made public
by the end of the year.
COUNTER-TERROR – DETENTIONS
IMPUNITY
In its one-year update to the HRC, the USA
said that it prohibited torture and other ill-
treatment, enforced disappearance and
arbitrary detention of “any person in its
custody wherever they are held”, and that it
held “accountable any persons responsible
for such acts”. Yet by the end of the year, no
action had been taken to end the impunity for
the systematic human rights violations
committed in the secret detention programme
operated by the CIA, under authorization
granted by former President George W. Bush
after the attacks of 11 September 2001
(9/11).
The USA also told the HRC that it
“supports transparency” in relation to this
issue. Yet by the end of the year, more than
12 months after the publication of the
declassified summary of the report by the
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into
the CIA programme, the Committee’s full
6,700-page report, containing details of the
treatment of each detainee, remained
classified top secret. Most, if not all, of the
detainees were subjected to enforced
disappearance and to conditions of detention
and/or interrogation techniques which
violated the prohibition of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Classification of the report continued to
facilitate impunity and the denial of remedy.
1
During the year, military prosecutors
Detainees held at the detention facility at
Guantánamo Bay continued to be denied
their human rights under the USA’s flawed
“global war” framework and its views on the
non-applicability of international human rights
law to the detentions. In its one-year follow-up
response to the HRC’s call for administrative
detention and military commissions against
Guantánamo detainees to be ended, the USA
reiterated its erroneous position on
extraterritoriality that “obligations under the
Covenant apply only with respect to
individuals who are both within the territory of
a State Party and within its jurisdiction”. To
the CERD call to end Guantánamo detentions
“without further delay”, the USA responded
that it did not agree that the “request bears
directly on obligations under the Convention”.
At the end of the year, 107 men were held
at Guantánamo. The majority were held
without charge or trial. About half had been
approved for transfer for at least five years.
Twenty-one detainees were transferred out of
the base during the year to Estonia, Morocco,
Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Oman, the United
Arab Emirates and the UK.
Hearings by the Periodic Review Board
(PRB) continued. These administrative review
proceedings, undermining ordinary criminal
justice processes, apply to detainees who are
not facing military commissions and have not
been approved for transfer by other
administrative reviews.
Pre-trial military commission proceedings
continued against five detainees accused of
involvement in the 9/11 attacks and charged
under the Military Commissions Act (MCA) for
capital trial in 2012. The five – Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-
Shibh, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-‘Aziz and Mustafa al
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Hawsawi as well as ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri,
who was arraigned for capital trial in 2011 on
charges relating to the bombing of the
USS
Cole
in Yemen in 2000 – were held
incommunicado in secret US custody for up
to four years prior to their transfer to
Guantánamo in 2006. Their trials had not
begun by the end of the year.
Pre-trial proceedings also continued in the
case of Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, who was
reportedly arrested in Turkey in 2006 and
transferred to US custody, held in secret by
the CIA and transferred to Guantánamo in
2007. He was formally charged on 18 June
2014. His trial was pending at the end of the
year.
Majid Khan and Ahmed Mohammed al
Darbi were still awaiting sentencing after
pleading guilty in 2012 and 2014 respectively
while agreeing not to sue the USA for their
prior treatment in custody. Ahmed
Mohammed al Darbi was arrested by civilian
authorities in Azerbaijan in June 2002 and
was transferred to US custody two months
later. He has alleged that he was ill-treated.
Majid Khan was held in the secret CIA
detention programme from 2003 and
subjected to enforced disappearance, torture
and other ill-treatment before being
transferred to Guantánamo in 2006. Further
details of his treatment in CIA custody
emerged during the year, including of rape,
sexual assault, beatings, subjection to
prolonged darkness and solitary confinement,
hanging for days from a wooden beam, and
threats against him and his family.
In June, a three-judge panel of the US
Court of Appeals nullified the conviction by a
military commission of Guantánamo detainee
Ali Hamza Suliman al Bahlul. The conviction
was for conspiracy to commit war crimes, but
the Court threw it out on the grounds that the
charge was not recognized under
international law and could not be prosecuted
before a military tribunal. In September, the
authorities’ appeal to the Court to rehear the
case was accepted and oral arguments were
held on 1 December, with the ruling pending
at the end of the year.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
At least 43 people across 25 states died after
police used Tasers on them, bringing the total
number of Taser-related deaths since 2001 to
at least 670. Most of the victims were not
armed and did not appear to pose a threat of
death or serious injury when the Taser was
deployed.
The death of Freddie Gray in April and the
one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s
death sparked protests in Baltimore,
Maryland and Ferguson, Missouri
respectively. Similar protests against police
use of force occurred in cities including
Cleveland, Ohio and St. Louis, Missouri,
among others. The use of heavy-duty riot gear
and military-grade weapons and equipment to
police the demonstrations served to intimidate
protesters who were exercising their right to
peaceful assembly.
Authorities failed to track the exact number
of people killed by law enforcement officials
each year – estimates range from 458 to over
1,000 individuals. According to the limited
data available, black men are
disproportionately victims of police killings.
State statutes on the use of lethal force are far
too permissive; none limit the use of firearms
to a last resort only after non-violent and less
harmful means are exhausted, and where the
officer or others are faced with an imminent
threat of death or serious injury.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The City of Chicago, Illinois, passed an
ordinance to provide reparations to over 100
survivors of torture committed by members of
the Chicago Police Department from 1972 to
1991. The ordinance includes a US$5.5
million fund for survivors, a formal apology
from the Chicago City Council, free college
education for survivors and their families, an
educational component in Chicago Public
Schools on the history of torture by the
Chicago Police Department, a public
memorial to torture survivors and a
counselling centre for torture survivors.
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MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
More than 35,000 unaccompanied children
and 34,000 families were apprehended
crossing the southern border during the year,
many fleeing violence and insecurity in
Mexico and Central America. Families were
detained for months while pursuing claims to
remain in the USA; many were held in
facilities without proper access to medical
care, sanitary food and water and legal
counsel. Transgender individuals were
routinely detained according to their gender
at birth, leaving them susceptible to abuse, or
held in solitary confinement and without
access to hormone therapy.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Despite legislative gains in the reauthorized
Violence against Women Act, including
provisions that address the high levels of
violence against Indigenous women and
provide protection and services for survivors
of domestic violence, Native American and
Alaska Native women who were raped
continued to lack access to basic care,
including examinations and other essential
health care services such as emergency
contraception. Native American and Alaska
Native women continued to experience
disproportionate levels of violence; they were
2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually
assaulted than other women in the country.
There were broad disparities in women’s
access to sexual and reproductive health
care, including maternal health care. African-
American women remained nearly four times
more likely to die of pregnancy-related
complications than white women. Over 230
bills were introduced across multiple US
states seeking to restrict access to safe and
legal abortion.
eliminated prolonged and indefinite isolation
in California’s Security Housing Units (SHUs).
Under the terms of the settlement, the
overwhelming majority of prisoners held in
SHUs were due to be released to general
prison population units. In recognition of the
harmful effects of long-term solitary
confinement, prisoners who have been held
for over 10 years in SHUs will be immediately
transferred to a Restricted Custody General
Population Unit, to begin a two-year
programme to reintegrate them into the
general prison population.
The release in March of an “independent”
audit into the use of solitary confinement in
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities
reported a number of inadequacies in the
system, including in mental health provision
and re-entry programmes for those held for
long periods in isolation. Its recommendations
did not go far enough to improve the harmful
effects the isolation regime exerts on
prisoners’ physical and mental health, or to
bring the BOP in line with its international
obligations.
2
DEATH PENALTY
PRISON CONDITIONS
Over 80,000 prisoners at any given time were
held in conditions of physical and social
deprivation in federal and state prisons
throughout the country.
