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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. We are independent of any government,
political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly
by our membership and public donations.
First published in 2018 by
Amnesty International Ltd
Peter Benenson House,
1, Easton Street,
London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
© Amnesty International 2018
Index: POL 10/6700/2018
ISBN: 978-0-86210-499-3
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
CreativeCommons (attribution,
non-commercial, no derivatives,
international 4.0) licence.
https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
For more information please visit
the permissions page on our
website:
www.amnesty.org
amnesty.org
This report documents Amnesty
International’s work and concerns
through 2017.
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 2017/18 
THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS
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CONTENTS
ANNUAL REPORT 2017/18
Abbreviations vii
Preface ix
Foreword 12
Spotlight 15
Africa Regional Overview 18
Americas Regional Overview 27
Asia-Pacific Regional Overview 36
Europe and Central Asia Regional
Overview 46
Middle East and North Africa
Regional Overview 55
Afghanistan 66
Albania 69
Algeria 71
Angola 73
Argentina 76
Armenia 78
Australia 79
Austria 80
Azerbaijan 82
Bahrain 84
Bangladesh 87
Belarus 89
Belgium 91
Benin 92
Bolivia 94
Bosnia and Herzegovina 95
Botswana 96
Brazil 98
Brunei Darussalam 102
Bulgaria 103
Burkina Faso 105
Burundi 107
Cambodia 110
Cameroon 112
Canada 115
Central African Republic 118
Chad 121
Chile 123
China 125
Colombia 130
Congo (Republic of the) 135
Côte d’Ivoire 136
Croatia 138
Cuba 140
Cyprus 142
Czech Republic 143
Democratic Republic of the
Congo 144
Denmark 147
Dominican Republic 148
Ecuador 150
Egypt 151
El Salvador 156
Equatorial Guinea 158
Eritrea 159
Estonia 161
Ethiopia 162
Fiji 164
Finland 165
France 166
Gabon 168
Gambia 169
Georgia 171
Germany 173
Ghana 176
Greece 177
Guatemala 180
Guinea 182
Haiti 183
Honduras 185
Hungary 187
India 189
Indonesia 193
Iran 197
Iraq 202
Ireland 205
Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories 207
Italy 211
Jamaica 214
Japan 216
Jordan 217
Kazakhstan 220
Kenya 222
Korea (Democratic People’s
Republic of) 225
Korea (Republic of) 227
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Kuwait 229
Kyrgyzstan 231
Laos 233
Latvia 234
Lebanon 234
Lesotho 237
Liberia 239
Libya 240
Lithuania 244
Macedonia 244
Madagascar 246
Malawi 248
Malaysia 249
Maldives 250
Mali 252
Malta 254
Mauritania 254
Mexico 256
Moldova 261
Mongolia 262
Montenegro 263
Morocco/Western Sahara 265
Mozambique 268
Myanmar 269
Namibia 273
Nauru 274
Nepal 275
Netherlands 277
New Zealand 278
Nicaragua 279
Niger 280
Nigeria 282
Norway 286
Oman 287
Pakistan 288
Palestine (State of) 292
Papua New Guinea 295
Paraguay 296
Peru 297
Philippines 299
Poland 301
Portugal 303
Puerto Rico 305
Qatar 306
Romania 308
Russian Federation 310
Rwanda 315
Saudi Arabia 317
Senegal 321
Serbia 322
Sierra Leone 325
Singapore 327
Slovakia 328
Slovenia 329
Somalia 331
South Africa 332
South Sudan 335
Spain 339
Sri Lanka 342
Sudan 344
Swaziland 346
Sweden 347
Switzerland 348
Syria 349
Taiwan 353
Tajikistan 354
Tanzania 357
Thailand 358
Timor-Leste 361
Togo 362
Tunisia 364
Turkey 367
Turkmenistan 372
Uganda 373
Ukraine 376
United Arab Emirates 379
United Kingdom 381
United States of America 384
Uruguay 389
Uzbekistan 390
Venezuela 393
Viet Nam 397
Yemen 400
Zambia 403
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
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UN Refugee Convention
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees
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 2017/18
shines a light on the state of the
world’s human rights during 2017.
The foreword, five regional overviews and a survey of 159 countries and
territories from all regions document the struggle of many people to claim
their rights, and the failures of governments to respect, protect and fulfil
human rights.
Yet there are also glimpses of hard-won progress, demonstrating that the
defence of human rights does yield positive developments. This report pays
tribute to the human rights defenders who continue to fight for change,
sometimes risking their own lives in the process.
In a year when austerity measures and natural disasters pushed many into
deeper poverty and insecurity, this year’s report also shines a spotlight on
economic, social and cultural rights.
While every attempt is made to ensure accuracy, information may be subject
to change without notice.
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 AMNESTY 
 INTERNATIONAL 
 REPORT 2017/18 
PART 1: FOREWORD, SPOTLIGHT AND
REGIONAL OVERVIEWS
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FOREWORD
“As we enter the year in which the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights turns 70, it is abundantly clear that none of us
can take our human rights for granted.”
SALIL SHETTY, SECRETARY GENERAL
Throughout 2017, millions across the world experienced the bitter fruits of a rising politics of
demonization. Its ultimate consequences were laid bare in the horrific military campaign of
ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. This caused an exodus of some
655,000 people into neighbouring Bangladesh in a matter of weeks, the fastest-growing
refugee crisis of 2017. At the end of the year, their prospects for the future remained very
unclear, and the enduring failure of world leaders to provide real solutions for refugees left little
reason for optimism.
This episode will stand in history as yet another testament to the world’s catastrophic failure
to address conditions that provide fertile ground for mass atrocity crimes. The warning signs in
Myanmar had long been visible: massive discrimination and segregation had become
normalized within a regime that amounted to apartheid, and for long years the Rohingya
people were routinely demonized and stripped of the basic conditions needed to live in dignity.
The transformation of discrimination and demonization into mass violence is tragically familiar,
and its ruinous consequences cannot be easily undone.
The appalling injustices meted out to the Rohingya may have been especially visible in 2017,
but the trend of leaders and politicians demonizing whole groups of people based on their
identity reverberated across the globe. The past year showed us once again what happens
when the politics of demonization become mainstream, with grim consequences for human
rights.
As we enter 2018, the year in which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70, it is
abundantly clear that none of us can take any of our human rights for granted. We certainly
cannot take for granted that we will be free to gather together in protest or to criticize our
governments. Neither can we take for granted that social security will be available when we are
old or incapacitated; that our babies can grow up in cities with clean, breathable air; or that as
young people we will leave school to find jobs that enable us to buy a home.
The battle for human rights is never decisively won in any place or at any point in time. The
frontiers shift continually, so there can never be room for complacency. In the history of human
rights, this has perhaps never been clearer. Yet, faced with unprecedented challenges across
the world, people have shown repeatedly that their thirst for justice, dignity and equality will
not be extinguished; they continue to find new and bold ways of expressing this, while often
paying a heavy price. In 2017, this global battle of values reached a new level of intensity.
Assaults on the basic values underpinning human rights – which recognize the dignity and
equality of all people – have assumed vast proportions. Conflicts, fuelled by the international
arms trade, continue to exact a cataclysmic toll on civilians, often by design. Whether in the
humanitarian catastrophe of Yemen, exacerbated by Saudi Arabia’s blockade, or government
and international forces’ indiscriminate killing of civilians used as human shields by the armed
group calling itself Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or crimes under international law driving a
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huge outflow of refugees from South Sudan – at times, parties to the world’s numerous
conflicts have abdicated even the pretence of respect for their obligations to protect civilians.
Leaders of wealthy countries have continued to approach the global refugee crisis with a
blend of evasion and outright callousness, regarding refugees not as human beings with rights
but as problems to be deflected. The efforts of US President Donald Trump to ban entry to all
citizens of several Muslim-majority countries based on their nationality was a transparently
hateful move. Most European leaders have been unwilling to grapple with the big challenge of
regulating migration safely and legally, and have decided that practically nothing is off limits in
their efforts to keep refugees away from the continent’s shores. The inevitable consequences
of this approach were evident in the shocking abuses suffered by refugees in Libya, with the
full knowledge of European leaders.
Across parts of Europe and Africa, the spectre of hatred and fear loomed throughout a
succession of significant elections. In Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands, some
candidates sought to transpose social and economic anxieties into fear and blame, especially
against migrants, refugees and religious minorities. In Kenya, presidential elections in August
and October were marred by intimidation and violence, including on the basis of ethnic
identity.
However, 2017 also demonstrated the enduring willingness of people to stand up for their
rights and for the values they want to see in the world. New and severe threats gave fresh
oxygen to the spirit of protest. In Poland, serious threats to the independence of the judiciary
brought large numbers of people onto the streets. In Zimbabwe, tens of thousands marched
with determination in November, consummating their decades-long struggle against
strongman politics and demanding a genuine election in 2018 – one in which the people’s will
is freely expressed. In India, rising Islamophobia and a wave of lynchings of Muslims and
Dalits provoked outrage and protest as people said: “Not in my name”. A vast International
Women’s Day march, centred on the USA but with many offshoots around the world, became
one of the largest protest events in history. And globally, the #MeToo phenomenon drew
enormous attention to the appalling extent of sexual abuse and harassment.
But the cost of speaking out against injustice continues to grow. In Turkey, the ruthless and
arbitrary assault on civil society in the wake of the failed coup in 2016 continued at a furious
pace, sweeping up the Chair and Director of Amnesty International Turkey among thousands
of others. China unleashed unprecedented crackdowns on individuals and organizations
perceived to be critical of the government, in the name of “national security”. Following large,
widespread protests in Russia, hundreds of peaceful protesters, bystanders and journalists
were arrested; many faced ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and heavy fines following unfair
trials. Across much of Africa, the intolerance of public protest was alarmingly apparent, from
arbitrary bans in Angola and Chad, to heavy-handed crackdowns in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda. In Venezuela, hundreds of people were
arbitrarily detained and many more suffered the consequences of excessive and abusive force
used by security forces in response to widespread public protests against rising inflation and
shortages of food and medical supplies. In Egypt, authorities severely curbed the freedom to
criticize the government by closing down or freezing the assets of NGOs, enacting draconian
legislation that provided for five years’ imprisonment for publishing research without
government permission, and sentencing journalists and hundreds of political opponents to
prison terms. As the year drew to a close, a wave of anti-establishment demonstrations began
in Iran, the like of which had not been seen since 2009. Reports emerged that security forces
killed and injured unarmed protesters by using firearms and other excessive force. Hundreds
were arrested and detained in jails notorious for torture and other ill-treatment.
2018 will mark 20 years since the UN adopted by consensus the Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders, which provides for their protection and support and encourages everyone to
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stand up for human rights. Yet two decades later, those who take up the mantle of defending
human rights often face the gravest of consequences. In 2017, the tragic death of Nobel
Laureate Liu Xiaobo in China was emblematic of the contempt in which too many governments
hold human rights defenders. He died in custody from liver cancer on 13 July, after the
Chinese authorities refused to allow him to receive medical treatment abroad.
Meanwhile, narratives of national security and counter-terrorism have continued to provide
justification to governments seeking to reconfigure the balance between state powers and
individual freedoms. States have a clear responsibility to protect people from acts of violence
that are designed to terrorize; yet, increasingly, they have done so at the expense of rights
rather than to protect rights. Europe has continued to slip towards a near-permanent state of
securitization. France, for example, ended its state of emergency in November, but only after
adopting a new anti-terror law, which embedded in ordinary law many of the provisions of the
emergency regime.
However, despite the gravity of these assaults on human rights, an understanding of the
global struggle for the values of human dignity and equality demands that we resist any simple
equation of repressive government versus principled people-power. Today’s public spaces are
contested between often-polarized extremes. While both Poland and the USA saw significant
rallies calling for human rights protections not to be undermined, a large-scale nationalist
march with xenophobic slogans in Warsaw and a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville
called for policies that are profoundly antithetical to human rights. Abusive policies and
practices that deny human rights to certain groups enjoyed popular support in many countries.
Today, many of our most important public spaces exist online, where the tools for addressing
emerging challenges have at times proved wholly inadequate to the task. The avalanche of
online abuse, particularly against women, and the incitement of hatred against minorities,
drew weak and inconsistent responses from social media companies and scant action from
governments. The impact of “fake news” as a tool for manipulating public opinion was widely
discussed throughout 2017. Technological capabilities to blur the distinction between reality
and fiction are only likely to grow in future, raising significant questions about people’s access
to information. These concerns are compounded by the extreme concentration of control in
only a handful of companies over the information people view online, and by the huge power
asymmetry between individuals and the companies and governments who control vast
amounts of data. The capabilities deriving from this to shape public attitudes are immense,
including virtually unchecked potential for incitement to hatred and violence.
As we approach the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in
December 2018, the challenge ahead is clear. This is a moment to reclaim the essential idea
of the equality and dignity of all people, to cherish those values, and demand that they
become a foundation for policy-making and practice. The artificial boundaries erected by a
politics of demonization lead us only towards conflict and brutality, a nightmarish vision of
humanity governed by naked self-interest and blinded to the plight of others. Too many leaders
in the world have allowed the exponents of vilification to set the agenda, and failed to articulate
an alternative vision.
It is time for this to change. We must refuse to accept narratives of demonization and build
instead a culture of solidarity. We must hone our capacity for generosity towards others. We
must assert the right of all people to participate in building the societies to which they belong.
And we must seek constructive answers – rooted in human rights – to the frustrations, anger
and alienation that provide a ready context for toxic political narratives of blame.
The coming year provides a vital opportunity for a renewed commitment to the transformative
idea of human rights, as we ask what kind of societies we want to live in. We must not
squander it.
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SPOTLIGHT ON AUSTERITY
“I feel alone, like I’ve been left in the dark without anywhere
to get help… I’m scared about what that will mean for my
kids.”
– Sarah
When the UK government cut legal aid support in 2012, Sarah was left without the support
she needed to fight a complex legal case regarding access to her children. She is one of
countless millions affected worldwide by government austerity policies. Yet the sheer scale
of austerity and the statistics surrounding it can blind us to the day-to-day toll it is having
on the lives of individual people and families.
Since the financial crisis of 2008, austerity has become a familiar term and experience for
millions of people. This phenomenon – in which a government seeks to reduce a deficit in
public finances, typically to reduce public debt – usually involves cuts to government
spending, sometimes coupled with tax rises which often hit the poorest hardest by raising
prices of basic necessities such as food.
Austerity is a human rights issue. It affects people’s access to education, health, housing,
social security and other economic and social rights. It also leads to abuses of civil and
political rights, as governments respond to protests and other dissent in draconian ways or cut
services that affect access to justice, such as legal aid. All too often, governments dismiss
these rights and make decisions that put the greatest burden on those living in poverty while
threatening the welfare of society as a whole. Austerity is a global issue. In 2017, widespread
austerity measures were applied in countries from every region, particularly restricting people’s
economic and social rights.
In Europe, people took to the streets to protest against the detrimental effects of austerity
measures in Greece, Serbia, Spain and the UK. In the case of the latter, research in England
linked roughly 120,000 deaths to cuts to health and social care.
Amnesty International is researching the impact of austerity policies on the protection and
realization of socio-economic rights in selected countries. The next piece of research, to be
published in the first half of 2018, focuses on the impact of austerity measures on the right to
health in Spain. A nurse working in the Spanish public health system told Amnesty
International: “We have all suffered because of the cuts: nurses, doctors, patients, families,
everyone.”
In Sub-Saharan Africa, subsidies for the poor and social welfare have all been cut at a time
when consumption taxes such as Value Added Tax (VAT) have been increased, often hitting
hardest those living in poverty. Countries including Botswana, Burundi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia and Togo continued to be “advised” by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) to keep on implementing austerity measures – despite the IMF’s own admission in
2012 that such an approach is not always warranted and can undermine the economic growth
needed to pay for services. In North Africa, Algeria’s response to the fall in oil prices saw its
government implement deep spending cuts in its 2017 budget, combined with a rise in VAT
from 2% to 19%. IMF lending policies also prompted the Egyptian government to raise the
prices of essential goods and services.
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In Brazil, the unprecedented decision to impose a 20-year fiscal spending cap at the end of
2016 drew strong criticism from both inside and outside the country. In condemning the
measure, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights stated: “Logic
dictates that it is virtually inevitable that the progressive realization of economic and social
rights [will] become impossible.”
Economies in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions were similarly hamstrung by austerity
measures. During 2017, Indonesia, Mongolia and Sri Lanka witnessed cuts to public
spending. Even the budgets of resource-rich Qatar and Saudi Arabia shrank in moves to
reduce state deficits, prioritizing economic efficiency over social protection.
In the absence of appropriate social safety nets, such measures risk violating governments’
human rights obligations as well as commitments under the global 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Looking ahead, even in the short term some commentators are forecasting an “austerity
apocalypse”. Regions such as Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to be
particularly badly affected. One report forecasts that during the next three years more than
two-thirds of all countries will be impacted by austerity, affecting more than 6 billion people
and wiping 7% off global Gross Domestic Product. The human cost is estimated to include
millions being put out of work, including 2.4 million people in low-income countries, with few
prospects of alternative employment.
How should governments respond and what do they have to do to fulfil their human rights
obligations? These obligations do not prohibit austerity per se, but do require that other options
also be considered by governments making economic and fiscal decisions. Above all, human
rights underline the importance of governmental accountability when making such decisions.
Rights holders should be asking key questions of their governments when confronted by
austerity: What levels of scrutiny were employed? How participatory and transparent was the
process? What potential impacts, particularly on the most socially and economically
marginalized, were considered and what mitigation measures were put in place?
Human rights standards require that measures are put in place to ensure that nobody is
allowed to fall below the minimum safety net needed to guarantee a dignified life.
Unfortunately, this is routinely being ignored in even the largest economies as we see ever-
increasing numbers of homeless people and the growth of food banks; charities and
communities are responding to welfare cuts by stepping in to prevent people going hungry.
There is no question that many national budgets are under strain. But are governments
making the maximum use of all the potential resources at their disposal, as they are required
to do under human rights law? The November 2017 release of the so-called “Paradise Papers”
revealed the vast extent of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance around the world,
demonstrating the systematic failure of governments to close loopholes and monitor and
address abuses. It has been estimated that Brazil alone is losing up to USD80 billion a year as
a result of tax evasion (which calls into question the need for a 20-year spending cap), while
African countries could collectively claw back at least the same amount annually. In addition to
the well-known tax havens, a 2017 study showed that countries including Ireland, the
Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK are facilitating tax evasion by people in other
countries. Globally it is estimated that the annual figure could be as high as USD10 trillion.
Extraordinary times require the consideration of radical alternatives. A number of ideas have
been gaining traction during 2017. They include the introduction of a universal basic income –
already being piloted in some countries – which would guarantee everyone enough money to
live on, regardless of circumstances. Another proposal would involve the state paying for all
key basic services rather than leaving it to the market. Of course such ideas have their critics:
Where will the money come from? Will it simply encourage people to live off the state, even if
they are in a position to work? Nevertheless, proponents point to the potential longer-term
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social and economic cost savings for societies, as well as the need to recognize that nobody
should be left behind even in the most straitened of times. Governments should seriously
consider these ideas as possible ways to meet their human rights obligations.
As austerity continues to bite worldwide, individuals and communities are fighting back and
defending human rights. Their voices and the alternative vision they articulate need to be
heard.
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AFRICA REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Africa’s human rights landscape was shaped by violent crackdowns against peaceful
protesters and concerted attacks on political opponents, human rights defenders and civil
society organizations. Meanwhile, relentless violence against civilians in long-standing
conflicts was compounded by the stagnation of political efforts to resolve these crises. The
cycle of impunity for human rights violations and abuses committed in conflicts – including
crimes under international law – continued.
Intolerance of peaceful dissent and an entrenched disregard for the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly were increasingly the norm. From Lomé to Freetown, Khartoum to Kampala
and Kinshasa to Luanda, there were mass arrests of peaceful protesters, as well as beatings,
excessive use of force and, in some cases, killings.
Political deadlock and failures by regional and international bodies to address long-standing
conflicts and their underlying causes were also in danger of becoming normalized, and leading
to more violations, with impunity.
These trends occurred within a context of slow and intermittent success in reducing poverty,
and limited progress in human development. According to the Africa Sustainable Development
Report, the rate of decline in extreme poverty was slow; women and young people bore the
brunt of poverty.
However, there were signs of hope and progress that rarely made global headlines: the
courage of ordinary people and human rights defenders who stood up for justice, equality and
dignity in the face of repression.
Significant reforms emerged in a few countries. Gambia rescinded its decision to withdraw
from the International Criminal Court (ICC), freed political prisoners and promised to abolish
the death penalty. Burkina Faso’s draft Constitution included provisions to strengthen human
rights protection.
Notable too were landmark judicial decisions on human rights. Kenya’s High Court decision
to block the government’s planned closure of Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp,
prevented the forcible return of more than a quarter of a million refugees to Somalia, where
they were at risk of serious abuses. In Nigeria, two judgments declared threats of forced
evictions without the service of statutory notices to be illegal, and found that forced evictions
and the threat of such evictions amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Angola’s Constitutional Court declared legislation designed to stifle the work of civil society
organizations to be unconstitutional.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
CRACKDOWN ON PROTEST
In over 20 countries, people were denied their right to peaceful protest, including through
unlawful bans, use of excessive force, harassment and arbitrary arrests. The right to freedom
of assembly was the exception rather than the rule.
In Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Sudan, Togo and
elsewhere, legal, administrative and other measures were used to impose unlawful restrictions
and bans on peaceful protests.
In Angola, authorities frequently prevented peaceful demonstrations, even though no prior
authorization was required in law. In Chad, at least six peaceful assemblies were banned, and
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many organizers and participants were arrested. In DRC, peaceful protests, particularly those
related to the political crisis sparked by delayed elections, were banned and repressed. Civil
society organizations, political opposition and Darfuri students in Sudan were prevented from
holding events.
Use of excessive force and other abuses to disperse peaceful protests resulted in deaths,
injuries and unlawful arrests in many countries. In Angola, the few demonstrations that
proceeded were met with arbitrary arrests, detention and ill-treatment by police and security
forces. Cameroon’s security forces violently repressed demonstrations in Anglophone regions.
Kenyan police used excessive force against opposition protesters following the general election
– including with live ammunition and tear gas, leaving dozens dead, at least 33 of whom were
shot by police, including two children.
In Togo, at least 10 people, including three children and two members of the armed forces,
were killed during a crackdown by security forces, who frequently beat and fired tear gas and
live ammunition at protesters. Sierra Leone’s security forces opened fire on students
demonstrating against a lecturers’ strike in the city of Bo, killing one and injuring others.
Uganda’s government used raids, arrests, intimidation and harassment to stop peaceful
gatherings and silence opposition to an amendment to remove the presidential age limit from
the Constitution.
ATTACKS ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, JOURNALISTS AND
OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS
Widespread repression of dissent also manifested itself through attacks on human rights
defenders, civil society organizations, journalists and bloggers.
In Cameroon, civil society activists, journalists, trade unionists and teachers were arbitrarily
arrested, and some faced military court trials. The government banned the activities of political
parties and civil society organizations. Many remained in detention on spurious charges
relating to national security.
Chad’s authorities arrested and prosecuted human rights defenders, activists and journalists
to silence criticism of the government, including in response to rising anger at the economic
crisis.
In Equatorial Guinea, police detained activists, highlighting the authorities’ willingness to
abuse laws to intimidate and silence dissent.
In Eritrea, thousands of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners were detained without
charge or access to lawyers or family members, many having been held for over 10 years.
In Ethiopia, arbitrary detentions continued under the state of emergency declaration, until it
was lifted in June. The government ordered the release of 10,000 of the 26,000 detained in
2016 under the declaration. Meanwhile, hundreds were detained under the draconian Anti-
Terrorism Proclamation, often used to target government critics.
In Mauritania, Mohamed Mkhaïtir, a blogger accused of apostasy, had his death sentence
commuted but remained in detention even after he had served his sentence. Meanwhile two
anti-slavery activists remained in jail.
The authorities in Madagascar intimidated and harassed journalists and human rights
defenders in an attempt to silence them. Those daring to speak out against illegal trafficking
and exploitation of natural resources were increasingly targeted through the use of criminal
charges.
Sudan’s government persisted in stifling dissent, with opposition political party members,
trade union activists, human rights defenders and students increasingly targeted by the
security forces; they faced arbitrary arrests and detention on trumped-up charges, and routine
torture and other ill-treatment.
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In Zambia, the Public Order Act was used to repress the rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly, particularly against critical civil society activists and
opposition political party leaders. Police used excessive force against peaceful protesters while
ignoring violence by ruling party loyalists against civil society activists.
In Zimbabwe, Pastor Evan Mawarire – founder of the #Thisflag movement – suffered political
persecution and harassment, until he was acquitted following the change in government in
November.
Ugandan academic Stella Nyanzi was detained for over one month for Facebook posts
criticizing the President and his wife, who was the Minister for Education.
EMERGING REGRESSIVE LAWS AND SHRINKING POLITICAL SPACE
Some governments moved to introduce new laws to restrict the activities of human rights
defenders, journalists and opponents.
Angola’s Parliament adopted
five bills containing provisions restricting freedom of expression,
establishing a media regulatory body with broad oversight powers.
Legislation adopted in Côte d’Ivoire contained provisions curtailing the right to freedom of
expression – including in relation to defamation, offending the President and disseminating
false news.
A draft bill in Nigeria and draft amendments to Malawi’s NGO law introduced excessive,
intrusive and arbitrary controls on the activities of NGOs, including human rights groups.
MEDIA FREEDOM
In at least 30 countries – more than half the countries monitored – media freedom was
curtailed and journalists faced criminalization.
Misuse of the justice system to silence dissent was common in Angola where the government
used defamation laws, especially against journalists and academics.
In Uganda, journalist Gertrude Uwitware was arrested for supporting Stella Nyanzi.
In Botswana, journalists faced continued harassment and intimidation for their investigative
journalism; three journalists were detained and threatened with death by security agents in
plain clothes after they investigated the construction of President Ian Khama’s holiday home.
Cameroon and Togo blocked the internet to prevent journalists from doing their jobs and
closed media outlets.
Activists including journalists and bloggers were detained in Ethiopia and many were
convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation which provided vague definitions of terrorist
acts.
A military court in Cameroon sentenced Radio France Internationale journalist Ahmed Abba
to 10 years’ imprisonment after an unfair trial, for exercising his right to freedom of expression.
He was released in December following a decision by an appellate tribunal which reduced his
sentence to 24 months.
POLITICAL REPRESSION AND VIOLATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ELECTIONS
Fear, intimidation and violence marred Kenya’s presidential elections. Police used excessive
force against opposition protesters following the elections leaving dozens dead, including at
least 33 shot by the police. Senior ruling party officials repeatedly threatened the
independence of the judiciary after the Supreme Court annulled the election results. The
NGOs Coordination Board threatened human rights and governance organizations with closure
and other punitive measures after they criticized the electoral process.
In Rwanda’s August presidential election, incumbent Paul Kagame won a landslide victory,
following constitutional changes that allowed him to contest a third term; the election took
place in a climate of fear created by two decades of attacks on political opposition,
independent media and human rights defenders. Potential presidential candidates were also
targeted, including by smear campaigns.
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The run-up to Angola’s elections in August was marked by human rights abuses – journalists
and human rights defenders were repeatedly intimidated for exposing corruption and human
rights violations. Protesters faced arrest and excessive use of force by police.
Political repression was rife in Burundi, with unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, and enforced
disappearances across the country.
ARMED CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE
Although the nature and intensity of Africa’s conflicts varied, they were generally characterized
by gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law – including
acts constituting crimes under international law.
Amid the paralysis of regional efforts to resolve the political deadlock, intense suffering and
loss of life continued in South Sudan’s four-year armed conflict, which forced millions from
their homes. In the Upper Nile region, tens of thousands of civilians were forcibly displaced as
government forces burned, shelled and systematically looted homes; sexual violence
continued unabated. A cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in December following
the forum launched by the intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to revitalize
the previous peace agreement. However, soon after, renewed fighting broke out in different
parts of the country.
In Sudan, the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan
states remained dire, with widespread violations of international humanitarian and human
rights law.
There was renewed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR), which led to large-scale
human rights violations and abuses and crimes under international law. Outside the
government-controlled capital, armed groups carried out a range of abuses, and reports of
sexual exploitation and abuses by UN peacekeeping troops continued.
In DRC, unprecedented violence in the Kasaï region left thousands dead and as of 25
September 1 million were internally displaced; over 35,000 people fled to neighbouring
Angola. Congolese army soldiers used excessive force, killing scores of suspected members
and sympathizers of the armed insurgent group Kamuena Nsapu, which, in turn, recruited
children and carried out attacks on civilians and government forces. The government proxy-
militia group Bana Mura was responsible for dozens of ethnic-based attacks including killings,
rapes and destruction of civilian property.
In response to threats by the armed group Boko Haram and its ongoing commission of war
crimes, security forces in Cameroon and Nigeria continued to commit gross human rights
violations and crimes under international law. These included extrajudicial executions,
enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, torture and other ill-
treatment, which, in some cases, led to deaths in custody. People accused of supporting Boko
Haram were sentenced to death in Cameroon following unfair trials in military courts, although
none were executed during the year. In Nigeria, the military arbitrarily arrested and detained
incommunicado thousands of women, men and children in harsh conditions. In Niger – where
the government declared a state of emergency in the western areas bordering Mali and
renewed the state of emergency in the Diffa region – more than 700 suspected Boko Haram
members went on trial.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Armed groups including al-Shabaab and Boko Haram perpetrated abuses and attacks against
civilians in countries including Cameroon, CAR, DRC, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Somalia. In
some cases, the attacks constituted serious abuses of international humanitarian and human
rights law.
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In the Lake Chad basin region, Boko Haram committed war crimes on a large scale. Boko
Haram attacks targeted civilians, caused deaths and led to an increase in displacement of
civilians. Resurgent attacks in Cameroon and Nigeria left hundreds of civilians dead. While 82
of the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok, northeast Nigeria, were released in May, thousands
of abducted women, girls and young men were unaccounted for and faced horrific abuses,
including rape. Across northeast Nigeria, 1.7 million people were displaced, bringing many to
the brink of starvation.
In Mali, attacks by armed groups on civilians and peacekeepers spread from the north to the
centre, and a state of emergency was extended in October for another year.
In October, al-Shabaab carried out the deadliest attack against civilians in recent times in
Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu; it left over 512 people dead.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment was reported in several countries including Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sudan.
Cameroon’s security forces perpetrated torture against people suspected – often without
evidence – of supporting Boko Haram; these violations amounted to war crimes and the
crimes were carried out with impunity.
In Ethiopia, detainees accused of terrorism repeatedly complained to the courts that police
tortured and ill-treated them during interrogations. Although, in some cases, judges ordered
the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to investigate the allegations, the investigations failed
to adhere to international human rights standards.
On the positive side, the Anti-Torture Bill – intended to prohibit and criminalize the use of
torture – was signed into law in Nigeria in December.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Protracted conflicts, along with recurring humanitarian crises and persistent human rights
violations, forced millions to flee their homes in search of protection. Refugees and migrants
faced widespread abuses and violations. Millions of refugees hosted by African countries were
inadequately supported by the international community.
The ongoing conflict and drought in Somalia left half the country’s population in need of
humanitarian assistance, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Over a million people
were internally displaced by conflict and drought during the year – adding to 1.1 million
internally displaced people living in deplorable conditions in unsafe informal settlements.
In Kenya, over 285,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from Somalia remained in urgent need
of protection. In February, a High Court ruling blocked the Kenyan government’s unilateral
decision to shut Dadaab refugee camp, which – in violation of international law – had put more
than 260,000 Somali refugees at risk of forcible return. Although Dadaab remained open, the
Kenyan government continued to refuse to register new arrivals from Somalia. Over 74,000
refugees were repatriated from Dadaab to Somalia between December 2014 and November
2017 under the voluntary repatriation framework. The repatriations took place despite ongoing
concerns about the “voluntary” nature of returns and despite concerns that the conditions to
ensure returns in safety and dignity were not yet in place in Somalia, due to ongoing conflict
and severe drought.
Hundreds of thousands of people from CAR sought refuge from conflict in neighbouring
countries or were internally displaced, living in makeshift camps.
Military operations and the conflict with Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin region forced
millions from their homes. In Nigeria, at least 1.7 million were internally displaced in the
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northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. UNHCR said that 5.2 million people in the
northeast were in urgent need of food assistance and 450,000 children under five were in
urgent need of nutrition. In Chad, over 408,000 refugees from CAR, DRC, Nigeria and Sudan
lived in dire conditions in refugee camps.
Botswana denied refugees freedom of movement, the right to work and local integration;
asylum-seekers faced lengthy refugee status determination procedures and detention.
Thousands continued to flee Eritrea, where the human rights situation and the imposition of
indefinite military national service created major difficulties for many. They faced serious
abuses in transit and in some destination countries, and many were subjected to arbitrary
detention, abduction, sexual abuse and ill-treatment on their way to Europe. In August, Sudan
forcibly returned more than 100 refugees to Eritrea, where they were at risk of serious human
rights violations, in violation of international law.
In South Sudan, around 340,000 fled an escalation of the fighting in the Equatoria region,
which led to atrocities and starvation between January and October. Mainly government – but
also opposition – forces in the southern region committed crimes under international law and
other serious violations and abuses, including war crimes, against civilians. More than 3.9
million people − approximately one third of the population − had been displaced since the
beginning of the conflict in December 2013.
Other states did little to help neighbouring countries hosting more than 2 million refugees
from South Sudan. Uganda hosted over 1 million refugees, mostly children, and encountered
difficulties in implementing its progressive and widely respected refugee policy, due to chronic
underfunding by the international community. Consequently, the Ugandan government,
UNHCR and NGOs struggled to meet refugees’ basic needs.
IMPUNITY
Failure to ensure justice, redress and the holding of suspected perpetrators to account
remained a key driver of human rights violations and abuses in a wide range of contexts and
countries.
In CAR, some progress was made towards operationalizing the Special Criminal Court, which
was established to try individuals suspected of serious human rights violations and crimes
under international law committed during the country’s 14-year conflict. The Court’s Special
Prosecutor took office in May, but the Court was not yet operational and impunity remained the
norm.
In South Sudan, three transitional justice bodies provided for in the 2015 peace agreement
had still not been established. In July, a joint roadmap for the establishment of the Hybrid
Court for South Sudan was agreed between the African Union (AU) Commission and the
government; discussions continued on the instruments for the establishment of the Court, but
nothing was formally adopted.
In Nigeria – amid concerns about independence and impartiality – a Special Board of Inquiry,
established by the army to investigate allegations of gross human rights violations, cleared
senior military officers of crimes under international law. Its report was not made public. In
August, the acting President set up a presidential investigation panel to probe allegations of
human rights violations carried out by the military; the panel held public hearings between
September and November but there was no outcome by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the
Nigerian authorities held mass secret trials for Boko Haram suspects; 50 defendants were
sentenced to various terms of imprisonment in a trial that took place over four days.
In DRC, the killing of two UN experts and the disappearance of their Congolese interpreter
and three of their drivers, in Kasaï Central Province in March, illustrated the urgent need to
end violence in the region. The Congolese authorities’ investigation was not transparent or
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credible. In June, the UN Human Rights Council decided to dispatch a team of international
experts to DRC to help in investigations. In July, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
appointed a team of three experts whose findings were expected in June 2018.
In Ethiopia, the police and army continued to enjoy impunity for violations committed in 2015
and 2016. The government rejected calls for independent and impartial investigations into
violations committed in the context of protests in various regional states.
The Extraordinary African Chambers in Senegal upheld the conviction and sentence of life
imprisonment of former Chadian President Hissène Habré for war crimes, crimes against
humanity and torture.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Burundi became the first State Party to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the ICC in October.
Despite this, in November, the Pre-Trial Chamber made public its decision to authorize the ICC
Prosecutor to open an investigation regarding crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court
allegedly committed in Burundi – or by nationals of Burundi outside the country – between
April 2015 and October 2017.
However, developments in Africa suggested a tempering of the rhetoric calling for withdrawal
from the ICC. The AU adopted a decision in January, which despite its misleading title,
outlined plans for engagement with the ICC and other stakeholders. More encouragingly,
member states – including Senegal, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Malawi, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia
and Liberia – expressly stated their support for the ICC and rejected any notion of mass
withdrawal.
Gambia’s new government revoked its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, while Botswana’s
Parliament passed a bill incorporating the Rome Statute into domestic law.
In March, the South African government announced it would revoke its 2016 notice of
intention to withdraw from the Rome Statue after the North Gauteng High Court decision held
that withdrawal from the ICC without consulting Parliament was unconstitutional and invalid.
However, a draft bill to repeal the Rome Statue Domestication Act was introduced to
Parliament in early December 2017, signalling the government’s intention to pursue its
decision to leave the ICC.
Meanwhile, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber ruled that South Africa should have executed the
arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir during his 2015 visit to the country.
The ruling confirmed that President Al-Bashir did not have immunity from arrest and that any
states party to the Rome Statute were obliged to arrest him if he entered their territory, and
hand him over to the Court.
In its December preliminary report, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC announced that it
was continuing its analysis of the potential eight crimes it had previously identified as having
been allegedly committed in Nigeria, as well as gathering evidence on new crimes, but was yet
to reach a decision on whether to open an investigation.
DISCRIMINATION AND MARGINALIZATION
Discrimination, marginalization and abuse of women and girls – often arising from cultural
traditions and institutionalized by unjust laws – continued in a number of countries. Women
and girls were subjected to rape and other sexual violence, including in the context of conflicts
and in countries with large numbers of refugee and internally displaced populations.
Pregnant girls continued to be excluded from school in countries including Sierra Leone and
Equatorial Guinea. In June, Tanzania’s President announced a ban on pregnant girls returning
to public-funded schools – fuelling stigma and discrimination against girls and victims of
sexual violence.
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Gender-based violence against women and girls was prevalent in several countries including
Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland.
In countries including Burkina Faso, lack of medical equipment, medication and staffing in
hospitals left pregnant women and infants at serious risk of birth complications, infection and
death. Female genital mutilation rates decreased; however, despite being outlawed, the
practice remained widespread.
Unsafe abortions contributed to one of Africa’s highest rates of maternal death and injury in
Liberia, where affordable and accessible abortion services were largely unavailable to rape
survivors.
Despite its progressive abortion laws, women and girls faced substantial barriers to legal
abortion services in South Africa and faced serious risks to health, and even death, from
unsafe abortions. The government failed to address the refusal of health care professionals to
provide abortions.
In Angola, the government proposed an amendment to the Penal Code, which would
decriminalize abortion in certain limited cases, but Parliament rejected the proposal. After a
public outcry, the parliamentary vote on the legislation was postponed indefinitely.
PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM
Superstitions about the magical powers of people with albinism fuelled a surge of attacks
against them; in Malawi and Mozambique, they were abducted and killed for their body parts.
In Mozambique, a seven-year-old boy was murdered when unidentified men abducted him
from his home. Despite public outcry, the government took little action.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people faced discrimination, prosecution, harassment and violence, including in
Senegal, Ghana, Malawi and Nigeria. In Ghana, the parliamentary Speaker called for a
constitutional amendment to make homosexuality illegal and punishable by law. In Liberia, a
man arrested in 2016 and charged with “voluntary sodomy” under the Penal Code, remained
in detention awaiting trial. In Nigeria, arrest, public shaming, extortion of and discrimination
against individuals based on their sexual orientation were reported.
In a landmark decision in Botswana, a High Court ordered the government to change the
gender marker in the identity document of a transgender woman, ruling that its refusal to do
so was unreasonable and in violation of her rights.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED EVICTIONS
Amid increasing urbanization, unemployment, poverty and inequality, many countries failed to
ensure accessible, affordable and habitable housing.
A landslide at a vast rubbish dump on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital caused 115 deaths.
Most of the victims lived next to the site and supported themselves by recycling rubbish.
At least 10 people, including two children, were also killed in a landslide at a rubbish dump
in Guinea.