In September, a landmark settlement to a
class action lawsuit,
Ashker v. Brown,
virtually
Twenty-seven men and one woman were
executed in six states, bringing to 1,422 the
total number of executions since the
reintroduction of the death penalty in 1976.
This was the lowest number of executions in a
year since 1991. Approximately 50 new death
sentences were passed. Almost 3,000 people
remained on death row at the end of the year.
The Nebraska legislature voted to abolish
the death penalty, overriding the State
Governor’s veto against the bill. However, the
repeal was on hold at the end of the year after
opponents gathered enough signatures to a
petition to have the issue put to the popular
vote in November 2016. Momentum against
the death penalty continued in February with
the announcement of a moratorium on
executions in Pennsylvania by the State
Governor. Moratoriums also remained in force
in Washington State and Oregon at the end of
the year.
Warren Hill was executed in Georgia on 27
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January. All the experts who assessed him,
including those retained by the state, agreed
that he had an intellectual disability,
rendering his execution unconstitutional.
Cecil Clayton, a 74-year-old man, was
executed in Missouri on 17 March. He had
been diagnosed with dementia and a
psychotic disorder stemming from a serious
brain injury.
The Governor of Missouri commuted the
death sentence of Kimber Edwards shortly
before he was due to be put to death in
October. The man who shot the victim and is
serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in
return for avoiding the death penalty had
signed a statement recanting his post-arrest
statements implicating Kimber Edwards in the
murder.
Kelly Gissendaner was executed in Georgia
on 30 September for the murder of her
husband. The man who pleaded guilty to
shooting the victim and testified against his
co-defendant is serving a life sentence.
Numerous inmates and former correctional
officials supported clemency for Kelly
Gissendaner, pointing to her rehabilitation
and her positive impact on prison life and
prisoners.
States continued to face litigation on lethal
injection protocols and problems in acquiring
execution drugs. On 29 June, in
Glossip v.
Gross,
the US Supreme Court upheld the use
of midazolam as the sedative drug in
Oklahoma’s three-drug protocol. Two
dissenting judges argued that the Court
should revisit the constitutionality of the death
penalty. Their dissent argued that the death
penalty was now “highly likely”
unconstitutional, including on the grounds of
arbitrariness and unreliability.
After the ruling, Oklahoma scheduled the
execution of Richard Glossip, one of the
plaintiffs in the lethal injection challenge.
Hours from execution on 16 September, and
then minutes before his rescheduled
execution on 30 September, the State
Governor stopped the execution after it was
revealed that the prison authorities had the
wrong drug. It was later found that this drug
had been used in at least one execution, that
of Charles Warner in January. The State
Attorney General sought and obtained an
indefinite stay of executions and in October,
his office said that it would not seek any new
execution dates until at least 150 days after
the completion of investigations into the
execution protocol.
In October, the Ohio prison authorities
announced that 11 executions scheduled for
2016 were being rescheduled for 2017, 2018
and 2019 as the state continued to seek
“legal means” to obtain lethal injection drugs.
During the year, six inmates were
exonerated of the crimes for which they were
originally sentenced to death, bringing to 156
the number of such cases since 1973.
1. USA: Crimes and impunity (AMR
51/1432/2015)
2. USA: Entombed: Isolation in the US federal prison system (AMR
51/040/2014)
URUGUAY
Eastern Republic of Uruguay
Head of state and government:
Tabaré Vázquez
(replaced José Alberto Mujica Cordano in March)
Little progress was made to ensure justice
for human rights violations committed
during the period of civil and military rule
between 1973 and 1985. Gender inequality
persisted, including in access to abortion
and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
BACKGROUND
In March, Tabaré Vázquez took office
promising to implement a National Plan on
Social Harmony and Human Rights, and to
strengthen anti-discrimination policy for
LGBTI people, as well as measures to
promote gender equality, among other
commitments.
In March, the UN Committee on the Rights
of the Child urged Uruguay to take measures
to prevent, prohibit and protect children from
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all forms of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment in detention, including
by the police. The Committee also called on
the government to tackle high rates of child
poverty and improve access to quality health
services, particularly for children living in the
most disadvantaged and remote areas.
In October, Uruguay was elected member
of the UN Security Council for 2016-17, after
50 years of absence from it.
In June, the government announced that it
would continue its programme of resettling
Syrian refugees. Five Syrian families arrived in
Uruguay in 2014.
cases during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Decriminalization is extended to the 14
th
week
when the pregnancy is the result of rape, and
to the whole pregnancy when it either poses a
serious risk to the woman’s health or is a case
of foetal malformation, incompatible with
extra-uterine life.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Investigations into the killings of five
transsexual women between 2011 and 2012
showed little progress.
IMPUNITY
In May, a presidential decree established the
Truth and Justice Working Group to
investigate human rights violations that
occurred between 1968 and 1985. The group
was to be formed of seven members having
fulfilled autonomy and independence criteria
throughout their careers, as well as the
President and Vice-President of Uruguay.
A 2013 Supreme Court ruling remained an
obstacle to ensuring justice; the ruling had
overturned key articles of Law 18.831,
adopted in 2011, which established that
crimes committed during the period of civil
and military rule between 1973 and 1985
were crimes against humanity and that no
statute of limitations could be applied.
UZBEKISTAN
Republic of Uzbekistan
Head of state:
Islam Karimov
Head of government:
Shavkat Mirzioiev
The authorities used torture and other ill-
treatment to suppress dissent, combat
actual or perceived security threats, repress
political opponents, extract confessions and
incriminating information, and intimidate or
punish detainees and prisoners and their
families. Courts relied heavily on
confessions extracted under torture, duress
or deception. Prison sentences of
individuals convicted of anti-state and
terrorism offences were arbitrarily extended.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In August, an administrative court upheld the
right of medical professionals to refuse to
perform a legal abortion on grounds of
conscience. The ruling resulted from a
complaint lodged by a group of medical
professionals against several articles of a
decree regulating the 2012 legislation that
decriminalized abortion and guaranteed safe
and legal access to it. The court’s ruling
caused uncertainty over how the government
would ensure the legislation’s effective
implementation, depending on the number of
professionals refusing to perform abortions on
grounds of conscience.
Abortion is decriminalized in Uruguay in all
BACKGROUND
In March, President Islam Karimov was re-
elected for a fourth consecutive term in office,
in an election that lacked genuine political
competition.
Economic growth slowed down, affected by
falling commodity prices in international
markets. Remittances from Uzbekistani
labour migrants abroad fell by over 45%. Over
2 million labour migrants were estimated to
work in Russia alone.
The authorities claimed that the country
was more vulnerable to attacks as a result of
the resurgence of armed groups such as the
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), amid
reports of a tactical alliance between the IMU
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in Afghanistan and the armed group Islamic
State (IS). The authorities intensified reprisals
against perceived extremists, particularly
among returning labour migrants, many of
whom they suspected of having travelled to
Syria to fight for IS.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Police and officers of the National Security
Service (SNB) continued to routinely use
torture and other ill-treatment to coerce
suspects and detainees, including women
and men charged with criminal offences such
as theft, fraud or murder, into confessing to a
crime or incriminating others. Detainees
charged with anti-state and terrorism-related
offences were particularly vulnerable to
torture. Detainees were often tortured by
people wearing masks.
Police and SNB officers regularly used
convicted prisoners to commit torture and
other ill-treatment on detainees in pre-trial
detention. Under the Criminal Code,
prisoners, unlike officials, could not be held
responsible for torture but only for lesser
crimes. A former detainee described
witnessing officers and prisoners torture men
and women in interrogation rooms in an SNB
pre-trial detention centre, as well as in
bathrooms and showers, punishment cells
and purpose-built torture rooms with padded
rubber walls and sound-proofing. He
described SNB officers handcuffing detainees
to radiators and breaking their bones with
baseball bats.
1
Courts continued to rely heavily on
confessions obtained under torture to hand
down convictions. Judges routinely ignored or
dismissed as unfounded defendants’
allegations of torture or other ill-treatment,
even when presented with credible evidence.
Two men, who were sentenced in 2014 to
10 years in prison each for alleged
membership of a banned Islamist party,
claimed in court that security forces had
tortured them to sign false confessions by
burning their hands and feet against a stove.
One defendant told the judge that security
forces had pulled out his fingernails and
toenails. The judge failed to inquire further
into the torture allegations, and admitted the
confessions as evidence.
At the UN Human Rights Committee
examination of Uzbekistan’s fourth periodic
report in July, Uzbekistan rejected allegations
of the pervasive use of torture and other ill-
treatment by security forces and prison staff.
Uzbekistan insisted that the constitutional
prohibition of torture and single mention of it
in the Criminal Procedure Code conformed to
the state’s obligations under the ICCPR. In its
concluding observations, the Committee
urged the authorities to “ensure that the
prohibition of forced confessions and the
inadmissibility of torture-tainted evidence are
effectively enforced in practice by law
enforcement officers and judges”.
PRISON CONDITIONS
The practice of arbitrarily extending prison
terms even for minor alleged infractions of
prison rules under Article 221 of the Criminal
Code led to many prisoners, especially those
convicted of anti-state offences, serving de
facto life sentences. Azam Farmonov, a
prisoner of conscience and human rights
defender who was convicted in 2006 largely
on the basis of coerced witness testimony,
was due to be released at the end of April
after serving a nine-year sentence at Jaslyk
Prison. However, in May, following a blatantly
unfair and closed trial without legal
representation, a court extended his sentence
for another five years for breaking prison
rules, in particular for verbally mocking other
prisoners and not wearing appropriate
identification tags.
2
He told his wife during a
prison visit in July that the prison authorities
had kept him in a punishment cell for 10
days in March. They had handcuffed him and
repeatedly tied a bag over his head to
suffocate him. He was forced to listen to the
screams of prisoners being tortured in
adjoining cells.
Former parliamentarian Murad Dzhuraev,
who was arrested in 1994, sentenced to 12
years in prison on politically motivated
charges and had his sentence arbitrarily
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extended four times, was finally released on
12 November.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The authorities became increasingly
suspicious of labour migrants returning from
abroad who may have had access to
information on Islam which is censored or
banned in Uzbekistan, resulting in an
increased number of arrests and prosecutions
for “extremism”. The authorities claimed that
migrant workers were targeted in Russia for
recruitment by the IMU, IS or other groups
characterized as extremist.
In November, security forces detained
dozens of labour migrants who had returned
from Russia and Turkey, in raids in the
capital Tashkent and several regions of the
country, amid disputed claims that they were
members of the banned Islamist party Hizb
ut-Tahrir and had links to IS members in
Syria. Human rights defenders reported that
security forces used torture to extract
confessions from them.
which led to arrests and harassment,
including on the basis of planted evidence, as
well as forced confessions.
Police also compiled files on members of
unregistered religious communities, including
information on their family members.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – HUMAN
RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Persecution of family members
The authorities routinely targeted relatives of
individuals charged with or convicted of anti-
state offences. In many cases, members of
the same family were arbitrarily detained,
tortured and otherwise ill-treated to force
them to confess to fabricated charges,
resulting in long prison sentences after unfair
trials.
One woman reported how most of her male
family members were serving long prison
sentences after conviction of membership of
a banned Islamist organization or had fled the
country in fear for their lives. All had been
tortured by security forces to “confess”. She
was regularly called to the local police station,
where she was detained and beaten to punish
her for being a member of an “extremist
family”, to reveal the whereabouts of male
relatives or to incriminate them.
Former detainees and relatives of prisoners
reported that
mahalla
(neighbourhood)
committees compiled confidential lists of
potential “suspects” for the security forces,
Freedoms of expression and peaceful
assembly continued to be curtailed. In its
concluding observations, the UN Human
Rights Committee expressed concern about
“consistent reports of harassment,
surveillance, arbitrary arrests and detentions,
torture and ill-treatment by security forces
and prosecutions on trumped-up charges of
independent journalists, government critics,
human rights defenders and other activists, in
retaliation for their work”.
Police officers detained Elena Urlaeva,
head of the independent NGO Human Rights
Defenders’ Alliance of Uzbekistan, in the
northeastern city of Chinaz on 31 May and
subjected her to torture, including sexual
violence, to force her to surrender the
memory card from her camera. The memory
card contained photographic evidence of the
use of forced labour in cotton fields. Police
officers beat her, called her a traitor and
stripped her naked. Male police officers and a
male paramedic held her by the arms and
legs while a female doctor conducted
intrusive body cavity examinations to find the
memory card. Police officers then took her to
a local hospital to do X-rays. When she asked
to use the toilet, the officers forced her to
urinate on the grass in front of the hospital.
They filmed and photographed her, and
threatened to post the pictures on the internet
if she complained about her treatment.
3
She
was released without charge.
1. Secrets and lies: Forced confessions under torture in Uzbekistan (EUR
62/1086/2015)
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2. Uzbekistan: Five more years for "violating prison rules" (EUR
62/1709/2015)
3. Uzbekistan: Defender subjected to sexual violence: Elena Urlaeva
(EUR
62/1799/2015).
VENEZUELA
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Head of state and government:
Nicolás Maduro Moros
Human rights defenders and journalists
continued to face attacks and intimidation.
Political opponents of the government faced
unfair trials and imprisonment. There were
further reports of excessive use of force by
the police and security forces resulting in
dozens of deaths, some in circumstances
suggesting that they were unlawful killings.
Most of those responsible for grave human
rights violations during the 2014 protests
were not brought to justice and there were
concerns about the independence of the
judiciary. Colombian refugees and asylum-
seekers were deported, forcibly evicted and
ill-treated. Prison overcrowding and violence
continued. Survivors of gender-based
violence faced significant obstacles in
getting access to justice.
to deny victims of human rights violations and
their relatives whose rights had not been
guaranteed in the national courts access to
justice.
Interference in the judicial system by
officials at the highest levels of the
administration called into question their
commitment to the independence of the
judiciary and the rule of law. There was
concern that the temporary nature of
positions held by more than 60% of judges
made them susceptible to political pressure.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In June, the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights ordered Venezuela to reinstate the
broadcasting licence of Radio Caracas
Television, which had been withdrawn in
2007. The authorities had not complied with
the ruling by the end of the year.
Owners of media outlets and journalists
who were critical of the authorities faced
defamation charges, attacks and
intimidation.
1
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
BACKGROUND
Parliamentary elections in December saw the
coalition Democratic Unity Roundtable gain
two-thirds of seats.
In July, a draft National Human Rights Plan
was issued for consultation with all sectors of
society. It included proposals to reform the
judiciary, prison system and security forces,
as well as proposals to end discrimination and
improve the rights of vulnerable groups such
as Indigenous Peoples, women, children,
Afro-descendant communities, domestic
workers and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. The
consultation was ongoing at the end of the
year.
The decision in 2012 by Venezuela to
withdraw from the jurisdiction of the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights continued
Human rights defenders were attacked and
intimidated.
Both President Maduro and the President
of the National Assembly, among others,
accused named defenders on national
television of damaging the country’s
reputation and undermining the government.
Several human rights defenders were
subsequently harassed. For example, in
March, Marco Antonio Ponce of the
Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict and
another 11 human rights defenders returning
from presenting their concerns before the
Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights were followed, photographed and
filmed by unidentified men in Caracas
airport.
2
In April, Carlos Lusverti, a human rights
defender and professor of human rights at the
Andrés Bello Catholic University, was shot
and injured for the second time in 15 months,
in an apparent robbery attempt.
In October, Marino Alvarado Betancourt of
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the Venezuelan Programme for Education
and Action on Human Rights and his nine-
year-old son were attacked and robbed by
three armed men in their home.