In Lagos state in Nigeria, authorities forcibly evicted at least 5,000 people from the Otodo-
Gbame and Ilubirin waterfront neighbourhoods, while security services fired tear gas and live
bullets to clear the area. The forced evictions were in violation of a High Court order restraining
authorities from carrying out demolitions in these communities.
On the other hand, a High Court ruling in Nigeria declared the planned demolition of Mpape
settlement in Abuja illegal, thereby offering relief to hundreds of thousands of residents. The
Court ruled that the authorities were obliged to refrain from forced evictions and should
develop policies to implement the right to adequate housing.
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BUSINESS AND CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In DRC, children and adults risked their lives and health working in cobalt mines for a dollar a
day. In South Africa, Lonmin Plc, a UK-based platinum mining giant, allowed its workforce to
live in squalor in Marikana, in spite of making legally binding commitments to build 5,500 new
houses over 10 years before. No one was held to account for the killing in 2012 of 34 people
protesting against poor conditions at the mine.
At the same time, there were growing signs of public pressure, action and demands for
corporate accountability in various countries.
In June, a landmark civil case was launched against Shell in the Netherlands – accusing it of
complicity in the unlawful arrest, detention and execution of the Ogoni nine, hanged by
Nigeria’s military government in 1995. International organizations called for Shell to be
investigated for its part in these serious human rights violations committed by the Nigerian
security forces in Ogoniland in the 1990s.
Some governments took positive steps. The DRC government committed to end child labour
in the mining sector by 2025, in what could be a significant step towards eradicating the use
of children as young as seven in dangerous mining work. Ghana ratified the UN Minamata
Convention on Mercury, which aims to protect workers from toxic liquid metal by reducing
mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining and to protect children from exposure.
LOOKING AHEAD
While 2017 saw protracted and, in some cases, deepening challenges to the state of human
rights in Africa, it also offered hope and opportunities for change. A key source of hope lay in
the countless people across the region who stood up for human rights, justice and dignity –
often risking their lives and freedoms.
Africa’s regional bodies remained key to the realization of positive change; they too are
presented with many opportunities. During the year, the AU endorsed an ambitious plan to
realize its commitment to “silence the guns” by 2020. It embarked on a major institutional
reform agenda, which includes mobilizing significant resources for its operations and for peace
and security interventions. This holistic approach and the AU’s ambition to address the root
causes of conflict offer real opportunities to mobilize an effective regional response for better
protection of civilians, respect for human rights and tackling the entrenched culture of
impunity.
The year also marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the African Commission
on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which – despite many challenges – made significant
contributions towards the promotion and protection of human rights, including by formulating
an impressive list of instruments and standards. In 2017 alone, the Commission adopted at
least 13 such instruments; these gave specific content to the broad provisions of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
The Commission should build on these successes and work towards refining and
strengthening its processes and mechanisms; it needs to develop a single set of consolidated
state reporting guidelines and to apply consistently the Commission’s procedure for following
up the implementation of its decisions and recommendations to states.
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AMERICAS REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Discrimination and inequality continued to be the norm across the continent. High levels of
violence continued to ravage the region, with waves of killings, enforced disappearances
and arbitrary detentions. Human rights defenders experienced increasing levels of violence.
Impunity remained pervasive. Politics of demonization and division increased. Indigenous
Peoples faced discrimination and continued to be denied their economic, social and
cultural rights, including their rights to land and to free, prior and informed consent on
projects affecting them. Governments made little headway in protecting the rights of
women and girls, and of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
Huge numbers of people across the Americas region faced a deepening human rights crisis,
fuelled by the downgrading of human rights in law, policy and practice, together with
increasing use of the politics of demonization and division. Such regression risked becoming
endemic in many countries. It exacerbated a lack of trust in the authorities – manifested in low
levels of participation in elections and referendums – and in institutions such as national
justice systems.
Rather than using human rights as a way to secure a more just and sustainable future, many
governments fell back on tactics of repression – misusing their security forces and justice
systems to silence dissent and criticism; allowing widespread torture and other ill-treatment to
go unpunished; and presiding over rampant inequality, poverty and discrimination sustained
by corruption and failures in accountability and justice.
Major regression in human rights was also driven by a series of executive orders issued by
US President Donald Trump, including what became known as the “Muslim ban” and plans to
build a wall along the US border with Mexico.
Extreme and persistent violence was commonplace in countries including Brazil, El Salvador,
Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela. Violence across the region was frequently driven by the
proliferation of illicit small arms and the growth of organized crime. Violence against LGBTI
people, women and girls, and Indigenous Peoples was widespread.
According to a UN report, Latin America and the Caribbean remained the most violent region
in the world for women, despite strict laws aimed at addressing the crisis. The region had the
world’s highest rate of non-intimate partner violence against women, and the second highest
rate of intimate partner violence.
Mexico witnessed a wave of killings of journalists and human rights defenders. Venezuela
faced its worst human rights crisis in modern history. Killings of Indigenous people and Afro-
descendant leaders in Colombia exposed shortcomings in the implementation of the country’s
peace process.
Land rights activists were targeted with violence and other abuses in many countries. The
region continued to suffer from an alarming rise in the number of threats and attacks against
human rights defenders, community leaders and journalists, including through misuse of the
justice system.
Huge numbers of people fled their homes to escape repression, violence, discrimination and
poverty. Many suffered further abuses while in transit or upon reaching other countries in the
region.
The pardon granted to Peru’s former president Alberto Fujimori, who in 2009 was sentenced
for crimes against humanity, sent a worrying signal about Peru’s willingness to confront
impunity and respect the rights of victims.
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States’ failure to uphold human rights increased the space for non-state actors to commit
crimes under international law and other abuses. These included organized criminal entities,
which in some cases controlled entire territories, often with the complicity or acquiescence of
security forces. National and transnational corporations sought to take control of the land and
territory of groups including Indigenous Peoples and – in countries like Peru and Nicaragua –
peasant farmers.
Failures to uphold economic, social and cultural rights caused widespread suffering. A
reversal of political rhetoric by the USA under President Trump reduced the chances of the US
Congress passing legislation to lift the economic embargo on Cuba – and so perpetuated the
embargo’s adverse impacts on Cubans. Paraguay’s authorities failed to ensure the right to
adequate housing following forced evictions. There were thousands of new cases of cholera in
Haiti.
Tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes and struggled with badly
damaged infrastructure in countries in the Caribbean, including in the Dominican Republic
and Puerto Rico, following two major hurricanes, among other natural disasters. In Mexico, two
devastating earthquakes that cost hundreds of lives compromised people’s rights to adequate
housing and education.
At the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly, held in Cancún, Mexico, in
June, there was a clear lack of political leadership to address some of the region’s most
pressing human rights issues. A group of countries tried to condemn the crisis in Venezuela,
without acknowledging their own failures to respect and protect human rights. After the
previous year’s financial crisis, the OAS took a step forward by doubling the budget allocation
for the Inter-American human rights system – although the funding was to be allocated under
certain conditions, which could limit the ability of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to hold states accountable for human
rights violations.
In the USA, President Trump wasted little time in putting his anti-rights rhetoric of
discrimination and xenophobia into action, threatening a major rollback on justice and
freedoms – including by signing a series of repressive executive orders that threatened the
human rights of millions, at home and abroad.
This included abusive USA-Mexico border enforcement practices such as the increased
detention of asylum-seekers and their families; extreme restrictions on women’s and girls’
access to sexual and reproductive health services in the USA and elsewhere; repeal of
protections for LGBTI workers and transgender students; and permission for the Dakota
Access Pipeline to be completed – threatening the water source of the Standing Rock Sioux
Tribe and other Indigenous Peoples, as well as violating their right to free, prior and informed
consent.
Yet growing disenfranchisement did not equate to disengagement. Emerging social
discontent inspired people to take to the streets, stand up for their rights and demand an end
to repression, marginalization and injustice. Examples included the massive demonstrations in
support of activist Santiago Maldonado, who was found dead after going missing in the context
of a demonstration marred by police violence in a Mapuche community in Argentina, and the
massive social movement of “Ni Una Menos” (“not one less woman”) – denouncing femicide
and violence against women and girls – in various countries in the region.
Massive grassroots and political opposition in the USA resisted some of the policies and
decisions by the Trump administration that undermined human rights, including attempts to
ban people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the USA and to reduce the
number of refugees eligible for admission; threats to increase the number of detainees at the
US detention centre in Guantánamo Bay; and an attempt to take away health care coverage
from millions in the USA.
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PUBLIC SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
VENEZUELA CRISIS
Venezuela faced one of the worst human rights crises in its recent history, fuelled by an
escalation of government-sponsored violence. There were growing protests due to rising
inflation and a humanitarian crisis caused by shortages of food and medical supplies. Rather
than address the food and health crisis, the authorities instituted a premeditated policy of
violent repression of any form of dissent. The security forces used abusive and excessive force
against protesters, including by throwing tear gas and firing rubber bullets, leading to more
than 120 deaths. Thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and there were many reports
of torture and other ill-treatment. The judicial system was used to silence dissent, including
through the use of military courts to prosecute civilians, and to target and harass human rights
defenders.
VIOLENCE AND IMPUNITY IN MEXICO
Mexico’s human rights crisis continued, exacerbated by increases in violence and homicides,
including a record number of killings of journalists. Arbitrary arrests and detentions remained
widespread – often leading to further human rights violations, most of which were not properly
investigated. More than 34,000 people remained subject to enforced disappearance, and
extrajudicial executions were rife. Torture and other ill-treatment continued to be widespread
and were committed with impunity by the security forces, with people routinely forced to sign
false “confessions”. However, the Senate’s approval of a new law on enforced disappearances
– following a national public outcry over the case of 43 forcibly disappeared students whose
fate and whereabouts remained undisclosed – was a potential step forward, although its
eventual implementation will require serious political commitment to ensure justice, truth and
reparations. Congress also finally passed a new general law on torture. More concerning was
the enactment of a law on interior security that would enable the prolonged presence of the
armed forces in regular policing functions, a strategy that has been linked to an increase in
human rights violations.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
Authorities in Brazil ignored a deepening human rights crisis of their own making. In the city of
Rio de Janeiro, a spike in violence saw a surge in unlawful killings by the police, with soaring
rates of killings and other human rights violations elsewhere in the country. Little was done to
reduce the number of homicides, to control the use of force by the police or to guarantee
Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The chaotic, overcrowded and dangerous state of Brazil’s prisons
resulted in more than 120 deaths of inmates during riots reported in January.
Despite the homicide rate falling in Honduras, there were serious concerns about high levels
of violence and insecurity; prevalent impunity undermined public trust in the authorities and
the justice system. Massive protests took place throughout the country – denouncing the lack
of transparency around the presidential election held in November – and were violently
repressed by security forces, leading to at least 31 people being killed, dozens arbitrarily
detained and others injured.
Dozens of unlawful killings by the security forces were reported in the Dominican Republic,
which endured a persistently high homicide rate. Jamaica’s police continued to commit
unlawful killings – some potentially amounting to extrajudicial executions – with impunity.
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PROTESTS
Protests were met with unnecessary and excessive use of force by the authorities in countries
including Colombia, Paraguay and Puerto Rico.
In Paraguay, protests erupted after a secret attempt by senators to amend the Constitution to
allow presidential re-elections was exposed. The Congress building was set on fire by some
protesters, and opposition activist Rodrigo Quintana was killed by police. Dozens of people
were injured, more than 200 were detained, and local organizations reported torture and other
ill-treatment by security forces.
In Nicaragua, police officers prevented rural communities and Indigenous Peoples from
participating in peaceful demonstrations against the construction of the Grand Interoceanic
Canal.
In Argentina, more than 30 people were arbitrarily detained by police in the capital, Buenos
Aires, for taking part in a demonstration following the death of activist Santiago Maldonado. In
December, excessive force was used against protesters in Buenos Aires taking part in massive
demonstrations against governmental reforms.
ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND THE FIGHT TO END IMPUNITY
Impunity remained pervasive and a key driver of human rights violations and abuses in many
countries.
Ongoing impunity and corruption in Guatemala eroded public trust in the authorities and
hampered access to justice. There were large protests in August and September and the
country faced a political crisis when members of the government resigned in response to
President Jimmy Morales’ attempt to expel the head of the International Commission against
Impunity in Guatemala, an independent body established by the government and the UN in
2006 to strengthen the rule of law post-conflict.
Impunity for past and present human rights violations remained a concern in Chile. The
closure by the authorities of an investigation into the alleged abduction and torture reported by
Mapuche leader Víctor Queipul Hueiquil sent a chilling message to human rights defenders
across the country, while it appeared that no comprehensive and impartial investigation was
carried out. Indigenous leader Machi Francisca Linconao and 10 other Mapuche people were
acquitted of terrorism charges, due to a lack of evidence to implicate them in the deaths of two
people in January 2013. However, in December the Court of Appeals declared the judgment
null. A new trial was due to start in 2018.
CONFRONTING PAST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Efforts to address unresolved human rights violations often remained slow and sluggish,
hampered by a lack of political will.
In Peru, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski granted a medical pardon and grace to former
president Alberto Fujimori, who had been sentenced in 2009 to 25 years’ imprisonment for his
responsibility for crimes against humanity committed by his subordinates, and was still facing
other charges for his alleged responsibility for other human rights violations that could
constitute crimes against humanity. Thousands took to the streets to protest against the
decision.
In Uruguay, human rights defenders investigating human rights violations that took place
during the military regime (1973-1985) reported receiving death threats, the sources of which
were not investigated. In November the Supreme Court found that crimes committed during
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the regime did not amount to crimes against humanity and were, therefore, subject to statutes
of limitations.
Yet there was some progress. In Argentina, 29 people were sentenced to life imprisonment
for crimes against humanity committed during the 1976-1983 military regime, and a federal
court issued a historic decision under which four former members of the judiciary were
sentenced to life in prison for contributing to the commission of crimes against humanity
during those years.
In Bolivia a Truth Commission was established to investigate serious human rights violations
committed under military governments from 1964 to 1982.
There was progress in prosecuting some crimes against humanity committed during
Guatemala’s internal armed conflict (1960-1996), with five former members of the military
sent to trial on charges of crimes against humanity, rape and enforced disappearance. After
several failed attempts since 2015, the trials of former military head of state José Efraín Ríos
Montt and former intelligence chief José Rodríguez Sánchez finally resumed in October.
REFUGEES, MIGRANTS AND STATELESS PEOPLE
DENIAL OF PROTECTION BY THE USA
Amid a global refugee crisis in which more than 21 million people have been forced to flee
their homes due to war and persecution, the USA took extreme steps to deny protection to
people in need. In the first few weeks of his administration, President Trump issued executive
orders to suspend the country’s refugee resettlement programme for 120 days, impose an
indefinite ban on the resettlement of refugees from Syria, and reduce the annual refugee
admission cap to 50,000.
President Trump also signed an executive order vowing to build a wall along the USA-Mexico
border. His order, which pledged to put in place 5,000 additional border patrol agents, carried
the risk that more migrants – including many in need of international protection – would be
unlawfully pushed back at the border or deported to places where their lives are at risk. The
injustice of President Trump’s actions was emphasized by Central America’s ongoing refugee
crisis, and by the appalling situation in Venezuela, which led to an increase in the number of
Venezuelans seeking asylum abroad. As conditions for refugees and migrants in the USA
deteriorated, there was a significant increase in numbers of asylum-seekers irregularly
crossing the border from the USA into Canada.
REFUGEE CRISIS
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, more than 57,000 people from Honduras,
Guatemala and El Salvador sought asylum in other countries. Many were forced back home,
where a lack of an effective system to protect them meant they faced the same dangers and
conditions from which they had fled. Thousands of families and unaccompanied children from
those countries migrated to the USA through Mexico and were apprehended at the US border.
Mexico received a record number of asylum applications, mostly from nationals of El
Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Venezuela, but repeatedly failed to provide protection to
those who needed it – instead pushing people back to highly dangerous and even life-
threatening situations.
Argentina’s reception system for asylum-seekers remained slow and insufficient, and there
was no integration plan in place to help asylum-seekers and refugees access basic rights such
as education, work and health care.
Cubans continued to leave the country in large numbers, pushed by low wages and undue
restrictions on freedom of expression.
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STATELESS AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
The Dominican Republic’s statelessness crisis continued to affect tens of thousands of people
of Haitian descent who were born in the country but were left stateless after being retroactively
and arbitrarily deprived of their Dominican nationality in 2013. Those affected were denied a
range of human rights and were prevented from accessing higher education, formal
employment or adequate health care.
In Haiti, almost 38,000 people remained internally displaced because of the 2010
earthquake. There was a reported increase in deportation cases at the Dominican-Haitian
border.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Indigenous Peoples’ rights continued to be violated in countries including Argentina, Bolivia,
Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.
VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Indigenous Peoples continued to be criminalized and discriminated against in Argentina,
where the authorities used legal proceedings to harass them; there were reports of police
attacks, including beatings and intimidation. Rafael Nahuel of the Mapuche community was
killed in November during an eviction conducted by security forces.
In Colombia, a wave of killings of Indigenous people from communities historically affected by
the armed conflict highlighted shortcomings in the implementation of the peace agreement.
The killing of Gerson Acosta – leader of the Kite Kiwe Indigenous council in Timbío, Cauca,
who was shot repeatedly while leaving a community meeting – was a tragic example of the
ineffectiveness of the authorities’ measures to safeguard the lives and safety of community
leaders and other Indigenous people.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights documented the different forms of
discrimination faced by Indigenous women in the Americas and highlighted how their political,
social and economic marginalization contributed to permanent structural discrimination,
leaving them at increased risk of violence.
LAND RIGHTS
In Peru, new laws weakened the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights related to land and
territory and undermined their right to free, prior and informed consent. The government
neglected the right to health of hundreds of Indigenous Peoples whose only water sources
were contaminated with toxic metals, and who lacked access to adequate health care.
In Ecuador, the right to free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples continued to
be violated, including after intrusions of the state into their territories for future oil extraction.
Indigenous Peoples in Paraguay also continued to be denied their rights to land and to free,
prior and informed consent on projects affecting them. Despite rulings from the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights, the government failed to provide the Yakye Axa community access to
their lands, or to resolve a case regarding the ownership of land expropriated from the
Sawhoyamaxa community.
Guatemala’s Supreme Court recognized the lack of prior consultation with the Xinca
Indigenous People of Santa Rosa and Jalapa, who were negatively affected by mining
activities.
In Brazil, conflicts over land, and invasion by illegal loggers and mine workers into Indigenous
Peoples’ territory, resulted in violent attacks against Indigenous communities.
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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND JOURNALISTS
The extreme risks and dangers of defending human rights were apparent in numerous
countries in the region, with human rights defenders facing threats, harassment and attacks
including in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Paraguay.
KILLINGS AND HARASSMENT IN MEXICO
In Mexico, human rights defenders were threatened, attacked and killed, with digital attacks
and surveillance especially common. During the year, at least 12 journalists were killed – the
largest number recorded since 2000 – many in public places in daylight, with the authorities
making no notable progress in investigating and prosecuting those responsible. Victims
included prize-winning journalist Javier Valdez, who was killed in May near the office of the
newspaper
Ríodoce,
which he founded. It became apparent that a network of people was
using the internet to harass and threaten journalists throughout Mexico. Evidence also
emerged of surveillance against journalists and human rights defenders, using software that
the government was known to have purchased.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK IN HONDURAS
Honduras remained one of the region’s most dangerous countries for human rights defenders
– especially those working to protect land, territory and the environment. They were targeted
by both state and non-state actors, subjected to smear campaigns to discredit their work, and
regularly faced intimidation, threats and attacks. Most attacks registered against human rights
defenders went unpunished. There was little progress in the investigation into the March 2016
killing of Indigenous environmental defender Berta Cáceres. Since her murder, several other
Honduran environmental and human rights activists have been harassed and threatened.
INCREASED ATTACKS IN COLOMBIA
There was an increase in the number of attacks against human rights defenders in Colombia,
especially community leaders, defenders of land, territory and the environment, and those
campaigning in favour of the peace agreement. According to the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, almost 100 human rights defenders were killed during the
year. Many death threats against activists were attributed to paramilitary groups, but in most
cases the authorities failed to identify who was responsible for the killings that resulted from
the threats.
ARBITRARY DETENTIONS, THREATS AND HARASSMENT
In Cuba, large numbers of human rights defenders and political activists continued to be
harassed, intimidated, dismissed from state employment and arbitrarily detained to silence
criticism. Online and offline censorship undermined advances in education. Prisoners of
conscience included the leader of the pro-democracy Christian Liberation Movement, Eduardo
Cardet Concepción, who was jailed for three years for publicly criticizing former president Fidel
Castro.
Human rights defenders in Guatemala, especially those working on land, territorial and
environmental issues, faced ongoing threats and attacks, and were subjected to smear
campaigns. The justice system was also frequently misused to target, harass and silence
human rights defenders.
A ruling by Peru’s Supreme Court confirming the acquittal of human rights defender Máxima
Acuña Atalaya after five years of unfounded criminal proceedings for land seizure was a
landmark decision for environmental defenders.
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RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS
Women and girls across the region continued to be subjected to a wide range of violations and
abuses, including gender-based violence and discrimination and violations of sexual and
reproductive rights.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Violence against women and girls remained prevalent. Impunity for crimes such as rape,
killings and threats was widespread and entrenched, often underpinned by weak political will,
limited resources to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice, and an unchallenged
patriarchal culture.
Ongoing gender-based violence in the Dominican Republic resulted in an increase in the
number of killings of women and girls. Gender-based violence against women and girls was
also a major concern in Mexico and worsened in Nicaragua.
In Jamaica, women’s movements and survivors of gender-based and sexual violence took to
the streets to protest against impunity for such crimes.
There was an increase in the number of killings of women in leadership roles in Colombia,
and no clear progress in ensuring access to justice for women survivors of sexual violence.
However, women’s organizations ensured that the Peace Agreement established that people
suspected of having committed crimes of sexual violence would be required to appear before
transitional justice tribunals.
In Cuba, The Ladies in White – a group of female relatives of prisoners detained on politically
motivated grounds – remained a key target of repression by the authorities.
Canada’s federal government released a strategy to combat gender-based violence, and
committed to placing women’s rights, gender equality and sexual and reproductive rights at
the core of its foreign policy. A law to combat violence against women entered into force in
Paraguay in December, although it remained unclear how it would be funded.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
THE USA’S “GLOBAL GAG RULE”
In January, two days after massive worldwide demonstrations for equality and against
discrimination, US President Trump put at risk the lives and health of millions of women and
girls around the world by reinstating the so-called “global gag rule”. This blocked US financial
assistance to any hospitals or organizations that provide abortion information about, or access
to, safe and legal abortion care, or that advocate the decriminalization of abortion or the
expansion of abortion services.
In Latin America alone – where experts estimate that 760,000 women are treated annually
from complications of unsafe abortion – President Trump’s stance put many more lives at risk.
CRIMINALIZATION OF ABORTION
A ruling by Chile’s Constitutional Tribunal to support the decriminalization of abortion in certain
cases left just seven countries worldwide persisting with a total ban on abortion, even when the
life or health of the woman or girl is at risk. Six of those countries were in the Americas region:
the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Suriname.
In El Salvador, 19-year-old Evelyn Beatriz Hernández Cruz was jailed for 30 years on charges
of aggravated homicide, after suffering obstetric complications resulting in a miscarriage. In
December, a court confirmed the 30-year sentence of Teodora, a woman who suffered a
stillbirth in 2007.
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The Dominican Republic’s Senate voted against a proposal that would have decriminalized
abortion in certain circumstances. In Honduras, Congress also maintained the ban on abortion
in all circumstances in the new Criminal Code.
In Argentina, women and girls faced obstacles in accessing legal abortion when the
pregnancy posed a risk to their health or resulted from rape; full decriminalization of abortion
was pending in Parliament. In Uruguay, sexual and reproductive health services were difficult
to access in rural areas, and objectors to providing abortion continued to obstruct access to
legal abortions.
In October, the Ministry of Education and Science of Paraguay issued a resolution banning
the inclusion in educational materials of basic information about human rights, sexual and
reproductive health education and diversity, among other subjects.
In Bolivia – where unsafe abortions were one of the main causes of maternal mortality – the
Criminal Code was amended to significantly expand access to legal abortion.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND
INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people faced persistent discrimination, harassment and violence in the region,
including in Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica.
In Bolivia the Constitutional Court invalidated part of a law which granted civil marriage rights
to transgender people who had changed their gender on their identity documents. The
country’s Ombudsman proposed an amendment to the Criminal Code to make hate crimes
against LGBTI people a criminal offence.
In the Dominican Republic the body of a transgender woman, Jessica Rubi Mori, was found
dismembered in wasteland. By the end of the year, no one had been brought to justice for her
killing.
In Uruguay there remained no comprehensive anti-discrimination policy protecting LGBTI
people from violence in schools and public spaces, or ensuring their access to health services.
ARMED CONFLICT
Despite the opportunities presented by the Peace Agreement in Colombia, legislation remained
unimplemented on most of its points, and there were serious concerns around impunity for
crimes committed during the conflict.
Ongoing human rights violations and abuses also demonstrated that the internal conflict
between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the security forces was far
from over, and in some areas it appeared to intensify. Civilian populations continued to be the
main victims of the conflict – especially Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant and peasant
farmer communities, and human rights defenders.
A spike in the number of human rights activists killed at the beginning of the year highlighted
the dangers faced by those exposing ongoing abuses in Colombia.
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ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL OVERVIEW
The human rights landscape of the Asia-Pacific region was mostly characterized by
government failures. However, these frequently contrasted with an inspiring and growing
movement of human rights defenders and activists.
Many countries saw a shrinking space for civil society. Human rights defenders, lawyers,
journalists and others found themselves the target of state repression – from an
unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression in China to sweeping intolerance of
dissent in Cambodia and Thailand and enforced disappearances in Bangladesh and
Pakistan.
Impunity was widespread – breeding and sustaining violations including unlawful killings
and torture, denying justice and reparation to millions, and fuelling crimes against
humanity or war crimes in countries such as Myanmar and Afghanistan.
The global refugee crisis worsened. Hundreds of thousands in the region were forced to
flee their homes and faced uncertain, often violent, futures. Their numbers were swelled by
the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity in northern Rakhine State where the army
burned entire Rohingya villages, killed adults and children, and raped women and girls.
The mass violations forced more than 655,000 Rohingya to escape persecution by fleeing
to Bangladesh. Those who remained continued to live under a systematically discriminatory
system amounting to apartheid which severely restricted virtually every aspect of their lives
and segregated them from the rest of society.
ASEAN, chaired by the Philippines during 2017, marked its 50th anniversary. ASEAN
governments and institutions remained silent over the massive violations in the Philippines,
Myanmar and elsewhere in the region.
Against this backdrop, growing calls to respect and protect human rights in Asia-Pacific,
increasingly by young people, delivered some progress and hope. There were advances in
policing in the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and positive court rulings on corporate
accountability in South Korea; on marriage equality in Australia and Taiwan; and on the
right to privacy in India.
EAST ASIA
The authorities in Japan, Mongolia and South Korea all failed to adequately protect human
rights defenders. Human rights defenders were specifically targeted and persecuted in China.
A notable shrinking of space for civil society was especially apparent in China, and was of
increasing concern in Hong Kong and Japan.
Human rights protection was diluted in Japan where parliament adopted an overly broad law
targeting “terrorism” and other serious crimes, despite harsh criticism from civil society and
academics. This law gave the authorities broad surveillance powers that could be misused to
curtail human rights.
Following a change of government in South Korea, the national police accepted
recommendations for a change in the overall approach of policing in order to allow the full and
free exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Also in South Korea, while hundreds
of conscientious objectors were imprisoned, an increasing number of lower courts handed
down decisions recognizing the right to conscientious objection, and court rulings
acknowledged the responsibility of multinational corporations for work-related death or illness
of employees.
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The consecration of President Xi Jinping as China’s most powerful leader for many years took
place against the backdrop of a stifling of freedom of expression and information. Authorities
increasingly used “national security” as justification for restriction of human rights and
detention of activists; the tactic escalated significantly in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region (XUAR) where, under the leadership of new regional Communist Party Secretary Chen
Quanguo, authorities put new emphasis on “social stability” and increased technological
surveillance, armed street patrols and security checkpoints and implemented an array of
intrusive policies violating human rights. Authorities set up detention facilities within the XUAR,
variously called “counter extremism centres”, “political study centres” or “education and
transformation centres”, in which people were arbitrarily detained for unspecified periods and
forced to study Chinese laws and policies.
Citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) continued to face a
series of grave human rights violations, some of which amounted to crimes against humanity.
The rights to freedom of expression and movement were severely restricted, and up to
120,000 people continued to be arbitrarily detained in political prison camps, where they were
subjected to forced labour, torture and other ill-treatment.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The Chinese authorities continued their unprecedented crackdown on dissent with a ruthless
campaign of arbitrary arrests, detention, imprisonment and torture and other ill-treatment of
human rights lawyers and activists. The authorities persisted in the use of “residential
surveillance in a designated location”, a form of secret incommunicado detention that allowed
the police to hold individuals for up to six months outside the formal detention system, without
access to legal counsel of their choice, their families or others, and placed suspects at risk of
torture and other ill-treatment. This form of detention was used to curb the activities of human
rights defenders, including lawyers, activists and religious practitioners.
The government also continued to imprison those trying to commemorate peacefully the
Tiananmen Square crackdown of 3-4 June 1989 in the capital, Beijing, in which hundreds, if
not thousands, of protesters were killed or injured after the People’s Liberation Army opened
fire on unarmed civilians. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiabo died in custody in July.
In Hong Kong, the repeated use of vague charges against prominent pro-democracy
movement figures appeared to be an orchestrated and retaliatory campaign by the authorities
to punish and intimidate those advocating democracy or challenging the authorities.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
In Japan, while asylum applications continued to increase, the government reported in
February that it had approved 28 out of 10,901 claims in 2016, which was a 44% increase in
claims from the previous year. Meanwhile, to address the country’s labour shortage, Japan
began to accept the first of 10,000 Vietnamese nationals to be admitted over three years under
a labour migration programme harshly criticized by human rights advocates for facilitating a
wide range of abuses.
In South Korea, deaths of migrant workers raised concerns about safety in the workplace.
North Korean authorities continued to dispatch workers to other countries, including China
and Russia, although some countries stopped renewing or issuing additional work visas to
North Koreans in order to comply with the new UN sanctions on North Korea’s economic
activities abroad in response to the country’s missile tests.
DISCRIMINATION
In China, religious repression remained particularly severe in the XUAR and in Tibetan-
populated areas.
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Discrimination against LGBTI people remained prevalent in public life in South Korea. Gay
men faced violence, bullying and verbal abuse during compulsory military service. A serving
soldier was convicted of same-sex sexual activity.
Although pervasive discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender
identity continued in Japan, there was some progress in local municipalities. For the first time
in the city of Osaka, the authorities approved a same-sex couple as foster parents, and two
other municipalities took positive steps towards recognizing same-sex partnerships.
A landmark ruling by its highest court saw Taiwan close to becoming the first Asian country to
legalize same-sex marriage, in a major step forward for LGBTI rights. The judges ruled the
country’s marriage law unconstitutional as it discriminated against same-sex couples, and gave
lawmakers two years to amend or enact relevant laws. A bill on same-sex marriage was being
considered by Taiwan’s legislature.
DEATH PENALTY
China remained the world’s leading executioner, although capital punishment statistics
continued to be classified as state secrets.
Taiwan’s Supreme Court rejected the Prosecutor General’s extraordinary appeal for the retrial
of the longest-serving death row inmate in Taiwan’s modern history; Chiou Ho-shun, on death
row since 1989, claimed that he was tortured and forced to “confess” during police
interrogations.
In July, Mongolia became the 105th country worldwide to abolish the death penalty for all
crimes, yet in November the President proposed its reintroduction to the Ministry of Justice in
response to two violent rape and murder cases.
SOUTH ASIA
Across South Asia, governments invoked law and order, national security and religion as they
engaged in attacks against religious minorities, criminalization of freedom of expression,
enforced disappearances, prolific use of the death penalty, and assaults on refugee rights.
Impunity was widespread.
Freedom of expression was under attack across South Asia. Using vague concepts such as
“the national interest” as an excuse to silence people, governments targeted journalists,
human rights defenders and others for peacefully expressing their beliefs.
A new trend involved criminalizing online freedom of expression. In Pakistan, five bloggers
critical of the government were subjected to enforced disappearance. Other bloggers were
arrested for comments criticizing the military or allegedly expressing remarks deemed “anti-
Islamic”. Criticism of the Bangladesh government or the family of the Prime Minister also
triggered criminal cases. The government proposed a new Digital Security Act, which would
place even greater restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and impose heavier
penalties. In Afghanistan, where internet penetration is among the lowest in the Asia-Pacific
region, a new Cyber Crime Law was passed criminalizing freedom of expression.
Failures to uphold economic, cultural and social rights had major impacts. As a result of
Pakistan failing to bring its laws into line with international standards, the population suffered
widespread discrimination, curtailed workers’ rights, and meagre social security. India ratified
two ILO core conventions on child labour, but activists remained critical of amendments to the
country’s child labour laws that allowed children to work in family enterprises. Two years after a
massive earthquake shook Nepal, the government was still failing thousands of marginalized
earthquake survivors who languished in flimsy temporary shelters.
In October, Pakistan was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, pledging commitment to
human rights. Yet it failed to address directly Pakistan’s serious human rights issues, including
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enforced disappearances; the death penalty; blasphemy laws; the use of military courts to try
civilians; women’s rights; and threats to the work of human rights defenders.
Killings, abductions and other abuses were committed by armed groups in Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, among others. Civilian casualties, particularly of religious
minorities, continued to be high in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, armed groups targeted Shi’a
Muslims, including by bombing a Shi’a mosque in Quetta, killing at least 18 people.
Violations around Nepal’s historic local elections included arbitrary arrests and detention, and
the security forces opening fire on protesters at an election rally.
In the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, security forces killed eight people following
protests during a by-election for a parliamentary seat; one voter was beaten by army
personnel, strapped to the front of an army jeep and driven around for over five hours,
seemingly as a warning to other protesters. The security forces also persisted in their use of
inherently inaccurate pellet-firing shotguns during protests – blinding and otherwise injuring
several people.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In India, the authorities were openly critical of human rights defenders, contributing to a
climate of hostility and violence against them. Repressive laws were used to stifle freedom of
expression, and journalists and press freedom came under increasing attack.
Human rights defenders in Afghanistan faced constant threats to their life and security from
armed groups and state actors, and journalists faced violence and censorship.
Pakistan authorities failed to protect journalists, bloggers, and civil society and activists
who faced constant harassment, intimidation, threats, smear campaigns and attacks from
non-state actors. Instead, the authorities increased restrictions on the work of scores of NGOs,
and subjected many activists to attacks, including torture and enforced disappearances.
In Bangladesh, the government intensified its crackdown on public debate and criticism.
Media workers were harassed and prosecuted under draconian laws. The government failed to
hold accountable armed groups that carried out a high-profile spate of killings of secular
bloggers. Activists regularly received death threats, forcing some to leave the country.
In Maldives, restrictions on public debate intensified. The authorities harassed journalists,
activists and media outlets. The government was apparently behind a relentless assault on the
rule of law that compromised the judiciary’s independence.
IMPUNITY
Impunity was widespread and entrenched across South Asia. However, in Nepal, a district
court sentenced three army officers to life imprisonment for the murder in 2004 of Maina
Sunuwar, a 15-year-old girl; she died after being tortured in army custody during the decade-
long armed conflict between Maoists and government forces that ended in 2006. The
convictions were an important development in the justice system’s ability to deal with grave
conflict-era abuses, and offered the first sign of justice for victims.
In India, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate more
than 80 alleged extrajudicial executions by police and security force personnel in the state of
Manipur between 1979 and 2012, ruling that cases should not go uninvestigated merely
because of the passage of time.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Enforced disappearances continued in Pakistan; the victims were at considerable risk of
torture and other ill-treatment, and even death. No perpetrators were known to have been
brought to justice for the hundreds or thousands of cases reported across the country in
recent years.
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Despite the Sri Lankan government’s 2015 pledge to deliver truth, justice and reparation to
victims of the armed conflict in the country, and to deliver reforms to prevent violations,
progress was slow. Impunity for enforced disappearances remained. The government stalled
on its commitment to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act that enabled
incommunicado and secret detention. However, the parliament passed an amended Office on
Missing Persons Act, intended to assist families of the disappeared seek missing relatives.
Enforced disappearances were committed in Bangladesh; the victims often belonged to
opposition political parties.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
In different parts of South Asia, refugees and migrants were denied their rights.
Bangladesh had opened its borders to more than 655,000 members of the Rohingya
community fleeing a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. However, if the Rohingya
refugees were forced to return to Myanmar, they would be at the mercy of the same military
that drove them out and would continue to face the entrenched system of discrimination and
segregation amounting to apartheid that made them so vulnerable in the first place.
The number of internally displaced people in Afghanistan rose to more than 2 million, while
about 2.6 million Afghan refugees lived outside the country.
DISCRIMINATION
Across South Asia, dissenting voices and members of religious minorities were increasingly
vulnerable to attacks from mobs. In India, several cases of lynching of Muslims were reported,
sparking outrage against the wave of rising Islamophobia under the Hindu nationalist
government. Demonstrations against attacks on Muslims were held in several cities, but the
government did little to show that it disapproved of the violence. Indigenous Adivasi
communities in India continued to be displaced by industrial projects.
In Bangladesh, attacks against religious minorities were met with near-indifference by the
government. Those who sought help from the authorities after they received threats were often
turned away.
Sri Lanka saw a rise in Buddhist nationalist sentiment, including attacks against Christians
and Muslims. The Maldives government used religion to cloak its repressive practices,
including attacks against members of the opposition and plans to reintroduce the death
penalty.
Marginalized communities in Pakistan faced discrimination in law, policy and practice
because of their gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity. Pakistan's
blasphemy laws, which carry a mandatory death penalty for “blasphemy against the Prophet
Muhammad”, remained incompatible with a range of rights. The frequently misused laws were
disproportionately applied to religious minorities and others targeted with accusations that
were often false and violated international human rights law. A man was sentenced to death for
allegedly posting content on Facebook deemed “blasphemous” – the harshest sentence
handed down to date in Pakistan for a cyber crime-related offence.
GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION
Although India’s Supreme Court banned the practice of triple talaq (Islamic instant divorce),
other court rulings undermined women’s autonomy. The Supreme Court weakened a law
enacted to protect women from violence in marriage. Several rape survivors, including girls,
approached the courts for permission to terminate pregnancies over 20 weeks, as required
under Indian law; although courts approved some abortions, they refused others. The central
government instructed states to set up permanent medical boards to decide such cases
promptly.
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In Pakistan, the rape of a teenage girl ordered by a so-called village council in “revenge” for a
rape allegedly committed by her brother was one in a long series of horrific cases. Although
people from the council were arrested for ordering the rape, the authorities failed to end
impunity for sexual violence and abolish so-called village councils that prescribed crimes of
sexual violence as revenge. Pakistan also continued to criminalize same-sex consensual
relationships.
Violence against women and girls persisted in Afghanistan, where an increase was reported
in the number of women publicly punished in the name of Shari’a law by armed groups.
DEATH PENALTY
Against the backdrop of a worsening political crisis, the authorities in Maldives announced that
executions would resume after more than 60 years. None had been carried out by the end of
the year.
Pakistan had executed hundreds of people since it lifted an informal moratorium on
executions in 2014, often with serious additional concerns that those executed were denied
the right to a fair trial. In violation of international law, courts imposed the death penalty on
people with mental disabilities, individuals aged below 18 when the crime was committed, and
those whose convictions were based on “confessions” extracted through torture or other ill-
treatment.
ARMED CONFLICT
The situation in Afghanistan continued to deteriorate, with the number of civilian
casualties remaining high, a growing internal displacement crisis, and the Taliban controlling
more territory than at any point since 2001. Since 2014, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees
have been returned against their will from Pakistan, Iran and EU countries.
The Afghanistan government and the international community showed too little concern for
the plight of civilians. When crowds protested against violence and insecurity following one of
the deadliest attacks – a bombing in Kabul on 31 May that claimed the lives of more than 150
people and injured hundreds – the security forces opened fire on the crowds, killing several
protesters.
In a welcome development, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested that
a preliminary investigation be opened into crimes alleged to have been committed by all
parties to the ongoing armed conflict in Afghanistan. The decision was an important step
towards ensuring accountability for crimes under international law committed since 2003, and
providing truth, justice and reparation for the victims.
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Many of those taking action to demand respect for human rights and accountability for
violations were demonized and criminalized, leading to shrinking civic space. Police and
security forces persecuted human rights defenders. Extrajudicial killings, torture and other ill-
treatment, and enforced disappearances persisted with impunity.
The Myanmar security forces’ campaign of violence against the Rohingya people in northern
Rakhine State, which amounted to crimes against humanity, created a human rights and
humanitarian crisis in the country and in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Lawlessness and violence increased further in the Philippines. The President’s contempt for
human rights in the “war on drugs” was characterized by mass killings, mostly of people from
poor and marginalized groups, including children. The scope of the killings and rampant
impunity led to growing calls for an investigation at the international level. The extension of
martial law in the island of Mindanao in December led to concerns that military rule could be
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used to justify further human rights abuses. The government attempted to reintroduce the
death penalty.
In Indonesia, police killings of suspected drug dealers rose sharply.
Australia continued to pay lip service to human rights while subjecting asylum-seekers and
refugees to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Governments in Southeast Asia and the Pacific failed to uphold economic, social and cultural
rights. Villagers in Laos were forced to relocate due to development projects; the right to
adequate housing in Cambodia was undermined by land grabbing; and housing conditions for
foreign workers in Singapore were criticized as poor by NGOs.
National elections were held in Papua New Guinea, amid allegations of corruption and heavy-
handed actions by the authorities, including violence and arbitrary arrests.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders, peaceful political activists and religious followers were subjected to
violations including arbitrary detention; they faced vaguely worded charges; and they were
tried in trials that did not meet internationally defined standards of fairness. Prisoners of
conscience were tortured and otherwise ill-treated.
In Cambodia, the government’s relentless crackdown on civil society and political activists
intensified ahead of a general election scheduled for 2018. Human rights defenders were
monitored, arrested and imprisoned; media outlets were shut; harassment of civil society
through misuse of the criminal justice system escalated; and an amendment to existing
legislation provided the authorities with additional powers over political parties. The judiciary
was used as a political tool to silence dissent, and in a blatant act of political repression the
Supreme Court ruled to dissolve the main opposition party ahead of the election.
Thailand’s military government continued its systematic suppression of dissent, preventing
people from speaking or assembling peacefully, and criminalizing and targeting civil society.
Dozens of human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists and others faced investigation and
prosecution under draconian laws and decrees, many facing lengthy, unfair proceedings
before military courts.
An ongoing crackdown on civil and political rights by Malaysia’s government included
harassment, detention and prosecution of critics through the use of restrictive laws; an
increase in open-ended, arbitrary travel bans that violated human rights defenders’ freedom of
movement; and the arrest and investigation of Indigenous rights activists and journalists for
peacefully demonstrating against abuses.
Fiji’s government used restrictive legislation to stifle the media and curtail freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly. Charges against staff members of the
Fiji Times
were
changed to sedition, in a politically motivated move designed to silence one of the country’s
few remaining independent media outlets.
Amendments to Singapore’s Public Order Act gave the authorities greater powers to restrict
or ban public assemblies, and human rights defenders were investigated by police for taking
part in peaceful protests. Charges were brought against lawyers and academics who criticized
the judiciary, and restrictions placed on media freedom.
In Laos, the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly remained
severely curtailed and criminal code provisions were used to imprison peaceful activists.
A crackdown on dissent in Viet Nam intensified, forcing numerous activists to flee the
country.
Erosion of the space for a free press increased in Myanmar, where journalists and other
media workers faced intimidation and at times arrest, detention and prosecution in connection
with their work.
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IMPUNITY
Impunity for deaths in custody and unnecessary or excessive use of force and firearms
persisted in Malaysia. There were several deaths in custody, including that of S. Balamurugan
who was reportedly beaten by police during interrogation.
In Indonesia’s Papua province there was a lack of accountability for unnecessary or excessive
use of force during mass protests or other security operations. Fiji’s government failed to
ensure accountability for torture and other ill-treatment of detainees by the security forces.
In Timor-Leste, victims of serious human rights violations committed during the Indonesian
occupation (1975-1999) continued to demand justice and reparations.
MYANMAR’S CAMPAIGN OF VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ROHINGYA
The security forces launched a targeted campaign of ethnic cleansing, including unlawful
killings, rape and burning of villages – amounting to crimes against humanity – against the
Rohingya people in northern Rakhine State. The atrocities – an unlawful and disproportionate
response to attacks on security posts by an armed Rohingya group in August – created the
worst refugee crisis in decades in Southeast Asia. Severe restrictions imposed by Myanmar on
aid groups working in Rakhine State worsened the suffering.
More than 655,000 Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh. By the end of the year, nearly 1
million Rohingya refugees were scattered across Bangladesh's Cox’s Bazar District, including
those who had fled earlier waves of violence. Those who remained in Myanmar continued to
live under a regime amounting to apartheid in which their rights, including to equality before
the law and freedom of movement, as well as access to health, education and work, were
severely restricted.
The Myanmar security forces were primarily responsible for the violence against the
Rohingya. However, the civilian administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi failed to speak out or
intervene. Instead it maligned humanitarian workers, accusing them of aiding “terrorists” while
denying the violations.
Despite mounting evidence of atrocities in Myanmar, the international community, including
the UN Security Council, failed to take effective action or send a clear message that there
would be accountability for the military’s crimes against humanity.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Australia maintained its hardline policies of confining hundreds of people seeking asylum in
offshore processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, and turning back those
attempting to reach Australia by boat – failing in its international obligation to protect them.
Refugees and asylum-seekers remained trapped on Nauru, forcibly sent there by the
Australian government – most more than four years previously – despite widespread reports of
physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Several hundred people living in the offshore
processing facility, including dozens of children, faced humiliation, abuse, neglect and poor
physical and mental health care. More than 800 others living in the community faced serious
security risks as well as inadequate access to health care, education and employment
opportunities.
The Australian government withdrew services from its facility on Manus Island in Papua New
Guinea at the end of October in order to force refugees to move closer to town where refugees
and asylum-seekers had well-founded fears for their safety. Refugees were forcibly moved to
new but unfinished facilities in November. They continued to face challenges with inadequate
health care, violence in the community and no clear plans for their future.
Fiji forcibly returned people to countries where they might be at risk of serious violations.
Cambodia rejected 29 applications for refugee status by Montagnard asylum-seekers, forcibly
returning them to Viet Nam where they faced possible persecution.
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DISCRIMINATION
Australia’s justice system continued to fail Indigenous people, especially children – with high
rates of incarceration and reports of abuse and deaths in custody. Ill-treatment of Indigenous
children in the Northern Territory, including tear gassing, choking, restraints and solitary
confinement, was exposed by leaked footage.
LGBTI people suffered discrimination in Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Singapore.
Reports of hate speech against members of Australia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) community increased, despite newly introduced penalties.
In Indonesia’s Aceh province two men were publicly caned 83 times each for consensual
same-sex sexual activity.
Numerous women defending human rights faced harassment, threats, imprisonment and
violence.
Papua New Guinea remained one of the world’s most dangerous countries to be a woman,
with increased reports of violence against women or girls, sometimes following sorcery
accusations.
There were convictions under Indonesia’s blasphemy laws of people belonging to minority
religious communities who had been peacefully practising their beliefs.
The Australian Parliament passed legislation to create marriage equality in December. The
postal survey process chosen by the government failed to acknowledge that marriage equality
is a human right and generated divisive and damaging public debate.
DEATH PENALTY
At least four executions took place in Malaysia. In Singapore execution by hanging continued
to be carried out for murder and drug trafficking; among those executed was Malaysian
national Prabagaran Srivijayan whose execution was carried out despite an appeal pending in
Malaysia.
ARMED CONFLICT
Although receiving less international attention than the situation in Rakhine State, there were
similar patterns of violations by Myanmar’s military in northern Myanmar. War crimes and
human rights violations were committed against civilians in Kachin and northern Shan States,
including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture, indiscriminate shelling,
forced labour, and restrictions on humanitarian access. Ethnic armed groups committed
abuses including abductions and forced recruitment. Both the army and armed groups used
landmine-like weapons that harmed civilians.
In the Philippines, a five-month battle in Marawi between the military and an alliance of
militants aligned with the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS), caused the
displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, dozens of civilian deaths, and widespread
destruction of homes and infrastructure. The militants targeted Christian civilians for
extrajudicial killings and mass hostage-taking, and the armed forces detained and ill-treated
fleeing civilians.
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Communities living close to the giant Letpadaung copper mine in Myanmar continued to call
for a halt to its operations. Thousands of families living near the mine were at risk of being
forcibly evicted from their homes or farmland, and the authorities used repressive laws to
harass activists and villagers.
In Indonesia there was labour exploitation on plantations owned by suppliers and subsidiaries
of Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader. Abuses included women being
forced to work long hours under threat of having their already meagre pay cut, children as
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young as eight doing hazardous physical work, and workers injured by toxic chemicals. Wilmar
International’s subsequent campaign to cover up the abuses, including by intimidating staff
into denying the allegations, was aided by the Indonesian government’s failure to investigate
claims against the company.
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EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA REGIONAL
OVERVIEW
The space for civil society continued to shrink across Europe and Central Asia region. In
Eastern Europe and in Central Asia, a discourse hostile to human rights remained
prevalent. Human rights defenders, activists, the media and political opposition were
frequently targeted by authorities. Across the region, the rights to freedom of association
and peaceful assembly and the right to freedom of opinion and expression came under
attack. Public protests were met with a range of restrictive measures and excessive use of
force by police. Governments continued to implement a range of counter-terrorism
measures disproportionately restricting people’s rights in the name of security. Millions of
people faced an erosion of their economic, social and cultural rights, which led to
diminished social protection, increased inequality and systemic discrimination. States
repeatedly failed to meet their protection responsibilities towards refugees and migrants.
Women and girls continued to experience systemic human rights violations and abuses,
including torture and other ill-treatment, and faced widespread gender-based violence.
Discrimination and stigmatization of minorities remained common with groups facing
harassment and violence. Some prisoners of conscience were released.
In 2017, for the first time in Amnesty International’s almost 60 years of existence, both the
chair and director of an Amnesty International section became prisoners of conscience
themselves. In June, Taner Kılıç, Chair of Amnesty International Turkey, was arrested. In July,
10 other human rights defenders, known as the “Istanbul 10”, including Idil Eser, Director of
Amnesty International Turkey, were detained while attending a routine workshop in Istanbul.
The Istanbul 10 and Taner Kılıç were later put on trial for terrorism-related offences, their
arrests falling into a broader pattern of repression against civil society following the failed coup
attempt of July 2016. By the end of the year, the Istanbul 10 had been released pending trial,
but Taner Kılıç remained in detention. Although the prosecutor failed to provide any
incriminating evidence against them, they remained at serious risk, facing an ongoing trial on
absurd charges carrying up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
The crackdown on dissenting voices in Turkey was part of a broader trend of shrinking space
for civil society across Europe and Central Asia. Human rights defenders faced huge
challenges, and the rights to freedom of association and assembly in particular came under
attack.
In the east, a discourse hostile to human rights remained prevalent, frequently leading to the
repression of human rights defenders, political opposition, protest movements, anti-corruption
campaigners and sexual minorities. This hostile discourse also inched westward and found its
first legislative expression in Hungary with the adoption of a law effectively stigmatizing NGOs
that received foreign funding.
Violent attacks caused deaths and injuries, including in Barcelona, Brussels, London,
Manchester, Paris, Stockholm, St Petersburg and multiple locations across Turkey. In
response, governments continued to implement a range of counter-terrorism measures
disproportionately restricting people’s rights in the name of security.
Millions of people faced an erosion of their economic, social and cultural rights. This led to
diminished social protection, exacerbated inequality and systemic discrimination in many
countries. Those most affected by higher levels of poverty included women, children, young or
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low-paid workers, people with disabilities, migrants and asylum-seekers, ethnic minorities, and
retired and single people.
Across the region, governments repeatedly failed to meet their responsibilities towards
refugees and migrants. The number of irregular arrivals of refugees and migrants in the EU
dropped significantly in the second half of the year, largely as a result of co-operation
agreements with Libyan authorities that turned a blind eye and even contributed to the abuses
faced by those trapped in the country. Those who did make it to the EU faced an increased
risk of forcible return to countries such as Afghanistan, where their life or liberty were at risk.
At the UN Security Council, Russia used its veto for the ninth time to shield the Syrian
government from the consequences of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Russia’s
routine use of its veto had become the equivalent of acquiescence in war crimes, allowing all
parties in Syria’s conflict to act with impunity, with civilians paying the ultimate price.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Across Eastern Europe and across Central Asia, civil society faced a range of harassment and
restrictions. Dozens of individuals were jailed for their peaceful activism and became prisoners
of conscience in Belarus and Russia, amid ongoing legislative restrictions on media, NGOs
and public assemblies.
The deterioration of the respect for freedom of opinion and expression in Tajikistan became
further entrenched with the authorities imposing sweeping restrictions to silence critical voices.
The police and security services intimidated and harassed journalists. Human rights lawyers
endured arbitrary arrests, politically motivated prosecutions, harsh prison sentences and
harassment.
In Kazakhstan, journalists and activists faced politically motivated prosecutions and attacks.
Having all but strangled independent media already, the authorities used increasingly
elaborate and aggressive methods to stamp out dissenting voices on the internet and social
media. A targeted cyber campaign was being waged against critical voices in Azerbaijan.
The Uzbekistani government used unlawful surveillance on its citizens at home and abroad –
reinforcing a hostile environment for journalists and activists, and fostering a climate of fear for
Uzbekistani nationals in Europe. Human rights defenders and journalists continued to be
summoned for questioning at police stations, placed under house arrest and beaten by the
authorities.
In Crimea, the de facto authorities continued to suppress dissenting opinion. Leaders of the
Crimean Tatar community who spoke out against the Russian occupation and illegal
annexation of the peninsula faced exile or prison.
Turkey continued to detain tens of thousands of perceived government critics in the
aftermath of the 2016 coup attempt. Criticism of the government largely disappeared from
mainstream media. More than 100 journalists languished in jail – more than in any other
country – many for months on end, on spurious charges.
The primary positive developments in Eastern Europe and in Central Asia involved releases of
prisoners of conscience and other long-term prisoners, notably in Uzbekistan. In Azerbaijan,
some prisoners of conscience were released; however, new ones took their places in the never-
ending policy of repression. In Russia, prisoner of conscience Ildar Dadin – the first and so far
only person imprisoned under a recent law criminalizing repeated violation of Russia’s
draconian restrictions on public assembly – was released and cleared of conviction following a
Constitutional Court ruling.
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RESTRICTIVE LAWS
Across Europe and Central Asia, restrictive laws were passed. Drawing inspiration from similar
legislation adopted in Russia in 2012, Hungary adopted a law on the transparency of
organizations funded from abroad, which forced NGOs receiving more than EUR24,000 direct
or indirect funding from abroad to re-register as a “civic organization funded from abroad” and
to put this label on every publication. The move was accompanied by highly stigmatizing
government rhetoric. Similar legislation was tabled in Ukraine and in Moldova, but was
withdrawn in Moldova due to objections from civil society and international organizations.
In November, there were protests throughout Poland when MPs voted on two legislative
amendments threatening the independence of the judiciary and placing the right to a fair trial
and other rights at risk. President Andrzej Duda vetoed the amendments in July, but
subsequently redrafted and submitted them to Parliament in September.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
In Eastern Europe and in Central Asia, the authorities clamped down on peaceful protesters. In
Russia, during mass anti-corruption protests across the country in March, police used
excessive force and arrested hundreds of overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators in the
capital, Moscow, and well over a thousand across the country, including opposition leader
Aleksei Navalny. Hundreds of people were again detained and ill-treated during anti-corruption
protests across the country in June, and on 7 October, President Vladimir Putin’s birthday.
In Kazakhstan, organizing or participating in a peaceful demonstration without the authorities’
prior authorization remained an offence. Police in Kyrgyzstan disrupted a peaceful
demonstration in the capital, Bishkek, organized to protest against deterioration of freedom of
expression, and arrested several participants. The Belarusian authorities violently suppressed
mass demonstrations against a tax on the unemployed.
A discriminatory amendment to a law in Poland led to bans of certain demonstrations and
favoured pro-government assemblies. People participating in demonstrations against the
government policies were prosecuted, harassed by law enforcement officials and political
opponents, and prevented from exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly.
In several countries of Western Europe, public protests were met with a range of restrictive
measures and abuses. In Germany, France, Poland and Spain, governments’ response to
public assemblies against restrictive policies or human rights abuses included sealing off
public spaces, excessive use of force by police, containment of peaceful protesters or
“kettling”, surveillance, and threats of administrative and criminal sanctions. France’s
government continued to resort to emergency measures to ban public assemblies and to
restrict freedom of movement to prevent individuals from participating in demonstrations.
In October, Spanish security forces that were ordered to prevent the holding of the Catalan
independence referendum used unnecessary and disproportionate force against
demonstrators, injuring hundreds of them. This included evidence of police beating peaceful
demonstrators.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In Western Europe, a raft of disproportionate and discriminatory counter-terrorism laws
continued to be rushed through. The adoption of the EU Directive on Combating Terrorism in
March looked set to lead to a proliferation of such measures in 2018, as states were to
transpose the Directive into domestic law.
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Broad definitions of terrorism in the law, and the misapplication of counter-terrorism laws to a
wide group of people – human rights defenders, environmental activists, refugees, migrants,
and journalists – continued, notably in Turkey but also throughout Western Europe. Vague laws
punishing “glorification” or “apology” of terrorism were used to prosecute activists and civil
society groups for opinions expressed on the internet and social media, including in France,
Spain and the UK.
France’s state of emergency ended in November, having lasted almost two years. In October,
France adopted a new counter-terrorism law embedding in ordinary law many of the measures
permitted under the emergency regime.
Instead of investigating and prosecuting suspected perpetrators of violent attacks, many
states implemented administrative control measures limiting everyone’s rights and often
applied these based on vague grounds, often connected to religious belief or associations.
Detention without charge or trial was proposed in several countries, including France, the
Netherlands and Switzerland, and introduced in Bavaria, Germany.
Many EU member states also attempted to draw links between the refugee crisis and
terrorism-related threats. Although a Hungarian court’s conviction on spurious terrorism
charges of “Ahmed H”, a Syrian resident in Cyprus, was annulled, Ahmed H remained in
detention while his new trial unfolded. The trial was ongoing at the end of the year. He had
been convicted of an “act of terror” for throwing stones and speaking to a crowd through a
megaphone during clashes with border police.
A number of states in Europe and in Central Asia intensified their focus on online activity as a
perceived potential driver for terrorism-related or “extremist” activity. The UK proposed
criminalizing repeated viewing of “terrorism-related” content online with a maximum 15-year
prison sentence. Similar measures already existed, and were deemed unconstitutional, in
France.
In Eastern Europe and in Central Asia, government responses to the real and perceived
threats posed by terrorism and extremism followed an all-too-familiar pattern. Extraditions and
renditions of suspects to destinations where they were at risk of torture and other ill-treatment
were frequent and swift, individuals being forcibly returned, in contravention of international
law. In Russia’s North Caucasus, enforced disappearances, unlawful detention, torture and
other ill-treatment of detainees, and extrajudicial executions were reported in the context of
security operations. In Russia-occupied Crimea, the de facto authorities pursued all forms of
dissent and continued to arbitrarily target the Crimean Tatar community under anti-extremism
and counter-terrorism legislation.
REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
During 2017, 171,332 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by sea, compared to 362,753
in 2016. The decrease was mainly due to EU states’ co-operation with Libya and Turkey. At
least 3,119 people died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. EU states
intensified their efforts to prevent irregular entry and increased returns, including through
policies that exposed migrants and those in need of protection to ill-treatment, torture and
other abuses in countries of transit and origin.
By using aid, trade and other leverage, European governments encouraged and supported
transit countries – even those where widespread and systematic violations against refugees
and migrants were documented – to implement stricter border control measures, without
adequate human rights guarantees. This trapped thousands of refugees and migrants in
countries where they lacked adequate protection and where they were exposed to serious
human rights violations.
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NGOs, which performed more rescues in the central Mediterranean in the first half of 2017
than any others, were discredited and attacked by public commentators and politicians, and
faced restrictions on their activities by a new code of conduct imposed by the Italian
authorities.
Russia continued to return asylum-seekers and refugees to countries where they were at risk
of torture and other ill-treatment, as did other countries in Europe and Central Asia.
EUROPEAN COLLABORATION WITH LIBYA
With most refugees and migrants crossing the sea into Europe embarking from Libya, the EU
and European governments, with Italy at the forefront, sought to close down this route by co-
operating with the Libyan coastguard and other actors in the country. They entered into a
string of co-operation agreements with Libyan authorities responsible for grave human rights
violations, in particular the Libyan Coast Guard and Libya’s General Directorate for Combating
Illegal Migration (DCIM).
Italy and other governments failed to include key human rights guarantees in these
agreements and turned a blind eye to the abuses, including torture and extortion, against
refugees and migrants by the very institutions they were co-operating with. The actions of
European countries were leading to increasing numbers of people being stopped or
intercepted. In so doing, European governments, and Italy in particular, were breaching their
own international obligations and becoming complicit in the violations committed by the Libyan
authorities they were sponsoring and co-operating with.
EU-TURKEY MIGRATION DEAL, CONDITIONS IN GREECE
The March 2016 EU-Turkey migration deal remained in place and continued to restrict access
to territory and asylum in the EU. The deal aimed at returning asylum-seekers to Turkey, on
the pretence of it being a “safe country” of transit. European leaders maintained the fiction
that Turkey provided protection equivalent to that of the EU, even though Turkey had become
even more unsafe for refugees since the 2016 coup attempt. The removal of procedural
safeguards under Turkey’s state of emergency put refugees there at heightened risk of
refoulement,
the forcible return to countries where they were at risk of facing serious human
rights violations.
Throughout 2017, the deal left thousands exposed to overcrowded, squalid and unsafe
conditions on Greek islands that were transformed into de facto holding pens and condemned
them to extended asylum procedures. Some suffered violent hate crimes. Compared to 2016,
arrivals on the Greek islands dropped sharply, mainly due to the deal,but a relative increase in
arrivals during the summer stretched the islands’ already insufficient reception capacity once
again. In December, around 13,000 asylum-seekers remained in limbo, stranded on the
islands.
Reception conditions both on the islands and in mainland Greece, meanwhile, continued to
be inadequate, with many still forced to sleep in tents unfit for winter and women and girls
particularly vulnerable in unsafe camp facilities.
In September, Greece’s highest administrative court paved the way for forcible returns of
Syrian asylum-seekers under the EU-Turkey migration deal by endorsing decisions by the
Greek asylum authorities that deemed Turkey safe for two Syrian nationals.
RELOCATION SCHEMES
Solidarity with frontline countries receiving the majority of arrivals continued to be in short
supply. European countries failed to relocate their committed numbers of asylum-seekers from
Greece and Italy under the emergency relocation scheme adopted in September 2015. As of
November, European states had fulfilled just 32% of their legal commitment. At the end of
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2017, 21,703 asylum-seekers out of 66,400 had been relocated from Greece, and 11,464 out
of around 35,000 from Italy.
Among the worst offenders were Poland and Hungary, both having refused to accept a single
asylum-seeker from Italy and Greece by the year’s end.
The European Court of Justice rejected Slovakia’s and Hungary’s complaint against the
mandatory refugee relocation scheme. The European Commission also opened infringement
proceedings against Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic for failing to comply with their
relocation obligations.
CURTAILING ACCESS TO ASYLUM AND PUSHBACKS
Hungary reached a new low by passing legislation allowing pushbacks of all people found in
an irregular situation in the country and by introducing the automatic detention of asylum-
seekers, in blatant breach of EU law. The authorities locked up in containers asylum-seekers
arriving at its borders. Hungary’s systematic flouting of the rights of refugees, asylum-seekers
and migrants also included severely restricting access by limiting admission to two operational
border “transit zones” in which only 10 new asylum applications could be submitted each
working day. This left thousands of people in substandard camps in Serbia, at risk of
homelessness and forcible return further south to Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Abuses and pushbacks continued at the EU external borders, from Bulgaria, Greece, Spain,
and Poland. Poland’s government proposed legislation to legalize pushbacks, a regular
practice at a crossing between Poland and Belarus. In a landmark ruling, the European Court
of Human Rights condemned Spain for breaching the prohibition of collective expulsions and
for violating the right to an effective remedy in the case of two migrants who were summarily
returned from the Spanish enclave of Melilla to Morocco.
Slovenia adopted legislative amendments under which it could deny entry to people arriving
at its borders and automatically expel migrants and refugees who entered irregularly, without
assessing their asylum claims.
FORCED RETURNS
EU member states also continued to put pressure on other governments to accept
readmissions – in some cases without including adequate guarantees against
refoulement.
At a time when civilian casualties in Afghanistan were at some of their highest levels on
record, European governments forced increasing numbers of Afghan asylum-seekers back to
the dangers from which they fled in Afghanistan. Forced returns to Afghanistan were made
from countries including Austria, the Netherlands and Norway.
IMPUNITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE FORMER
YUGOSLAVIA
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia delivered its final judgment on 29
November 2017, bringing to a close its largely successful 23-year effort to hold perpetrators of
war crimes to account. Also in November, it sentenced Bosnian Serb war leader Ratko Mladić
to life imprisonment for crimes under international law, including genocide, war crimes, and
crimes against humanity.
At the national level, with the exception of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which some modest
progress was made, impunity remained the norm, with courts continuing to have limited
capacity and resources, and facing undue political pressure. Prosecutors across the region
lacked the support of the executive and their work was compromised by a climate of
nationalist rhetoric and lack of political commitment to sustained regional co-operation.
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By the end of the year, the authorities had made no progress in establishing the fate of over
11,500 people disappeared during the armed conflicts in the Balkans. Victims of enforced
disappearance and their families continued to be denied access to justice, truth and
reparation. Nominal improvements in the laws regulating reparation for victims of wartime
sexual violence continued to be made in several countries.
DISCRIMINATION
THE “TRADITIONAL VALUES” PRETENCE IN EASTERN EUROPE AND IN CENTRAL
ASIA
Governments across Eastern Europe and across Central Asia continued to prop up repression
and discrimination by promoting and increasingly invoking the rhetoric of a discriminatory
interpretation of so-called “traditional values”. The “traditional values” referred to were
selective xenophobic, misogynistic and homophobic interpretations of cultural values. In
Tajikistan, this discourse and its application was used to punish LGBTI communities for
“amoral” behaviours and enforce “norms” for dress code, language and religion primarily
against women and religious minorities, including through new legislation. In Kazakhstan and
Russia, there was an increasing number of criminal prosecutions and other harassment of
religious minorities, on arbitrary grounds, under “anti-extremism” legislation. The said
interpretation assertion of “traditional values” reached a terrifying dimension with the secret
torture and killing of gay men in Chechnya by authorities.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Following sexual harassment allegations against US Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and
others in the show business industry, millions of women worldwide used the online hashtag
#MeToo to break the silence about their experiences as survivors of sexual violence. This
became a rallying cry for challenging victim blaming and holding offenders to account. The
year also saw the women’s
and feminist movements mobilizing thousands – including during
January’s Women’s Marches across Europe, and Black Monday protests in Poland that
successfully pushed the government not to further restrict access to safe and legal abortion.
Yet, throughout Europe and Central Asia, women and girls continued to experience systemic
human rights violations and abuses, including torture and other ill-treatment, denial of the
right to health and bodily autonomy, inequality of opportunity, and widespread gender-based
violence.
Access to abortion remained criminalized in most circumstances in Ireland and Northern
Ireland and severely restricted in practice. In Poland, there were systemic barriers in accessing
safe and legal abortion. Abortion remained criminalized in all circumstances in Malta.
The EU and Moldova signed the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating
violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). It was ratified by
Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Norway and Switzerland – bringing to 28 the number of
states to have done so. Ukraine signed it in 2011 but failed to ratify the Convention.
Despite increasingly strong legislative protections, gender-based violence against women
remained pervasive, including in Albania, Croatia and Romania. In Russia, under the cover of
the so-called “traditional values” narrative, and encountering little public criticism, the
Parliament adopted legislation decriminalizing some forms of domestic violence
which President Putin signed into law. In Norway and Sweden, gender-based violence,
including sexual violence, remained a serious problem with inadequate state response.
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MINORITY RIGHTS
Discrimination and stigmatization of minorities remained pervasive across Europe and Central
Asia with several groups facing harassment, violence, and obstacles to meaningful
participation in society.
Discrimination against Roma remained widespread in Slovakia. The European Commission
continued an infringement procedure against Slovakia and Hungary for systematic
discrimination and segregation of Roma children in schools. Segregated camps, discrimination
in access to social housing and forced evictions remained a daily reality for thousands of the
170,000 Roma estimated to be living across Italy, around 40,000 of them in camps in squalid
conditions. The European Commission still failed to take effective action towards ending
discrimination against Roma.
Muslims faced discrimination, particularly when looking for work, at work, and when
accessing public or private services such as education and health care.
In Austria, a new law banned any kind of full-face covering in public spaces,
disproportionately restricting the rights to freedom of expression and of religion or belief.
Tajikistan’s authorities forced thousands of women to remove their Islamic headscarves
(hijabs) in public places to comply with the law on traditions.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND
INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people faced growing abuse and discrimination across the east, including violence,
arbitrary arrests and detention. In Azerbaijan, over 100 LGBTI people were arbitrarily arrested
on one day in the capital Baku. In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, consensual sex among men
remained a crime punishable by prison. Georgia’s new Constitution restricted the definition of
marriage to exclude same-sex couples. Lithuania’s Parliament adopted legislation
discriminating against LGBTI people. In Russia, the “gay propaganda law” continued to be
used, despite being ruled discriminatory by the European Court of Human Rights.
Reports emerged in April that the Chechen authorities were secretly and arbitrarily detaining,
torturing and killing gay men. In response to the international outcry, the authorities claimed
that gay men did not exist in Chechnya, while the federal authorities failed to carry out an
effective investigation.
There were also positive developments and examples of human courage and solidarity. The
Russian LGBT Network organized a hotline and facilitated the evacuation to safety of LGBTI
people from Chechnya and elsewhere in the North Caucasus. The biggest-ever Pride rally in
Ukraine was held. Malta’s parliament approved same-sex marriage legislation and extended
full marriage rights to same-sex couples. Germany granted marriage rights to all, regardless of
their gender or sexual orientation, and equal rights to adoption for married people.
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WITH VARIATIONS OF SEX CHARACTERISTICS
Transgender people in Europe and Central Asia faced hurdles seeking legal recognition of their
gender identity. Children and adults with variations in sex characteristics continued to face
human rights violations, perpetrated in the course of non-emergency, invasive and irreversible
medical interventions which often had harmful consequences on physical and psychological
health, especially for children. In 18 European countries, transgender people were required to
undergo sterilization, and in 35 countries they had to receive a mental health diagnosis in
order to change their gender.
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There was progress in Belgium and Greece; they were the latest European countries to
abolish sterilization and mental health diagnosis requirements, although legal gender
recognition reforms in both countries still fell short of establishing a quick, transparent and
accessible administrative procedure.
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MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
REGIONAL OVERVIEW
Journalists and human rights defenders were targeted in government crackdowns, and
online expression was heavily controlled in several countries. Civil society activists
managed to halt further tightening of restrictions on free expression in some places.
Freedom of religion and belief came under attack from armed groups and governments
alike. The struggle of women’s rights movements successfully led to the amendment of
laws that had entrenched discrimination and violence against women in some countries.
However, systematic discrimination remained in law and practice across the region and
women were still inadequately protected against gender-based violence. Authorities
arrested and prosecuted people for their real or perceived sexual orientation in some
countries, and consensual same-sex sexual relations were still criminalized in many, in a
handful of cases punishable by death. There were severe restrictions on trade unions in
some countries, and migrant workers continued to face exploitation and abuse. However,
reforms in a couple of countries gave migrant workers greater employment protections.
Armed conflicts took a heavy toll on beleaguered civilians and were characterized by
serious violations, including the use of banned weapons, unlawful sieges, and direct
attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Death sentences were imposed in a number
of countries across the region, and hundreds of executions were carried out. Impunity
persisted for historical and recent crimes; however, some progress was made towards
securing truth and justice for victims.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, ASSOCIATION AND
ASSEMBLY
Governments across the Middle East and North Africa repressed civil society both offline and
online in an attempt to prevent or punish reporting on human rights violations or other
criticism directed at them or their allies, often on the pretext that they were combating threats
to national security or corruption. They also used excessive force in an attempt to quell protest
movements that had taken to the streets.
CRACKDOWNS IN EGYPT AND SAUDI ARABIA
In some countries, increased clampdowns accompanied a global trend that saw political
strongmen attempting to establish their credentials in the eyes of the international community.
In President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s Egypt, the authorities continued to curb the work of human
rights defenders in an unprecedented manner, shutting down or freezing the assets of NGOs;
they enacted a draconian new law that gave them broad powers to dissolve NGOs and
provided for five years’ imprisonment for publishing research without government permission.
The Egyptian authorities also sentenced at least 15 journalists to prison terms on charges
related solely to their writing, including publication of what the authorities deemed “false
information”; they blocked more than 400 websites, including those of independent
newspapers and human rights organizations. Meanwhile, security forces arrested hundreds of
individuals based on their membership or perceived membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.
To punish political dissidents, the authorities used prolonged pre-trial detention, often for
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periods of more than two years, placed those imprisoned in indefinite and prolonged solitary
confinement, and subjected many of those released to probation periods in which they were
forced to spend up to 12 hours per day in a police station, amounting to arbitrary deprivation
of liberty.
Saudi Arabia witnessed the promotion of Mohammed bin Salman to the role of Crown Prince
in June as part of a broader re-engineering of the political landscape. In the months that
followed, the authorities intensified their crackdown on freedom of expression, detaining more
than 20 prominent religious figures, writers, journalists, academics and activists in one week in
September. They also put human rights defenders on trial on charges related to their peaceful
activism before the Specialized Criminal Court, a tribunal set up to try terrorism-related cases.
At the end of the year, despite the image the palace wished to portray of a more tolerant
country, the majority of Saudi Arabia’s human rights defenders were either in prison or facing
grossly unfair trials.
ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Elsewhere, human rights advocacy and journalistic reporting, as well as criticism of official
institutions, led to prosecution and imprisonment and, in some cases, smear campaigns
orchestrated by the government or its supporters.
In Iran, the authorities jailed scores of peaceful critics including women’s rights activists,
minority rights and environmental activists, trade unionists, lawyers, and those seeking truth,
justice and reparation for the mass executions of the 1980s.
In Bahrain, the government arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and government
critics and subjected others to travel bans or the stripping of their nationality, dissolved the
independent
al-Wasat
newspaper and the opposition political group Waad, maintained a ban
on demonstrations in the capital, Manama, and used unnecessary and excessive force to
disperse protests elsewhere.
In Morocco and Western Sahara, the authorities prosecuted and imprisoned a number of
journalists, bloggers and activists who criticized officials or reported on human rights violations,
corruption or popular protests, such as those that took place in the northern Rif region, where
security forces conducted mass arrests of largely peaceful protesters, including children, and
sometimes used excessive or unnecessary force.
The Kuwaiti authorities imprisoned several government critics and online activists under legal
provisions that criminalized comments deemed offensive to the Emir or damaging to relations
with neighbouring states.
In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, a number of journalists and online activists were subjected to
arbitrary arrest, death threats and smear campaigns, a pattern that escalated in the run-up to
an independence referendum in September called by the region’s president.
In Yemen, the Huthi armed group arbitrarily arrested and detained critics, journalists and
human rights defenders in the capital, Sana’a, and other areas they controlled.
Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities banned entry into Israel or the Occupied Palestinian
Territories to individuals supporting or working for organizations that had issued or promoted a
statement which the authorities deemed to be a call to boycott Israel or Israeli entities,
including settlements, targeted both Palestinian and Israeli human rights NGOs through
harassment and campaigns to undermine their work, and deployed forces that used rubber-
coated metal bullets and live ammunition against Palestinian protesters in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip, killing at least 20 and injuring thousands.
ONLINE REPRESSION
Governments other than Egypt also made efforts to increase their control of expression on the
internet. The State of Palestine adopted the Electronic Crimes Law in July, permitting the
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arbitrary detention of journalists, whistle-blowers and others who criticize the authorities online.
The law allowed for prison sentences and up to 25 years’ hard labour for anyone deemed to
have disturbed “public order”, “national unity” or “social peace”. Several Palestinian
journalists and human rights defenders were charged under the law.
Jordan continued to block access to certain websites, including online forums. Oman
blocked the online publication of
Mowaten
newspaper, and the effect of trials against
Azamn
newspaper and some of its journalists continued to reverberate following its publication in
2016 of allegations of corruption in the government and the judiciary. In Iran, judicial officials
attempted to block the popular messaging application Telegram, but failed because of
opposition from the government; other popular social media websites including Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube were still blocked.
GULF POLITICAL CRISIS
The political crisis in the Gulf triggered in June, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar and accused it of financing and
harbouring terrorists and interfering in the domestic affairs of its neighbours, had an impact
beyond the paralysis of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
announced that they would treat criticism of the measures taken against Qatar, or sympathy
with Qatar or its people, as a criminal offence, punishable by a prison term.
CIVIL SOCIETY FIGHT-BACK
Civil society did, however, make significant efforts to stem the tide of measures attempting to
restrict freedom of expression. In Tunisia, activists put the brakes on a new bill that could
bolster impunity for security forces by criminalizing criticism of police conduct and granting
officers immunity from prosecution for unnecessary use of lethal force. In Palestine, the
authorities agreed to amend the Electronic Crimes Law following huge pressure from civil
society.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Armed groups targeted religious minorities in several countries. The armed group calling itself
Islamic State (IS) and other armed groups killed and injured scores of civilians across Iraq and
Syria in suicide bombings and other deadly attacks that targeted Shi’a religious shrines and
other public spaces in predominantly Shi’a neighbourhoods. The UN reported in January that
nearly 2,000 Yazidi women and children remained in IS captivity in Iraq and Syria. They were
enslaved and subjected to rape, beatings and other torture. In Egypt, IS claimed responsibility
for the bombing of two churches which left at least 44 dead in April, and unidentified militants
launched a bomb and gun attack at a mosque in North Sinai during Friday prayers in
November, killing more than 300 Sufi Muslim worshippers – the deadliest attack by an armed
group in Egypt since 2011.
In Yemen, the Huthis and their allies subjected members of the Baha’i community to
arbitrary arrest and detention.
RESTRICTIONS BY GOVERNMENTS
In Algeria, the authorities were engaged in a new clampdown against the Ahmadi religious
movement; during the year more than 280 Ahmadis were prosecuted because of their
religious beliefs and practices.
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Elsewhere, government restrictions followed a familiar pattern. In Saudi Arabia, the
authorities discriminated against members of the Shi’a Muslim minority because of their faith,
limiting their right to religious expression and their access to justice, and arbitrarily restricting
their right to work and access to state services. Shi’a activists continued to face arrest,
imprisonment and – in some cases – the death penalty following unfair trials.
In Iran, freedom of religion and belief was systematically violated, in law and practice.
Widespread and systematic attacks continued to be carried out against the Baha’i religious
minority. These included arbitrary arrests, lengthy imprisonment, torture and other ill-
treatment, forcible closure of Baha’i-owned businesses, confiscation of Baha’i properties, bans
on employment in the public sector and denial of access to universities. Other religious
minorities not recognized under the Constitution, such as Yaresan (Ahl-e Haq), also faced
systematic discrimination, including in education and employment, and were persecuted for
practising their faith. The right to change or renounce religious beliefs continued to be violated.