3
In April, Víctor Martínez, a campaigner
against corruption and human rights
violations committed by Lara State Police, was
threatened by two armed men outside his
home in Barquisimeto, Lara State. The threat
appeared linked to his criticism of the police;
at the time of the attack he was under police
protection, which he claimed was sporadic.
4
the year.
In March, Emilio Baduel Cafarelli and
Alexander Tirado Lara were sentenced to
eight years’ imprisonment. They had been
convicted of incitement, intimidation using
explosives and conspiracy to commit a crime
during the 2014 protests. The Public
Prosecutor failed to provide evidence to
substantiate the charges and the judge
disregarded forensic evidence that showed
neither man had handled any explosives or
inflammable substances.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In January, the Ministry of Defence issued
Resolution 008610 allowing all sections of the
armed forces to be deployed in public order
operations. It also allowed the use of firearms
to be authorized during the policing of public
protests. The Resolution failed to send a clear
message that excessive use of force in such
operations would not be tolerated.
Excessive use of force by security forces
continued to be reported and resulted in the
death of 14-year-old Kluiberth Roa Núñez,
who was hit by a rubber bullet fired by the
security forces in Táchira State as he was
walking near a protest.
5
ARBITRARY DETENTIONS
In September, Leopoldo López, a prisoner of
conscience and leader of the opposition
Popular Will party, was convicted of
conspiracy to commit a crime, incitement,
arson and causing damage to public property
during the 2014 protests. He was sentenced
to 13 years and nine months in prison. There
was no credible evidence to support the
charges and public statements made before
his conviction by the authorities; the
President called for his imprisonment, thus
seriously undermining his right to a fair trial.
6
In January, a judge ordered that Rosmit
Mantilla, an LGBTI rights activist and Popular
Will member, face trial on charges including
incitement, arson and conspiracy to commit a
crime during the 2014 protests, despite the
lack of credible evidence against him. He
remained in pre-trial detention at the end of
In August, nearly 2,000 Colombian citizens,
including refugees and asylum-seekers, were
deported in the course of a few days, without
the opportunity to challenge their expulsion or
to gather their belongings. In some cases
children were separated from their parents.
Scores were forcibly evicted or had their
houses destroyed and some of those detained
were ill-treated.
7
The deportations were in response to the
deaths of three officers and a civilian in the
context of security and anti-smuggling
operations. At the end of the year, nine
municipalities in the border state of Táchira
remained under a state of emergency and the
border remained closed in the states of Zulia,
Táchira and Apure and in part of Amazonas.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Although recent official data was not
available, the Venezuelan Violence
Observatory reported that the country had the
second highest homicide rate in the region.
In July, Operation Liberation and Protection
of the People was implemented by security
forces to tackle the high crime rate. Reports
were received of possible extrajudicial
executions, excessive use of force, arbitrary
arrests and forced evictions of those
suspected of having committed a crime as
well as their families.
According to the Ministry of Justice, a
month after the operation commenced, 52
civilians had died in armed clashes with the
security forces. The high number of civilian
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casualties, in contrast to the absence of any
police injuries or fatalities, suggested that
security forces may have used excessive force
or carried out extrajudicial executions.
According to human rights organizations,
90% of the more than 4,000 people detained
during the first three months of the operation
were subsequently released without charge,
suggesting high numbers of arbitrary arrests.
In August, in a community south of
Valencia, Carabobo State, security forces
allegedly detained all men over 15 years of
age and demolished all of the community’s
houses, leaving at least 200 families
homeless.
a concern.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
IMPUNITY
Implementation of the 2007 legislation
criminalizing gender-based violence remained
slow due to a lack of resources. Legal aid and
access to justice, as well as other effective
protection measures such as shelters, had
not materialized by the end of the year.
Statistics from the Public Prosecutor’s
Office indicated that of the more than 70,000
complaints of gender-based violence received
during 2014, less than 1% went to trial.
According to women’s rights organizations,
96% of the cases that did reach the courts
did not result in convictions.
Progress was slow in bringing to justice those
responsible for the killing of 43 people,
including security force personnel, and the ill-
treatment of protesters during protests in
2014. According to the Public Prosecutor’s
Office, 238 investigations had been initiated
by February but charges were filed in only 13
cases.
No one had been brought to justice for the
killing of eight members of the Barrios family
or the threats and intimidation against other
family members in Aragua State since 1998.
8
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI organizations expressed concern at
entrenched discrimination. There were
continuing reports of violence against LGBTI
people. Those responsible were rarely held to
account as complaints were not investigated
or prosecuted.
There was no specific provision in law
criminalizing hate crimes based on sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression.
PRISON CONDITIONS
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Prisons remained seriously overcrowded
despite several reforms to the system since
2013. According to the Venezuelan Prisons
Observatory (OVP), prisons overall were
holding over three times the number of
prisoners they were designed to house. In this
context, the prison authorities were unable to
protect the rights of prisoners, such as the
rights to health and physical integrity.
Uprisings and protests, including self-
harming, to demand better prison conditions
remained common. OVP reported over 1,200
incidents of self-harm in the first six months
of the year. In addition, it reported the deaths
of 109 inmates and at least 30 injuries as a
result of violence in prison facilities, during
the same period. The large number of
weapons in detention facilities remained
Access to contraceptives, including
emergency contraception, was limited and
generally available only to those who could
afford it. Abortion was criminalized in all
cases except when the life of the woman or
girl was at risk.
According to a 2015 report by the WHO,
maternal mortality had increased to 110 per
100,000 live births. This was significantly
higher than the regional average of 63 per
100,000 live births.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
There was no legal provision to guarantee and
regulate consultation with Indigenous Peoples
over matters affecting their livelihoods. Those
defending Indigenous Peoples’ rights reported
that the right to free, prior and informed
consent was not upheld by the authorities
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when granting licences to extract natural
resources in Indigenous territories.
Concerns were raised at the slow progress
of the process for the demarcation of
Indigenous Peoples’ territories, which started
in 2011. By the end of the year, only 12% of
Indigenous territory was estimated to have
been demarcated.
harassment, surveillance and restrictions on
freedom of movement. A reduction in
criminal prosecutions of bloggers and
activists coincided with an increase in
harassment, short-term arbitrary detentions
and physical attacks by security officers.
Scores of Montagnard asylum-seekers fled
to Cambodia and Thailand between October
2014 and December 2015. The death
penalty was retained.
1. Venezuela: Journalist beaten and threatened: Horacio Giusti (AMR
53/1714/2015)
2. Human rights in Venezuela before the United Nations Human Rights
Committee (AMR
53/1942/2015)
3. Venezuela: Armed assault against human rights defender must be
thoroughly investigated (News story, 2 October)
4. Venezuela: Human rights defender attacked again: Víctor Martínez
(AMR
53/1450/2015)
5. Venezuela: The faces of impunity: a year after the protests, victims
still await justice (AMR
53/1239/2015)
6. Venezuela: Opposition leader sentenced unjustly: Leopoldo López (AMR
53/2449/2015)
7. Venezuela: Concerns over grave human rights violations on the border
with Colombia (AMR
53/2329/2015)
8. Venezuela: Submission to the United Nations Human Rights
Committee 114th Session, 29 June-24 July 2015 (AMR
53/1769/2015)
BACKGROUND
VIET NAM
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Head of state:
Truong Tan Sang
Head of government:
Nguyen Tan Dung
Severe restrictions on freedoms of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly continued. The media and the
judiciary, as well as political and religious
institutions, remained under state control.