A number of Christian converts received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Long-term struggles by women’s rights movements resulted in some positive developments
during the year.
Laws were amended in Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia to stop rapists escaping prosecution (or
benefiting from reduced penalties) if they married their victim. However, legislation in many
other countries retained such a loophole. Jordan also struck out a provision that allowed
reduced sentences for men found guilty of killing a female relative in a “fit of rage caused by
an unlawful or dangerous act on the part of the victim”, but kept one that granted leniency for
“honour” killings of female relatives found in an “adulterous situation”. Tunisia’s parliament
adopted the Law on Eliminating Violence against Women, which brought in several guarantees
for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence, and its president repealed a
decree prohibiting marriage between a Tunisian woman and a non-Muslim man.
In Qatar, a draft law was approved to provide permanent residency rights for the children of
Qatari women married to non-Qataris, but discrimination persisted, with women unable to pass
on their nationality and citizenship to their children.
In Saudi Arabia, a royal order was issued in September allowing women to drive from
mid-2018, although there were questions about how it would be implemented in practice. In
April, another royal order had instructed all government agencies that women should not be
denied access to government services if they did not have a male guardian’s consent, unless
existing regulations required it. However, the order appeared to keep in place regulations that
explicitly require a guardian’s approval, such as for women to travel abroad, obtain a passport,
or marry.
Despite the positive developments, entrenched discrimination against women in law and in
practice, notably in matters of marriage and divorce, inheritance and child custody, remained
in these and many other countries in the region. Women were inadequately protected against
sexual and other gender-based violence, as well as forced and early marriage.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND
INTERSEX PEOPLE
While sexual orientation and gender identity issues were increasingly on the agendas of
mainstream human rights movements in the region, governments continued to heavily limit the
enjoyment of the rights of LGBTI people in law and practice.
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In Egypt, in the worst crackdown in over a decade, the authorities rounded up and
prosecuted people for their perceived sexual orientation after a rainbow flag was displayed at a
concert in Cairo in September performed by Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila, who had been
banned from playing in Jordan earlier in the year. Security forces arrested at least 76 people
and subjected at least five to anal examinations, a practice which amounts to torture. Courts
sentenced at least 48 people to prison terms of between three months and six years on
charges that included “habitual debauchery”. In October, parliamentarians proposed a deeply
discriminatory law explicitly criminalizing same-sex sexual relations and any public promotion
of LGBTI gatherings, symbols or flags.
Countries including Morocco and Tunisia continued to arrest people and sentence them to
terms of imprisonment under laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual relations. In
Tunisia, while the police subjected men accused of such relations to forced anal examinations,
the government accepted a recommendation under the UN Universal Periodic Review process
in September to end their use. Elsewhere, in countries including Iran and Saudi Arabia, some
consensual same-sex sexual conduct remained punishable by death.
RIGHT TO WORK
TRADE UNIONS
Some governments heavily curtailed trade union rights.
In Egypt, the authorities subjected dozens of workers and trade unionists to arrest, military
trial, dismissal and a range of disciplinary measures solely for exercising their rights to strike
and to form independent trade unions. In December, parliament passed a law tripling the
number of members (from 50 to 150) that independent trade unions need to obtain legal
recognition.
In Algeria, the authorities continued to deny registration to the independent, cross-sector
General Autonomous Confederation for Algerian Workers – it first filed its application in 2013 –
and banned the National Autonomous Electricity and Gas Trade Union by withdrawing its
recognition.
MIGRANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Across the Gulf and in other countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, migrant workers,
including those in the domestic, construction and other sectors, continued to face exploitation
and abuse. However, there were some positive developments. In Qatar, the government
passed two new laws in August. One established a labour dispute mechanism, which could
address some of the barriers to migrant workers accessing justice. The other provided legal
protections for domestic workers’ labour rights for the first time, including paid holidays and a
limit to working hours. However, the law was open to abuse of a provision allowing domestic
workers to work beyond the legal limit if they “agreed”. In October, the Qatari government
announced new reform plans, including a minimum wage and a fund to pay unpaid workers,
and the International Labour Organization published details of a package it had agreed with
Qatar to reform the
kafala
sponsorship system, which prevents migrant workers from changing
jobs or leaving the country without their employers’ permission.
In the UAE, a law came into effect in September limiting working hours and providing paid
leave and the right to retain personal documents.
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RIGHTS TO HOUSING, WATER AND HEALTH
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
The year marked the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories and
the 10th anniversary of its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities intensified the
expansion of settlements and related infrastructure across the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, and carried out a large number of demolitions of Palestinian property, forcibly
evicting more than 660 people. Many of these demolitions were in Bedouin and herding
communities that the Israeli authorities planned to forcibly transfer.
Israel’s air, land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip continued the long-standing restrictions
on the movement of people and goods, collectively punishing Gaza’s entire population of
approximately 2 million inhabitants. Combined with Egypt’s almost total closure of the Rafah
border crossing, and the West Bank authorities’ punitive measures, Israel’s blockade triggered
a humanitarian crisis with power cuts, reducing access to electricity to a few hours per day,
affecting the supply of clean water and sanitation and reducing access to health services.
Elsewhere in the region, Palestinian refugees, including many long-term residents, remained
subject to discriminatory laws. In Lebanon, they continued to be excluded from many types of
work, owning or inheriting property and from accessing public education and health services.
WATER, SANITATION AND HEALTH
Civil society raised a number of cases before the Lebanese judiciary related to violations of the
rights to health and clean water, including cases related to the sale of expired drugs in public
hospitals and to waste mismanagement.
In Tunisia, water shortages became acute. The government admitted it did not have a
national strategy for water distribution, thereby making it impossible to ensure equitable
access. Marginalized regions were disproportionately affected by water cuts, leading to local
protests throughout the year.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Serious human rights violations accompanied counter-terrorism measures in several countries.
In Egypt, where more than 100 members of the security forces were killed in attacks by
armed groups, mostly in North Sinai, the National Security Agency continued to forcibly
disappear and extrajudicially execute individuals suspected of political violence. The Ministry
of the Interior claimed that more than 100 individuals were shot dead in exchanges of fire with
security forces throughout the year. However, in many of these cases the people killed were
already in state custody after having been forcibly disappeared. Torture and other ill-treatment
remained routine in official places of detention and was systematic in detention centres run by
the National Security Agency. Hundreds were sentenced, including to death, after grossly
unfair mass trials.
In Iraq, suspects prosecuted on terrorism-related charges were routinely denied the rights to
adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, to not incriminate themselves or confess
guilt, and to question prosecution witnesses. Courts continued to admit into evidence
“confessions” that were extracted under torture. Many of those convicted after these unfair
and hasty trials were sentenced to death. Iraqi and Kurdish government forces and militias
also carried out extrajudicial executions of men and boys suspected of being affiliated with IS.
Complaints of torture in custody against defendants accused of national security-related
offences were reported in countries including Bahrain, Israel and Kuwait. In general, the
allegations were not investigated. Saudi Arabia introduced a new counter-terrorism law that
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allowed for the death penalty for some crimes. In Tunisia, the government continued to restrict
freedom of movement through arbitrary and indefinite orders that confined hundreds to their
governorate of residence, justifying this as a measure to prevent Tunisians from travelling to
join armed groups.
DEATH PENALTY
Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia remained among the world’s most prolific users of the death
penalty, carrying out hundreds of executions between them, many after unfair trials. In Iran,
Amnesty International was able to confirm the execution of four individuals who were under 18
at the time the crime was committed, but several executions of other juvenile offenders were
postponed at the last minute because of public campaigning. The Iranian authorities
continued to describe peaceful campaigning against the death penalty as “un-Islamic”, and
harassed and imprisoned anti-death penalty activists. In Saudi Arabia, courts continued to
impose death sentences for drugs offences and for conduct that under international standards
should not be criminalized, such as “sorcery” and “adultery”. In Iraq, the death penalty
continued to be used as a tool of retribution in response to public outrage after attacks claimed
by IS.
Bahrain and Kuwait both resumed executions in January, the first since 2010 and 2013
respectively; the death sentences had been imposed for murder. Egypt, Jordan, Libya and the
Hamas de facto administration in the Gaza Strip also carried out executions. Except for Israel
and Oman, all other countries in the region continued a long-standing practice of imposing
death sentences but not implementing them.
ARMED CONFLICT
Fuelled by the international arms trade, conflict in the region continued to blight the lives of
millions of individuals, particularly in Yemen, Libya, Syria and Iraq. In each conflict, multiple
parties committed war crimes and other serious violations of international law, including
indiscriminate attacks that killed and injured civilians, direct attacks against civilians or civilian
infrastructure. In Syria and Yemen, government and allied forces used internationally banned
weapons such as cluster munitions and, in the case of Syria, chemical weapons.
YEMEN CONFLICT
The situation in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East and North Africa even before
the outbreak of conflict in March 2015, became the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,
according to the UN, with three quarters of its population of 28 million in need of help. The
country faced the biggest cholera epidemic in modern times, exacerbated by a lack of fuel for
water-pumping stations, and was on the verge of the world’s most severe famine for decades.
The conflict has shattered the water, education and health systems. The Saudi Arabia-led
coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government held up shipments of
food, fuel and medicine. In November it cut off Yemen’s northern ports completely for more
than two weeks. The coalition’s air strikes hit funeral gatherings, schools, markets, residential
areas and civilian boats. Huthi rebel forces, allied with forces loyal to former president Ali
Abdullah Saleh until splits between them led to his killing in December, indiscriminately
shelled civilian residential areas in Ta’iz city and fired artillery indiscriminately across the
border into Saudi Arabia, killing and injuring civilians.
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INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO ISLAMIC STATE
In both Syria and Iraq, a US-led international coalition refocused its attention on combating IS,
which was responsible for gross abuses. Hundreds of civilians were killed as a result. In Mosul,
Iraq’s second city, IS forcibly displaced thousands of civilians into zones of active hostilities in
an attempt to shield their own fighters, and deliberately killed civilians fleeing the fighting and
hung their bodies in public areas as a warning to others. In the battle to drive IS out of west
Mosul, Iraqi and coalition forces launched a series of disproportionate or otherwise
indiscriminate attacks to devastating effect; hundreds of civilians were killed. Iraqi forces
consistently used explosive weapons which affected a large area, such as improvised rocket-
assisted munitions, which cannot be precisely targeted at military objectives or used lawfully in
densely populated civilian areas.
In Syria, IS lost control of Raqqa governorate following a military campaign by the Syrian
Democratic Forces, consisting of Syrian-Kurdish and Arab armed groups, and the US-led
coalition. IS prevented residents from fleeing and used civilians as human shields, as well as
carrying out direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians.
The coalition’s air strikes also caused hundreds of civilian casualties. Syrian government
forces, supported by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters on the ground and Russian air power,
captured other areas previously held by IS and other armed groups. In doing so, they killed
and injured civilians in indiscriminate attacks and direct attacks on civilians and civilian
objects, including homes, hospitals and medical facilities.
SIEGES AND DISPLACEMENT OF CIVILIANS IN SYRIA
The Syrian government continued to maintain lengthy sieges of predominantly civilian areas,
depriving some 400,000 people of access to medical care, other basic goods and services and
humanitarian assistance, while subjecting them to repeated air strikes, artillery shelling and
other attacks. Armed opposition groups were also responsible for besieging thousands of
civilians and carrying out indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks on government-controlled
neighbourhoods, killing and injuring civilians. Thousands of civilians experienced the harsh
impact of forced displacement following “reconciliation” agreements in the second half of
2016 and early 2017. They were only some of the 6.5 million people displaced within Syria
between 2011 and 2017. More than half a million people fled Syria during the year, taking the
total number of Syrian refugees to more than 5 million.
KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
Government forces responded to the referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq by launching an operation that quickly retook the disputed city of Kirkuk, as well as most
of the territory captured by Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against IS. In October, tens
of thousands of civilians were forced to flee their homes after fierce clashes erupted between
Iraqi government forces, supported by affiliated militias, and Peshmerga forces in the multi-
ethnic city of Tuz Khurmatu; at least 11 civilians were killed in indiscriminate attacks.
LAWLESSNESS IN LIBYA
Three rival governments and hundreds of militias and armed groups continued to compete for
power and control over territory, lucrative trade routes and strategic military locations in Libya.
Militias and armed groups carried out indiscriminate attacks in heavily populated areas leading
to deaths of civilians; executed captured fighters from rival groups; and abducted and
unlawfully detained hundreds of people, including political and human rights activists,
because of their origin, opinions, perceived political affiliations or perceived wealth. Up to
20,000 refugees and migrants were held arbitrarily and indefinitely in overcrowded, unsanitary
detention centres and exposed to torture, forced labour, extortion and unlawful killings at the
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hands of the authorities and militias who ran the centres. The assistance provided by EU
member states, particularly Italy, to the Libyan Coast Guard and migrant detention centres
made them complicit in the abuses.
IMPUNITY
Impunity for grave violations of the past remained a live concern.
Victims of crimes committed in recent and ongoing conflicts generally faced entrenched
impunity at a national level. In Iraq, the authorities announced investigations in response to
some allegations of serious violations committed by Iraqi forces and pro-government militias –
such as torture, extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance. However, they
consistently failed to make any findings public. In Libya, the judicial system was hamstrung by
its own dysfunctionality, with magistrates often failing to pursue accountability for abuses
because of fears of reprisal. In Syria, the judicial system lacked independence, and failed to
investigate and prosecute crimes by state forces. In Yemen, the National Commission to
Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights, established by the government, failed to
conduct investigations consistent with international standards into alleged violations committed
by all parties to the conflict in Yemen.
SLOW PROGRESS
The region’s only ongoing national transitional justice mechanism, Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity
Commission
–
mandated to address human rights violations committed between July 1955
and December 2013
–
held 11 public sessions during which victims and perpetrators testified
on a range of violations including election fraud, enforced disappearance and torture.
However, there was no progress on an agreement to refer cases to specialized judicial
chambers, and security agencies continued to fail to provide the Commission with the
information it requested for its investigations.
At the international level, some significant initiatives continued but moved slowly. The Office
of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court continued its preliminary examination of
alleged crimes under international law committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since
13 June 2014, including during the 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict. In Libya, it broadened its
investigations from political and military leaders to consider the wider systematic mistreatment
of migrants.
Other initiatives had positive aspects, but were tarnished or undermined. The UN Security
Council passed a resolution in September that was aimed at ensuring accountability for war
crimes and human rights abuses committed by IS in Iraq, but crucially failed to include any
provisions to ensure accountability for crimes committed by Iraqi forces, militias and the US-
led coalition. The Joint Investigative Mechanism of the UN and the Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons made progress on determining accountability for chemical
weapons use in Syria, but an extension of its mandate was vetoed by Russia at the Security
Council.
Two developments raised particular hope in the longer term for truth and justice for victims of
violations in two seemingly intractable ongoing conflicts. The International Impartial and
Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious
crimes under international law committed in Syria since March 2011 took shape during the
year after its formal establishment in December 2016 by the UN General Assembly. And the
UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution in September to establish a panel of experts to
investigate abuses by all parties in Yemen. Both developments followed concerted advocacy by
human rights organizations.
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 AMNESTY 
 INTERNATIONAL 
 REPORT 2017/18 
PART 2: A-Z COUNTRY ENTRIES
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AFGHANISTAN
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Head of state and government: Muhammad Ashraf
Ghani
The civilian population suffered widespread
human rights abuses as a result of the
continuing conflict. Conflict-related
violence led to deaths, injuries and
displacement. Civilian casualties continued
to be high; the majority were killed or
injured by armed insurgent groups, but a
significant minority by pro-government
forces. The number of people internally
displaced by conflict rose to more than 2
million; about 2.6 million Afghan refugees
lived outside the country. Gender-based
violence against women and girls persisted
by state and non-state actors. An increase
in public punishments of women by armed
groups applying Shari’a law was reported.
Human rights defenders received threats
from both state and non-state actors;
journalists faced violence and censorship.
Death sentences continued to be imposed;
five people were executed in November.
Members of the Hazara minority group and
Shi’a continued to face harassment and
increased attacks, mainly by armed
insurgent groups.
By the end of June, UNAMA had
documented 12 incidents of cross-border
shelling from Pakistan into Afghanistan, in
which at least 10 civilians were killed and 24
injured. This was a substantial increase on
the same period in 2016.
The government made amendments to the
Penal Code. Some provisions of the Rome
Statute of the ICC were incorporated into law
and some offences which previously carried
the death penalty became punishable by life
imprisonment.
ARMED CONFLICT
The non-international armed conflict between
“anti-government elements” and pro-
government forces continued. The Taliban
and the armed group Islamic State (IS) were
among the “anti-government elements” but
more than 20 armed groups operated inside
the country. The Taliban and other armed
opposition groups were responsible for the
majority of civilian casualties (64%) in the
first nine months of the year, according to
UNAMA.
By the end of September, UNAMA had
documented 8,019 civilian casualties (2,640
killed and 5,379 injured), a small overall
decrease compared to the same period in
2016, although there was a 13% increase in
the number of women killed or injured. About
20% of the casualties were attributed to pro-
government forces, including Afghan national
security forces, the Afghan Local Police, pro-
government armed groups and international
military forces.
While acknowledging that Afghan
government forces made some efforts to
mitigate civilian casualties, especially during
ground engagement, UNAMA also noted that
the number of civilians killed or injured in
aerial attacks increased by some 50% over
2016; about two-thirds of these were women
and children.
ABUSES BY PRO-GOVERNMENT FORCES
In January, according to UNAMA, Afghan
National Border Police in Paktika province
sexually abused a 13-year-old boy, then shot
him; the boy died from his injuries. Those
suspected of criminal responsibility were
BACKGROUND
In March, the UN Security Council renewed
the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year,
under the leadership of Tadamichi
Yamamoto.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the
country’s second largest insurgent group,
Hezb-i-Islami, joined the Afghan government.
On 4 May, after two years of negotiations, the
draft peace agreement signed in September
2016 between the government and
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was finalized, granting
him amnesty for past offences, including war
crimes, and permitting the release of certain
Hezb-i-Islami prisoners.
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prosecuted by the Afghan National Police,
convicted of murder and sentenced to six
years‘ imprisonment.
According to UNAMA, more than a dozen
civilians were shot at checkpoints. In one
such incident on 16 March, Afghan Local
Police at a checkpoint in Jawzjan province
shot and injured a man and his mother after
mistaking them for insurgents. In April,
Afghan National Police shot a 65-year-old
man returning from feeding his cows; he later
died in hospital. In May, an Afghan National
Army soldier shot dead a 13-year-old boy as
he collected grass close to a checkpoint in
Badghis province.
In June, according to UNAMA, three young
children in Saydebad district were killed in
their home by a mortar round fired by the
Afghan National Army. The same month, pro-
government forces on patrol shot dead a
father and his two young sons (aged five and
12) outside the brick factory where they
worked; there was no known military activity
in the area at the time. UNAMA requested
updates on any investigation or follow-up
action on these cases, but by July had
received no information from the Ministry of
the Interior.
During the first six months of the year,
according to UNAMA, 95 civilians, half of
them children, were killed in air strikes.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
In January, in Badakhshan province, five
armed men dragged a pregnant woman from
her home and shot her dead in front of her
husband and six children; witnesses said her
attackers accused her of being a government
supporter. On 8 March, armed men entered
an Afghan National Army military hospital in
central Kabul and killed at least 49 people,
including patients. In August, armed groups
attacked the village of Mirza Olang, in Sar-e-
Pul province, killing at least 36 people,
including civilians.
Suicide attacks by armed groups in civilian
areas caused at least 382 deaths and 1,202
injuries. In one such attack in December, at
least 41 people, including children, were
killed in a suicide bomb attack on a Shi’a
cultural organization in Kabul.
On 25 August, a Shi’a mosque in Kabul was
attacked by IS, killing at least 28 people and
injuring dozens more. On 20 October, similar
attacks were carried out against two more
Shi’a mosques – one in western Kabul and
the other in Ghor province – leaving more
than 60 people dead and dozens injured.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs of
Afghanistan (MoWA) reported an increase in
cases of gender-based violence against
women, especially in areas under Taliban
control.
In the first half of the year, the Afghanistan
Independent Human Rights Commission
reported thousands of cases of violence
against women and girls across the country,
including beatings, killings and acid attacks.
Against the backdrop of impunity for such
crimes and a failure to investigate, cases of
violence against women remained grossly
under-reported due to traditional practices,
stigmatization and fear of the consequences
for the victims.
Armed groups perpetrated gender-based
violence, torture and other ill-treatment and
other human rights abuses, imposing
corporal punishments on women for having
sex outside of marriage or engaging in sex
work. In one instance, according to UNAMA,
men severely beat a woman in her home in
Darah-i-Suf Payin district, Samangan
province, after accusing her of having sex
outside of marriage and engaging in sex
work.
UNAMA also noted that armed groups tried
to restrict girls’ access to education. In
February, threats forced the closure of girls’
schools in several villages in Farah province,
temporarily denying education to more than
3,500 girls. When the schools reopened 10
days later, the vast majority of the girls were
initially afraid to return.
The head of the women’s affairs department
in Badakhshan reported that in March the
Taliban stoned a woman to death and
whipped a man on charges of having sex
outside of marriage in Wardoj district,
northeastern Badakhshan province.
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In August, a woman named Azadeh was
shot dead by Taliban members in Jawzjan
province. According to the governor’s
spokesman, the woman had fled some
months earlier to a safe house in Sheberghan
city due to domestic violence. She returned
after local mediation, but was then dragged
from her house and shot by Taliban
members.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE
Some 2.6 million Afghan refugees were living
in more than 70 countries around the world
during 2017. Around 95% were hosted in
just two countries, Iran and Pakistan, where
they faced discrimination, racial attacks, lack
of basic amenities and the risk of mass
deportation.
Between 2002 and 2017, more than 5.8
million Afghans were returned home, many of
them involuntarily by other governments.
The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that some
437,907 people were displaced by the
conflict in 2017 alone, bringing the total
number of internally displaced people (IDPs)
to more than 2 million. Despite the promises
made by successive Afghan governments,
IDPs continued to lack adequate housing,
food, water, health care and opportunities to
pursue education and employment. Most
were forced to make long daily trips to fetch
water and struggled to obtain one daily meal.
Most IDPs lacked access to basic health care
facilities. Private health care was
unaffordable for most IDPs, and mobile
clinics, operated by NGOs or the government,
were only available sporadically.
IDPs also faced repeated threats of forced
eviction from both government and private
actors.
more than 150 people. No investigations
appeared to have been conducted into the
police shootings. Relatives of the victims
subsequently staged a sit-in for several weeks
in Kabul, which the police broke up by force.
One person was killed and at least five others
were reported to have been arbitrarily
detained in a private house and questioned
by plain-clothes officers before being
released the next day. In July, the
government proposed amendments to the
laws on associations, strikes and
demonstrations, which would limit the rights
to freedom of association and expression by
introducing new restrictions on the
organization of demonstrations and strikes.
The proposed amendments would also give
police enhanced authority to stop or prevent
demonstrations or strikes, further
undermining the right to peaceful assembly.
Women human rights defenders continued
to face threats and intimidation by both state
and non-state actors across Afghanistan.
Most cases were not reported to police
because of lack of trust in the security
agencies, which consistently failed to
investigate and address these threats. Some
who did report threats were not given support
or protection.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
A string of violent attacks and intimidation
against journalists, including killings, further
underlined the steady erosion of freedom of
expression.
Media freedom watchdog Nai reported more
than 150 attacks against journalists, media
workers and media offices during the year.
These included killings, beatings, detention,
arson, attacks, threats and other forms of
violence by both state and non-state actors.
In March, a reporter working for Ariana TV
in Sar-e-Pul province was beaten by police
after trying to report on excessive use of force
against civilians. Officers seized the reporter’s
camera and other equipment; he sought
refuge in the governor’s office.
In August, a prominent reporter from Zabul
province received death threats from Taliban
members, followed by attempts on his life.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders faced constant
threats to their life and security. In June, at
least four people were killed when police
opened fire on demonstrators protesting
deteriorating security conditions in Kabul
following a 31 May truck bombing that killed
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Security officials made little effort to protect
him after he reported the incidents, and he
left the province for his safety.
In November, IS fighters attacked
Shamshad TV’s station in Kabul; one staff
member was killed and others wounded.
Nai reported that in 2016 it had submitted
to the authorities at least 240 cases of
violence against media workers, including
reporters and journalists. One year later the
government had taken no action in response
and no one had been brought to justice.
DEATH PENALTY
In a revision to the Penal Code, life
imprisonment replaced the death penalty for
some offences.
Five executions were carried out in
November at Pul-e-Charki prison in Kabul.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the five
had been convicted in 2016 of murder and
kidnapping, and that they had been executed
despite their sentences being under review
by three appeal courts.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Afghans across the country remained at risk
of torture and other ill-treatment, with little
progress towards curbing impunity. The UN
Committee against Torture found
“widespread acceptance and legitimation of
torture in Afghan society”.
Many of those suspected of criminal
responsibility continued to hold official
executive positions, including in government.
The Committee also found that detainees
held by the National Directorate of Security,
the Afghan National Police and the Afghan
Local Police were subject to “beatings,
electric shocks, suspensions, threats, sexual
abuse, and other forms of mental and
physical abuse”. UNAMA and OHCHR
investigators who had interviewed 469
detainees said that 39% of them gave
credible accounts of torture and other ill-
treatment during their arrest and
interrogation.
In March the government enacted an Anti-
Torture Law, which criminalized torture but
did not provide for restitution or
compensation to victims.
Armed groups including the Taliban
continued to commit crimes under
international law, including killings, torture
and other abuses as punishment for
perceived crimes or offences. The executions
and severe punishments imposed by the
parallel justice system amounted to criminal
acts under the law, and in some
circumstances could amount to war crimes.
ALBANIA
Republic of Albania
Head of state: Ilir Meta (replaced Bujar Nishani in July)
Head of government: Edi Rama
Impunity persisted for past killings and
enforced disappearances. Measures
protecting women from domestic violence
were inadequately implemented. Women
and children were trafficked for forced
prostitution and labour. Albania’s path to
EU membership was hindered by slow
progress in combating corruption and
organized crime.
BACKGROUND
A political crisis preceded elections in June.
The opposition Democratic Party, which
organized street protests in February,
boycotted the election process until May,
when an EU and US-supported agreement
promised them representation in government
and state agencies. The ruling Socialist Party
was returned with an increased majority.
International observers reported incidents of
voter intimidation and alleged vote-buying.
Under a new mechanism established in
January, by August 183 people, including
author Ismail Kadare, applied to access
secret police files held on them during the
Communist period. In September, the
International Commission on Missing Persons
agreed to assist with the identification of
bodies recovered from mass graves from the
same period.
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JUSTICE SYSTEM
Measures to ensure judicial independence
were partially implemented. In June, two
judicial associations appealed to the
Constitutional Court against a vetting law,
which sought to ensure judges’ and
prosecutors’ independence from organized
crime.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In February two NGOs filed a complaint with
the European Court of Human Rights,
requesting an amendment to the Family
Code which prohibits cohabitation rights for
same-sex couples. An August survey found
widespread discrimination in employment in
both the public and private sectors.
IMPUNITY
In a case brought before the European Court
of Human Rights, in April the government
agreed to reopen proceedings in the case of
four protesters killed during January 2011
demonstrations. A total payment of just over
EUR100,000 as a form of compensation was
divided between relatives of two of the
victims.
MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In May, a UK court found that hundreds of
lesbian and gay people, trafficking victims
and domestic violence survivors may have
been wrongly deported to Albania since 2011
because UK courts had relied on incorrect
guidance. Some 4,421 Albanian asylum-
seekers voluntarily returned from EU
countries; 2,500 rejected asylum-seekers
were deported from Germany.
Unaccompanied minors and families with
children were sometimes detained in the
Irregular Foreigners Centre at Karreç, a
closed centre for irregular migrants due for
deportation.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
No measures were taken to locate the body
of Remzi Hoxha, a Macedonian Albanian who
was forcibly disappeared by National
Intelligence Service officials in 1995. No
progress was reported towards the
exhumation of the remains of around 6,000
people who had disappeared between 1945
and 1991.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
In September, 20 children’s NGOs protested
against the abolition of the Labour and Social
Welfare Ministry, which threatened to put
social services at risk.
The Ministry of Urban Development
reconstructed 300 Roma and Egyptian
houses, and improved sanitation. However,
most Roma lacked clean water and many
were at risk of forced evictions.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION −
JOURNALISTS
Physical attacks against investigative
journalists were perpetrated by organized
criminals, or owners of private companies. In
March, journalist Elvi Fundo was beaten in
the capital, Tirana, by assailants believed to
be associated with organized crime. In June,
TV channel owner Erven Hyseni was shot
dead in Vlora, along with a government
official.
In July, journalists claimed that defamation
proceedings brought against two media
outlets by High Court Judge Gjin Gjoni and
his wife, businesswoman Elona Caushi,
aimed to intimidate investigative journalists
and encourage self-censorship.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Reports of domestic violence increased; 420
immediate protection orders had been issued
by 1 June. In August, Judge Fildeze Hafizi
was shot and killed in her car by her former
husband. She had been granted a protection
order in 2015 after he had beaten her. He
was convicted and imprisoned in April 2016,
but released in early 2017 under a general
amnesty.
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ALGERIA
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Head of state: Abdelaziz BouteflikaHead of
government: Ahmed Ouyahia (replaced Abdelmadjid
Tebboune in August, who replaced Abdelmalek Sellal in
May)
The authorities continued to arbitrarily
detain peaceful demonstrators, human
rights defenders, activists and journalists.
Associations continued to face undue
restrictions, and legislation that restricted
the right to form trade unions remained in
place. Members of the Ahmadi Muslim
religious minority group were unjustly
prosecuted. Impunity for past abuses
prevailed. Migrants faced mass expulsions.
Courts handed down death sentences; no
executions were carried out.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
The authorities continued to arrest and
prosecute peaceful activists, including those
protesting about unemployment and public
services. Those protesting in solidarity with
detained activists, as well as journalists and
bloggers covering protests on social media,
were also detained.
In January, police arrested renowned
blogger Merzoug Touati in Bejaia, Kabylia
region, following anti-austerity protests in
Kabylia. The authorities kept him in detention
while investigating him for interviewing an
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman
on his blog, and for posts about the protests.
In June, police arrested journalist Said
Chitour on suspicion of espionage and selling
classified documents to foreign diplomats. In
November his case was transferred to the
Penal Court.
The authorities maintained a protest ban in
Algiers under a decree from 2001.
BACKGROUND
In January, new austerity measures
announced by the government triggered
protests and strikes, particularly in the
northern Kabylia and Chaouia regions. In
February, a presidential decree established
Algeria’s new national human rights
institution, the National Human Rights
Council, replacing the National Consultative
Commission for the Promotion and Protection
of Human Rights. In May, Algeria was
examined under the UN UPR process for the
third time.
1
Also in May, legislative elections
characterized by low participation brought
limited change to party representation in
parliament and Abdelmadjid Tebboune briefly
became Prime Minister after a government
reshuffle, before Ahmed Ouyahia replaced
him in August.
Low-level sporadic clashes took place
between security forces and armed
opposition groups in several areas. In August,
a suicide bomber killed himself and two
policemen in an attack on a police station in
Tiaret, west of the capital Algiers, which was
later claimed by both the armed group
Islamic State (IS) and al-Qa’ida in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM).
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
The authorities kept many associations,
including Amnesty International Algeria and
other human rights groups, in legal limbo by
failing to respond to registration applications
under the highly restrictive Associations Law.
Local authorities denied authorization to the
Algerian League for the Defence of Human
Rights (LADDH) to hold a human rights
meeting in October and a public event
celebrating the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights in December. The government
had yet to produce a new draft law respecting
freedom of association, as required by the
constitutional amendments of 2016.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defender Hassan Bouras was
released in January after a court reduced his
one-year prison term to a six-month
suspended sentence. Police had arrested
him for posting a video on the YouTube
channel of the El Bayadh branch of LADDH
alleging corruption among high-ranking
officials in the city of El Bayadh.
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In March, a court in Ghardaia referred
human rights lawyer Salah Dabouz of LADDH
to trial in relation to comments he made on
television about unrest in Ghardaia and for
allegedly carrying a computer and camera
during a visit to detained activists. The court
had kept him under judicial supervision from
July 2016 until March 2017, forcing him to
travel more than 600km twice a week to
report to the court in Ghardaia from his home
in Algiers.
In April, the investigative judge at a court in
Medea transferred a case against human
rights lawyer Noureddine Ahmine of the
Network of Lawyers for the Defence of
Human Rights (RADDH) to a court in
Ghardaia for trial on charges of “insulting a
public institution” and “falsely” reporting an
offence. The charges related to a complaint
of torture that he had filed, apparently on
behalf of someone else, in 2014.
practices during the year.
3
From April
onwards, courts released 16 Ahmadis after
reducing or suspending their sentences,
while dozens of others remained under
investigation or on trial and five remained in
detention. In August, authorities rearrested
Mohamed Fali, head of the Ahmadi
community in Algeria, in Ain Safra, Naama
province, before trying him before the Ain
Tedles Court of First Instance for collecting
donations without a licence, “denigrating
Islamic dogma”, and “membership of an
unauthorized association”. By the end of the
year, he faced six cases pending before
different courts arising from the peaceful
practice of his faith.
IMPUNITY
The authorities took no steps to open
investigations and counter the impunity for
grave human rights abuses and possible
crimes against humanity, including unlawful
killings, enforced disappearances, rape and
other forms of torture committed by security
forces and armed groups in the 1990s during
Algeria’s internal conflict, which left an
estimated 200,000 people killed or forcibly
disappeared.
In January, the Swiss judiciary shelved a
war crimes investigation against retired
Algerian Minister of Defence Khaled Nezzar
for events between 1992 and 1994 in
Algeria, citing inadmissibility due to the
absence of armed conflict in Algeria at the
time.
In February, the UN Human Rights
Committee found that the Algerian authorities
had violated the right to remedy, the right to
life, and the prohibition against torture with
regard to Mohamed Belamrania, who was
forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially
executed in 1995. Days after the UN finding
was published, police detained his son, Rafik
Belamrania, and charged him with
“advocating terrorism on Facebook”. He had
filed his father’s case before the UN body
and documented other cases of enforced
disappearance, arbitrary detention and
extrajudicial executions by Algeria’s security
forces against suspected supporters of the
UNFAIR TRIALS
In May, a court in Medea unfairly convicted
the founder of the Movement for the
Autonomy of the Mzab (MAM), Kamaleddine
Fekhar, and 21 of his 41 co-defendants of
murder, terrorism and other serious offences,
for their alleged role in communal violence in
Ghardaia province between 2013 and 2015
which left an estimated 25 people dead.
2
They were sentenced to prison terms of
between three and five years, partially
suspended. All were then released between
May and July 2017 after having served their
sentence. Among the 41 defendants, 37 had
been in pre-trial detention, many since 2015.
In July, the Spanish authorities detained
MAM activists Salah Abbouna and Khodir
Sekkouti after Algerian authorities filed an
extradition request against them, citing their
criticism of Algerian authorities on Facebook.
In October the Spanish authorities released
both activists on bail awaiting the National
High Court’s decision on extradition.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
More than 280 members of the minority
Ahmadi religious movement were prosecuted
in relation to their religious beliefs and
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Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party during the
1990s. In November he was sentenced to
five years’ imprisonment and fined 100,000
Algerian dinars (around USD870).
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to impose death sentences.
No executions have been carried out since
1993.
1. Human Rights Council adopts Universal Periodic Review outcome on
Algeria (MDE
28/7152/2017)
2. Algeria: Ensure fair trial for minority rights activists (News
story,
29
May)
3. Algeria: Wave of arrests and prosecutions of hundreds of Ahmadis
(News
story,
19 June)
4. Morocco: Syrian refugees trapped in desert on Moroccan border with
Algeria in dire need of assistance (News
story,
7 June)
5. Algeria: Mass racial profiling used to deport more than 2,000 sub-
Saharan migrants (News
story,
23 October)
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’
RIGHTS
From April to June, a group of 25 Syrian
refugees, including 10 children, were
stranded in the buffer zone of Morocco’s
desert border area with Algeria.
4
In June, the
Algerian authorities announced they would
permit them to enter Algeria and would allow
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, to provide
them with assistance. However, the Algerian
authorities later refused to let them in
through an unofficial crossing point. The
refugees remained stranded in the desert
until Morocco granted them protection.
Between August and December the
authorities arbitrary arrested and forcibly
expelled more than 6,500 sub-Saharan
African migrants to neighbouring Niger and
Mali on the basis of racial profiling.
5
In February, a court in Annaba convicted 27
people, including Algerians, for irregular exit
from Algeria after they attempted to leave the
country by boat. They were fined 20,000
Algerian dinars (about USD180) each.
ANGOLA
Republic of Angola
Head of state and government: João Manuel Gonçalves
Lourenço (replaced José Eduardo dos Santos in
September)
Agri-business mega projects displaced
communities from their land. Although the
restrictive NGO law was repealed, the space
for individuals to exercise their civil and
political rights continued to shrink.
Peaceful protesters were met with violent
repression; government critics faced
criminal defamation suits. Attempts by
Parliament to criminalize abortion in all
circumstances were defeated.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The Labour Code continued to unduly restrict
the right to form trade unions by limiting
trade union federations and confederations to
single occupational sectors; allowing only
Algerian-born people or those who had held
Algerian nationality for a minimum of 10
years to create trade union organizations; and
imposing restrictions on foreign funding for
trade unions. Authorities continued to deny
registration to the independent, cross-sector
General Autonomous Confederation for
Algerian Workers, since it first filed its
application in 2013.
In May, the Ministry of Labour banned the
National Autonomous Electricity and Gas
Trade Union by withdrawing its recognition. A
government official publicly denied the ban
during an International Labour Conference
session in June.
BACKGROUND
Historic elections were held on 23 August.
João Lourenço of the ruling People’s
Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA) became President. According to the
Electoral Commission, the MPLA obtained
61% of the vote, down from 81% in 2012.
Opposition parties – National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola (UNITA),
Broad Convergence for the Salvation of
Angola-Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), and
National Front for the Liberation of Angola
(FNLA) − contended that the election results
were illegitimate, but took their seats in
Parliament.
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The continuing economic crisis precipitated
popular discontent with the MPLA. Because
of the economic crisis, the government
adopted a development model for agri-
business mega projects, large-scale land
acquisition, and dispossession of rural
communities, which put community
livelihoods at risk.
Political intolerance was increasingly
normalized due, in part, to government
indifference to sectarian violence in Monte
Belo in Benguela province. Following the
signing in 2002 of the peace agreement
between the government and UNITA, the
area became an enclave of political conflict
with increasing polarization of and violence
between MPLA and UNITA supporters.
Monte Belo residents continued to suffer
persecution, violence, death threats,
intimidation and looting on grounds of
suspected allegiance to one or other of the
political parties. Despite public objections
from civil society, the government allowed a
culture of impunity and violent political
intolerance to develop.
and hindrance of the free flow of ideas and
opinions.
The majority of the regulatory body’s
members were nominated by MPLA, the
party with the most seats in the National
Assembly, which caused concerns as to the
body’s independence and impartiality.
On 20 June, Rafael Marques de Morais,
investigative journalist and editor of the online
publication Maka Angola, and Mariano Brás
Lourenço, journalist and editor for
O Crime
newspaper, were charged with “defamation
of a public authority” and causing “outrage to
a sovereign body” in relation to an article they
published questioning the acquisition of
public land by the General Public Prosecutor.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The authorities frequently refused to allow
peaceful demonstrations to take place, even
though prior authorization was not required in
law. When demonstrations did take place,
police often arbitrarily arrested, detained and
ill-treated peaceful protesters. However, no
investigations were initiated into the police
actions.
On 24 February, police violently repressed
two peaceful protests by the Angolan
Revolutionary Movement taking place
simultaneously in Luanda, the capital, and
Benguela. The protesters demanded the
resignation of Bornito de Sousa, Minister of
Territorial Administration, who was in charge
of electoral registration for the August
election and was also the MPLA’s vice-
presidential candidate; these roles were seen
as amounting to a conflict of interests and to
a violation of the electoral law. After
handcuffing and forcing the protesters to lie
down, the police beat them with batons.