At least 45 prisoners of conscience
remained imprisoned in harsh conditions
after unfair trials. They included bloggers,
labour and land rights activists, political
activists, religious followers, members of
ethnic groups and advocates for human
rights and social justice. Activists were
convicted in new trials. The authorities
attempted to prevent the activities of
independent civil society groups through
A major legislative reform programme
continued. Several key laws were under
review or being drafted. The amended Civil
Code, the Penal Code, the Law on Custody
and Detention and the Criminal Procedure
Code were approved by the end of the year,
but a Law on Associations, a Law on
Demonstrations, and a Law on Belief and
Religion were not finalized. Comments from
the general public were solicited.
Independent civil society groups raised
concerns that some of the laws were not in
accordance with Viet Nam’s international
obligations, including those set out in the
ICCPR, which Viet Nam has ratified.
The UN Convention against Torture entered
into force in February, but the needed wide-
ranging legal reforms for compliance were still
pending.
More than 18,000 prisoners were released
th
to mark the 70 anniversary of National Day
in September; no prisoners of conscience
were included.
Scores of Montagnard asylum-seekers from
the Central Highlands fled to Cambodia and
Thailand between October 2014 and
December 2015, mostly alleging religious
persecution and harassment. Dozens were
forcibly returned to Viet Nam from Cambodia,
with others voluntarily returning after the
Cambodian authorities refused to register
them and process their asylum claims. Their
fate on return was not known (see Cambodia
entry).
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
Members of independent activist groups
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attempting to exercise their rights to freedom
of expression, association and peaceful
assembly faced regular harassment, including
surveillance, restrictions on movement,
arbitrary short-term detention and physical
attacks by police and unidentified men
suspected of working in collusion with
security forces. Dozens of activists were
attacked, many of them before or after visiting
released prisoners and victims of human
rights violations, or when attending events
or meetings.
In July, security forces harassed and
intimidated peaceful activists attempting to
participate in hunger strikes in four major
cities in solidarity with prisoners of
conscience. The action was organized by the
“We Are One” campaign, launched in March
together with a letter to the UN Human Rights
Council on the human rights situation in Viet
Nam, signed by 27 local civil society
organizations and 122 individuals.
The authorities continued to use vaguely
worded offences to charge and convict
peaceful activists, mainly through Article 258
(abusing democratic freedoms to infringe
upon the interests of the state, the legitimate
rights and interests of organizations and/or
citizens) of the 1999 Penal Code. Three pro-
democracy activists arrested in May 2014
while monitoring anti-China protests were
sentenced in February to between 12 and 18
months’ imprisonment under Article 258 in
Đồng Nai province.
Prominent human rights lawyer and former
prisoner of conscience Nguyễn Văn Đài and
his colleague, Lê Thu Hà, were arrested in
December on charges of “conducting
propaganda” against the state under Article
88 of the Penal Code. The arrest took place
several days after Nguyễn Văn Đài and three
colleagues were brutally assaulted by 20 men
in plain clothes shortly after delivering human
rights training in Nghệ An province.
Blogger Nguyễn Hữu Vinh and his
associate Nguyễn Thị Minh Thúy remained
held in pre-trial detention since their arrest in
May 2014. They were charged under Article
258 of the Penal Code in February in
connection with the blogs Dân Quyền
(Citizens’ Rights) and Chép sử Việt (Writing
Vietnam’s History), both critical of
government policies and officials and since
1
closed down.
Prominent blogger and journalist Tạ Phong
Tần was released in September and flown
immediately into effective exile in the USA.
She had served four years of a 10-year prison
term on charges of “conducting propaganda”
against the state.
Reports of repression of religious activities
outside state-approved churches continued,
including against Hoa Hao Buddhists,
Catholic practitioners and Christian ethnic
minorities.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
While the number of arrests and prosecutions
against human rights defenders and
government critics decreased from previous
years, physical attacks and restrictions on
movement increased. Several activists were
confined to their homes. Some of those
wishing to travel overseas to attend human
rights-related events had their passports
confiscated; several others who managed to
leave were arrested and interrogated by the
police on their return.
Trần Thị Nga, a member of the
independent Vietnamese Women for Human
Rights group was arrested by security officers
on her way to meet a foreign delegation to the
Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in the
capital Ha Noi in March. Security officers beat
her while she was being forcibly driven back
to her home in Hà Nam province with her two
young children.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
In March, the National Assembly questioned
the credibility of a Ministry of Public Security
announcement that of 226 deaths in police
custody between October 2011 and
September 2014, most were caused by
illness or suicide. During 2015 at least seven
deaths in custody were reported with
suspicions of possible police torture or other
ill-treatment.
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PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
At least 45 prisoners of conscience remained
in detention.
2
The majority were convicted
under vaguely worded national security
provisions of the Penal Code: Article 79
(“overthrowing” the state) or Article 88
(“conducting propaganda”). At least 17 were
released after completing their prison
sentences but remained under house arrest
for specified periods. Thích Quảng Độ, head
of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam, spent his 12
th
year under de facto
house arrest, and Father Nguyễn Văn L�½, a
pro-democracy Catholic priest, remained in
prison serving an eight-year sentence.
Some prisoners were pressed to “confess”
to charges in exchange for a reduction in
sentence.
3
Conditions of detention and treatment of
prisoners of conscience continued to be
harsh. This included lack of physical exercise;
verbal and physical attacks; prolonged
detention in hot cells with little natural light;
denial of sanitary equipment; frequent prison
transfers; and detention far from homes and
families, making family visits difficult. Several
undertook hunger strikes in protest at the use
of solitary confinement and abusive treatment
of prisoners, including Tạ Phong Tần (see
above); Nguyễn Đặng Minh Mẫn, serving an
eight-year sentence; and Đinh Nguyên Kha,
serving a four-year sentence.
4
Nguyễn Văn
Duyệt, a Catholic social activist serving a
three-and-a-half-year sentence protested at
being denied a Bible; and social justice
activist Hồ Thị Bích Khương, serving a five-
year sentence, who protested when she was
not allowed to take personal belongings when
transferred to another prison.
that 684 prisoners were on death row. At least
45 death sentences were reported in the
media. In January, the Supreme People’s
Procuracy was tasked with reviewing 16
death penalty cases in which the defendants
alleged they had been tortured during police
interrogation. In October, Lê Văn Mạnh’s
execution was postponed for further
investigation. He alleged he was tortured in
police custody.
5
1. Viet Nam: Demand release of blogger and assistant (ASA
41/2801/2015)
2. Viet Nam: All prisoners of conscience must be immediately and
unconditionally released (ASA
41/2360/2015)
3. Viet Nam: Release Tran Huynh Duy Thuc (ASA
41/1731/2015)
4. Viet Nam: Further information – prisoner of conscience Ta Phong Tan
released (ASA
41/2600/2015)
5. Viet Nam: Halt imminent execution of Le Van Manh and order
investigation into allegations of torture (ASA
41/2737/2015)
YEMEN
Republic of Yemen
Head of state:
Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi
Head of government:
Khaled Bahah
The human rights situation seriously
deteriorated amid the armed conflict, which
intensified in March and continued
throughout the year. All parties to the
conflict committed war crimes and other
serious violations of international law with
impunity, including indiscriminate bombing
and shelling of civilian areas, killing and
injuring thousands of civilians and forcibly
displacing over 2.5 million people. The
Huthi armed group and allied security forces
also arbitrarily restricted the rights to
freedom of expression, association and
assembly, arresting journalists, leaders of
the al-Islah political party and others,
forcing the closure of NGOs, using lethal
and other excessive force against peaceful
protesters, and using torture. Women and
girls remained subject to discrimination and
abuses including forced marriage and
DEATH PENALTY
The National Assembly approved the
reduction in the number of capital offences
from 22 to 15, as well as abolition for alleged
offenders aged 75 and over. Death sentences
for drug-related offences continued to be
imposed. Although official statistics remained
classified as a state secret, the Justice
Minister was reported to have said in October
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female genital mutilation. Courts handed
down death sentences and executions were
carried out.