On 24 June, security forces violently
dispersed a peaceful demonstration
organized by the Lunda-Tchokwe
Protectorate Movement, which campaigned
for autonomy for the eastern and
southeastern regions in Lunda Norte
province. Security forces used live
ammunition against demonstrators, killing a
bystander, and injuring 13 protesters. They
arrested 70 people; on 28 June, they were
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
To silence critics, particularly journalists and
academics, the authorities used defamation
laws among others, restricting freedom of
expression and access to information. The
misuse of the justice system and other state
institutions in order to silence critics
remained commonplace. The “Press Law
Pack” of five bills was passed by Parliament
in January; it included Press Law, Journalist’s
Statute, Radio Broadcasting Law, Television
Law and Social Communications Regulatory
Body Law.
The laws contained provisions that
restricted freedom of expression, particularly
press freedoms, through a series of
prohibitive regulations on social
communication and by establishing a
communications regulatory body with
oversight competencies, including the power
to determine whether or not a given
communication met good journalistic
practices; this amounted to prior censorship
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sentenced each to 45 days’ imprisonment
and a fine of 22,000 kwanzas (USD135).
Those who paid the fines had their sentences
suspended and were released immediately
while the others served their full prison terms.
The protesters were calling for, among other
things, an end to persecution and arbitrary
imprisonment of their members, and for the
release of political prisoners in Kakanda
Prison in Lunda Norte.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In March, the government proposed an
amendment to legislation under the Penal
Code which would de-criminalize abortion in
cases where a woman’s pregnancy was the
result of rape, or when the pregnant woman’s
health was at risk. Parliament rejected the
proposal. The final parliamentary vote on the
legislation was scheduled for later the same
month, but was postponed indefinitely
following a public outcry against Parliament’s
rejection of the government’s proposal to
liberalize the abortion laws.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Repression of the right to freedom of
association persisted. The space in which
human rights defenders, political activists,
journalists, broadcasters and civil society
organizations could exercise their civil and
political rights was increasingly restricted. On
11 July, however, the Constitutional Court
struck down the NGO law which had
been passed by presidential decree No.
74/15 in 2015. The law had restricted the
legal framework within which NGOs could
operate, and empowered the Public
Prosecutor’s Office to suspend national and
international NGO activities on suspicion of
money laundering, or illegal or harmful acts
against “Angola’s sovereignty and integrity”.
The decree imposed burdens on civil society
organizations, including excessive
requirements and unwieldly procedures for
NGO registration; excessive control over NGO
activities; funding restrictions and sanctions.
LAND DISPUTES
Ongoing land acquisition for business, mainly
in southern Cunene and Huíla provinces,
continued to devastate local communities
who relied on the land for their livelihoods.
In April and May, the government of Huíla
presented its Transhumance Project, which
included plans to appropriate a water
fountain used by the community of Capela de
Santo António in the Kahila area of Gambos
municipality. Capela de Santo António is
home to 600 families who depended on the
fountain for drinking water, and for their
livestock and irrigation. The community was
not consulted over the plans and the
authorities did not conduct an environmental
impact assessment. The government of Huíla
remained determined to evict the community
in violation of the Constitution and laws
including the Land Law and the
Environmental Law.
In June, it came to light that the Angolan
government had authorized the Agro-
Industrial Horizonte 2020 mega project to
appropriate 76,000 hectares of fertile land
without the free, prior and informed consent
of the affected communities. The land is in
the west of Ombadja municipality and the
south of Curoca municipality, both in Cunene
province. It is home to 39 communities of
2,129 families with 10,675 children who live
by the Cunene River. They have historically
relied on agriculture and livestock for their
livelihoods. By the end of the year, vegetation
on 15,000 hectares had been destroyed,
including trees used for food and firewood,
UNFAIR TRIALS
On 25 September, six people, five of whom
had been held in prolonged pre-trial
detention for one year, were brought to trial
before Luanda Provincial Court on charges of
“organizing terrorism”. However, the trial was
adjourned the same day when the Public
Prosecutor failed to appear in court alleging
health reasons. The Court granted the
substitute prosecutor’s plea to be allowed
more time so that he could familiarize himself
with the case. Five of the accused remained
in detention while a sixth, the wife of one of
the detained, remained under house arrest at
the end of the year.
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grass for cattle grazing, and burial sites; 19
families had been expelled from the land and
forced into vagrancy with diminishing access
to food and water.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
The majority of Indigenous communities still
lacked legal recognition of their land rights,
despite the Constitution recognizing their
right to ancestral lands and natural
resources.
In January, local police and members of the
Argentine National Gendarmerie (GNA) – a
militarized federal police – closed off all
access points to the Indigenous land
inhabited by the Mapuche community Pu Lof
en Resistencia in Chubut province. The
community reported attacks by the police,
including beatings and intimidation of
children.
1
At least 10 community members
and their supporters were arrested. In August
the GNA conducted an illegal raid in the
same community, during which Santiago
Maldonado – a non-Indigenous supporter of
the Mapuche community – disappeared. In
October his body was found in a river in the
territory. The judicial investigation into his
death was ongoing at the end of the year.
The Neuquén provincial government, oil
unions and industry created an investment
plan for the Vaca Muerta oilfield, located
partly on the land of the Lof Campo Maripe
Indigenous community, without the
community’s participation.
Authorities used legal proceedings to
intimidate Indigenous Peoples, including
accusations of sedition, resisting authority,
theft, attempted assaults and killings. Agustín
Santillán, an Indigenous leader of the Wichí
people in Formosa province, spent 190 days
in pre-trial detention from April to October
with more than 28 criminal proceedings
against him.
ARGENTINA
Argentine Republic
Head of state and government: Mauricio Macri
Women and girls faced obstacles in
accessing legal abortions. Indigenous
Peoples continued to be criminalized and
discriminated against. Migrants’ rights
suffered significant setbacks.
BACKGROUND
Argentina’s human rights situation was
reviewed under the UN UPR process and by
the UN Committee against Torture. The UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
(WGAD), the UN Independent Expert on
sexual orientation and gender identity and
the Rapporteur on Argentina for the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights
visited Argentina during the year.
In November, Congress approved the
national law on gender parity.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to encounter
barriers to accessing legal abortion when the
pregnancy posed a risk to their health, or
when it resulted from rape. Full
decriminalization of abortion was pending in
parliament.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
According to civil society information, at least
254 femicides occurred between January
and November. The National Women's
Institute and the National Plan of Action for
the Prevention, Assistance and Eradication of
Violence against Women for 2017-2019
appeared to lack the necessary resources to
be fully implemented.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Bypassing parliamentary debate, the
government modified the 2004 Migration Act,
limiting entry and residency rights and
potentially hastening deportations.
The Asylum Act had not yet been fully
implemented, 11 years after its adoption, and
the National Committee for Refugees had no
specific budget. The reception system for
asylum-seekers remained slow and
insufficient and there was no integration plan
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in place to help asylum-seekers and refugees
access basic rights such as education, work,
health care and language training.  
Despite Argentina’s commitment in 2016 to
receive 3,000 Syrian refugees, no
resettlement programme had been created.
Fewer than 400 Syrian refugees had
benefited from a private sponsorship and
humanitarian visa scheme.
IMPUNITY
Trials before ordinary civilian courts
continued to be held for crimes against
humanity during the 1976-1983 military
regime. Between 2006 and May 2017, 182
rulings were issued, bringing the total
number of convictions to 756 and acquittals
to 74.
In July, the Federal Court of Mendoza
issued a historic decision under which four
former members of the judiciary were
sentenced to life in prison and barred from
holding public office for contributing to the
commission of crimes against humanity
during the military regime.
The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Luis
Muiña – who was found guilty of crimes
against humanity – that one day served in
pre-trial detention must be considered as
two, if the person has been detained without
sentence for more than two years. Congress
then passed a law clarifying that the so-called
“2x1 formula” may not be applied to crimes
against humanity, genocide or war crimes.
2
Public hearings continued in the case of the
cover-up of the investigation into the 1994
attack on the Jewish Mutual Association of
Argentina building. A government decree
issued in April 2017 transferred classified
documents from the Prosecution Unit to the
Ministry of Justice, compromising the
independence of the investigation and
restricting complainants’ access to evidence.
police; some said they were forced to
undress completely.
In April, teachers were violently repressed
while demonstrating for fair wages.
Participants reported that police used tear
gas and beat them while the military stood
by. At least four teachers were arrested.
In September, 31 people were violently
detained and held at several police stations in
the capital, Buenos Aires, for more than 48
hours for participating in a mass
demonstration following the disappearance of
Santiago Maldonado. Those detained
reported that they were beaten and some
women were forced to undress.
In December, many protesters took to the
streets in Buenos Aires to express their
disagreement with a legislative reform
proposed by the government. The police
used excessive force and there were reports
of arbitrary detentions during the
demonstrations.
3
The call by WGAD to national authorities to
immediately release social leader and activist
Milagro Sala was not implemented. In
August, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights requested that Argentina offer
Milagro Sala house arrest or other alternatives
to prison. This request was only partially
implemented since its conditions did not
comply with domestic and international
standards.
1. Argentina: Violent repression of Mapuche Peoples (AMR
13/5477/2017)
2. Argentina: Amnistía Internacional repudia la aplicación del 2x1 a
delitos de lesa humanidad y estará presente en Plaza de Mayo (News
story,
9 May)
3. Argentina: Autoridades deben garantizar protesta pacífica e
investigar violaciones a derechos humanos tras represión frente al
Congreso de la Nación (News
story,
15 December)
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
Indiscriminate detentions took place during
an International Women’s Day demonstration
on 8 March. Many women reported that they
were mistreated, detained and humiliated by
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ARMENIA
Republic of Armenia
Head of state: Serzh Sargsyan
Head of government: Karen Karapetyan
Lack of accountability continued for the use
of unnecessary and excessive force by
police during protests in the capital,
Yerevan, in 2016. The trials of opposition
members accused of hostage-taking and
other violent crimes violated the right to a
fair trial. A human rights defender faced
criminal charges. The parliamentary and
Yerevan city council elections were
accompanied by incidents of violence.
UNFAIR TRIALS
Members of the opposition group that
occupied a police station in the run-up to the
2016 protests stood trial on charges of a
range of violent crimes, including hostage-
taking and killing of police officers. Several
defendants reported being beaten in
detention, while their defence lawyers
reported that they themselves were subjected
to pressure and harassment to obstruct their
work.
Arayik Papikyan, Mushegh Shushanyan,
Nina Karapetyants and other defence lawyers
in the case complained that the detention
facility’s administration prevented them from
visiting the accused men and holding
confidential meetings with them, and
unlawfully confiscated and destroyed some of
the case-related materials they were carrying.
Several lawyers also reported being subjected
to lengthy and intrusive security searches
when arriving at court. Lawyers who refused
to undergo searches were denied entry to the
courtrooms and subjected to disciplinary
proceedings by the Bar Association.
The lawyers also reported that, on 28 June,
five defendants were forcibly removed from
the courtroom, taken to the basement and
beaten by several police officers while the
court was in session. The defendants showed
signs of ill-treatment, including bruises and
scratches on their faces and legs,
documented by prison medical staff. The
police claimed these injuries were self-
inflicted when the defendants deliberately hit
their heads and feet against walls and fences
in protest. At the end of the year,
investigations were ongoing into the
allegations of the beatings and the
harassment of the lawyers.
BACKGROUND
On 2 April, the ruling Republican Party won a
parliamentary majority, in the first elections
since the 2015 constitutional referendum
approved the transition from a presidential to
a parliamentary republic. Monitors from the
OSCE reported that the elections were
“tainted by credible information about vote-
buying, and pressure on civil servants and
employees of private companies” to vote for
the ruling party.
In November, Armenia and the EU signed a
Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership
Agreement, a looser form of co-operation
than the Association Agreement which
Armenia rejected in 2013 in favour of joining
the Russian-led customs union.
IMPUNITY
There was limited accountability for the
unnecessary and excessive use of force by
police against largely peaceful anti-
government protesters in Yerevan in July
2016, when hundreds of individuals were
injured and arbitrarily arrested. Dozens of
protesters faced criminal charges for
allegedly violating public order and other
offences. The criminal investigation into
allegations of abuse of power by police
officers did not lead to any criminal charges.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In January, court hearings commenced in the
case against Marina Poghosyan, a human
rights defender and director of the NGO
Veles, known for exposing government
corruption and providing legal aid to victims
of human rights violations. She had been
charged with extortion in 2015 after she
alleged that former government officials were
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running a money laundering scheme. Local
human rights defenders linked the trial to her
work exposing corruption. On 30 April,
Marina Poghosyan reported that a fake
Facebook profile had been created under her
name and used to send sexually explicit
photos and videos to her contacts to smear
her reputation.
AUSTRALIA
Australia
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Peter
Cosgrove
Head of government: Malcolm Turnbull
The justice system continued to fail
Indigenous people, particularly children,
with high rates of incarceration, reports of
abuse and deaths in custody. Australia
maintained hardline policies by confining
people seeking asylum in offshore
processing centres in Papua New Guinea
and Nauru, and turning back those
attempting to reach Australia by boat. In
October, Australia was elected to the UN
Human Rights Council, attracting calls for
improvement of its human rights record,
including cutting all ties to the Myanmar
military.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The parliamentary and Yerevan city council
elections, in April and May respectively, and
the preceding electoral campaigns were
accompanied by isolated incidents of
violence against journalists and others
attempting to expose violations of the
electoral process.
On 2 April, two journalists were attacked in
Yerevan’s Kond neighbourhood while
investigating allegations of vote-buying at the
local Republican Party’s campaign office.
Supporters of the Party took away one
reporter’s video equipment as she was
filming people leaving the campaign office.
An investigation into the incident was ongoing
at the end of the year.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Indigenous children were 25 times more
likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous
children.
Leaked footage exposed abuses of children
in prison in the Northern Territory, including
tear gassing, restraints, choking and solitary
confinement. In response, a Royal
Commission into the Protection and
Detention of Children in the Northern
Territory was established and reported on 17
November.
An independent review of youth detention
centres in Queensland released in April
found abuses including solitary confinement,
use of dogs to intimidate, missing CCTV
footage, and children at risk of self-harm
being sedated and hogtied. Further alleged
abuses emerged in Victoria, New South
Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and
Western Australia.
Indigenous adults were 15 times more likely
to be jailed than non-Indigenous adults. At
least eight Indigenous people died in police
custody.
The government did not adopt a national
plan to ensure Australia meets its obligations
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
The CERD Committee raised concerns over
the absence of data on the enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights by
minority groups, refugees and asylum-
seekers. It also raised concern over the lack
of information available on small minority
ethnic groups – such as the Lom (also known
as Bosha) and the Molokans – and requested
that the authorities collect data on economic
and social indicators disaggregated by
ethnicity, nationality and country of origin.
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in protecting the rights of Indigenous
children. However, on 15 December, it
ratified the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which
mandates that youth detention centres and
police lockups are subject to independent
oversight and monitoring.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
On 9 April, the government announced that
the Australian-run facility on Manus Island,
Papua New Guinea (PNG), would be closed
by 31 October following the PNG Supreme
Court ruling in 2016 that the centre was
“illegal” and “unconstitutional”. On 14 April,
PNG Defence Force personnel fired into the
centre injuring nine people.
The men in detention were forcibly moved
into “transit” centres on Manus Island on 24
November. By the end of the year there was
no clear plan for the settlement of refugees in
a safe country.
As of December there were approximately
800 adult males in detention on Manus
Island (see Papua New Guinea entry).
The Australian government was forced to
pay a settlement in June to nearly 2,000
refugees and asylum-seekers held on Manus
Island, for illegally detaining them in horrific
conditions between 2012 and 2016.
As of 30 November, there were 339 people
living in the offshore processing facility on
Nauru, including 36 children. They were
subjected to humiliation, neglect, abuse and
poor physical and mental health care. At
least 820 additional refugees lived in the
community on Nauru; these people faced
serious security risks and inadequate access
to health care, education and employment.
Approximately 435 people transferred to
Australia for medical treatment remained at
risk of return to either Nauru or Manus
Island.
Australia continued its “turnback” policy. In
May the government reported that since
2013, 30 boats had been returned either to
Indonesia or to their country of departure.
During 2017 people were directly returned to
their country of nationality on three known
occasions: from a boat containing 25 Sri
Lankan nationals in March; five Chinese
nationals who landed in northern Australia in
August; and a boat containing 29 Sri Lankan
nationals in December.
Australia continued its policy of mandatory
indefinite detention of people arriving by
plane without a visa. As of 30 November,
there were 1,301 people in immigration
detention onshore (including on Christmas
Island). Of these, 19.8% had been detained
for over 730 days.
Australia’s resettlement and humanitarian
intake was 16,250 for its financial year
beginning in June. This decreased from
almost 22,000 for the previous financial year,
with an additional intake of Syrian and Iraqi
refugees ending.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Following an overwhelming vote in favour of
same-sex marriage, Parliament passed
legislation to create marriage equality in
December. The postal survey process chosen
by the government failed to acknowledge that
marriage equality is a human right and
generated divisive and damaging public
debate.
AUSTRIA
Republic of Austria
Head of state: Alexander Van der Bellen (replaced
Heinz Fischer in January)
Head of government: Sebastian Kurz (replaced
Christian Kern in December)
The number of asylum-seekers continued to
fall. Authorities continued to deport
rejected asylum-seekers to Afghanistan
despite the security situation in the country.
Amendments to the law on public
assemblies increased the potential for
restrictions on the right to peaceful
assembly.
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REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS –
FORCIBLE RETURN
Between January and August, 17,095 people
requested asylum; the number fell by nearly
half compared to 32,114 people for the same
period in 2016.
In October, Parliament amended the asylum
law to automatically add a return order to any
decision concerning the revocation of asylum
or subsidiary protection status, for example
upon conviction for a criminal offence,
increasing the risk of
refoulement
– forcible
return of an individual to a country where
they would risk serious human rights
violations.
The authorities continued to deport rejected
asylum-seekers and undocumented migrants
to Afghanistan despite the deterioration of the
security situation in the country. In the first
half of the year, 67 people were forcibly
returned there.
In September, the Minister of the Interior
announced the non-renewal of the
Humanitarian Admission Programme
pointing to the large number of asylum cases
that were still pending. Since 2013, 1,900
vulnerable refugees had been successfully
resettled through the Programme.
During the year, asylum-seekers brought six
individual complaints before the UN Human
Rights Committee alleging that their return
under the Dublin III Regulation (an EU law
that establishes the criteria and mechanisms
for determining the EU member state
responsible for examining an asylum
application) to Bulgaria and Italy would
violate their human rights. In March the
authorities deported a Syrian family to
Bulgaria and in June a Somalian woman to
Italy, despite the Human Rights Committee
requesting Austria to refrain from doing so.
far-reaching amendments to the law,
including fines and other administrative
measures against organizers not complying
with the law, and a cap on the number of
public assemblies taking place in shopping
streets. There were no steps to further amend
the law at the end of the year.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In July, the government tabled an
amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code
that would introduce several new far-reaching
surveillance methods. The amendment gave
rise to concern regarding the right to privacy.
The methods included software to access
data from smartphones and techniques to
intercept mobile phone traffic. The authorities
would be able to use many of those
techniques without seeking prior judicial
authorization.
DISCRIMINATION
In October, a new law entered into force
banning any kind of full-face covering in
public spaces. Despite its purpose of
“promoting active participation in society”,
the law disproportionately restricted the rights
to freedom of expression and of religion or
belief.
In June, the Austrian National Council
rejected a motion that would open a
discussion on equal marriage irrespective of
sexual orientation and gender identity. Same-
sex couples could enter a civil partnership
but were not allowed to marry. In December,
the Constitutional Court repealed
discriminatory passages of the Marriage Act
and the Registered Partnership Act. The
repeal was to take effect from 1 January
2019, thus enabling same-sex couples to
marry and heterosexual couples to enter
registered partnerships.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
In June, Parliament amended the law on
public assemblies, which gave the authorities
new vaguely formulated grounds to prohibit
public assemblies, including where an
assembly is “against a foreign policy
interest”. Shortly after, the Minister of the
Interior suggested the introduction of further
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AZERBAIJAN
Republic of Azerbaijan
Head of state: Ilham Aliyev
Head of government: Artur Rasizade
Authorities intensified the crackdown on the
right to freedom of expression, particularly
following revelations of large-scale political
corruption. Independent news outlets were
blocked and their owners arrested. Critics of
the government continued to face politically
motivated prosecution and imprisonment
following unfair trials. LGBTI individuals
were arbitrarily arrested and ill-treated.
Suspicious deaths in custody were still not
effectively investigated.
Mammadov to immediately release him; he
had been arbitrarily detained since 2013.
The EU and Azerbaijan proceeded with
negotiations over a new strategic partnership
agreement to deepen their economic
relationship. In October, the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
approved a USD500 million loan for the
construction of a government-owned gas
pipeline. This was despite Azerbaijan’s
suspension from the EBRD-endorsed
international oil and gas transparency
initiative in March 2017, due to its repression
of civil society.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Leading human rights organizations
remained unable to resume their work. The
authorities continued using restrictive
regulations and arbitrary prosecution to close
down the few remaining critical organizations.
On 2 May, Aziz Orujev, head of the
independent online TV channel Kanal 13,
was arrested by a police officer who claimed
he looked like a wanted fugitive and
remanded him to 30 days of administrative
detention for purportedly disobeying police
orders. On the day of his release, Aziz Orujev
was remanded on fabricated charges of
illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of office,
and ordered to pre-trial detention. On 15
December Baku Court on Grave Crimes
sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment.
In August, the prosecution opened an
investigation into Azerbaijan’s only remaining
independent news agency, Turan, and
arrested its director, Mehman Aliyev, on
fabricated charges of illegal
entrepreneurship. Following international
pressure, Mehman Aliyev was transferred to
house arrest on 11 September. On 2
November, the prosecution dropped the
charges against him and closed the
investigation against Turan.
BACKGROUND
In July, renewed hostilities in the breakaway
region of Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in the
death of at least two ethnic Azerbaijani
civilians, including a minor, following shelling
by the Armenian-backed forces.
Azerbaijan received international attention
following a report by the Organized Crime
and Corruption Reporting Project, published
in September, which accused members of
Azerbaijan’s political elite of operating a large
international money laundering scheme. Part
of the money was allegedly used to pay
European politicians to help whitewash
Azerbaijan’s human rights reputation, among
other things. On 11 October, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) adopted two critical
resolutions on Azerbaijan following allegations
that some members of the PACE had
benefited from the money laundering
scheme.
On 5 December, the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe triggered
infringement proceedings against Azerbaijan
under Article 46.4 of the European
Convention on Human Rights. This followed
its repeated failure to implement the decision
of the European Court of Human Rights
(ECtHR) in the case of opposition leader Ilgar
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
All mainstream media remained under
effective government control, with
independent media outlets facing undue
restrictions and media workers facing
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harassment. Access to opposition newspaper
websites was blocked.
Radio Azadliq (Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty Azerbaijani service), Meydan TV, and
Azerbaycan SAATI, remained blocked
following a claim by the prosecutor’s office
that they posed a threat to national security.
On 12 May, a court in the capital, Baku,
ruled in favour of keeping the websites
blocked.
PROSECUTION OF CRITICS
The authorities continued to arbitrarily arrest
and detain independent journalists and
bloggers. According to Azerbaijani human
rights defenders more than 150 people
remained in prison on politically motivated
charges, and the number of such cases
continued to grow.
On 9 January, police officers detained and
held blogger Mehman Huseynov overnight in
incommunicado detention. He reported that
he was beaten by the police and subjected to
electric shocks while in custody. On 3 March,
a court in Baku sentenced him to two years
in prison for “defaming” police officers.
On 12 January, Afgan Sadygov, a journalist
and blogger from Jalilabad District, was
sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
He was prosecuted under hooliganism
charges, after writing about government
corruption and refusing to remove his articles
from the internet.
On 14 June, Fikret Faramazoglu, editor of
the independent news website Journalistic
Research Centre, was sentenced to seven
years in prison and banned from his
profession for a further two years. He had
been detained on 30 June 2016 for allegedly
extorting money from a restaurant owner,
charges that he denied.
FORCIBLE RETURNS
The authorities intensified their clampdown
on critics who had fled the country, and
unlawfully transferred many of them back to
Azerbaijan and harassed their families.
Investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was
abducted in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on
29 May, and reappeared in the custody of
Azerbaijani border police the following day.
He said he had been abducted and trafficked
across the border by security services, who
accused him of a range of offences including
smuggling. He remained in detention and his
trial was ongoing at the end of the year.
Russian-Israeli-Ukrainian blogger Aleksandr
Lapshin, who published critical posts on the
situation in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-
Karabakh region, was arrested in Belarus,
and extradited to Azerbaijan in February. In
July, a court in Baku sentenced him to three
years in prison for entering the breakaway
region illegally. He was released on 11
September after a presidential pardon.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 22 September, more than 100 LGBTI
individuals were rounded up by the police in
public spaces and detained. Some were
released, but at least 48 were sentenced to
administrative detention, ranging from 10 to
20 days. They were accused of “resisting
police’s legitimate orders”, and found guilty
on the basis of police officers’ allegations,
without any further evidence. The summary
hearings fell short of international trial
standards. The detainees said they had been
beaten by the police and subjected to other
ill-treatment while in custody. All were
released on 2 October.
UNFAIR TRIALS
Unfair trials were commonplace, particularly
in politically motivated proceedings, during
which suspects were typically detained and
charged without access to a lawyer of their
choice. Police continued using torture and
other ill-treatment to extract forced
confessions which were later used by judges
as incriminating evidence. Allegations of
torture and other ill-treatment were not
effectively investigated.
On 25 January, the Baku Serious Crimes
Court sentenced 18 men associated with the
Shi’ite Muslim Unity Movement (MUM) in
Nardaran to lengthy prison terms. Their trial
did not meet international standards of
fairness and was marred by numerous torture
allegations. During the trial, the defendants
complained of having been tortured into
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signing confessions. Witnesses called by the
prosecution also said that they had been
threatened by police into incriminating MUM
defendants. The forced testimonies were
admitted by court and used by the
prosecution throughout the trial.
Elgiz Garhaman, a NIDA Youth movement
activist, was sentenced to five and a half
years in prison on fabricated drug-related
charges following an unfair trial. He was
denied access to lawyers of his choice, and
kept incommunicado for a week following his
detention. During the trial, he told the judge
the police had beaten, threatened and
humiliated him into signing a confession. The
judge refused to order an investigation into
his allegations, dismissing them as
groundless.
On 1 December, the amendments to the
Code of Civil and Administrative Procedure
excluded lawyers without Bar Association
(Collegium of Lawyers) membership from
court proceedings.
BAHRAIN
Kingdom of Bahrain
Head of state: King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa
Head of government: Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al-
Khalifa
The government launched a large-scale
campaign to clamp down on all forms of
dissent by repressing the rights to freedom
of expression and association of human
rights defenders and government critics.
This campaign was marked by travel bans;
the arrest, interrogation and arbitrary
detention of human rights defenders; the
dissolution of the opposition group Waad
and the closure of the newspaper
al-Wasat;
as well as the continued imprisonment of
opposition leaders. Scores of people were
sentenced to long prison terms after unfair
trials. Authorities stripped at least 150
people of their Bahraini nationality,
rendering the majority stateless. Mass
protests were met with excessive force,
resulting in the deaths of five men and one
child and the injury of hundreds.
Executions resumed after a hiatus of nearly
seven years.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
The authorities repeatedly failed to promptly
and effectively investigate reported deaths in
custody.
On 4 May, the ECtHR ruled that the
Azerbaijani government violated the right to
life of Mahir Mustafayev for its failure to
protect his life while in custody and to
conduct an effective investigation into the
circumstances of his death. Mahir
Mustafayev died from his burns caused by a
fire in his cell in December 2006.
On 28 April, activist and blogger Mehman
Qalandarov was found hanged in his prison
cell in Kurdakhani. Police arrested him on
drug-related charges for his Facebook posts
in support of two other activists who had
been arrested for spraying political graffiti.
According to local human rights defenders,
Mehman Qalandarov had been tortured and
was buried in secret to conceal the evidence.
The prison administration announced his
death on 29 April, and an investigation was
ongoing at the end of the year.
BACKGROUND
Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia, the UAE and
Egypt in severing ties with Qatar. Bahrain
remained part of the Saudi Arabia-led
coalition engaged in armed conflict in Yemen
(see Yemen entry).
In January, Decree 1 of 2017 authorized the
National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct
arrests and interrogations in cases linked to
“terrorist crimes”, reversing a Bahrain
Independent Commission of Inquiry
recommendation. In April, the King reversed
another such recommendation by ratifying a
constitutional amendment that re-enabled
military courts to try civilians. In December,
six men were sentenced to death in the first
trial of civilians by a military court, which
had begun in October. In June, Bahrain’s
lower house approved a decree ending
retirement rights and benefits of those who
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had their citizenship revoked, or who lost or
were granted foreign citizenship without
permission.
In March, the US administration approved
the sale to Bahrain of new F-16 fighter jets
and upgrades for older jets, which under the
previous US administration had been
conditional on the improvement of human
rights in Bahrain.
International NGOs, including Amnesty
International, and journalists critical of
Bahrain, were denied access to Bahrain
throughout the year.
Morocco. In May, journalist Nazeeha Saeed
was convicted for working without renewing
her press licence, issued by the Information
Affairs Authority, and fined 1,000BD
(USD2,650). The court of appeal upheld the
fine in July.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
The authorities maintained undue restrictions
on freedom of association. Leaders of al-
Wefaq and other opposition parties remained
in detention and political activists and
members of opposition parties were
harassed. Several political activists and
members of opposition parties reported that
they were threatened, tortured or otherwise
ill-treated by NSA agents in May.
In February, the dissolution of al-Wefaq was
upheld by the Court of Cassation. In March,
the Minister of Justice filed a lawsuit against
the secular opposition group Waad for
violating the Law on Political Associations. In
May, the High Administrative Court ordered
the dissolution of Waad and the liquidation of
its assets. In October the Appeal Court
upheld the verdict.
Opposition leaders and prisoners of
conscience Sheikh Ali Salman and Fadhel
Abbas Mahdi Mohamed remained arbitrarily
detained. In April, Sheikh Ali Salman’s prison
sentence was reduced to four years; in
November he was charged with spying for
Qatar in 2011, which he denied, and at the
end of the year his trial was ongoing. In
March, former Secretary General of Waad,
Ebrahim Sharif, was charged over a series of
posts on Twitter, including an Amnesty
International graphic and a tweet criticizing
the lack of democracy in Bahrain.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of expression remained severely
restricted throughout the year. The authorities
arrested, detained, interrogated and
prosecuted human rights defenders, political
activists and Shi’a clerics who expressed
criticism of government policies, or criticism
of Saudi Arabia or the Saudi-led coalition in
Yemen. The government announced that it
would be illegal to express sympathy with
Qatar following the severance of ties in June,
and arrested and detained one lawyer on that
basis. Human rights defenders and
opposition leaders arbitrarily detained in
previous years for their peaceful opposition
remained held as prisoners of conscience.
In May, human rights defender Ebtisam al-
Saegh was arrested and interrogated in NSA
custody, during which she said she was
tortured, including by being sexually
assaulted. She was arrested again in July and
remanded in custody for a further six months
pending completion of the investigation. She
was released in October without knowing the
legal status of the case against her. In
July,
human rights defender Nabeel Rajab was
sentenced to two years in prison for
“spreading false information and rumours
with the aim of discrediting the state”. The
sentence was upheld on appeal in
November.
The media continued to be restricted and
journalists were targeted. The only
independent newspaper in Bahrain,
al-
Wasat,
was temporarily suspended and then
shut down after it reported on protests in
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Protests remained banned in the capital,
Manama, and the authorities used
unnecessary and excessive force to disperse
protests. Peaceful protesters continued to be
arrested and detained on charges of “illegal
gathering”. In January, mostly peaceful mass
protests took place in 20 villages following the
execution of three men. In Duraz, security
forces used live ammunition and semi-
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automatic rifles, injuring hundreds, including
Mustapha Hamdan, who later died of his
wounds. In February, hundreds of protesters
again took to the streets in several villages
when the authorities refused to allow the
funeral of three men who were killed by
coastguard forces after escaping from Jaw
prison a month earlier.
The authorities continued to restrict access
to Duraz village until May, where a peaceful
daily sit-in continued outside the home of
Sheikh Isa Qassem, the spiritual leader of al-
Wefaq. On 23 May, security forces entered
Duraz with hundreds of armoured vehicles,
beating protesters, firing tear gas from
armoured vehicles or helicopters and firing
birdshot. Four men and a 17-year-old child
were killed.
In February, human rights defender Nader
Abdulemam was arrested to serve a six-
month sentence for participating in an “illegal
gathering” and having called on people on
Twitter to join a protest in Manama in January
2013. He was held as a prisoner of
conscience until his release in June.
In May, the Court of Appeal reduced Dr
Taha Derazi’s six-month prison sentence to
three months for taking part in an “illegal
gathering” in Duraz in July 2016. He was
held as a prisoner of conscience until his
release in August.
DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY
Authorities obtained court orders to strip at
least 150 people of their Bahraini nationality.
The majority were effectively rendered
stateless as they had no other nationality. No
forced expulsions took place.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
There continued to be reports of torture and
other ill-treatment in custody, in particular of
those interrogated about terrorism-related
offences. In May alone, eight human rights
defenders and political activists in NSA
custody were reportedly tortured or otherwise
ill-treated. Unfair trials continued and courts
relied on allegedly coerced “confessions” to
convict defendants on terrorism-related
charges.
Reports of ill-treatment in Dry Dock prison
and Jaw prison continued, including the use
of prolonged solitary confinement and lack of
adequate medical care. After the escape of
10 prisoners from Jaw prison in January, new
arbitrary regulations were introduced,
including that prisoners must remain locked
in their cells for most of the day. Prisoners’
legs and ankles were shackled whenever they
left their cells, including to go to the medical
clinic. Eleven opposition activists who
remained in prison, including Abdulhadi al-
Khawaja, refused to attend medical
appointments to protest the mandatory prison
uniform, shackles and full body strip search
required to attend the appointment. In
March, the prison administration also
reduced the length of family visits from one
hour to 30 minutes and separated prisoners
from visitors by a glass barrier.
Student Ali Mohamed Hakeem al-Arab
reported that he was tortured throughout 26
days of interrogation in February and March,
including by having his toenails pulled out,
being subjected to electric shocks and
beatings, and being forced to sign a
“confession”. In May, Ebtisam al-Saegh and
seven other peaceful critics reported that
they were tortured and otherwise ill-treated in
NSA custody. (See above, Freedom of
expression.)
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
The authorities maintained administrative
travel bans that prevented scores of human
rights defenders and other critics from
travelling abroad, including to attend
meetings of the UN Human Rights Council.
In April, days ahead of the UN UPR of
Bahrain, 32 activists were summoned by the
Public Prosecution. The majority were
charged with “illegal gathering” and banned
from travelling. Most bans were lifted in July,
after the UPR had been conducted. Similar
tactics were used in September ahead of the
UN Human Rights Council session in which
the outcome of the UPR on Bahrain was
adopted.
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IMPUNITY
A climate of impunity persisted. The
authorities continued to fail to hold senior
officials accountable for torture and other
human rights violations committed during
and since the 2011 protests. No investigation
or prosecution was known to have taken
place into the deaths of six people, including
one child, killed by security forces in Duraz
between January and May 2017.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Attacks against journalists continued, with a
number of physical assaults on journalists
reported, including the killing of Abdul Hakim
Shimul.
The government continued to use
repressive laws to unduly restrict the right to
freedom of expression, and to target and
harass journalists and human rights
defenders. Key punitive provisions of the
Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) Act remained intact, despite repeated
calls by human rights mechanisms to repeal
its abusive clauses. The government
reiterated its intention to introduce the Digital
Security Act, which would restrict further the
right to freedom of expression online.
Investigations into killings during 2015 and
2016, which were claimed by the armed
group Ansar al-Islam and targeted secular
activists, were still ongoing. The group was
banned in March 2017 but ongoing delays in
criminal prosecutions continued to have a
chilling impact on civil society.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS 
Migrant workers continued to face
exploitation. In March and June, migrant
workers participated in marches to peacefully
protest against unpaid salaries.
DEATH PENALTY
Bahrain resumed executions after a hiatus of
nearly seven years, executing three Bahrainis
in January. The courts continued to hand
down death sentences for offences including
murder and terrorism-related charges.
BANGLADESH
People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Head of state: Abdul Hamid
Head of government: Sheikh Hasina
Bangladesh received more than 655,000
Rohingya refugees who were forced out of
Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Members of the
opposition Jamaat-e-Islami were arbitrarily
arrested. Human rights defenders were
harassed and intimidated. The rights to
freedom of peaceful assembly and
association remained restricted. Enforced
disappearances persisted. The strategy to
combat violence by armed groups continued
to be marked by human rights violations.
LGBTI people continued to be harassed and
arrested. Security forces in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts failed to protect Indigenous
people from violence. On a positive note, a
decade of steady economic growth helped
to reduce extreme poverty.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI activists continued to be routinely
harassed and subject to arbitrary detention
by state and non-state actors. The killings of
activists in 2016 by Ansar al-Islam intensified
existing fears of the LGBTI community; many
activists remained in hiding. In May, 28 men
believed to have been targeted for their
perceived sexual orientation were arrested in
Keraniganj, a neighbourhood of the capital,
Dhaka, and charged with violating the
Narcotics Control Act 1990. The arrests were
made at a regular gathering known to be
frequented by gay men.
No one was brought to justice for the 2016
killing of LGBTI activists Xulhaz Mannan,
Mahbub Rabbi Tanoy, Avijit Roy and Niladry
Niloy, although at least one arrest was made
in 2017.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The right to freedom of peaceful
assembly continued to be severely restricted.
Political opponents were denied the right to
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organize campaign meetings and political
rallies.The activities of NGOs continued to be
restricted through the Foreign Donation
(Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act. 
that indicated executive interference following
the 16th Amendment decision. 
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
An acute humanitarian crisis began in August
when more than 655,000 of Myanmar’s
mainly Muslim Rohingya fled to the district of
Cox’s Bazar after fleeing violence inflicted by
the Myanmar military in northern Rakhine
State. The Myanmar military’s campaign of
ethnic cleansing amounted to crimes against
humanity under international law (see
Myanmar entry). Cox’s Bazar already hosted
approximately 400,000 Rohingya refugees
who had fled earlier episodes of violence and
persecution at the hands of the Myanmar
military.
Bangladesh continued to refuse to formally
recognize Rohingya as refugees. Reports of
severe malnutrition were rife; children
comprised 61% of the new arrivals and were
particularly affected.
Rohingya women and girls were at
heightened risk of sexual and gender-based
violence and human trafficking, both by the
local population and other refugees. Risk
factors included inadequate protection or
camp management mechanisms, poor living
conditions, lack of a civil administration and
police presence, as well as lack of access to
the formal justice system and other services.
Newly arrived Rohingya lived in squalid
conditions and were not permitted to leave
the camp.
In November, the governments of
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a
repatriation agreement to facilitate the return
of newly arrived Rohingya to Myanmar. The
conditions of the agreement could violate
international standards on voluntary
repatriation and the international legal
principle of
non-refoulement,
paving the way
for forcible return of hundreds of thousands
of Rohingya to Myanmar where they were at
serious risk of human rights violations.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Enforced disappearances were routinely
carried out by security forces, mainly
targeting supporters of the opposition. Some
of the disappeared were subsequently found
dead. In a statement to the authorities in
February, the UN Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances said that the
number of enforced disappearances had
risen considerably in recent years. Reports
suggested that more than 80 people were
forcibly disappeared during the year.
In March, Hummam Quader Chowdhury,
son of an executed leader of the opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was released
after six months’ incommunicado detention.