BACKGROUND
The political transition process was derailed
as Yemen became enmeshed in armed
conflict. After entering the capital Sana’a in
September 2014, the Huthi armed group,
aided by units of the armed forces loyal to
former President Ali Abdullah Saleh,
extended their control over other areas in
early 2015. In January, Huthis attacked
government buildings and military positions,
including the presidential compound, forcing
President Hadi and his government to resign,
and took effective control of Sana’a and other
areas.
On 6 February the Huthi armed group
dissolved Yemen’s Parliament and issued a
constitutional declaration mandating the
creation of a transitional presidential council
to govern Yemen for an interim period of two
years. On 15 February, the UN Security
Council adopted Resolution 2201, which
strongly criticized the Huthis’ actions and
demanded that they refrain from further
unilateral actions that could destabilize the
political transition and Yemen’s security.
President Hadi, having withdrawn his
resignation, relocated with his government to
the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, in late
March, when the advance of Huthis and their
allied forces into southern Yemen led to
intensified armed confrontations between the
Huthis and their allied forces, and armed
groups that opposed them and army units
loyal to President Hadi. The fighting in
southern Yemen was marked by
indiscriminate attacks in which both sides
repeatedly fired imprecise weapons at civilian
residential areas, causing civilian deaths and
injuries.
On 25 March, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition
of nine states intervened in the Yemen
conflict in support of President Hadi’s
internationally recognized government. The
coalition launched a campaign of air strikes
on areas controlled or contested by Huthis
and their allies, including Sana’a and Sa’da
governorate, sent ground troops into southern
Yemen and imposed a sea and air blockade.
While many coalition attacks were directed at
military targets, others were indiscriminate,
disproportionate or directed against civilian
homes and infrastructure, including hospitals,
schools, markets and factories, as well as
vehicles carrying civilians and humanitarian
assistance, killing and injuring thousands of
civilians. By the end of the year, the conflict
had caused the deaths of more than 2,700
civilians, including hundreds of children,
according to the UN, and the forcible
displacement of more than 2.5 million people,
creating a humanitarian crisis.
On 14 April, in Resolution 2216, the UN
Security Council demanded that Huthis
withdraw from Sana’a and other areas and
surrender weapons seized from government
sources. It also called for all states to prevent
arms transfers to former President Saleh and
the Huthi leader Abdul Malik al-Huthi, and
pressed all parties to the conflict to abide by
previous agreements, including the outcomes
of Yemen’s national dialogue and the Peace
and National Partnership agreement of
September 2014.
In July, forces opposed to the Huthis,
supported by ground troops from the United
Arab Emirates and coalition air strikes,
regained control of Aden. In September,
President Hadi’s government partly relocated
to Aden from Saudi Arabia.
UN-brokered peace talks took place in
Geneva, Switzerland, from 15 to 20
December, accompanied by a temporary
ceasefire, but ended without any significant
breakthrough.
US forces continued to carry out drone
strikes against the armed group al-Qa’ida in
the Arabian Peninsula in central and
southeastern Yemen, mainly in the
governorates of Marib and Hadramawt.
ARMED CONFLICT
The Huthi armed group, their allies and the
various armed groups and pro-government
forces that opposed them all committed
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serious violations of international
humanitarian law, including some that
amounted to war crimes, as well as human
rights abuses.
In late April, Aden’s al-Joumhouria Hospital
was forced to suspend its medical activities
because of similar actions by fighters.
Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks
Huthi and anti-Huthi armed groups used
explosive weapons with wide-area effects,
including mortars and artillery shells, when
attacking civilian residential areas controlled
or contested by their opponents in southern
Yemen, killing and injuring civilians. During
fighting for control of Aden and Ta’iz,
Yemen’s two most populous cities after
Sana’a, both sides repeatedly fired explosive
weapons with wide-area effects into densely
populated civilian areas. They also conducted
military operations from civilian residential
neighbourhoods, launching attacks from or
near homes, schools and hospitals, exposing
local civilians to serious risk. The Huthi armed
group and their allies laid internationally
banned anti-personnel landmines that caused
civilian casualties; dozens of civilians were
killed or injured by landmines when returning
to their homes in the second half of the year
after fighting ended in Aden and the
surrounding area.
Huthis and their allies carried out cross-
border attacks from northern Yemen that
could amount to war crimes, indiscriminately
shelling Najran and other civilian-populated
areas in southern Saudi Arabia.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE AND TORTURE
AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The expansion of Huthi control sparked
widespread protests in Ta’iz and other cities
to which Huthi forces and the pro-Huthi
Central Security Forces responded with
excessive force, including the use of live
ammunition, arrests and torture.
In the city of Ibb, Huthis and their allied
forces used live ammunition to fire at
peaceful protesters on 16 February,
wounding three protesters, and on
21 February, killing protester Nasr al-Shuja’.
In Ta’iz, the pro-Huthi Central Security
Forces used excessive force, including tear
gas and live fire, to disperse peaceful
demonstrations from 22 to 25 March, killing
at least eight protesters and wounding at least
30 others. Almost 300 protesters and
bystanders required treatment for tear gas
inhalation.
In Sana’a, Huthis and their allied forces
detained three protesters on 11 February and
tortured them over the following four days;
one, Salah ‘Awdh al-Bashri, died from injuries
he sustained during hours of torture.
Unlawful killings
Anti-Huthi forces summarily killed captured
Huthi fighters and civilians suspected of
supporting the Huthis. They posted videos on
the internet publicizing some of these killings
in Aden and Ta’iz of those they alleged were
“spies” or “Huthi supporters”.
Attacks on medical facilities and workers
The Huthi armed group and its allies, and
their pro-government opponents, attacked
medical facilities, workers and patients or
exposed them to serious risk by using
medical facilities or their close vicinity as
locations for firing positions or other military
activities, particularly during fighting in and
around Aden and Ta’iz. In Aden, unidentified
gunmen attacked the premises of the ICRC,
forcing their staff to relocate. Anti-Huthi
fighters fired assault rifles from inside Aden’s
al-Sadaqa hospital compound and launched
mortars next to the hospital, exposing patients
and medics to the risk of retaliatory attacks.
Abductions, arbitrary arrests and detention
There was a surge in arbitrary arrests,
detentions and abductions of government
supporters, journalists, human rights
defenders and others by Huthis and allied
forces loyal to former President Saleh. Many
detainees were held in multiple, often
unofficial, locations including private homes
without being informed of the reason for their
detention or given any opportunity to
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challenge its legality. At least 25 men,
including political activists, human rights
defenders and journalists, were detained by
armed men in civilian clothes who said they
belonged to Ansarullah, the political wing of
the Huthi armed group, while attending a
meeting at an Ibb hotel on 13 October. Most
were later released, reportedly after being
tortured, but Antar al-Mabarazi, an engineer,
and Ameen al-Shafaq, a university professor,
remained in incommunicado detention at the
end of the year.
Freedom of association
Huthi forces curtailed freedom of association,
closing down at least 27 NGOs in Sana’a and
threatening their directors and staff.
Abuses by Islamic State
The armed group Islamic State (IS) claimed
responsibility for bomb attacks that mostly
targeted mosques in Sana’a seen as pro-
Huthi, killing and injuring civilians. The
deadliest attacks, on 20 March, hit the
mosques of al-Badr and al-Hashoosh in
Sana’a. They killed 142 people, mostly
civilians, and injured 351. On 6 December,
an IS bomb attack killed the Governor of
Aden and several of his aides.
Violations by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition
Beginning on 25 March, a Saudi Arabia-led
military coalition of nine states launched a
campaign of air strikes across Yemen against
the Huthis and their allies. Some attacks
targeted and destroyed military objectives;
others were disproportionate, indiscriminate
or appeared to be directly targeted against
civilians and/or civilian objects, causing
numerous civilian deaths and injuries. Some
of the attacks amounted to war crimes.