Concerns increased for the safety of Mir
Ahmad Bin Quasem and Abdullahil Amaan
Azmi, also sons of executed opposition
leaders; they disappeared in August 2016
and their whereabouts remained unknown at
the end of 2017. In April, Swedish Radio
published an interview – recorded
undercover – in which a senior member of
the Rapid Action Battalion described how the
unit carried out enforced disappearances and
extrajudicial executions. In October,
academic Mubashar Hasan was
allegedly abducted by members of military
intelligence; he returned home after 44 days.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Concerns increased about the growing
interference by the government in the
judiciary. In July, the Chief Justice presided
over a ruling overturning a controversial
constitutional amendment (16th
Amendment) which allowed parliament to
impeach judges if charges against them of
misconduct or incapability were upheld. The
Prime Minister criticized the Chief Justice
after the ruling. Subsequently in November,
Chief Justice Sinha resigned from his post
and left the country under circumstances
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment in custody
remained widespread and complaints were
rarely investigated. The 2013 Torture and
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Custodial Death (Prevention) Act continued
to be inadequately enforced due to a lack of
political will and awareness among law
enforcement agencies.
BELARUS
Republic of Belarus
Head of state: Alyaksandr Lukashenka
Head of government: Andrey Kabyakou
Between February and April, the authorities
violently cracked down on peaceful
protests. The government continued to
refuse to accept the mandate of the UN
Special Rapporteur on human rights in
Belarus. Several individuals seeking
international protection were returned to
countries where they were at risk of torture
and other ill-treatment. Heavy legislative
restrictions on media, NGOs, political
parties and public assemblies remained in
place. One person was executed and four
were sentenced to death.
DEATH PENALTY
Scores of people were sentenced to death
and executions took place.
In April, two people were sentenced to
death after being convicted of crimes against
humanity by the International Crimes
Tribunal, a Bangladeshi court established to
investigate the events of the 1971
independence war. The Tribunal also
concluded the hearing of arguments in the
trial of six alleged war criminals in Gaibandha
for mass killings, abductions, looting and
arson during the 1971 war. The trial
remained ongoing. Serious concerns
regarding the fairness of the trial were raised
about the Tribunal proceedings, such as
denial of adequate time for defence lawyers
to prepare their cases and arbitrary limitation
of the number of witnesses.
BACKGROUND
After several years with no large protests,
mass demonstrations took place in February
and March against a tax on the unemployed,
introduced by a Presidential Decree in 2015.
The authorities clamped down on the
protests. In March, they accused 35 men of
plotting mass disturbances supported with
foreign funding, and hinted that these were
linked to the demonstrations. The arrests
were widely televised; by July, all men had
been released.
The rapprochement between Belarus and
its western neighbours continued. In July, the
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was held in
Minsk, the capital.
CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS
In June, at least one person was killed and
hundreds of homes were burned during a
mob attack on Indigenous people in the town
of Langadu, Rangamati Hill District. Police
and soldiers reportedly failed to protect
Indigenous villagers. Those made homeless
had not been rehoused by the end of the
year. A video posted on social media
appeared to show soldiers using excessive
force against students peacefully protesting
against the violence and the 1996
disappearance of Indigenous rights activist
Kalpana Chakma. Mithun Chakma, an
Indigenous rights campaigner, denounced a
“situation of suffocation” in which he was
forced to attend court up to eight times a
month to answer criminal charges relating to
11 separate cases, some of which were
under the ICT Act and concerned articles he
had posted on social media about human
rights violations, thus preventing him from
carrying out his work as a human rights
defender.
DEATH PENALTY
In April, Siarhei Vostrykau, who had been on
death row since May 2016, was executed.
Homel Regional Court received confirmation
of his execution on 29 April. The last letter
his mother received from him was dated 13
April.
Five men remained on death row. They
included Aliaksei Mikhalenya, whose
sentence on 17 March was upheld by the
Supreme Court on 30 June; Ihar Hershankou
and Siamion Berazhnoy, both sentenced on
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21 July and whose appeals were rejected by
the Supreme Court on 20 December, and
Viktar Liotau who was sentenced on 22
September. Kiryl Kazachok, who was
sentenced on 28 December 2016, chose not
to appeal.
or detained for five to 25 days. All but one
arrested individual were found guilty in
summary trials; courts uniformly accepted
police reports as evidence against them
without any questioning.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Dozens of protesters were sentenced for their
peaceful activism. On 7 April, Zavodski
District Court in Minsk changed Dzmitry
Paliyenka’s conditional sentence from 2016
to two years’ imprisonment after he received
two administrative penalties. His first
administrative penalty on 10 March 2017 – a
seven-day detention for “minor hooliganism”
and “disobedience to lawful police demands”
– was imposed after he vocally criticized the
verdict at a trial he was observing. His
second administrative penalty on 20 March
2017 – a 15-day detention for “organizing or
participating in unsanctioned mass events” –
was imposed for his peaceful protest on 25
February against the construction of a
building in central Minsk. Dzmitry Paliyenka
received the two-year suspended sentence
for purportedly assaulting a police officer
during a peaceful cyclists’ protest in Minsk in
April 2016.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Heavy restrictions on NGOs remained in
place. Under Article 193.1 of the Criminal
Code, the founding, or participation in, the
activities of an unregistered organization
remained a crime punishable by up to two
years’ imprisonment.
On 25 March, masked police officers raided
the office of human rights group Vyasna and
arrested all 57 people present. Among them
were local and international human rights
defenders and journalists who were attending
training on how to monitor demonstrations.
They were held for three hours at the local
police station and released without charge or
explanation. One detainee was hospitalized
for head injuries sustained during the arrest.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Official accreditation remained compulsory
for anyone working for a foreign media outlet
and continued to be routinely and arbitrarily
denied. More than 100 print, radio and TV
journalists and bloggers were arrested for not
having obtained accreditation, some
repeatedly, leading to fines. In at least eight
cases, journalists reporting from protests
were arrested as participants and sentenced
to administrative detention of between five
and 15 days.
Journalist Larysa Schyryakova, from the city
Homel in southeastern Belarus, was arrested
and fined repeatedly for reporting on
protests. She reported that police warned her
that she could be found “socially
irresponsible” if she committed further
administrative offences and that her 11-year-
old son might be placed in a children’s home.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
In February and March, thousands of people
attended a series of peaceful rallies across
the country to protest against the tax on the
unemployed. Some of the organizers and
participants reported harassment by the
police, including brief detentions and police
summons for questioning. On 25 March,
police prevented peaceful protesters from
assembling in central Minsk and arrested
hundreds; some arrests were made using
excessive force. Some protesters were
severely beaten by law enforcement officials
during arrest and in police custody.
Between February and April, over 900
people were arrested in connection with the
protests, including political activists who were
prevented from attending the protests and
journalists. At least 177 were found guilty of
purported administrative offences and fined
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
The tax on the unemployed remained in
place; failure to comply continued to incur
administrative fines and compulsory
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community service. In March, after the
protests against the tax, the President
mandated the government to suspend the tax
collection until 2018; in August, he promised
to waive the tax for “people with many
children, the sick and invalids”. Respective
changes were introduced in October.
BELGIUM
Kingdom of Belgium
Head of state: King Philippe
Head of government: Charles Michel
Prison conditions remained poor; hundreds
of offenders with mental health problems or
mental disabilities continued to be detained
in inadequate prison wards. Several laws on
professional secrecy introduced
requirements for social workers to share
private information regarding potential
suspects of terrorism-related offences.
Parliament introduced a number of
restrictions to asylum and migration laws. A
new law on legal gender recognition
improved the rights of transgender people.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Belarus lacked a functioning asylum system
and repeatedly handed over individuals
seeking international protection to authorities
of countries where they were at real risk of
torture or other ill-treatment.
FORCIBLE RETURN
Ethnic Chechen Imran Salamov, who claimed
to have been repeatedly tortured in
Chechnya, was forcibly returned to Russia on
5 September. He was in the process of
appealing against his rejected asylum
application. On 11 September, the Chechen
authorities confirmed that he was in police
custody in Grozny, capital of Chechnya. Since
that date, he had had no contact with his
lawyer or family and his whereabouts
remained undisclosed at the end of the year.
Following his forcible return, the Belarusian
authorities opened an investigation which
concluded that there had been a violation of
Belarusian law and that Imran Salamov had
been prematurely expelled from Belarus.
Disciplinary action was taken against a
number of officials linked to his case and was
ongoing at the end of the year.
Russian-Ukrainian-Israeli blogger Aleksandr
Lapshin was detained in Belarus in
December 2016 on request from Azerbaijan,
and extradited to Azerbaijan in February
where he was detained arbitrarily and
prosecuted in connection with his blog posts
criticizing the Azerbaijani authorities.
Aleksandr Lapshin was sentenced to three
years’ imprisonment and released under a
presidential pardon on 11 September (see
Azerbaijan entry).
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In July, Parliament adopted a new law
establishing a special status and
compensation system for victims of terrorism-
related offences. However, the law failed to
ensure swift and full compensation. Victims
could access state compensation only after a
burdensome and lengthy process.
In May, Parliament passed a law requiring
employees of welfare institutions to report to
prosecutors, or provide upon their request,
information on people who could be involved
in the perpetration of terrorism-related
offences. In June a new law passed that
allowed the sharing of confidential
information previously protected by
professional secrecy obligations to prevent
the commission of terrorism-related offences.
In October, Parliament amended the
Constitution to increase the maximum
duration of pre-charge detention from 24 to
48 hours. The provision applies to suspects
of any crime, although the initial proposed
scope was restricted to suspects of terrorism-
related offences.
Authorities failed to effectively monitor the
human rights impact of measures against
terrorism and radicalization.
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DETENTION
Prisons continued to be overcrowded,
facilities dilapidated and there was
insufficient access to basic services. Several
hundred offenders with mental health
problems or mental disabilities remained in
detention in regular prisons with insufficient
health care and treatment.
In May, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) found that the conditions of
detention of two detainees in two different
prisons amounted to inhuman or degrading
treatment.
In July, the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture raised concerns
regarding the consequences of the repeated
strikes by prison officials in recent years
which worsened the poor detention
conditions.
In September, the ECtHR ruled that
Belgium had violated the right to life of
Michael Tekin, an offender with a mental
health problem who died in custody in a
regular section of Jamioulx prison on 8
August 2009. The Court found that the
restraining technique used by three prison
officers was unnecessary and
disproportionate.
in the context of this operation. In December,
testimonies surfaced of returnees who stated
that upon return they had been detained by
Sudanese government agents, interrogated
and subjected to ill-treatment or torture. The
government announced an investigation into
the allegations.
DISCRIMINATION
On 14 March, the Court of Justice of the EU
failed to uphold Muslim women’s right to
non-discrimination by ruling that a private
Belgian employer had not breached EU anti-
discrimination law in dismissing a woman for
wearing a headscarf.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 24 May, Parliament adopted a law
allowing transgender people to seek legal
gender recognition without imposing on them
any psychiatric assessment or sterilization
requirements.
ARMS TRADE
The Walloon regional government continued
to license weapon transfers to parties of the
Saudi-Arabia-led coalition in Yemen. In June,
the Flemish regional Parliament improved the
compliance of its legislation with the Arms
Trade Treaty by, among other things,
amending the legal definition of transit.
However, it failed to address the control of
the end-use of parts and components that
could be used to produce arms.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The authorities resumed the transfers of
asylum-seekers to Greece under the Dublin
III Regulation – EU law that determines the
EU member state responsible for examining
an application for asylum.
In November, laws were adopted widening
the scope for detention of asylum-seekers
and curtailing the right to appeal negative
asylum decisions.
In September, the government invited a
delegation of Sudanese government officials
to identify dozens of undocumented
Sudanese nationals with the intention of
returning them to Sudan. Several judicial
proceedings were started challenging forcible
returns on the basis of the principle of
non-
refoulement
– the forcible return of
individuals to countries where they risk
serious human rights violations. Ten
Sudanese nationals were reportedly returned
BENIN
Republic of Benin
Head of state and government: Patrice Athanase
Guillaume Talon
The authorities continued to restrict the
rights to freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly. Fourteen prisoners
remained on death row although the death
penalty had been abolished. Civil society
groups’ access to prisons was restricted.
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Benin joined the AU campaign to end child
marriage.
BACKGROUND
In April, the National Assembly rejected a
presidential bill which aimed to amend the
Constitution. It contained provisions which
limited the President’s tenure to one six-year
non-renewable term and provided immunity
from police custody or pre-trial detention for
the President and members of the
government.
In November, Benin’s human rights record
was examined under the UN UPR process.
The government accepted 191
recommendations and made note of seven
others including calls to strengthen efforts to
prevent the use of arbitrary detention,
extrajudicial executions and the excessive
use of force by security forces; and to ensure
that all national legislation complied with
international standards on the rights to
freedom of expression and media freedom,
and to take steps to prevent the arbitrary
suspension of media outlets.
as many detainees as its intended capacity,
and Kandi Civil Prison held twice as many.
Around 4,500 of the country’s 7,179
detainees awaited trial.
In April, the Ministry of Justice issued an
order restricting the access of NGOs,
religious and civil society groups to detention
centres. Authorization for group visits was
issued for periods of three months.
Authorization could not be renewed without
groups presenting a report of their activities
for sign-off by the prison director who could
make observations for the Minister of
Justice’s attention, or even refuse to sign the
report.
DEATH PENALTY
The government failed to adopt laws to
remove the death penalty from legislation
despite its abolition by the Constitutional
Court in 2016. However, it accepted a
recommendation made under the UN UPR
process to commute all death sentences and
expedite the adoption of provisions under the
new Criminal Code to abolish the death
penalty. Fourteen prisoners remained on
death row at the end of the year. Their
detention conditions improved slightly during
the year when restrictions on outdoor
activities were relaxed.
1
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
In January, Radio Soleil FM, E-Tele and Eden
TV reopened. They were three of the seven
media outlets which the High Authority of
Audiovisual Communication (HAAC) closed
in November 2016. Four other outlets which
broadcast from abroad – Sikka TV, la
Chrétienne TV, Unafrica TV and La Béninoise
– remained closed. In May, the Court of First
Instance in Cotonou fined HAAC President
50 million CFA francs (around USD89,648)
for closing Sikka TV.
On 17 February police used tear gas to
disperse hundreds of University of Abomey-
Calavi students. They had gathered at a hotel
in Abomey-Calavi, a suburb of Cotonou, for a
general assembly and press conference, and
to peacefully protest against the October
2016 ban on all student union activities.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In June, Benin became the 20th country to
join the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage.
The campaign’s objectives included
educating communities about the negative
effects of child marriage. Despite legislation
prohibiting marriage before the age of 18,
32% of girls continued to marry under 18
years, and 9% married before the age of 15.
In November, the government accepted a
recommendation under the UN UPR process
to fast-track the implementation of legislation
which would address harmful practices
against children, including in relation to
forced early and child marriages.
1.
Living in limbo: Benin’s last death row prisoners (ACT
50/4980/2017)
DETENTION
Prisons remained overcrowded; Abomey Civil
Prison in the de Zou district held three times
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BOLIVIA

Plurinational State of Bolivia
Head of state and government: President Evo Morales
Ayma
A Truth Commission was created to
investigate serious human rights violations
committed under military governments
(1964-1982). Progress was made in
protecting the rights of transgender people.
Concerns remained regarding threats
against and harassment of human rights
organizations, and Indigenous Peoples’
rights.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In August, the President promulgated Law
969, allowing the construction of a road that
will cut across the Isiboro Sécure National
Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS), one
of the country’s main water reserves and
home to approximately 14,000 people,
mainly from Indigenous communities. This
Law repealed legislation under which the
TIPNIS was a protected area, raising
concerns about possible development of
other infrastructure and extractive projects in
the area.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In June, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal
granted civil marriage rights to people who
had legally changed their gender.
Nevertheless, same-sex marriage remained
officially unrecognized. In the same month,
the Ombudsman proposed an amendment to
the Criminal Code to make hate crimes
against LGBTI people a criminal offence. In
the past decade, the authorities had failed to
hold perpetrators accountable for the killings
of LGBTI people.
BACKGROUND
In November, the Constitutional Court ruled
to lift the limits on candidates standing in
presidential re-elections thereby allowing
President Morales to stand for a fourth
consecutive term in 2019.
The country office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights closed
down on 31 December after the government
decided not to renew its mandate.
IMPUNITY
In August, a Truth Commission was
established to investigate serious human
rights violations committed under the military
governments between 1964 and1982. It is
due to submit a report in two years. The
armed forces created a working group
composed of military officers to provide
support for the Commission, including by
granting access to their archives.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Unsafe abortions continued to be one of the
main causes of maternal mortality.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
On 6 February, leaders of the Federation of
Bolivian Mineworkers took over the
Permanent Human Rights Assembly for
several hours in the capital, La Paz, and
demanded the removal of its president.
Meanwhile, human rights organizations and
Indigenous leaders held a press conference
at the Assembly, where they announced that
the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights had asked the government to provide
information on their request for precautionary
measures. The organizations had submitted
the request on behalf of Indigenous Peoples
in voluntary isolation whose survival they
alleged would be at risk due to proposed oil
extraction in their territories.
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
In August, the Plurinational Legislative
Assembly passed a law to facilitate the
inclusion in the labour market of people with
disabilities and the provision of financial
assistance for people with severe disabilities.
For years, disability rights activists have
called for a monthly disability allowance
which has yet to be granted.
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In March, the Bolivian Documentation and
Information Centre (CEDIB), an NGO based
at the Universidad Mayor de San Simón, a
public university in Cochabamba, reported
that the Dean of the university had harassed
them and threatened them with eviction.
Despite the CEDIB director’s request that
safety guarantees be provided to his staff and
archives, he received no response from the
authorities. In November, CEDIB reported
that its bank accounts were frozen as a result
of a judicial administrative procedure which
had been filed by the Dean.
BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Head of state:
Rotating presidency – Bakir Izetbegović,
Dragan Čović, Mladen Ivanić
Head of government:
Denis Zvizdić
Minorities continued to face widespread
discrimination. Threats and attacks against
journalists and media freedom persisted.
Access to justice and reparations for civilian
victims of war remained limited.
DISCRIMINATION
Social exclusion and discrimination – in
particular of Roma; lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people;
and of people with disabilities – remained
widespread, despite the adoption of a
progressive Law on Prevention of
Discrimination in 2016.
Efforts continued to reduce the number of
Roma without identity documents and to
increase the number of Roma children
enrolled in primary schools. However, Roma
continued to face systemic barriers to
education, housing, health services and
employment. In July, the Council of Ministers
adopted a new three-year Action Plan for
Roma Integration specifically aimed at
improving employment opportunities and
easing access to housing and health services.
The Plan’s implementation was hampered
after the Council of Ministers removed a
portion of its funding for the second
consecutive year.
Police failures to thoroughly investigate acts
of violence and discrimination against LGBTI
people continued. No indictments were
issued against those suspected of criminal
responsibility for the 2014 attack on the
organizers of the Merlinka Queer Film
Festival, or the 2016 incident in Sarajevo, the
capital, in which a group of young men
harassed and physically threatened visitors of
a café and cinema popular with the LGBTI
community. In May, a planned public
gathering to mark the International Day
against Homophobia and Transphobia could
not take place as Sarajevo Canton Ministry of
Traffic failed to provide the necessary permits
in time, although it received a formal
application in advance.
People with disabilities, in particular women
and children, continued to face systemic
social exclusion, including severely limited
access to health services and mainstream
education. According to legislation, people
with disabilities whose impairment was not a
consequence of war were treated differently
and received lower allowances and social
benefits than war veterans and civilian
victims of war.
The 2009 judgment of the European Court
of Human Rights in
Sejdić-Finci v. Bosnia
and Herzegovina
which found the power-
sharing arrangements set out in the
Constitution to be discriminatory, remained
unimplemented. Under the arrangements,
citizens who would not declare themselves as
belonging to one of the three main
constituent peoples of the country (Bosniaks,
Croats and Serbs) were still excluded from
running for legislative and executive office.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The pattern of threats, political pressure and
attacks against journalists continued. In July
and August, Dragan Bursać, a journalist with
Al Jazeera Balkans, received a series of
death threats after publishing a piece in
which he condemned public gatherings in
Banja Luka city in support of a charged war
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criminal. Local journalist associations
documented nearly 40 cases of direct
pressure, verbal threats and physical attacks
against journalists by the end of the year.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
In November, the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
issued the first-instance verdict in the case of
former Bosnian Serb leader, General Ratko
Mladić. The ICTY found him guilty of
genocide, war crimes, and crimes against
humanity committed during the 1992-1995
conflict and sentenced him to life
imprisonment.
Also in November, the ICTY confirmed
earlier sentences against six former Bosnian
Croat political and military leaders. This was
the final verdict passed by the tribunal prior
to permanently shutting down in December,
after 23 years of operation.
The domestic prosecution of war crimes
remained slow, with a backlog of several
hundred cases pending before various courts
at the end of the year. Despite recent
progress, the prosecutions continued to
suffer from lack of capacity and resources,
ineffective case-management and persistent
political obstruction. A revision of the 2008
National War Crimes Strategy to address key
institutional deficiencies and to establish new
deadlines for the completion of cases was
under way at the end of the year.
Some progress was made in harmonizing
entity laws regulating the rights of civilian
victims of war, including victims of wartime
sexual violence. However, public aid for
victims of wartime sexual violence remained
fragmented and dependent on residency;
victims residing in Republika Srpska (RS)
were excluded from the system of social
benefits for civilian victims of war. The Draft
Law on Protection of Victims of Wartime
Torture in RS, intended to recognize victims’
rights, was adopted by the government in
December, but it included provisions which
could potentially discriminate against non-
Serb victims. There was no progress in the
adoption of the Law on Protection of Victims
of Torture at the state level by the end of the
year. The Law would guarantee a specific set
of rights and entitlement for victims of war on
the whole territory of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Criminal courts continued the recent
practice of granting financial compensation to
victims of wartime rape, bringing the number
of final judgments awarding financial
reparation for war crimes in criminal
proceedings to four. However, the
compensations had not been paid by the end
of the year. The convicted perpetrators
lacked funds and there was no alternative
mechanism to compensate survivors of
criminal acts in cases where convicted
perpetrators were not able to pay damages.
Most victims continued to be required to
pursue compensation claims in separate civil
proceedings, where they had to reveal their
identity and incur additional costs. The 2016
Constitutional Court ruling that the statute of
limitations applied to reparation claims
directed against the perpetrators and not the
state – even in war crimes cases – resulted in
widespread dismissal of claims in 2017,
further limiting victims’ ability to claim
compensation and leaving them liable for
high court fees.
Although over 75% of missing persons from
the war had been exhumed and identified,
there were still 8,000 people missing in
connection with the conflict. The process of
exhumations continued to encounter
significant challenges, including reduced
funding and limited expertise. The Law on
Missing Persons remained unimplemented,
with the Fund for Families of the Missing still
awaiting dedicated resources.
BOTSWANA
Republic of Botswana
Head of state and government: Seretse Khama Ian
Khama
The right to freedom of expression
continued to be restricted. Asylum-seekers
whose asylum claims were rejected
continued to face detention. A landmark
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ruling in the Lobatse High Court upheld the
rights of transgender people. Two men were
sentenced to death.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists continued to be intimidated and
harassed by the authorities. On 8 March,
three journalists from the INK Centre for
Investigative Journalism were briefly detained
and threatened by plain-clothes security
agents in the village of Mosu. The journalists
had tried to access the area where the new
home of President Khama was allegedly
being constructed amid allegations of
corruption. The security agents told them that
the building site was a “restricted area” and
that they would be shot on sight if they tried
to return.
On 19 April, the Court of Appeal upheld an
earlier decision by the High Court and turned
down the application of a teacher who had
challenged his dismissal from employment
on the grounds that it violated his
constitutional right to freedom of expression.
The teacher was dismissed after he
published an opinion piece in a newspaper in
May 2011 on the country’s political situation,
following a national strike by public sector
employees. In February 2012, a disciplinary
hearing had found the teacher guilty of
contravening section 34(a) of the Public
Service Act.
Outsa Mokone, editor of the
Sunday
Standard,
continued to face a criminal
sedition charge following his arrest in 2014
after publishing articles alleging President
Khama’s involvement in a road accident. In
December 2016, he was released on bail and
asked to appear at the magistrate’s court
every two months and to seek permission
before leaving the country. His legal case
challenging the constitutionality of the
sedition law was still pending at the end of
the year.
determination procedures and asylum-
seekers – with both pending and denied
applications – continued to be detained in
the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants.
The duration of detention averaged between
six months and five years, far beyond the
detention period stipulated in the Refugee
Act.
On 13 April, the High Court ordered the
release of two Somali asylum-seekers from
the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants.
They had been detained in the Centre since
being denied refugee status in October 2015,
having arrived separately in Botswana in
June 2014. On 15 April, following their
release, they were taken into custody at the
Tlokweng police station after attempting to
enter the Dukwe Refugee Camp, Botswana’s
only refugee camp. On 25 April, President
Khama declared them to be prohibited
immigrants; they were subsequently detained
at the first offenders prison in Gaborone, the
capital, and have allegedly since been
deported.
On 23 November, the Court of Appeal set
aside the High Court ruling that the detention
of 165 asylum-seekers and their relatives was
illegal. As a result, the asylum-seekers sought
refuge in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South
Africa. Members of the group had arrived in
Botswana between January 2014 and
October 2016 and, after their asylum
applications were denied, they had remained
in detention in the Francistown Centre for
Illegal Immigrants. The Attorney General
made an appeal on 4 August.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In a landmark decision on 29 September, the
Lobatse High Court ruled that the
government’s refusal to change the gender
marker in the identity document of a
transgender man was unreasonable and in
violation of his rights, including the right to
dignity, freedom of expression and freedom
from discrimination, and ordered the
government to change the gender marker.
On 12 December, the Gaborone High Court
ruled in favour of Tshepo Ricki Kgositau, a
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Botswana’s restrictive encampment policy
continued, denying refugees freedom of
movement, work and local integration.
Asylum-seekers faced lengthy refugee status
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transgender woman who successfully
challenged the government’s refusal to
change her gender from male to female in
her identity document as unconstitutional.
Tshepo Ricki Kgositau had unsuccessfully
applied to the Civil and National Registration
Office in Gaborone to change her gender
identity. The Office advised her to seek a
court order after denying her application.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
On 17 July, Parliament passed a bill which
incorporated the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court into domestic
law, including the offences of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This followed Botswana’s ratification of the
Rome Statute in 2000.
DEATH PENALTY
Tshiamo Kgalalelo and Mmika Mpe were
sentenced to death on 13 December; they
were convicted of murder and other charges,
including theft and abduction, in the Lobatse
High Court in May.
BRAZIL
Federative Republic of Brazil
Head of state and government: Michel Temer
A number of proposals which threatened
human rights and represented huge
setbacks to existing law and policy made
their way through the legislative process.
Violence and killings increased, mostly
affecting young black males. Conflicts over
land and natural resources resulted in
dozens of killings. Human rights defenders
were not effectively protected. Police
responded to most protests with
unnecessary and excessive force.
retrogressive measures, proposals were
introduced to reduce the age at which
children can be tried as adults to below 18;
change or revoke the Disarmament Bill,
facilitating licensing and purchasing of
firearms; restrict the right to peaceful
assembly and to criminalize social protests;
impose a full ban on abortion, violating the
sexual and reproductive rights of women and
girls; change the land demarcation process
and requirements for free, prior and informed
consent of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-
descendant communities; and reduce the
protection of labour rights and access to
social security.
Law 13.491/2017, signed by President
Temer on 13 October, provided that human
rights violations, including murder or
attempted murder, committed by military
personnel against civilians would be tried by
military courts.
1
The Law violated the right to
a fair trial, as military courts in Brazil did not
guarantee judicial independence.
Despite these setbacks, in May a new
migration law (Law 13.445/2017) came into
effect, representing improvements to
migrants’ rights.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
Brazil’s human rights record was examined
for the third time under the UN
UPR process.
2
Brazil received 246
recommendations, including on Indigenous
Peoples’ rights to land; killings by the police;
torture and degrading conditions in prisons;
and protection of human rights defenders.
Brazil accepted all but four
recommendations; however, there remained
concerns about their implementation in the
context of the retrogressive laws and policies
adopted during the year.
In May the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights issued a ruling against Brazil for its
failure to grant justice for the killing by police
of 26 people in Favela Nova Brasília, in
Complexo do Alemão, city of Rio de Janeiro,
in October 1994 and May 1995.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Up to 200 different proposals for
constitutional amendments, new laws and
changes to existing legislation threatened a
range of human rights. Among other
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POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
The deployment of the armed forces for
policing and law and order increased.
The authorities failed to adopt measures to
reduce the homicide rate, which remained
high for young black males. The number of
homicides increased in major cities,
especially in the northeast. National data
compiled and published during the year by
the Brazilian Public Security Forum revealed
that 61,619 people were killed during 2016,
of which 4,657 were women. Public security
policies continued to rely on highly militarized
police interventions, motivated mainly by the
so-called “war on drugs”.
In January the Ministry of Justice
announced a Public Security National Plan
which was to focus on reducing homicides,
tackling drug trafficking and conducting a
review of the prison system. A detailed and
comprehensive plan was never presented or
implemented and the public security
situation deteriorated during the year.
Instances of “multiple homicides” (single
events with more than three victims) and
“chacinas” (multiple killings characteristic of
executions) increased in several cities; the
authorities often failed to properly investigate.
On 5 January, eight men were killed by a
group of armed men in Porto Seguro, Bahia
state. On 3 June, six men were killed inside a
house by armed hooded men in Porto das
Dunas in Fortaleza, Ceará state. On 6 June,
four men and a woman were killed and nine
other people were injured by a group of 10
hooded gunmen in a bar in Belem, Pará
state. On 22 September, six young men aged
between 16 and 23 were killed in Grande
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte state. In Bom
Jardim neighbourhood in Fortaleza, Ceará
state, five people were killed and three others
injured on 20 February, and four young
males aged between 14 and 20 were killed
inside a house on 8 October. In most cases,
the perpetrators were unidentified.
Police interventions in favelas and
marginalized areas often resulted in intensive
shoot-outs and deaths. Data about people
killed by the police remained inaccurate as
states kept poor records using different
methodologies; however, official numbers
indicated that such killings increased across
Brazil. Official figures showed that on-duty
police officers killed 494 people in São Paulo
state between January and September and,
between January and November, 1,035 in
Rio de Janeiro state and 148 in Ceará state.
On 13 February, four people were killed and
others injured by military police during a
police intervention in the favela of Chapadão,
Rio de Janeiro city.
In February, a 21-day strike by the military
police in Espírito Santo state resulted in
chaos. Armed forces and national security
forces were called in to police the state.
On 12 July, a homeless man was killed by a
military police officer in the neighbourhood of
Pinheiros, city of São Paulo.
In August, at least seven people were killed
by the police during police interventions that
continued for several days in the favela
Jacarezinho, Rio de Janeiro city. Residents
reported that police officers were violent and
committed a number of abuses, such as
assaults, unlawful raids on homes, and
unlawful killings. The police interventions
may have been in retaliation for a police
officer being killed in the area.
On 3 September, 10 men were killed by civil
police officers during a police intervention
attempting to prevent an armed robbery in
the neighbourhood of Morumbi, São Paulo
city.
Early in the year, military police from the
Pacification Police Unit raided several houses
in the favela Complexo do Alemão, Rio de
Janeiro city. These unlawful actions by police
continued even after a court ruled that the
police should leave the area. Those
denouncing the police violations were
threatened and intimidated. After months of
mobilization, the Public Prosecutor’s Office
brought charges against two police officers
who were in command of the operation and
responsible for the area.
On 11 November, seven men were killed
during a joint security operation of the Civil
Police and the Army in São Gonçalo, Rio de
Janeiro state. Civilian authorities said they
had no competence to investigate the killings
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after a new law expanded the jurisdiction of
military courts to try crimes committed by
military personnel. The military denied using
firearms, and did not announce whether it
had opened an investigation into the killings.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
On 31 March, thousands of people protested
in major cities against proposed reforms to
labour laws and social security policies. On
28 April, social movements, students and
trade unions called for a “general strike” and
tens of thousands of people protested
throughout the country after the labour
reforms were approved. In many areas,
including Rio de Janeiro city, the police used
unnecessary and excessive force against
peaceful protesters.
On 24 May at least 49 people were injured,
including eight military police officers and
one man who was shot with a firearm, after
police used excessive force against protesters
in the capital, Brasilia. Tens of thousands of
people protested against President Temer in
a demonstration that ended in clashes with
the police and damage to public buildings.
The federal government called in the military
to police the area in the following days.
DETENTION
The prison system remained overcrowded
and prisoners suffered inhuman and
degrading conditions. The prison population
reached 727,000 people, 55% of whom were
aged between 18 and 29 and 64% of whom
were Afro-descendant, according to the
Ministry of Justice. A significant proportion –
40% nationally – of those imprisoned were in
pre-trial detention, where detainees often
waited several months to face trial.
In January, riots took place in prisons in
several states resulting in at least 123 deaths:
64 in Amazonas state; 31 in Roraima; 26 in
Rio Grande do Norte; and two in Paraíba.
3
In May, 32 people escaped from Pedrinhas
prison in Maranhão state; two escapees were
killed by prison guards.
As a result of extreme overcrowding in
prisons in Rio Grande do Sul state, some
people detained by police were held for more
than 48 hours in unsuitable areas in police
stations and cars, while waiting for space in
the prison system.
In October, a man died after being detained
for a day and a night in an outdoor cage-like
cell in a police station in Barra do Corda,
Maranhão state. The cell had no protection
from the sun or extremely high temperatures,
leaving detainees at risk of dehydration and
other dangerous consequences of exposure.
In Rio de Janeiro state, inhumane prison
conditions were further degraded by the
financial crisis, putting at risk the supply of
food, water and medicines for more than
50,800 prisoners. Tuberculosis and skin
diseases reached epidemic levels inside the
state’s prisons.
The 25th anniversary of the Carandiru
massacre, in which 111 people were killed by
the police in Carandiru prison, São Paulo,
was on 2 October. Those responsible for the
massacre had yet to be held accountable.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders, especially those in
rural areas, continued to be threatened,
attacked and killed. The states of Pará and
Maranhão were among those where
defenders were at the highest risk. According
to the civil society coalition Brazilian
Committee for Human Rights Defenders, 62
defenders were killed between January and
September, an increase from the previous
year. Most were killed in conflicts over land
and natural resources. Budget cuts and lack
of political will to prioritize the protection of
human rights defenders resulted in the
dismantling of the National Programme of
Protection, leaving hundreds exposed to a
higher risk of attacks.
LAND DISPUTES
On 20 April at least nine men were killed and
others injured in Colniza, Mato Grosso state,
after gunmen attacked rural workers in the
settlement of Taquaruçu do Norte. The
decade-long trend of frequent, violent attacks
by gunmen hired by large-scale farmers and
illegal loggers in the area continued.
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On 24 May, 10 rural workers who were
camping in the margins of Santa Lucia farm
in Pau D’Arco, Pará state, were shot dead
during a joint operation between military and
civil police officers. On 7 July, one of the
leaders of the group of rural workers,
Rosenildo Pereira de Almeida, was shot
dead. Survivors of the massacre continued to
fear for their lives following the killings.
In September a group of armed mine
workers threatened smallholders in the rural
settlement of Montanha e Mangabal, in the
Tapajós river region, municipality of Itaituba,
Pará state.
society organizations and governmental
technical bodies working for Indigenous
Peoples’ rights. Budget cuts to FUNAI
impacted negatively on its work for the
protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Indigenous people from Vale do Javari,
Amazonas state, reported that members of
isolated Indigenous groups in the area were
killed during the year. The killings were not
investigated. Demarcated Indigenous land in
Vale do Javari was subjected to invasions by
miners.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Conflicts over land and invasion by illegal
loggers and mine workers into Indigenous
Peoples’ territory continued, resulting in
several episodes of violence against
Indigenous people. The government and
courts undermined the institutional
framework and national policies, introducing
further delays in the already slow land
demarcation process, aggravating conflicts
over land in Indigenous territories. Data
published by the Indigenous Missionary
Council during the year revealed that at least
118 Indigenous people were killed in 2016.
In January, the Ministry of Justice issued a
decree changing the land demarcation
process, making it even slower and more
vulnerable to pressure from landlords.
In April, at least 22 Indigenous Gamela
people were attacked by gunmen in Viana,
Maranhão state; some were shot at, others
beaten, and two had their hands cut off.
The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry
into the National Indigenous Foundation
(FUNAI) and the National Institute for
Colonization and Agrarian Reform, two
independent institutions set up by the
government to protect Indigenous Peoples’
rights and promote access to land, presented
its final report, which was approved by the
House of Representatives in May. The report
was a clear attack on Indigenous Peoples’
rights and had a direct intent to criminalize
(including by requesting criminal indictment
of dozens of people) Indigenous leaders, civil
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
According to Bahia Gay Group, 277 LGBTI
people were killed in Brazil between 1
January and 20 September, the highest
number since the group began compiling
data in 1980.
On 15 February, transgender woman
Dandara dos Santos was beaten to death in
Bom Jardim neighbourhood in Fortaleza city.
According to investigators, at least 12 people
were involved in her killing. Two men were
arrested in connection with her killing during
the year.
In September, a Federal District judge
authorized psychologists to use unethical and
harmful so-called “conversion therapies” in
an attempt to alter individuals’ sexual
orientation. The decision flouted a resolution
of the Federal Psychology Council confirming
that psychologists cannot take any action that
would “pathologize homosexuality”. The
judge’s decision contributed to increasing
stigma and violence against LGBTI people.
A number of proposals at city, state and
national level sought to prohibit gender and
sexual orientation-related issues from being
included in educational materials.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Throughout the year, religious centres
(terreiros) of the Afro-descendant religions
Umbanda and Candomblé in Rio de Janeiro
state suffered several attacks by private
individuals, criminal gangs and members of
other religions. In August and September, at
least eight centres were attacked and
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destroyed, most of them in Rio de Janeiro
city and surrounding municipalities in the
Baixada Fluminense region.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Juvenile detention facilities remained
overcrowded and detainees suffered
inhuman and degrading conditions.
In Ceará state, torture by state officials was
recurrent inside juvenile detention facilities.
During the year, there were at least 20 riots
and 37 escapes from units in Ceará. Out of
200 formal reports of torture of adolescents
inside juvenile detention units in Ceará
between 2016 and September 2017, only
two reports resulted in a formal inquiry by the
state for further investigation. Reports of the
chaotic state of the juvenile justice system in
Ceará resulted in a formal visit by Brazil’s
National Human Rights Council in
September.
Early in the year, Espirito Santo state held
1,198 juvenile detainees in a system with
capacity for only 754, a rate of overcrowding
of more than 39%. Of the state’s 13 detention
facilities, only four were operating within their
intended capacity.
On 3 June, seven boys aged between 15
and 17 were killed by other teenage
detainees during a riot in a juvenile detention
facility in Lagoa Seca, Paraíba state.
On 13 November, four young boys were
killed by hooded men who entered a juvenile
justice system facility where the boys were
detained.
1. Brazil: Law leading to military impunity sanctioned (AMR
19/7340/2017)
2. Brazil: Police killings, impunity and attacks on defenders: Amnesty
International submission for the UN Universal Periodic Review – 27th
session of the UPR working group, May 2017 (AMR
19/5467/2016)
3. Brazil: Over 90 men killed in Brazilian prison riots (AMR
19/5444/2017)
BRUNEI
DARUSSALAM
Brunei Darussalam
Head of state and government: Sultan Hassanal
Bolkiah
Lack of transparency made independent
monitoring of the human rights situation
difficult. Phased amendments to the
Shari’a Penal Code, if implemented, would
provide for the death penalty and corporal
punishment, such as caning and stoning
which amount to torture and other ill-
treatment, for a range of offences. The
amendments would further restrict the
rights to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion and discriminate against
women.