The coalition forces’ air strikes destroyed a
cluster of nine houses on 3 June in the village
of al-‘Eram, northwest of Sa’da city, killing at
least 35 children, 11 women and nine men,
and injuring nine other residents. Villagers
said that the strikes had continued while
search and rescue efforts were under way to
look for bodies and survivors in the rubble.
Despite this, both the coalition authorities and
President Hadi’s government failed to
conduct investigations and to hold to account
those responsible for this or other unlawful
attacks.
Coalition forces used imprecise munitions
including large US- and UK-made bombs
with a wide impact radius which cause
casualties and destruction beyond their
immediate strike location. In Sa’da and
Hajjah, they also used US-made cluster
munitions, inherently indiscriminate weapons
whose use is prohibited, and which scatter
bomblets over a wide area and present an
ongoing risk to civilians as they frequently fail
to detonate upon impact.
Some coalition attacks targeted key
infrastructure, such as bridges and highways.
They included attacks in July that destroyed
four bridges on a road linking the Sa’da
governorate to Sana’a. Other coalition air
strikes damaged bridges on roads linking
Sana’a to Hodeidah and Marib, and Ta’iz to
Aden.
Some coalition air strikes hit hospitals and
other medical facilities in Sa’da governorate,
injuring patients and medical workers. On 26
October, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition
destroyed a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
supported hospital in Hayden in Sa’da,
injuring seven medical workers. MSF said that
another of its clinics in Ta’iz was struck by
coalition air strikes on 2 December, wounding
nine people, including two MSF staff. On
4 September, coalition aircraft reportedly
bombed al-Sh’ara hospital at Razih in Sa’da
governorate. According to MSF personnel
who visited the site soon after, there was no
evidence that the hospital was used for
military purposes. MSF said the attack killed
six patients and injured others.
In order to deny supplies to Huthis and
their allied forces, the coalition imposed a
partial aerial and naval blockade. This
severely curtailed the import and provision of
fuel and other essentials, obstructing access
to food, water, humanitarian assistance and
medical supplies, exacerbating the worsening
humanitarian crisis.
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IMPUNITY
All parties to the armed conflict committed
serious human rights abuses with impunity.
Yemeni authorities failed to hold thorough
and independent investigations into past
human rights violations, including unlawful
killings and other serious abuses committed
by government forces in connection with
mass popular protests in 2011.
In September, President Hadi decreed the
establishment of a national commission of
inquiry to investigate all violations committed
since the beginning of 2011.
the Patriotic Front. Electricity shortages led to
lengthy blackouts of up to 14 hours daily,
forcing businesses and mines to scale down
operations and lay off workers. The Zambian
kwacha lost 80% against the US dollar during
the year, driving food prices up. The country’s
rising debt affected the provision of social
services.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice and were
inadequately protected against sexual and
other violence, including female genital
mutilation, forced marriage and other abuses.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for a
wide range of crimes. Courts continued to
impose death sentences and executions were
carried out. Prisoners on death row reportedly
included dozens of juvenile offenders
sentenced for crimes committed when they
were under 18 years of age.
ZAMBIA
Republic of Zambia
Head of state and government:
Edgar Chagwa Lungu
(replaced Acting President Guy Scott in January)
The Public Order Act continued to be used
to curtail freedom of assembly. Journalists
were arrested for reporting on alleged
corruption, while the death sentences of
332 prisoners were commuted to life
imprisonment.
Police continued to implement the Public
Order Act (POA), arbitrarily restricting
freedom of assembly for opposition parties
and civil society. While Section 5(4) of the
POA provides for every person who intends to
assemble or convene a public meeting,
procession or demonstration to give the police
seven days’ notice, police often interpreted
this provision to mean police permission is
required before any public assembly can
proceed.
In May, police opened a docket against
opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema after
he conducted a door-to-door campaign in
Kamwala market in Lusaka, the capital. He
was questioned by police in the presence of
his lawyers for over an hour, and made to
write a letter of undertaking to comply with
the provisions of the POA to be spared
prosecution.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
BACKGROUND
Zambia held a presidential by-election on 20
January, following the death of President
Michael Sata on 28 October 2014. The
election was narrowly won by Edgar Lungu of
On 15 July, police arrested Fred M’membe,
owner of
The Post
newspaper, and journalist
Mukosha Funga for an article they published
in March. The article discussed the
investigation by the Anti-Corruption
Commission (ACC) of a presidential aide for
soliciting a bribe from a Chinese businessman
to arrange an appointment with the President.
The Post
had published a letter from the ACC
to the President notifying the President about
its investigation. In May, the presidential aide
reported the leak to the police, who
questioned the journalists before releasing
them. However, on 15 July they were arrested
and spent a night in custody before appearing
in court, charged with publishing classified
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information. The journalists were released on
bail the next day, which was set at over
US$3,000 each.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In October, President Lungu pardoned Boris
Muziba, Nayoto Mwenda and Wasilota
Sikwibele, three prisoners from the Western
Province. The three men were jailed for three
years in August 2014 for “publication of false
information with the intention of causing fear
and alarm to the general public”, under
Section 67 of the Penal Code. The charges
stemmed from their activities as members of
a movement calling for the secession of the
Western Province from Zambia. Five other
men were remanded in custody since their
arrest in December 2014, following the
announcement in August 2013 by one of
them, Afumba Mombotwa, that they would
set up a transitional government for
Barotseland – a region which includes the
Western Province.
Harare, resulting in clashes and arrests. The
slow pace of legal reform to bring legislation
into line with the 2013 Constitution
restricted access to rights guaranteed by the
Constitution. A Supreme Court ruling in July
allowed government and private employers
to dismiss thousands of workers after only
giving three months’ notice. No executions
were carried out for the 10
th
successive year.
BACKGROUND
DEATH PENALTY
On 16 July, President Lungu commuted the
death sentences of 332 prisoners to life
imprisonment, after witnessing harsh prison
conditions during a visit.
1
1. Zambia: Commuting death sentences a laudable first step (News
story,
16 July)
ZIMBABWE
Republic of Zimbabwe
Head of state and government:
Robert Gabriel Mugabe
The enforced disappearance of prominent
pro-democracy activist Itai Dzamara in
March remained unresolved. Freedom of
expression, association and assembly
continued to be restricted and a number of
journalists were arrested. Forced evictions
continued throughout the year with
thousands of informal traders being forcibly
evicted by municipal police from Central
Tension between factions of President
Mugabe’s ruling Zimbabwe African National
Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party
continued. Factional tension also continued
within the main opposition party, the
Movement for Democratic Change, led by
former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
(MDC-T). Factionalism in the two main
political parties led to the dismissal of some
members of parliament by party leaders,
forcing by-elections in over 20 constituencies.
On 14 November, a ZANU-PF district official
axed to death two other district officials in
Chitungwiza following a dispute over a party
restructuring exercise. The alleged
perpetrator died in suspicious circumstances
in police custody within days of his arrest.
In July, the Zimbabwe Vulnerability
Assessment Committee reported that some
1.5 million people were in need of food aid
during the 2015-2016 lean period leading up
to the next harvest. The rate of formal
unemployment exceeded 80%, while 72% of
the population was living below the national
poverty line of US$1.25 per day.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
On 9 March, five men abducted journalist
and pro-democracy activist Itai Dzamara.
Despite a court ruling ordering state security
agents to investigate his disappearance, there
was no independent evidence to suggest the
state had carried out an investigation with due
diligence by the end of the year. In 2014, Itai
Dzamara founded the protest group Occupy
Africa Unity Square (OAUS) which was critical
of President Mugabe’s rule.
1
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FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The rights to freedom of expression for
journalists and human rights defenders
continued to be restricted through arbitrary
arrests, detentions and prosecutions for
peacefully exercising their rights.
2
At least 10 journalists from both the state-
controlled and private media were arrested for
writing articles critical of government officials
and faced charges including publishing
“falsehoods” under the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act.