BACKGROUND
Several amendments to the Shari’a Penal
Code remained pending and were subject to
phased implementation. Brunei completed
phase one of the amendments which dealt
with crimes punishable by prison sentences
and fines. If implemented, phase two will
cover crimes punishable by amputation;
while phase three will deal with crimes
carrying the penalty of stoning to death.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 27 July, government employee Shahiran
Sheriffudin bin Shahrani Muhammad was
removed from his post and charged under
Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act for posting
comments on Facebook deemed “offensive”
to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Journalists
and online activists continued to self-censor
for fear of prosecution.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Shari’a Penal Code amendments included
provisions which, if implemented, would
further discriminate against women,
including by criminalizing pregnancy outside
marriage and forcing unmarried Muslim
women to live in their guardian’s home.
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DEATH PENALTY
Although abolitionist in practice, death by
hanging was maintained as punishment for
several offences including murder, terrorism
and drug-related crimes. Penal Code
amendments, if implemented during phase
three, would impose death by stoning as
punishment for offences including “adultery”,
“sodomy” and rape. Stoning to death or 100
lashes, depending on the offender’s marital
status, would be imposed on Muslims and
non-Muslims who commit “adultery” with a
Muslim.
BULGARIA
Republic of Bulgaria
Head of state: Rumen Radev (replaced
Rosen
Plevneliev in January)
Head of government: Boyko Borisov
Summary detentions, pushbacks and
abuses at the border continued. The
necessary services were not provided to
migrants and refugees, including to
unaccompanied children. A climate of
xenophobia and intolerance sharply
intensified. Roma continued to be at risk of
pervasive discrimination.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Stateless children and children who were not
citizens of Brunei faced barriers to basic
rights, including education. While primary
education was free and accessible to citizens,
stateless and non-citizen children had to
apply for permission to enrol and were often
required to pay monthly fees.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The number of refugees and migrants
entering Bulgaria declined, but reports of
frequent pushbacks, excessive use of force
and theft by border police continued.
Irregular border crossing remained
criminalized resulting in administrative
detention of migrants and refugees, including
unaccompanied children, who arrived in
greater numbers. Human rights organizations
documented numerous allegations of ill-
treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers
and substandard conditions in detention
facilities.
In February, local authorities in the town of
Elin Pelin refused to receive a Syrian family
that had been granted humanitarian status in
Bulgaria. The Mayor publicly warned that
“Muslims from Syria [were] not welcome”
and refused to register the family or issue
them with identity documents. Other
municipalities expressed a similar
unwillingness to accommodate refugees.
In July, the government adopted the
Regulation on Integration of Refugees;
however, this fell short of providing an
effective mechanism for integration.
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, the Regulation failed to address the
persistent problem of unco-operative
municipalities or to propose measures to
create more favourable conditions for
integration in local communities. It also failed
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex sexual relations
remained a criminal offence with “intercourse
against the order of nature” punishable by up
to 10 years’ imprisonment under Article 377
of the Penal Code. Amendments to the Penal
Code would, if implemented, allow a
mandatory punishment of death by stoning
for consensual same-sex activity (see above).
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Suspects were detained without trial under
the Internal Security Act. In February, four
Indonesian nationals were detained under
the law for alleged links with the armed group
Islamic State (IS) and subsequently deported.
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to address the gaps in refugees’ access to
social housing, family benefits for children or
language training, which limited their
enjoyment of social and economic rights.
The government issued an order restricting
freedom of movement for registered asylum-
seekers. Adopted in September, it imposed
territorial limits for asylum-seekers in refugee
centres, prohibiting them from moving out of
prescribed areas.
Although Bulgaria committed to accept
1,302 asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy
under the EU emergency relocation scheme,
it had only resettled 50 people from Greece
by the end of the year. It did not receive any
Syrian refugees from Turkey under the EU-
Turkey “one-for-one” resettlement deal
although it had originally committed to accept
100 people under the scheme.
Directorate in all proceedings involving
unaccompanied children who had not
applied for international protection. The
amendments, however, proposed repealing
the requirement for an individual assessment
of the best interests of the child before
placing children in short-term immigration
detention. Human rights organizations
warned that the proposals would legitimize
the practice of “attaching” unaccompanied
children to often unrelated adults travelling in
the same group in order to avoid the
prohibition of detention of children.
DISCRIMINATION
Hate speech and hate crimes continued,
directed at minority groups, including Turks
and Roma; refugees, asylum-seekers and
migrants remained vulnerable to violence and
harassment. Discriminatory or xenophobic
statements were made during the campaign
for parliamentary elections held in March, by
candidates and political parties as well as by
the coalition of far-right parties, the Patriotic
Front, which gained enough seats to enter
the government.
Marginalization and widespread
discrimination against Roma persisted. They
faced systemic obstacles in all aspects of life,
including education, health care, housing
and employment. Roma children were
enrolled in special schools and denied
access to mainstream education. High
numbers of Roma lacked health insurance
and faced persistent barriers to adequate
health care and services. The authorities
continued the practice of forced evictions
without the provision of adequate alternative
housing, leaving many families homeless.
Human rights organizations documented
numerous cases involving ill-treatment and
physical abuse of Roma by police. Roma
remained over-represented in places of
detention. In July, mass anti-Roma
demonstrations organized by the Patriotic
Front took place in the towns of Asenovgrad
and Byala, following a violent incident
between a sports youth team and several
Roma.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Reception conditions for unaccompanied
refugee and migrant children remained
inadequate. Children were routinely denied
adequate access to legal representation,
translation, health services and psychosocial
support. Basic education was not available in
the centres and most children were not
enrolled in local schools. Limited social and
educational activities were available several
days a week and organized exclusively by
NGOs and humanitarian organizations.
The authorities lacked developed systems
for early identification, assessment and
referral mechanisms for unaccompanied
children. Children often did not have access
to qualified legal guardians and legal
representation. In February, mayors and
residents of several towns refused to
accommodate two unaccompanied refugee
children in facilities in their communities. The
boys were moved several times and finally
separated, causing the younger boy to
abscond.
In September, the National Assembly
adopted, in the first reading, amendments to
the Law on Foreigners. They included an
obligation to provide legal representation for
all unaccompanied children and to increase
the authority of the Social Assistance
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People with disabilities, particularly
children, continued to face discrimination
and systemic social exclusion, including
limited access to education, health services
and employment. Those with intellectual
disabilities and psychosocial problems were
deprived of their legal capacity and the right
to independent living and were frequently
placed under guardianship or social care
institutions without their consent.
Despite numerous threats and simultaneous
counter-demonstrations organized by far-right
groups, Sofia Gay Pride took place in June
under heavy police presence.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In December, a draft Constitution was
submitted to the President for approval,
following which it will either be approved by
referendum or adopted by Parliament. It
included provisions to strengthen human
rights protection, including economic, social
and cultural rights, gender equality,
protection for women and girls from violence,
abolition of the death penalty, and to increase
the independence of the judiciary.
In June, the National Assembly adopted a
law to protect human rights defenders.
In July, legislation was adopted which would
give the High Court of Justice jurisdiction to
try members of the government for crimes
committed in the course of, or in connection
with, their duties. In the same month, the
government adopted a law allowing the
military prosecutor to initiate public
prosecutions against civilians in proceedings
which would operate independently of the
High Council of Magistrates which, among
other things, was responsible for overseeing
the independence of the judiciary.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA
A pattern of threats, political pressure and
attacks against journalists continued; a
significant portion of the media remained
under the tight control of political parties and
local oligarchs. In October, Deputy Prime
Minister Valeriy Simeonov and MP Anton
Todorov publicly threatened TV journalist
Victor Nikolaev that he would be fired unless
he stopped investigating the government’s
purchase of a fighter aircraft. The incident
was widely condemned by civil society, but
no action was taken against the public
officials.
Bulgaria remained the lowest ranking EU
member state on the World Press Freedom
Index. The NGO Reporters without Borders
ranked Bulgaria 109th out of 180 countries
in terms of press freedom.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
There were complaints at the main prison of
Ouagadougou, the capital: detainees at
MACO prison (Maison d’Arrêt et de
Correction de Ouagadougou) complained of
torture and other ill-treatment, mainly during
arrest or in police custody, often in order to
extract “confessions”. Several prisoners said
they were held in custody for over two weeks
without charge. Four prisoners said that
courts took no action when they reported that
they had been tortured.
Several soldiers who were tried in April for
conspiracy to raid an arms depot in Yimdi in
January complained in a military court in
Ouagadougou that they were tortured during
detention in custody either at the
gendarmerie or at MACO prison.
BURKINA FASO
Head of state: Roch Marc Christian Kaboré
Head of government: Paul Kaba Thiéba
The draft Constitution included provisions
which, if implemented, would strengthen
human rights protection. There were reports
of torture and other ill-treatment and prison
conditions remained poor. Rates of
maternal mortality as well as early and
forced marriage remained high. Armed
groups committed human rights abuses.
DETENTION
Many prisons remained overcrowded: 1,900
detainees were held in MACO prison which
has a capacity for 600. Conditions remained
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poor, with inadequate food and medical
provisions. In June, however, Ministry of
Justice representatives said that they were
developing a strategic plan to improve prison
conditions.
IMPUNITY
The trial of former President Blaise Compaoré
and 32 former ministers before the High
Court of Justice was repeatedly delayed; in
June it was temporarily suspended by the
Constitutional Council. Blaise Compaoré was
charged with acts of wilful assault, complicity
in assault, assassination and complicity in
assassination in relation to the October 2014
uprising. An international arrest warrant for
him and his former Chief of Security,
Hyacinthe Kafando, remained in place.
In May, an international arrest warrant was
issued against Blaise Compaoré’s brother,
François Compaoré, in relation to the murder
of investigative journalist Norbert Zongo in
December 1998. François Compaoré was
placed under court supervision in France,
where he was living, pending a decision on
his extradition to Burkina Faso.
Fourteen people awaited trial in connection
with the murder of former President Thomas
Sankara, three of whom remained in
detention.
The findings of an investigation into the
attempted coup in September 2015 were
referred to the Indictments Division for a
decision in October. At least 106 people −
including 40 civilians, one of whom was a
foreign national – were charged, including
with threatening state security, crimes against
humanity and murder during the coup
attempt. More than 20 of them remained in
detention at the end of the year while
another, General Djibril Bassolé, remained
under house arrest having been transferred
from detention in October. In December the
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
called for his release.
infection and death. There were at least 100
maternal deaths in the first half of the year at
one of the two main public hospitals in
Ouagadougou. In one hospital, overworked
midwives carried out up to 25 caesarean
sections a day, while shortages forced women
patients to sleep on the floor, sometimes
without bedding.
No progress was made towards
implementing the government’s pledge in
2016 to increase the legal marriage age of
girls and women. Over 50% of girls between
15 and 17 were married in the Sahel region
in the north of the country. Rates of female
genital mutilation continued to lessen
although it remained widespread despite
being outlawed.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
The self-defence militia called “Kogleweogo”,
mainly comprising farmers and cattle
breeders, continued to commit human rights
abuses including beatings and abductions,
despite the Justice Minister’s pledge in
December 2016 to regulate the militia’s
activities.
Justice Ministry officials said that
Kogleweogo members beat a man to death in
the town of Tapoa in January over an alleged
chicken theft. In May, six people died,
including four Kogleweogo members, in
clashes between locals and Kogleweogo in
Goundi. In the same month, the regional
governor banned “self-defence groups” in
Boulkiemdé and Sanguié.
There were reports that trials were
postponed when Kogleweogo held
demonstrations in order to protect their
members from prosecution in Fada
N’Gourma and Koupela.
Armed groups carried out attacks close to
the Mali and Niger border, killing dozens of
civilians. They also attacked police and
military personnel. Repeated attacks in the
Sahel region led to public officials temporarily
vacating the region.
In late January, armed men went to several
schools in the north and threatened teachers
to make them adopt Islamic teaching.
WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS
Lack of medical equipment, medication and
staffing in hospitals left women and newborn
babies at serious risk of birth complications,
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Consequently, hundreds of schools closed,
including in Soum, Oudalan and Loroum.
Ansaroul Islam claimed responsibility for
attacking police stations in Baraoulé and
Tongomaël on 27 and 28 February.
On 3 March, an armed group killed a school
principal and another local person in
Kourfayel, a village in Soum.
In August, at least 19 people were killed
and more than 22 injured in an attack
against a restaurant in Ouagadougou. No
group claimed responsibility.
On two occasions in September and
November, armed groups carried out attacks
in Soum, killing at least nine people.
assistance to the EAC’s political dialogue
efforts.
The government declared a malaria
epidemic in March. Between January and
mid-November, 6.89 million cases and 3,017
deaths were recorded.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
Unlawful killings continued. Bodies were
regularly discovered in the streets of the
capital, Bujumbura, and throughout the
country. Several Burundians who were living
as refugees in neighbouring countries said
that they left Burundi after their relatives were
killed, primarily by the Imbonerakure – the
increasingly militarized youth wing of the
ruling National Council for the Defence of
Democracy-Forces for the Defence of
Democracy. Others witnessed the killings of
their family members by the Imbonerakure as
they tried to flee the country.
BURUNDI
Republic of Burundi
Head of state and government: President Pierre
Nkurunziza
Restrictions on the rights to freedom of
expression and assembly continued. The
security forces, among others, carried out
unlawful killings, enforced disappearances,
torture and other-ill-treatment, arbitrary
arrests and detention.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Reports of enforced disappearances
continued, and cases from 2015 and 2016
remained unresolved. The UN Commission of
Inquiry on Burundi highlighted several cases
where there were reasonable grounds to
believe or to fear that people had been
forcibly disappeared. Pacifique Birikumana,
driver for the Ngozi diocese, was believed to
have been forcibly disappeared on 8 April
after he returned from driving a group of
soldiers to Gitega province. The Commission
received information that he may have been
arrested by the National Intelligence Services
(SNR); his whereabouts remained unknown.
Former senator and businessman Oscar
Ntasano went missing with two of his
employees on 20 April after meeting a man
said to work for the SNR. Witnesses told the
Commission that Oscar Ntasano received
threats from state officials in connection with
a contract he was negotiating with the UN to
rent office space. One state official was said
to have threatened him with death if he
refused to split the proceeds.
BACKGROUND
In October, the Council of Ministers approved
revisions of the Constitution. The proposed
constitutional amendments would allow
President Nkurunziza to stand for at least two
more seven-year terms, and reduce the size
of the majority required to pass legislation in
Parliament. In December, the President of
the National Independent Electoral
Commission announced that a referendum
on the constitutional amendments was
planned for May 2018.
Efforts by the East African Community
(EAC) to find a mediated solution to the
political crisis sparked by the President’s
decision in 2015 to stand for a third term
continued to stall. Michel Kafando, former
President of Burkina Faso, was appointed as
UN Secretary-General Special Envoy to
Burundi in May. His role included providing
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TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment by,
among others, the SNR, police and the army,
of detainees suspected of opposing the
government continued. Torture methods
included beating men with cables, iron
reinforcing bars (rebar) and batons, as well
as hanging heavy weights from genitals.
Imbonerakure members were frequently
accused of beating detainees during arrest.
Impunity for such violations continued.
Burundi had not yet established a National
Preventive Mechanism against torture as set
out in the Optional Protocol to the UN
Convention against Torture.
them were arrested and six student leaders
were charged with rebellion.
On 4 April, Joseph Nsabiyabandi, editor-in-
chief of Radio Isanganiro, was summoned for
questioning by the SNR, and accused of
collaborating with two radio stations set up by
Burundian journalists in exile.
On 9 June, the Mayor of Bujumbura refused
to allow Amizero y’Abarundi, the
parliamentary opposition coalition, composed
of representatives from the National
Liberation Forces and Union for National
Progress, to hold a press conference on the
grounds that the coalition did not have “legal
personality”.
SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
The Commission of Inquiry interviewed 49
survivors of sexual violence that took place
between 2015 and 2017. Most of the cases
involved rape of women and girls by police,
often while arresting a male family member.
The Commission also documented sexual
violence against men in detention. It
concluded that sexual violence appeared to
be used as a way to assert dominance over
people linked to opposition parties or
movements.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In January, the Bujumbura Court of Appeal
overturned a decision by the Bar
Association’s president not to disbar four
lawyers following a request to do so by a
prosecutor in 2016. Three of the lawyers
were, therefore, disbarred while another was
suspended for one year. The prosecutor had
called for them to be struck off after they
contributed to a report to the UN Committee
against Torture.
Germain Rukuki was arrested on 13 July;
he was president of the community
organization Njabutsa Tujane, an employee of
the Burundian Catholic Lawyers Association
and a former member of ACAT-Burundi
(Action by Christians for the Abolition of
Torture, ACAT). The SNR held and
interrogated him without a lawyer present,
before transferring him to prison in Ngozi city
on 26 July. On 1 August, he was charged
with “undermining state security” and
“rebellion”, for collaborating with ACAT-
Burundi, which was banned in October
2016. The Public Prosecutor presented as
evidence against him an email exchange
from a period when ACAT-Burundi was legally
registered in Burundi. Germain Rukuki was
denied bail and remained in detention at the
end of the year.
Nestor Nibitanga, former member of the
deregistered Association for the Protection of
Human Rights and Detained Persons
(APRODH), was arrested in Gitega on 21
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Arbitrary arrests and detentions continued,
including during police searches in the so-
called opposition neighbourhoods of
Bujumbura. People were often arrested
without warrants and only later informed of
the accusations against them. Police and
Imbonerakure sometimes used excessive
force during arrests and attempted arrests.
Former detainees said that they or their
family had to pay vast sums of money to
members of the SNR, police or Imbonerakure
in exchange for their release.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
Restrictions on freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly continued at all levels.
University students in Bujumbura went on
strike in March to protest against a new
student loan and grant system; several of
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November. He was charged with
undermining state security and rebellion.
This appeared to be in retaliation for his
human rights activities. Following a hearing
on 28 December, the Mukaza court in
session at Rumonge decided to keep Nestor
Nibitanga in provisional detention. He
remained in detention at the Murembwe
central prison in Rumonge at the end of the
year.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
The International Organization for Migration
said that 187,626 people were internally
displaced as of November; 19% were
displaced in 2017. Two thirds of the total
were displaced by natural disasters and one
third as a result of the socio-political
situation.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Couples cohabiting without being married
risked prosecution under a 2016 law which
banned “free unions” or cohabitation and
carried a prison sentence of one to three
months, and a fine of up to 200,000 francs
(USD114). In May, following President
Nkurunziza’s call for a nationwide
“moralization” campaign, the Interior ministry
spokesperson gave cohabiting couples until
31 December to “regularize” their situation.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
People trying to flee the country reported
abuses including rape, killings, beatings and
extortion by members of the Imbonerakure.
Many tried to leave by informal routes, as
they did not have official travel documents;
they were afraid of being accused of joining
the rebellion, being refused permission to
leave or being arrested at the border for
trying to leave.
The number of Burundian refugees in
relation to the current crisis reached over
418,000 in September but fell to 391,111 by
the end of 2017. Most of them were hosted
by Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic
of the Congo (see Democratic Republic of the
Congo entry) and Uganda. In an operation
led by the Tanzanian government and
supported by UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, organized returns began in
September with 8,836 refugees assisted to
return to Burundi by 20 November. Many
refugees cited harsh conditions in their
countries of asylum as their main reason for
return. In August, the World Food
Programme warned that without urgent
funding from donors, insufficient food rations
to refugees in Tanzania would be further
reduced. The UNHCR-led Burundi Regional
Refugee Response received only 20% of the
funding required for 2017.
In January, Tanzania stopped automatically
recognizing Burundian asylum-seekers as
refugees. Uganda followed suit in June. On
20 July 2017, President Nkurunziza visited
Tanzania in an attempt to convince
Burundian refugees that it was safe to return.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
In October, the Minister of Justice presented
proposed amendments to the Penal Code
which were unanimously adopted by the
National Assembly and the Senate. The
amendments would criminalize begging and
“vagrancy”. Able-bodied people found guilty
of begging would face a prison sentence of
between two weeks and two months, and/or a
fine of up to 10,000 francs (USD6). The
same sentence was proposed for “vagrancy”.
Burundian refugees living outside the
country claimed that increased local taxation
was affecting their livelihoods. The extent to
which fees were formally imposed or were
simply acts of extortion was not always clear
especially where they were collected by
members of the Imbonerakure.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
On 4 September, the Commission of Inquiry
report concluded that there were reasonable
grounds to believe that crimes against
humanity had been committed since April
2015. On 28 September, the UN Human
Rights Council adopted a resolution
mandating a team of three experts “to collect
and preserve information […] in cooperation
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with the Government of Burundi”, and “to
make recommendations for technical
assistance and capacity building”. On 29
September, the Council also renewed the
Commission of Inquiry’s mandate for another
year. Discussions between the UN and the
government on the reopening of the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights in Burundi had not reached a
conclusion by the end of the year.
Burundi’s withdrawal from the ICC came
into effect on 27 October. Two days earlier,
the Pre-Trial Chamber authorized an
investigation into the situation in Burundi, a
decision made public in November.
The AU Peace and Security Council did not
meet to discuss Burundi in 2017, despite the
continued presence of AU human rights
observers and military experts in the country
at the Council’s request.
Sam Rainsy stood down as leader of the
opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party
(CNRP) to avoid party dissolution because of
his 2016 conviction on criminal charges. The
lead-up to the June 2017 commune elections
was marked by threatening rhetoric from the
Prime Minister and other senior government
and military officials. The ruling Cambodian
People’s Party (CPP) won control of 70% of
communes. In September, the UN Human
Rights Council extended the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Cambodia for a further two years. On
16 November, the CNRP was dissolved amid
allegations of being part of a purported US-
funded “colour revolution” to topple the
current regime.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
Harassment of the political opposition and
civil society through misuse of the criminal
justice system escalated in an apparent
attempt to hamper activities ahead of the
2018 general election.
1
Amendments to the
Law on Political Parties in February and July
gave the Ministry of Interior and courts new
powers over political parties and barred
individuals convicted of a criminal offence
from holding leadership positions.
In March, Sam Rainsy was convicted of
“defamation and incitement to commit a
felony” for claiming on social media that the
July 2016 murder of political commentator
Kem Ley was an act of “state-sponsored
terrorism”. Political commentator Kim Sok
was convicted on the same charges in
August for allegedly linking the government to
the murder in a radio interview. Following the
commune elections, the Ministry of Interior
ordered a local election monitoring coalition
to cease its activities.
In August, the US-based National
Democratic Institute was expelled from
Cambodia for alleged regulatory violations.
Also in August, more than 30 FM radio
frequencies were silenced. Radio stations
were alleged to have violated their contracts
with the government by “overselling” air time
to broadcasting programmes from the US-
CAMBODIA
Kingdom of Cambodia
Head of state: King Norodom Sihamoni
Head of government: Hun Sen
The crackdown on human rights defenders,
media, civil society and the political
opposition intensified ahead of elections
scheduled for July 2018. The authorities’
misuse of the justice system continued.
New criminal charges were brought against
serving and former leaders of the main
opposition party. The authorities increased
pressure on civil society including by
conducting surveillance of human rights
workers and restricting or shutting down
organizations monitoring elections. Media
freedom and diversity were dramatically
reduced. Human rights defenders continued
to be monitored, threatened, arrested and
imprisoned. Montagnard asylum-seekers
faced forcible return to Viet Nam.
BACKGROUND
The prospect of a close general election in
2018 led to an unstable political environment
and threats to human rights. In February,
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based Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of
America, as well as Cambodian radio
programme Voice of Democracy. In
September, the long-running English
language newspaper
The Cambodia Daily
shut down after the authorities gave its
publishers 30 days to pay a USD6.3 million
tax bill, a move widely viewed as arbitrary.
The same month, RFA ceased operations in
Cambodia, citing the restrictive media
environment. In November, two former RFA
reporters were arrested on trumped-up
charges of “espionage” and faced up to 15
years in jail.
On 3 September, new CNRP leader Kem
Sokha was arrested at his home in the
capital, Phnom Penh, and later charged with
“conspiracy with a foreign power” in relation
to a 2013 speech in which he discussed
international advice he had received
regarding democratic change. CPP
lawmakers later voted to strip him of the
parliamentary immunity he had been granted
under the Constitution.
The Ministry of Interior ordered local land
rights organization Equitable Cambodia (EC)
to suspend its activities for 30 days for
alleged regulatory violations. Although the
suspension lapsed on 15 November, EC was
not allowed to resume activities. At least three
individuals were arrested throughout the year
for posting comments on Facebook that were
regarded by authorities as insulting to the
Prime Minister. On 26 November, the
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights was
threatened by the Prime Minister with
closure; it was allowed to remain open after
investigation by the Ministry of Interior and an
announcement by the Prime Minister on 2
December.
December, the Supreme Court upheld a six-
month prison sentence against Tep Vanny
and two other community members
stemming from a protest in 2011. Human
rights defenders Am Sam Ath and Chan
Puthisak were investigated in February for
allegedly instigating violence at an October
2016 demonstration in Phnom Penh. They
were beaten by para-police during the
demonstration; however, their formal
complaint of assault appeared to have been
ignored.
In June, five serving and former staff
members of the Cambodian Human Rights
and Development Association (ADHOC) were
released on bail after being held for more
than a year in pre-trial detention on charges
of bribing a witness. Three of the five − Ny
Sokha, Nay Vanda and Yi Soksan − were
arbitrarily denied access to medical care for
two months prior to their release. The
charges remained pending at the end of the
year.
In September, two activists from the
environmental organization Mother Nature
were arrested while filming sand-dredging
boats off the coast of Koh Kong in an attempt
to highlight alleged illegal smuggling. They
were charged with incitement to commit a
felony and making an unauthorized
recording.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
On 23 March Oeuth Ang was sentenced to
life imprisonment after being convicted by
the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of the
2016 murder of prominent political
commentator Kem Ley. The trial lasted only
half a day. The authorities did not respond to
calls for an independent, impartial and
effective investigation into the killing of Kem
Ley.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders were harassed and
prosecuted for their peaceful human rights
work. In February, Tep Vanny, a prominent
land rights activist from the Boeung Kak Lake
community, was convicted of “intentional
violence with aggravating circumstances” in
relation to a 2013 protest, and sentenced to
two years and six months’ imprisonment. In
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Cambodia failed to submit its report, due in
October, on implementation of the
recommendations of the 2013 UN CEDAW
Committee, or to follow up with requested
information regarding sexual and gender-
based violence – in particular redress and
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protection for victims. Women continued to
be under-represented in politics. Although
the number of women commune chiefs
elected during the 2017 commune elections
increased, the total number of women
councillors decreased.
different charges. They faced charges of
crimes against humanity, genocide and grave
breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
1.
Cambodia: Courts of injustice − suppressing activism through the
criminal justice system (ASA
23/6059/2017)
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
Land grabbing, land concessions granted to
private stakeholders for agri-industrial use,
and major development projects continued to
impact the right to adequate housing for
communities around the country. A report
released in January by the Land
Management Ministry showed an increase in
land dispute complaints received in 2016
compared to the previous year. Work on the
Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in the
northeast province of Stung Treng
progressed; Indigenous people who refused
to leave their ancestral lands faced forcible
relocation. Those who accepted relocation
were moved to substandard and flooding-
affected resettlement sites.
CAMEROON
Republic of Cameroon
Head of state: Paul Biya
Head of government: Philémon Yang
The armed group Boko Haram continued to
commit serious human rights abuses and
violations of international humanitarian law
in the Far North region, including looting
and destroying properties and killing and
abducting civilians. In response, the
authorities and security forces committed
human rights violations and crimes under
international law, including arbitrary arrests,
incommunicado detentions, torture and
deaths in custody. As a result of the
conflict, around 240,000 people in the Far
North region had fled their homes between
2014 and the end of 2017. Freedoms of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly continued to be restricted
throughout the country. Security forces
violently repressed demonstrations in
Anglophone regions in January and
September. Civil society activists,
journalists, trade unionists and teachers
were arrested and some faced trial before
military courts.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The government rejected 29 applications for
refugee status by Montagnard asylum-
seekers from Viet Nam, who faced possible
refoulement.
UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, stated that they had legitimate
grounds. They remained in Cambodia at the
end of the year.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In February, the Co-Investigating Judges
issued a joint closing order dismissing the
case against Im Chaem in Case 004/1 at the
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia (ECCC). She was found not to fall
within the ECCC’s personal jurisdiction of
being a senior leader or one of the most
responsible officials during the Khmer Rouge
regime.
In June, closing statements were made in a
second trial of Nuon Chea and Khieu
Samphan in Case 002. The case against
them had been severed by the Trial Chamber
of the ECCC in 2011, resulting in two trials on
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
The armed group Boko Haram committed
crimes under international law and human
rights abuses, including suicide bombings in
civilian areas, summary executions,
abductions, recruitment of child soldiers, and
looting and destruction of public and private
property. During the year, the group carried
out at least 150 attacks, including 48 suicide
bombings, killing at least 250 civilians. The
crimes were part of a widespread and
systematic attack on the civilian population
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across the Lake Chad basin. Boko Haram
deliberately targeted civilians in attacks on
markets, mosques, commercial areas and
other public places. On 12 July a female
suicide bomber detonated explosives in a
crowded video-game shop in the town of
Waza, killing at least 16 civilians and injuring
more than 30. On 5 August, a suicide
bomber in the village of Ouro Kessoum, near
Amchide, killed eight children and injured
four more.
authorities to clarify whether investigations
were being carried out.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Human rights defenders, including civil
society activists, journalists, trade unionists,
lawyers and teachers continued to be
intimidated, harassed and threatened.
On 17 January, following protests in the
English-speaking regions of the country, the
Minister of Territorial Administration banned
the activities of the political party Southern
Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the
Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society
Consortium (CACSC).
2
The same day, the
president of the CACSC, barrister Nkongho
Felix Agbor-Balla, and its Secretary General,
Dr Fontem Aforteka’a Neba, were arrested
after signing a statement calling for non-
violent protests. Held incommunicado at the
State Defence Secretariat, they were charged
under the 2014 anti-terrorism law, without
any basis. They were transferred to the
Prison Principale in the capital, Yaoundé,
before eventually being released following a
presidential decision on 30 August, along
with 53 other Anglophone protesters who had
been arrested between late October 2016
and February 2017.
Between January and April, and in early
October, telephone and internet services
were cut in the English-speaking regions,
with no official explanation.
On 24 May, authorities shut down an
Amnesty International press conference
scheduled to take place in Yaoundé. Amnesty
International staff had planned to present
more than 310,000 letters and petitions
asking President Biya to release three
students imprisoned for 10 years for sharing
a joke by text message about Boko Haram.
No written administrative justification was
provided for the prohibition of the press
conference.
More than 20 protesters were shot by
security forces in the Anglophone regions
between 1 and 2 October, and more than
500 arrested. Others wounded in the protests
were forced to flee hospitals where they
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Security forces continued to arbitrarily arrest
individuals accused of supporting Boko
Haram, often with little or no evidence and
sometimes using unnecessary or excessive
force. Those arrested were frequently
detained in inhumane, life-threatening
conditions. At least 101 people were detained
incommunicado between March 2013 and
March 2017 in a series of military bases run
by the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) and
facilities run by the intelligence agency. They
were subjected to torture and other ill-
treatment.
1
These routine and systematic
practices continued throughout 2017,
although at least 20 people were reported to
have been transferred from the BIR military
base in Salak to the central prison in Maroua
in late August.
It was highly likely that senior military
officers based in Salak were aware of the
torture, but they did nothing to prevent it. US
military personnel also had a regular
presence at the BIR’s base at Salak and an
investigation was launched into their possible
knowledge of human rights violations at the
base; its outcomes were not published during
the year.
No investigations were known to have been
conducted by the Cameroonian authorities
into the allegations of incommunicado
detention, torture and other ill-treatment, nor
efforts made to prevent such occurrences or
to prosecute and punish the perpetrators.
In December the UN Committee against
Torture expressed deep concern about the
use of torture and incommunicado detention,
and criticized the failure by Cameroonian
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sought life-saving treatment out of fear of
arrest. In addition, dozens of members of the
security forces, including soldiers and
gendarmes, were killed in attacks perpetrated
by Anglophone insurgents in the South and
North West regions during the year.
UNFAIR TRIALS
Unfair trials continued before military courts,
which were often marred by irregularities.
On 10 April, Radio France Internationale
correspondent Ahmed Abba was sentenced
to 10 years’ imprisonment, convicted by the
Yaoundé Military Court of “complicity with
and non-denunciation of terrorist acts”. The
trial was marred by irregularities, including
documents not being disclosed to defence
lawyers. Ahmed Abba had been arrested in
Maroua in July 2015 and was tortured while
held incommunicado for three months at a
facility run by the General Directorate of
External Research. On 21 December the
Appeal Court of the Yaoundé Military Court
ordered his initial sentence to be reduced to
24 months, which he had already served.
The Court upheld the charge of “non-
denunciation of terrorism”.
The appeal of Fomusoh Ivo Feh, who was
arrested in December 2014 for forwarding a
sarcastic text message about Boko Haram
and sentenced to 10 years in prison, had not
begun at the end of the year. Scheduled to
begin in December 2016, his hearings had
been adjourned at least seven times.
On 30 October, journalists Rodrigue Tongué,
Felix Ebole Bola and Baba Wamé were
acquitted by the Yaoundé Military Court,
having been initially charged in October 2014
with “non-denunciation of information and
sources”. Facing trial alongside the
journalists were opposition party leader
Aboubakary Siddiki, and Abdoulaye
Harissou, a well-known notary detained since
August 2014. The Yaoundé Military Court
sentenced Aboubakary Siddiki to 25 years’
imprisonment on charges including hostility
against the homeland, revolution, and
contempt of the President. Abdoulaye
Harissou was sentenced to three years’
imprisonment, and subsequently released
having already served this sentence. Their
trial was marred by irregularities. During their
initial period of detention, the two men had
been held incommunicado for more than 40
days in an illegal facility run by the General
Directorate of External Relations and
subjected to torture.
DETENTION
Prison conditions remained poor, marked by
chronic overcrowding, inadequate food,
limited medical care, and deplorable hygiene
and sanitation. Maroua prison housed around
1,500 detainees, more than four times its
intended capacity. The population of the
central prison in Yaoundé was approximately
4,400, despite a maximum capacity of 1,500.
The main factors contributing to
overcrowding included the mass arrests since
2014 of people accused of supporting Boko
Haram, the large number of detainees held
without charge, and the ineffective judicial
system. The government finalized the
construction of at least 10 new cells for the
prison in Maroua.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
At least 250,000 refugees from the Central
African Republic lived in harsh conditions in
crowded camps or with host families along
border areas of southeastern Cameroon.
Some 60,000 refugees from Nigeria lived in
the UN-run Minawao camp in the Far North
region; around 30,000 others struggled to
cope outside the camp, facing food
insecurity, lack of access to basic services,
harassment by the security forces and the
risk of
refoulement
as they were perceived to
be supporters of Boko Haram.
On 2 March, Cameroon, Nigeria and
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, signed a
“Tripartite Agreement for the Voluntary
Repatriation of Nigerian Refugees Living in
Cameroon”. However, between January and
September, Cameroon forcibly returned at
least 4,400 Nigerians. These forced returns
were part of a larger deportation operation
carried out by Cameroon. Human Rights
Watch estimated that, since 2015,
Cameroonian authorities and security forces
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had summarily deported more than 100,000
Nigerians living in areas located along the
Cameroon-Nigeria border, often with
unnecessary and excessive use of force.
Some of those forcibly returned, including
children, weakened by living for months or
years with limited or no access to food and
health care, died during the deportations.
In December, UNHCR reported having
registered more than 5,000 Cameroonians,
mainly women and children, who had fled
the Anglophone areas of Cameroon to
Nigeria.
DEATH PENALTY
People accused of supporting Boko Haram
continued to be sentenced to death following
unfair trials in military courts; none were
executed during the year. The cases were all
prosecuted under the deeply flawed 2014
anti-terrorism law.
1.
Cameroon’s secret torture chambers: Human rights violations and
war crimes in the fight against Boko Haram (AFR
17/6536/2017)
2. Cameroon: Arrests and civil society bans risk inflaming tensions in
English-speaking regions (Press
release,
20 January)
RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD
OF LIVING
The conflict with Boko Haram led to the
internal displacement of around 240,000
people in the Far North region and
exacerbated the hardships experienced by
communities, limiting their access to basic
social services, and disrupting trade, farming
and pastoralism. In December, almost 3.3
million people, of whom 61% were in the Far
North region, were in need of humanitarian
assistance, including food and medical care.
Humanitarian access continued to be
restricted by the ongoing conflict.
CANADA
Canada
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Julie
Payette (replaced David Johnston in October)
Head of government: Justin Trudeau
Discrimination against Indigenous Peoples
continued, in particular the failure to
protect their rights to lands and resources.
Urgent measures were required to ensure
the safety of Indigenous women and girls
while a national inquiry was under way.
There was a substantial increase in
numbers of asylum-seekers crossing the
border from the USA irregularly.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Dozens of schools were closed in the English-
speaking regions between November 2016
and September 2017, following strikes and
boycotts called for by trade unions and
members of civil society. Extreme elements
within Anglophone pro-secession groups
carried out attacks on education facilities that
“breached the boycott”.
Between January and September 2017,
more than 30 schools were burned and
severely damaged. In the Far North region,
139 primary schools in the departments of
Logone and Chari, Mayo Sava and Mayo
Tsanaga remained closed because of
insecurity and at least eight were occupied by
security forces, affecting almost 40,000
children.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Government commitments to respect and
protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples were
contradicted by the failure to address
violations of treaty-protected Indigenous
hunting and fishing rights by the planned
flooding of the Peace River Valley in the
province of British Columbia for the Site C
dam.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
issued three non-compliance orders against
the federal government for discrimination in
services for First Nations children and
families.
The Public Inquiry Commission on Relations
between Indigenous Peoples and Certain
Public Services in Québec held hearings
throughout the year.
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In June the province of Ontario agreed to
fund the clean-up of a river system
contaminated with mercury. In November the
federal government agreed to provide
specialized medical care for mercury
poisoning as long sought by members of the
Grassy Narrows First Nation.
In July the Supreme Court of Canada, in a
case brought by the Inuit hamlet of Clyde
River, ruled that the government has an
obligation to intervene when regulatory
agencies fail to protect Indigenous rights.
In August the UN CERD Committee
expressed concern about Indigenous land
rights violations and Canada’s failure to
respect the right of free, prior and informed
consent. The Committee asked Canada to
report back within one year on measures to
address the impacts of the Site C dam. In
December the provincial government in
British Columbia announced that
construction of the Site C dam would
continue, despite the objections of affected
First Nations.
In November the government announced
support for a bill to develop a legislative
framework for implementing the UN
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples.
In November, the Supreme Court rejected a
potentially groundbreaking legal challenge by
the Ktunaxa Nation in British Columbia which
sought to apply constitutional protection of
religious freedom to the preservation of
Indigenous Peoples’ sacred sites.
number of relatives of missing and murdered
women and girls expressed frustration about
the Inquiry’s slow progress and poor
communication, and several staff and one of
five Commissioners resigned. Community
hearings commenced in June and an interim
report was issued in November.
In October, Quebec passed the Act to Foster
Adherence to State Religious Neutrality
requiring everyone, including Muslim women
wearing a niqab, to uncover their faces to use
or provide government services, including on
public transit and in libraries. A court ruling
in December suspended application of the
Act until a constitutional challenge is heard.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In June, Parliament passed legislation adding
gender identity and expression as prohibited
grounds for discrimination in Canada’s
Human Rights Act and Criminal Code.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In January, six worshippers were killed and
19 others injured when a gunman opened
fire in a mosque in Quebec City.
In March, parliament adopted a motion
calling for a committee study to develop a
new approach for addressing Islamophobia
and religious discrimination.
In March, Canadian citizens Abdullah
Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed
Nureddin received compensation and an
apology for the role of Canadian officials in
their unlawful arrest, imprisonment and
torture in Syria and Egypt between 2001 and
2004.
In June, national security legal reforms were
proposed, including improved review and
oversight of national security agencies.
Continuing concerns included insufficient
information-sharing safeguards, inadequate
appeal provisions for people named on “no-
fly lists”, and expanded mass surveillance
and data-mining powers.