On 2 November, the editor of the state-
controlled newspaper
The Sunday Mail,
Mabasa Sasa, and the paper’s investigations
editor Brian Chitemba and journalist Tinashe
Farawo, were arrested after implicating some
senior police officers as being part of a group
behind elephant killings in Hwange National
Park. The three spent two nights in detention
at Harare Central Police Station and were
charged with “publishing falsehoods”. They
were each granted US$100 bail by the court
and released. They denied the charges and
their trial date was set for 29 February 2016.
The assistant news editor of the state-
controlled
Herald
newspaper, Takunda
Maodza, was arrested on 3 November in
Harare while investigating a story alleging that
a Harare businessman was funding an
opposition group known as People First
composed of former ZANU-PF members.
Police alleged that the journalist demanded a
bribe from the businessman. However, fellow
journalists reported that the journalist had
refused to accept the money. He was charged
with attempted extortion under the Criminal
Law (Codification and Reform) Act and
granted US$50 bail by the court. He denied
the charges. The trial was due to continue in
2016.
On 12 November freelance journalist
Shadreck Andrison Manyere was arrested by
police in Harare while filming clashes
between protesters and police in Central
Harare. He was detained for more than four
hours and charged under Section 37(1)(a) of
the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform)
Act with “participating in a gathering with
intent to promote public violence, breach of
peace, or bigotry.” He denied the charges.
On 23 October, police in Rusape arrested
freelance journalist Sydney Saize, Bernard
Chiketo of
The Daily News
and Kenneth
Nyangani, a correspondent for
Newsday,
while the journalists were covering an MDC-T
protest outside Rusape Magistrate’s Court.
They were released without charge after
police searched and interrogated them and
recorded their personal details.
On 18 September, two journalists, Andrew
Kunambura from the
Financial Gazette
and
freelance journalist Emison Haripindi, were
arrested by Harare municipal police while
taking photos of the municipal police
arresting some informal traders. The
journalists were detained at Harare Central
Police Station for about four hours and
released without charge.
On 11 December, Pastor Patrick Philip
Mugadza of the Remnant Church in Kariba
was arrested by police in the resort town of
Victoria Falls after carrying out a one-person
peaceful demonstration. He carried a placard
which read: “Mr President the people are
suffering. Proverbs 21:13.” The
demonstration was held during the annual
conference of the ruling ZANU-PF party. The
pastor was charged with criminal nuisance
under Section 46 of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act. He was
granted an unusually high bail of US$500
and remained in custody for more than two
weeks after failing to raise the money. He was
released on 31 December after lawyers
successfully applied for the reduction of his
bail to US$50.
On 30 November, five activists were
arrested by police outside the Rainbow
Towers Hotel in Harare for staging a peaceful
protest against Vice-President Phelekezela
Mphoko’s stay at the hotel for close to a year.
The five activists – Tendayi Mudehwe, Dirk
Frey, Irvin Takavada, Elvis Mugari and
Tonderai Chigumbu – were released on 2
December after spending two nights at
Harare Central Police Station. They were
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charged with criminal nuisance under Section
46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act.
On 25 July, six civil society activists from
the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Chitungwiza
Residents Trust and the OAUS were arrested
at Harare Central Remand Prison. They were
handed over to the police and charged under
Section 5(2) of the Protected Places and
Areas Act Chapter 11:12 with failing to
comply with a directive from an authorized
officer regulating conduct and movement.
The six were among about 50 activists who
had visited 16 informal traders held on
remand after being denied bail. On 2
October, Mfundo Mlilo and Nixon Nyikadzino
of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and Dirk Frey
of OAUS were acquitted for lack of evidence.
The trials of the remaining three, Edgar
Gweshe, Donald Makuwaza and Charles
Chidhakwa, were continuing at the end of the
year.
The government continued to impose
restrictions on activists campaigning for
community radio stations to be licensed. The
authorities have failed to license a single
community radio station since enacting the
Broadcasting Services Act in 2001. At least
28 community-based initiatives were
campaigning to obtain broadcasting licences
in both rural and urban areas. Police blocked
meetings under the Public Order and Security
Act and security agents raided offices and
seized material and equipment belonging to
the community-based organizations. Activists
campaigning for community radio licences
were subjected to frequent interrogation by
police and the Central Intelligence
Organization after meetings and other
activities aimed at setting up community radio
stations.
3
lost their jobs within days of the Supreme
Court ruling as employers used the ruling to
avoid going through a formal retrenchment
process as set out in the Labour Act. In
August, the government rushed amendments
to the Labour Act through Parliament to
include setting up a minimum package for
retrenched workers. Unions and employers
complained that they were not adequately
consulted. Trade unions argued that the
package did not give adequate safeguards to
employees.
FORCED EVICTIONS
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
A Supreme Court ruling on 17 July upheld an
employer’s common law contractual right to
terminate employment by giving three
months’ notice. The ruling triggered mass lay-
offs by the government and by state-owned
and private companies. Thousands of workers
Informal traders were forcibly evicted from
central Harare and other town centres. In
June, the government issued an ultimatum
for the removal of informal traders from cities
and towns with the support of the army. In
July, municipal police clashed with informal
traders in Central Harare in an attempt to
remove them from the Central Business
District. Dozens of informal traders, including
leaders of the National Vendors’ Union of
Zimbabwe, were arrested and detained.
Sixteen were charged with public violence.
They were released on bail and their trials
were continuing at the end of the year.
Across the country thousands of people
were forcibly evicted. Some turned to the
courts for protection. On 12 January, the High
Court in Harare stopped the removal of some
150 families settled at Arnold Farm in
Mazowe district. The families’ homes had
been indiscriminately demolished by police
on 7 January, leaving people homeless, with
no cover from the elements in the midst of
the rainy season. The forced evictions had
been carried out despite an earlier High Court
order issued in August 2014 protecting the
Arnold Farm residents from arbitrary eviction
under Section 74 of the Constitution.
In July, the Harare City Council ordered the
destruction of homes in areas it declared
“illegal settlements” without obtaining the
necessary court orders. Demolitions were
carried out in the Warren Park and Westlea
suburbs. These were part of settlements
established by housing co-operatives.
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Demolitions also continued in December
when 200 structures were destroyed by the
City of Harare near Kambuzuma suburb.
2. Zimbabwe: Shooting the messengers (News
story,
10 November)
3. Beyond tokenism: The need to license community radio stations in
Zimbabwe (AFR
46/1613/2015)
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
On 28 October, in an unprecedented
development, the Constitutional Court ordered
the Prosecutor-General, Johannes Tomana, to
be committed to prison for 30 days for
contravening Section 164(3) of the
Constitution. He was accused of repeatedly
disobeying orders issued by the High Court
and Supreme Court to allow private parties to
pursue prosecutions for fraud and rape in two
high-profile cases. The Constitutional Court
ruled that in the two cases the Prosecutor-
General had a statutory duty to issue the
certificates for private prosecutions under
Section 16 of the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act. The 30-day sentence was
suspended for 10 days on condition that
within the 10 days the Prosecutor-General
complied with the earlier court orders. On
4 November, the Deputy Prosecutor-General,
acting on behalf the Prosecutor-General,
issued the certificates allowing the private
prosecutions to proceed.
The process of reviewing the country’s laws
to bring them into line with the 2013
Constitution continued, but at a very slow
pace. Consequently, the human rights
guarantees afforded by the Constitution were
compromised by the continued use of old
laws by police and other government
departments. For example, activists were
arrested and charged under legal provisions
that were clearly unconstitutional and some
had to turn to the Constitutional Court for
redress.
DEATH PENALTY
In July, Zimbabwe reached 10 years without
carrying out any known executions.
1. Zimbabwe: Open letter: Investigate and resolve the circumstances
around the enforced disappearance of Itai Dzamara (AFR
46/2423/2015)
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