In June, legislation was passed reversing
2014 Citizenship Act reforms which had
allowed dual nationals convicted of terrorism
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In June, the federal government launched a
Feminist International Assistance Policy and
committed to placing women’s rights, gender
equality and sexual and reproductive rights at
the core of its foreign policy. In November the
government released its second National
Action Plan on women, peace and security.
In June, the federal government released a
strategy to combat gender-based violence,
but without a national action plan.
The National Inquiry into Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
proceeded throughout the year. A growing
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and other offences to be stripped of
Canadian citizenship.
In July, Canadian citizen Omar Khadr
received compensation and an apology for
the role of Canadian officials in violations
against him at the US detention facility at
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for 10 years from
2002.
In September, revised guidelines
strengthened safeguards against complicity
in torture in intelligence sharing with other
governments, but failed to absolutely prohibit
the use of information obtained through
torture by other governments.
regardless of immigration status. New
guidelines released in November required
that minors only be held in immigration
detention in “extremely limited
circumstances”.
Annual government refugee resettlement
targets declined to pre-2016 levels of 7,500,
following an increase to 25,000 in 2016 as
part of the government’s Syrian refugee
resettlement programme.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
The British Columbia Conservation Officer
Service concluded its investigation into the
2014 Mount Polley Mining Corporation
(MPMC) tailings pond collapse, without
bringing charges. A federal level investigation
for violations of the Fisheries Act was
ongoing. In April, against the wishes of
Indigenous and other communities, British
Columbia authorities approved MPMC’s plan
to discharge mine waste water that does not
meet provincial drinking water guidelines into
Quesnel Lake. In June the UN Working
Group on Business and Human Rights
supported British Columbia Auditor General’s
recommendation to establish a compliance
and enforcement unit independent of the
Ministry of Energy and Mines. In August, a
private prosecution was filed against MPMC.
Also in August, the CERD Committee called
on Canada to report within one year on action
to address the 2014 disaster.
In January the British Columbia Court of
Appeal ruled that a lawsuit against Tahoe
Resources regarding the shooting of
protesters outside its mine in Guatemala
could be heard in Canada. In November the
Court upheld a lower court ruling that a
lawsuit against Nevsun Resources for
complicity in forced labour at its mine in
Eritrea could proceed.
In December, the government announced
plans to establish, in early 2018, a human
rights Ombudsperson for Canadian
extractives companies operating abroad.
Negotiations to revise the North American
Free Trade Agreement between Canada,
Mexico and the USA, including Canadian
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In June, federal legislation was tabled
proposing to establish a 20-day limit on
solitary confinement, to be reduced to 15
days once the law has been in force for 18
months. The draft law did not prohibit
holding people suffering from mental illness
in solitary confinement. A court ruling in
December declared existing solitary
confinement provisions to be unconstitutional
because of inadequate safeguards and
provided the government with one year to
adopt new standards.
In October the Journalistic Source
Protection Act was passed, establishing a
“shield law” to protect journalists and their
sources.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
More than 18,000 asylum-seekers irregularly
crossed from the USA into Canada during the
year, as conditions for refugees and migrants
in the USA deteriorated. Asylum-seekers
crossed irregularly to avoid the ban on
making claims at official border posts,
pursuant to the 2004 Canada-US Safe Third
Country Agreement. A legal challenge to the
Agreement was launched jointly by civil
society groups and individual asylum-seekers
in July.
In August, the CERD Committee pressed
Canada to set a maximum time frame for
immigration detention, end the immigration
detention of minors and provide access to
essential health care for all people in Canada,
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proposals on gender equality and Indigenous
Peoples, were under way.
Talks regarding a potential free trade deal
with China continued, amid concerns over
possible implications for human rights
protection in China.
BACKGROUND
There was a resurgence of violence mainly in
and around the Ouaka, Basse-Kotto and
Haute-Kotto prefectures (districts). Ex-Seleka
and Anti-balaka armed groups controlled
much of the country.
The mandate of the UN Multidimensional
Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central
African Republic (MINUSCA) was renewed
until 15 November 2018. Its forces were
strengthened following criticism of its
capacity to protect civilians and respond to
attacks. In June, the UN agreed to reduce
the MINUSCA budget by USD18.8 million,
and the budgets of 14 peacekeeping
missions.
US and Ugandan troops, deployed under
the African Union-led Regional Task Force to
eliminate the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA),
withdrew from the country between April and
May.
In May, the national assembly presented a
peace roadmap, which included a national
committee of victims and excluded amnesties
for war crimes, to the government.
In June, the government and 13 of the 14
armed groups signed a peace agreement
which included an immediate ceasefire,
political representation for armed groups and
the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. It also incorporated the
potential for pardons.
In July, the AU produced the Roadmap for
Peace and Reconciliation in the Central
African Republic, which launched a joint
mediation.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In June the government tabled legislation to
accede to the UN Arms Trade Treaty, but
without it applying to arms transfers to the
USA, the primary market for Canadian arms
sales.
In October the Justice for Victims of Corrupt
Foreign Officials Act was passed,
strengthening redress and sanctions in
designated cases of serious human rights
violations.
In December, federal, provincial and
territorial ministers responsible for human
rights met for the first time since 1988 and
committed to establish a “senior level
mechanism” to more effectively co-ordinate
implementation of Canada’s international
human rights obligations.
CENTRAL AFRICAN
REPUBLIC
Central African Republic
Head of state: Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Head of government: Simplice Sarandji
The government had minimal control
outside the capital, Bangui. Armed groups
continued to fight for territorial control, and
targeted civilians, humanitarian workers and
peacekeepers. Widespread impunity further
fuelled instability and conflict. Increasing
numbers sought refuge in neighbouring
countries or were internally displaced, in
dire conditions. At least 2.4 million people
depended on humanitarian assistance and
1.4 million remained food insecure.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS AND
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Armed groups were responsible for killings,
torture and other ill-treatment, sexual
assaults, abductions, arrests, extortion and
looting, recruitment and exploitation of
children and attacks on humanitarian
workers and premises; they also prevented
access to humanitarian assistance.
The International NGO Safety Organisation
reported that over 390 security incidents
targeted relief agencies and at least 15 local
humanitarian workers were killed.
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Between 20 and 21 March, at least 20
people, including civilians, were killed in
clashes between ex-Seleka and Anti-balaka
in the towns of Bakouma and Nzako,
Mbomou prefecture.
In April, 11 civilians were killed in fighting
between Anti-balaka and the Union for Peace
in the Central African Republic (UPC) in
loose alliance with herders along the
Bangassou-Rafai road.
On 2 May, Return, Reclamation and
Rehabilitation (3R) killed 12 people in Niem-
Yelewa and occupied the town for 12 days.
Between 7 and 25 May, UPC’s attacks killed
hundreds of civilians and displaced
thousands in the southeast including in the
towns of Alindao, Nzangba and Mobaye. At
least 130 civilians died in Alindao; women
were systematically raped.
Between 12 and 13 May, Anti-balaka
attacked the predominantly Muslim
neighbourhood of Tokoyo in Bangassou,
Mbomou prefecture, and the MINUSCA
base. The UN estimated that at least 72
people were killed, 76 injured and 4,400
displaced, while the national Red Cross
estimated at least 115 deaths.
From 16 to 18 May, at least 17 civilians
were killed in clashes between ex-Seleka and
Anti-balaka in the town of Bria, and some
15,000 displaced.
On 6 June, at least 18 civilians were killed
when Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central
African Republic (FPRC) elements attacked
Anti-balaka positions in Nzako.
From 20 to 23 June, over 80 civilians died
during fights between Anti-balaka and FPRC
in Bria.
Between 27 and 30 June, at least 22 people
were killed when Anti-balaka attacked
Muslim neighbourhoods in Zemio town, and
the local population retaliated.
On 1 July, at least 10 people were killed in
fighting between the Central African Patriotic
Movement (MPC) and Anti-balaka in Kaga-
Bandoro, Nana-Gribizi province.
Between 29 July and 1 August, clashes
between ex-Seleka and Anti-balaka in the
town of Batangafo resulted in at least 14
civilian deaths and over 24,000 people
displaced.
In August, clashes between Anti-balaka and
UPC in the town of Gambo, near Bangassou,
resulted in at least 36 civilian deaths
including six national Red Cross workers.
In September, clashes between rival FPRC
factions left 10 people dead in Bria.
Hundreds of Muslims returned home in the
southwest but continued to be persecuted;
fear of attacks forced them to restrict their
movements and, in some cases, hide their
religion.
In the southeast, international NGOs
reported 113 attacks by the LRA and at least
12 civilian casualties and 362 kidnappings.
On 10 October, at least 25 people were
killed in a mosque when Anti-balaka attacked
Kembe town, in the Basse-Kotto province. On
18 October, clashes between Anti-balaka and
UPC fighters in Pombolo, in Mbomou
province, led to at least 26 deaths.
In November, four people were killed when
unidentified assailants threw a grenade at a
concert in Bangui.
VIOLATIONS BY PEACEKEEPING FORCES
Reports of sexual exploitation and abuses
(“SEA”) by UN peacekeeping troops
continued. In January, the UN Secretary-
General announced a new task force to
prevent and respond to SEA. However, the
UN registered 21 SEA cases, including
against six children, involving peacekeepers.
In June, the Republic of the Congo withdrew
nearly 650 troops in light of sexual abuse and
misconduct allegations.
On 30 September, at least one Mauritanian
peacekeeper allegedly drugged and raped a
woman in the town of Bambari. MINUSCA
rapidly deployed investigators and committed
to pursuing the issue.
Several SEA complaints involving French
forces, deployed under Operation Sangaris,
were dismissed following investigations. In
March, the Paris Prosecutor requested the
dismissal of a rape case which allegedly
occurred between 2013 and 2014 at an
internally displaced people’s settlement in
M’Poko in Bangui. At least 14 Operation
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Sangaris soldiers and five soldiers of the
African-led International Support Mission to
the Central African Republic (MISCA), AU
troops, and peacekeepers, were allegedly
involved. The Prosecutor’s decision was that
the victims’ testimonies did not sufficiently
establish the facts.
Abdoulaye Hissène, a leading FPRC member,
and Maxime Mokom, an Anti-balaka leader.
In June, Chad announced that it had frozen
Abdoulaye Hissène’s assets and banned him
from crossing the Chadian borders.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Progress was made in operationalizing the
Special Criminal Court (SCC) which will try
individuals suspected of serious human
rights violations and crimes under
international law committed since 2003. The
SCC Special Prosecutor took office in May
after which five national magistrates and two
international magistrates were nominated,
and a committee to select judicial police
officers was created.
The ICC investigations on the “Central
African Republic II situation” continued but
no arrest warrants were issued. In March, the
ICC increased Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo’s
18-year prison sentence to 19 years after he
and his legal team were convicted of
attempting to bribe witnesses in 2016.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE
The number of people seeking refuge in
neighbouring countries increased due to an
escalation of violence in April and May. By
the end of the year, at least 538,000 people
had fled the country for neighbouring
countries Chad, Cameroon, DRC and
Republic of the Congo; while 601,000 were
internally displaced, living in poor conditions
in makeshift camps with inadequate access
to food, water, health care and sanitation.
IMPUNITY
Many suspected perpetrators of human rights
abuses and violations, including armed
groups and security forces, were not
investigated or tried. Impunity was
exacerbated by the collapse of the national
justice system and its slow reconstruction.
On 26 February, MINUSCA arrested six
FPRC and MPC members. Central African
authorities detained them from 1 March and
opened investigations. Suspects had not
been brought to trial by the end of the year.
Between November and December, eight
Anti-balaka members were sentenced in four
cases, in a court in the western town of
Bouar, to up to 20 years’ imprisonment for
crimes including criminal association,
unlawful possession of homemade arms,
murder and theft. Others were sentenced in
their absence.
The Central African authorities failed to
implement an asset freeze which was
extended by the UN Security Council on 27
January until 31 January 2018 along with an
arms embargo and travel ban. Several listed
individuals continued to collect their state
salaries.
Between April and December, the US
imposed financial sanctions including against
NATURAL RESOURCES
On 20 July, the General Court of the
European Union upheld the asset freeze
against the Belgium-based diamond
companies BADICA and KARDIAM, which
had procured diamonds from the Central
African Republic despite a ban.
RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF
LIVING
The UN reported that nearly half the
population (2.4 million) needed humanitarian
assistance, and 1.4 million were food
insecure.
The health system collapsed due to the
conflict and the population depended almost
entirely on humanitarian organizations for
basic services. Escalating violence led
humanitarian organizations to temporarily
withdraw staff from cities and villages.
The UN said that about a third of the
population had access to safe drinking water
and adequate sanitation facilities.
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CHAD
Republic of Chad
Head of state: Idriss Déby Itno
Head of government: Albert Pahimi Padacké
The armed group Boko Haram continued to
commit abuses around Lake Chad. Chadian
authorities repeatedly banned peaceful
assemblies and arrested and prosecuted
human rights defenders, activists and
journalists, some of whom became
prisoners of conscience. The right to
freedom of association was violated with
unlawful restrictions on the right to organize
freely, including the criminalization of
certain citizens’ associations. More than
408,000 refugees continued to live in dire
conditions in camps including in Baga Sola.
On 30 May a woman was abducted by Boko
Haram about 4km from Kaiga Kindjiria.
Similar attacks were reported in May and
June in other areas including Bodou-Doloum
in the Baga Sola sub-prefecture, which
resulted in the killing of three people and the
abduction of three others.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
During the year, the authorities banned at
least six peaceful assemblies, and those
organizing and participating in protests were
arrested.
On 6 and 15 April respectively, Nadjo Kaina
and Bertrand Solloh, leaders of the citizen
movement IYINA (“We are tired”), were
arrested by ANS agents for calling on citizens
to wear red on the anniversary of the 2016
presidential election as a protest against
corruption and impunity. They were detained
by the ANS without access to their families or
lawyers, before being handed over to the
judicial police. They were charged with
attempted conspiracy and organizing an
unauthorized gathering and given a six-
month suspended sentence. The two men
reported being tortured while in detention,
including by being suffocated with plastic
bags containing chili.
On 12 April, Dingamnayal Nely Versinis,
president of the organization Collectif
Tchadien Contre la Vie Chère, was arrested
by ANS agents at the city hall in the capital,
N’Djamena. He had called on traders at the
N’Djamena Millet Market to strike in protest
at an increase in market fees. He was
detained without access to his family or
lawyer and charged with fraud and using a
false identity, before being released on 27
April by the Public Prosecutor on the grounds
that he had committed no offence.
BACKGROUND
Revisions to the Criminal Code were
promulgated by President Déby, repealing
the death penalty except for “terrorism”, and
increasing the minimum age for marriage to
18 years.
New powers, including the power to arrest,
were provided to the National Security
Agency (ANS).
A severe economic crisis, following a sharp
drop in the price of petrol in recent years, led
to austerity measures, public discontent and
strikes in sectors including health, education
and justice.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
The armed group Boko Haram continued to
kill, abduct and injure civilians, and to
destroy property.
On 5 May, Boko Haram members killed at
least four civilians and burned 50 houses in
Kaiga Kindjiria. On the night of 25 May, a
Boko Haram attack on Kirnatchoulma village,
in the west of Kaiga Kinjiria, resulted in at
least three people being killed and three
wounded. On 26 and 27 May, Boko Haram
carried out several attacks on the villages of
Konguia, Wangui and Kagrerom, in the area
of Tchoukoutalia.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Certain social movements and civil society
platforms were banned and the right to strike
was restricted in contravention of
international law.
The citizens’ movement IYINA remained
banned and, on 6 January, the Minister of
Territorial Administration banned the activities
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of the National Movement of Citizen
Awakening (MECI), a movement bringing
together civil society organizations, trade
unions and political parties, describing it as
“unnatural” and “without any legal basis”. On
27 May the police interrupted and banned
MECI’s General Assembly.
The rights of trade unions were violated in
response to the strike action they initiated
from September 2016 to January 2017. They
remained subject to a decree introduced in
2016 limiting the right to strike, and their
requests to protest were rejected.
In January the authorities interfered in the
internal affairs of the trade union
representing researchers and university
teachers, SYNECS, to force the removal of its
president and end its strike. The same
month, visas were denied to representatives
of the General Confederation of Labour, an
international partner of Chadian trade unions.
conflict between herders and farmers in
Doba. He was released the following day and
the prefect who ordered his arrest was
removed from office.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
The authorities continued to arrest and detain
journalists for doing their work and activists
and human rights defenders for exercising
their freedoms of expression and opinion.
Online activist Tadjadine Mahamat Babouri
(also known as Mahadine), who was arrested
on 30 September 2016, remained in
detention. He was arrested by ANS agents
after posting several videos on Facebook
criticizing the government’s alleged
mismanagement of public funds. He was
later charged with undermining the
constitutional order, threatening territorial
integrity and national security, and
collaborating with an insurrectional
movement. He reported that, while detained
by the ANS, he was deprived of food and
water for three days, electrocuted and
beaten.
On 5 May, Maoundoe Decladore,
spokesperson of the organization Ça doit
changer (“It must change”), was arrested at
night by four armed men in plain clothes in
Moundou. He was detained for 25 days
without any access to his family or lawyer, in
what he believes was an ANS facility. He was
transferred to the judicial police on 30 May
and charged with public disorder. Maoundoe
Decladore was released on bail due to his
deteriorating health and was awaiting trial at
the end of the year.
On 20 June, Sylver Beindé Bassandé, a
journalist and director of community radio Al
Nada FM in Moundou, was sentenced to two
years in prison and fined XAF100,000
(USD180) by the High Court of Moundou for
complicity in contempt of court and
undermining judicial authority. He had been
charged after airing a radio interview with a
municipal councillor, who had criticized
judges after having been convicted with two
other councillors in a separate proceeding.
Sylver Beindé Bassandé lodged an appeal
and was released on bail on 19 July. On 26
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists critical of the government
received threats and were subject to
surveillance, while defamation and contempt
laws continued to be used in an attempt to
silence them.
Between 22 and 24 February, Eric
Kokinagué, the Director of Publication of the
newspaper
Tribune Info,
received more than
a dozen anonymous, threatening calls from
different numbers after he published an
article heavily critical of President Déby. On
25 February, the columnist who wrote the
article, Daniel Ngadjadoum, was abducted by
armed men, detained for up to 24 hours in
what he believes was an ANS facility, and
forced to write a letter of apology to the
President.
In June, Déli Sainzoumi Nestor, editor of the
bi-monthly newspaper
Eclairages,
was
charged with defamation after Daoussa Déby
Itno, former minister and brother of President
Déby, filed a complaint about an article
alleging his involvement in fraud in the sugar
industry.
On 4 September, radio journalist Mbairaba
Jean Paul was arrested and accused of
defamation after he reported on a communal
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September, the Court of Appeal overruled the
decision by the High Court of Moundou,
sentencing Sylver Beindé Bassandé to
complicity in defamation and fined him
XAF100,000 (USD180). He appealed to the
Supreme Court.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE
More than 408,000 refugees from the Central
African Republic, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Nigeria and Sudan continued to
live in poor conditions in refugee camps.
Insecurity caused by Boko Haram attacks
and military operations resulted in the
displacement of more than 174,000 people
including at least 25,000 in 2017 alone.
In June, nearly 5,000 people fled a wave of
Boko Haram attacks on villages around Kaiga
Kindjiria and Tchoukoutalia, creating two new
sites for internally displaced people: Kengua
(Kiskra canton, Fouli department) and Kane
Ngouboua (Diameron). Since July, around
6,700 people arrived in Baga Sola from Niger
after the withdrawal of Chadian troops from
the country and in fear of attacks from Boko
Haram.
against Mapuche Indigenous Peoples. The
Anti-Terrorism Law was used against
Mapuche people, despite violating
international standards on due process
guarantees. A law decriminalizing abortion
in three specific circumstances entered into
force; abortion continued to be otherwise
criminalized.
BACKGROUND
Presidential and congressional elections were
held between November and December, and
Sebastián Piñera Echenique was elected
President. The President-elect and new
members of Congress were due to begin their
mandates in March 2018.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Congress considered a bill proposed by the
executive for a new immigration law.
The first 14 Syrian families (66 people)
arrived in October under a resettlement
programme announced in 2014.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
There were continuing reports of excessive
use of force by the police.
In June, police used tear gas in close
proximity to a school in the Temucuicui
Mapuche community where young children
were attending class. The action was deemed
“proportionate” by the Supreme Court.
In November, a judge in Collipulli, Malleco
Province, opened an investigation against a
police officer for shooting 17-year-old
Brandon Hernández in December 2016; he
received more than 100 pellet wounds in his
back. The hearing was rescheduled three
times because the accused police officer did
not appear in court.
The Supreme Court reopened the case of
Alex Lemún, who was shot and killed by a
police officer in Ercilla, Malleco Province in
2002. A military court had closed the case in
2004 without finding anyone responsible.
RIGHT TO FOOD
The Chadian military continued to impose
restrictions on the movement of people and
goods along the shores of Lake Chad,
hampering the livelihoods of communities
and heightening the risk of food insecurity.
According to the UN, severe acute
malnutrition increased from 2.1% to 3.4% in
the region during the year. Countrywide, the
UN estimated that 2.8 million people were
food insecure, including more than 380,000
people at crisis or emergency level.
CHILE
Republic of Chile
Head of state and government: Michelle Bachelet Jeria
Impunity for past and present human rights
violations remained a concern. Police
continued to use excessive force, especially
IMPUNITY
Victims of human rights violations during
Chile’s military regime continued to demand
truth, justice and reparation. Although courts
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had heard hundreds of cases, most of those
convicted did not serve prison sentences,
and many victims continued to lack access to
institutional mechanisms to demand
reparation.
Congress discussed a bill to make
information gathered by former truth
commissions available to prosecutors and
parties to relevant judicial proceedings.
In May the government filed a bill before
Congress to establish a National Mechanism
for the Prevention of Torture.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In June the government announced the Plan
for the Recognition and Development of
Araucanía to promote Indigenous Peoples’
participation, economic development and
protection of victims of violence.
President Bachelet extended a formal
apology to the Mapuche People for “errors
and horrors” perpetrated by the state against
them. A bill was under discussion to create a
Ministry of Indigenous Issues.
As part of the process of developing a new
Constitution, scheduled to be completed in
2018, a consultation was conducted with
Indigenous Peoples’ representatives. The
process was criticized by some
representatives for excluding some key issues
brought forth by Indigenous Peoples.
The Attorney General’s Office and the
government continued to misuse the Anti-
Terrorism Law to prosecute Mapuche people
in violation of due process guarantees. In
2014, similar applications of the Anti-
Terrorism Law against Mapuche activists
were found by the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights − in
Norín Catrimán et al v.
Chile
− to be in violation of the American
Convention on Human Rights.
In October, 11 Mapuche people, including
Machi Francisca Linconao, who had been
charged with “terrorism” for a fire that killed
landowners Werner Luchsinger and Vivian
Mackay in January 2013, were acquitted.
The 11 defendants had been held in pre-trial
detention or under house arrest for 18
months. Upon appeal by the Attorney
General’s Office in December, the trial and
acquittal were declared null and void. The
trial was due to be repeated in 2018.
The government and Attorney General’s
Office also brought “terrorism” charges
against four Mapuche men for a fire that
destroyed a church in the city of Padre las
Casas in June 2016. No one was hurt in the
fire. The men were arrested, detained and
indicted on the day of the incident and
continued to be held in pre-trial detention at
the end of 2017. After the four accused held
a prolonged hunger strike, the government
filed a request for reclassification of the
crime. However, the prosecution decided to
continue pursuing terrorism charges.
In September the government implemented
“Operation Hurricane”, arresting and
charging eight people with conspiracy to
commit terrorist acts in connection with
burning and planning to burn dozens of
cargo vehicles. No one was hurt in these
incidents. The eight accused were held in
pre-trial detention until October when the
Supreme Court declared their detention
unlawful and ordered their release, since the
judge had not sufficiently justified the need
for pre-trial detention. Investigation of the
alleged crimes was ongoing.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In April, Rodrigo Mundaca and other leaders
of the Movement for the Defence of Water,
Land and the Environment (MODATIMA) in
the province of Petorca received death
threats. An investigation was ongoing into the
harassment and intimidation that
MODATIMA’s leaders had been subjected to
for a number of years.
In May the Temuco Public Prosecutor’s
Office announced the closure of the
investigation into the abduction and torture of
Víctor Queipul Hueiquil, a Mapuche lonko
(traditional community authority) in the
Autonomous Community of Temucuicui in
June 2016. He had been threatened with
death if he continued his work as a leader
and supporter of the Mapuche People. The
Public Prosecutor said that the investigation
could not proceed because Víctor Queipul
did not collaborate with the investigation. In
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May, the National Human Rights Institute
filed a new lawsuit relating to the torture of
Víctor Queipul; the investigation for the
second case was ongoing.
CHINA
People’s Republic of China
Head of state: Xi Jinping
Head of government: Li Keqiang
The government continued to draft and
enact new laws under the guise of “national
security” that presented serious threats to
human rights. Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Liu Xiaobo died in custody. Activists and
human rights defenders were detained,
prosecuted and sentenced on the basis of
vague and overbroad charges such as
“subverting state power” and “picking
quarrels and provoking trouble”. Police
detained human rights defenders outside
formal detention facilities, sometimes
incommunicado, for long periods, which
posed additional risk of torture and other ill-
treatment to the detainees. Controls on the
internet were strengthened. Repression of
religious activities outside state-sanctioned
churches increased. Repression conducted
under “anti-separatism” or “counter-
terrorism” campaigns remained particularly
severe in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Region and Tibetan-populated areas.
Freedom of expression in Hong Kong came
under attack as the government used vague
and overbroad charges to prosecute pro-
democracy activists.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In September a law entered into force
decriminalizing abortion in three
circumstances: when the pregnancy poses a
risk to the life of the pregnant woman or girl;
when the foetus is not viable; or when
pregnancy is a result of rape. It also
established the right to conscientious
objection for medical professionals and
institutions who choose not to perform
abortions even in those circumstances.
Guidelines for the implementation of the law
were approved in December. Abortion
continued to be criminalized in all other
circumstances.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In August a criminal case filed against a
judge for allowing the change of name and
gender markers for a transgender girl was
closed with all charges dropped.
In June the Senate approved the Gender
Identity Bill, which established the right of
people over the age of 18 to have their
gender identity legally recognized by
changing their name and gender markers on
official documents through an administrative
process, without requiring gender
reassignment surgery or medical certification.
The bill was pending before Congress at the
end of the year.
In August the government filed a bill in the
Senate establishing marriage and adoption
rights for same-sex couples in equality with
different-sex couples.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Sweeping national security-related laws and
regulations continued to be drafted and
enacted, giving greater powers to the
authorities to silence dissent, censor
information and harass and prosecute
human rights defenders.
On 1 January the foreign NGO management
law, whose provisions impeded independent
operations of registered NGOs, came into
effect. Foreign NGOs that had not yet
registered and continued to operate in China
could face a freeze on bank accounts,
sealing of venues, confiscation of assets,
suspension of activities and detention of staff.
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In June, the National Intelligence Law was
adopted and entered into force. These laws
were part of a national security legal
architecture introduced in 2014 − which also
included the Anti-espionage Law, Criminal
Law Amendment (9), National Security Law,
Anti-terrorism Law and Cyber Security Law −
and presented serious threats to the
protection of human rights. The National
Intelligence Law used similarly vague and
overbroad concepts of national security, and
granted effectively unchecked powers to
national intelligence institutions with unclear
roles and responsibilities. All lacked
safeguards to protect against arbitrary
detention and to protect the right to privacy,
freedom of expression and other human
rights.
1
The draft Supervision Law, which opened
for consultation in November, would, if
enacted as is, legalize a new form of arbitrary
detention, named
liuzhi,
and create an
extrajudicial system with far-reaching powers
with significant potential to infringe human
rights.
2
The authorities continued to use “residential
surveillance in a designated location”, a form
of secret incommunicado detention that
allowed the police to hold individuals for up
to six months outside the formal detention
system, without access to legal counsel of
their choice, their families or others, and
placed suspects at risk of torture and other
ill-treatment. This form of detention was used
to curb the activities of human rights
defenders, including lawyers, activists and
religious practitioners.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
On 13 July, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu
Xiaobo died in custody from liver cancer. The
authorities had refused a request from Liu
Xiaobo and his family that he travel abroad to
receive medical treatment.
3
At the end of the
year, his wife Liu Xia remained under
surveillance and illegal “house arrest” which
had continued since Liu Xiaobo was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. At least 10
activists were detained for holding memorials
for him.
In November, writer and government critic
Yang Tongyan, who had spent nearly half his
life in detention, died shortly after his release
on medical parole.
Among the nearly 250 targeted individuals
who were questioned or detained by state
security agents following the unprecedented
government crackdown on human rights
lawyers and other activists that started in July
2015, nine were convicted of “subverting
state power”, “inciting subversion of state
power” or “picking quarrels and provoking
trouble”. Three people were given suspended
sentences and one “exempted from criminal
punishment” while remaining under
surveillance and five remained imprisoned. In
April, Beijing lawyer Li Heping, detained
since the beginning of the crackdown, was
given a three-year suspended prison
sentence for “subverting state power”. He
claimed that he was tortured during pre-trial
detention, including being force-fed
medicine. Yin Xu’an was sentenced in May to
three and a half years’ imprisonment. Wang
Fang was sentenced in July to three years’
imprisonment. Beijing lawyer Jiang Tianyong,
who went missing in November 2016 and
“confessed” at a trial in August to fabricating
the torture account of lawyer Xie Yang by
Chinese police and attending overseas
workshops to discuss changing China’s
political system, was sentenced in November
to two years’ imprisonment for “inciting
subversion of state power”. Hu Shigen and
Zhou Shifeng, convicted in 2016, remained
imprisoned. Beijing human rights lawyer
Wang Quanzhang, held in incommunicado
detention since the beginning of the
crackdown, was still awaiting trial at the end
of the year, charged with “subverting state
power”. In January, an interview transcript
with Xie Yang was published in which he said
he faced torture and other ill-treatment
during detention. Xie Yang was released on
bail without a verdict in May after his trial. On
26 December, the court announced his
conviction on the charge of “inciting
subversion of state power” but ruled that he
was “exempt from criminal punishment”. He
remained under surveillance.
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In July, Beijing lawyer Wang Yu, whose
detention on 9 July 2015 marked the
beginning of the crackdown, wrote in an
article published online that she was ill-
treated during detention. She was released
on bail in mid-2016 but remained under
close surveillance. Lawyers Li Shuyun, Ren
Quanniu and Li Chunfu, and activist Gou
Hongguo, reported that they were drugged
during detention.
4
In addition to the 250 targeted individuals,
activist Wu Gan, who worked in a law firm
later targeted by the authorities in the
crackdown, was tried in August in a closed
hearing for “subverting state power” after
nearly 27 months’ pre-trial detention. On 26
December, he was sentenced to eight years’
imprisonment.
In March, Guangdong activist Su Changlan
was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment
for “inciting subversion of state power” for
her online criticism of the Chinese
Communist Party and the Chinese socialist
system. She was detained in 2014 after
expressing support for Hong Kong’s 2014
pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. She
was released in October after serving the full
sentence but with health concerns
aggravated by poor conditions in detention.
On 19 March, Lee Ming-Cheh, manager of a
Taiwan NGO, was detained by state security
officers when he entered mainland China
from Macao. In September, he was tried in
Hunan Province for “subverting state power”
and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in
November.
5
At least 11 activists were detained in June
for commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen
crackdown; most were accused of “picking
quarrels and provoking trouble”. Li Xiaoling
and Shi Tingfu remained in detention, and
Ding Yajun was sentenced to three years’
imprisonment in September.
In August, lawyer Gao Zhisheng went
missing from an isolated village in Shaanxi
province, where he had lived under tight
surveillance since his release from prison in
2014. The family later learned he was in
authorities’ custody but his location and
condition remained unknown.
Lawyer Li Yuhan was detained in October
and claimed she was tortured and ill-treated
during detention.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
In May, labour activists Hua Haifeng, Li Zhao
and Su Heng were detained in Jiangxi
province while investigating work conditions
at Huajian shoe factories. The activists were
released on bail in June but remained under
close surveillance.
In July, a Guangzhou court sentenced
labour activist Liu Shaoming to four and a
half years’ imprisonment for publishing his
reflections about joining the pro-democracy
movement and becoming a member of
China’s first independent trade union in
1989, and experiences during the 1989
Tiananmen crackdown.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – INTERNET
Thousands of websites and social media
services remained blocked, including
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On 1 June,
the Cybersecurity Law came into effect,
making it obligatory for internet companies
operating in China to censor users’ content.
In August, the Cyberspace Administration of
China and the Guangdong Provincial
Cyberspace Administration launched an
investigation into internet service providers
Tencent’s WeChat, Sina Weibo and Baidu’s
Tieba because their platforms contained user
accounts which “spread information that
endangers national security, public security
and social order, including violence and
terror, false information and rumours and
pornography”. In September, China’s
dominant messaging service WeChat
introduced new terms of service to collect a
wide range of personal information, and
made data on its over 900 million users
available to the government.
Huang Qi, co-founder of 64tianwang.com, a
website that reports on and documents
protests in China, was accused of “leaking
state secrets”. He was allowed to meet his
lawyer only eight months after he was
detained and claimed that he was ill-treated
in detention. At the end of 2017, 10
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journalists of 64tianwang.com were in prison:
Wang Jing, Zhang Jixin, Li Min, Sun Enwei, Li
Chunhua, Wei Wenyuan, Xiao Jianfang, Li
Zhaoxiu, Chen Mingyan and Wang Shurong.
Liu Feiyue, founder of human rights website
Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, was
detained in late 2016 and charged with
“inciting subversion of state power”. His
lawyer said that the charge was mostly
related to opinions he had expressed publicly
and posted on the website.
In August, Lu Yuyu, who documented
protests in China on Twitter and in a blog,
was convicted of “picking quarrels and
provoking trouble” and sentenced to four
years’ imprisonment.
In September, Zhen Jianghua, executive
director of online platform Human Rights
Campaign in China, was criminally detained
on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state
power” and later placed under residential
surveillance at a designated location. Police
confiscated numerous documents related to
his website which contained reports from
grassroots rights activists.
DEATH PENALTY
In March, the President of the Supreme
People’s Court announced that over the last
10 years, since the Court regained the
authority to review and approve all death
sentences, capital punishment “had been
strictly controlled and applied prudently” and
only applied “to an extremely small number
of criminals for extremely severe offences”.
However, the government continued to
conceal the true extent of the use of the
death penalty, despite more than four
decades of requests from UN bodies and the
international community for more
information, and despite the Chinese
authorities’ own pledges to bring about
greater openness in the criminal justice
system.
7
TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION AND
TIBETAN-POPULATED AREAS IN OTHER
PROVINCES
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
In June, in his report of a 2016 visit to China,
the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme
poverty and human rights stated that while
achievements towards alleviating poverty
were generally “impressive”, the situation of
Tibetans and Uighurs was deeply
problematic, and “that most ethnic minorities
in China are exposed to serious human rights
challenges, including significantly higher
poverty rates, ethnic discrimination and
forced relocation”.
Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan education
advocate, remained in detention awaiting trial
at the end of the year, without access to his
family. He was taken away in early 2016 for
giving an interview to the
New York Times
in
which he expressed fears about the gradual
extinction of the Tibetan language and
culture.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Ethnic Tibetans continued to face
discrimination and restrictions on their rights
to freedom of religion and belief, of opinion
and expression, of peaceful assembly and of
association.
At least six people set themselves on fire in
Tibetan-populated areas during the year
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
In June, the State Council passed the revised
Regulations on Religious Affairs, to come into
effect on 1 February 2018. It codified far-
reaching state control over every aspect of
religious practice, and extended power to
authorities at all levels of the government to
monitor, control and potentially punish
religious practice. The revised law, which
emphasized national security with a goal of
curbing “infiltration and extremism”, could
be used to further suppress the right to
freedom of religion and belief, especially for
Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and
unrecognized churches.
6
Falun Gong practitioners continued to be
subjected to persecution, arbitrary detention,
unfair trials and torture and other ill-
treatment. Chen Huixia remained detained
since 2016 for suspicion of “using an evil cult
to undermine law enforcement”. In May, her
trial was adjourned after her lawyer requested
the court exclude evidence extracted through
torture.
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in protest against repressive policies, bringing
the known number of self-immolations since
February 2009 to 152. On 18 March, Pema
Gyaltsen set himself on fire in Ganzi (Tibetan:
Kardze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in
Sichuan Province. Tibetan sources said that
he was believed to be alive when he was
taken away by the police. His relatives were
detained and beaten when they approached
the authorities asking for his whereabouts.
Tibetan NGOs abroad said that Lobsang
Kunchok, a Tibetan monk detained after
surviving a self-immolation attempt in 2011,
was released from prison in March.
8
On 26
December, Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup
Wangchen was reunited with his family in the
USA, almost 10 years after he was first
detained in China for making an independent
documentary about the views of ordinary
Tibetans ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
XINJIANG UIGHUR AUTONOMOUS
REGION
Under the leadership of new regional
Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo,
the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region
(XUAR) authorities put new emphasis on
“social stability” and increased security.
Media reports indicated that numerous
detention facilities were set up within the
XUAR, variously called “counter extremism
centres”, “political study centres”, or
“education and transformation centres”, in
which people were arbitrarily detained for
unspecified periods and forced to study
Chinese laws and policies.
In March, the XUAR enacted the “De-
extremification Regulation” that prohibits a
wide range of behaviours labelled
“extremist”, such as spreading “extremist
thought”, denigrating or refusing to watch
public radio and TV programmes, wearing
burkas, having an “abnormal” beard,
resisting national policies, and publishing,
downloading, storing or reading articles,
publications or audio-visual materials
containing “extremist content”.
In April, the government published a list of
prohibited names, most of which were
Islamic in origin, and required all children
under 16 with these names to change them.
In May, there were media reports that the
Chinese authorities in the XUAR had initiated
a policy to compel all Uighurs studying
abroad to return to China. Six Uighurs who
had studied in Turkey but had returned to
the XUAR were given prison sentences
ranging from 5 to 12 years on undefined
charges. In April, Chinese authorities
detained relatives of several students in Egypt
to coerce them to return home by May.
Reports were received that some who
returned were tortured and imprisoned. In
July, the Egyptian authorities began a
massive round-up of hundreds of Chinese
nationals in Egypt, mainly Uighurs. Of these,
at least 22 Uighurs were forcibly returned to
China.
Buzainafu Abudourexiti, a Uighur woman
who returned to China in 2015 after studying
for two years in Egypt, was detained in March
and sentenced in June to seven years’
imprisonment after a secret trial.
9
In August, international media reported that
education authorities had issued an order in
June in the largely Uighur-populated Hotan
Prefecture to ban the use of the Uighur
language in schools, including for “collective
activities, public activities and management
work of the education system”. Media reports
stated that families across the region were
required to hand copies of the Qur’an and
any other religious items to the authorities or
risk punishment.
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE
REGION
A series of actions taken throughout the year
by the Hong Kong authorities increased
concerns about whether freedom of
expression and freedom of peaceful
assembly were at risk.
In March, the founders of the Occupy
Central campaign –
Benny Tai, Chan Kin-
man and Rev Chu Yiu-Ming –
were charged
with “public nuisance”-related offences,
carrying a maximum penalty of seven years’
imprisonment, for their involvement in the
Umbrella Movement.
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In July, the High Court disqualified four
elected pro-democracy legislators − Nathan
Law, Leung Kwok-hung, Lau Siu-lai and Yiu
Chung-yim − for failing to meet the
requirements specified in the National
People’s Congress Standing Committee’s
interpretation of the Hong Kong Basic Law
when they took their oaths of office in
October 2016.
In August, the Court of Appeal sentenced
Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law to
six, seven and eight months’ imprisonment
respectively for their part in a student-led
demonstration in September 2014 which
triggered the Umbrella Movement. Joshua
Wong and Alex Chow had been found guilty
in 2016 of “taking part in an unlawful
assembly” and Nathan Law of “inciting
others to take part in an unlawful assembly”.
A magistrates’ court originally ordered
community service or suspended sentences
but prosecutors successfully appealed,
seeking harsher penalties.
10
Joshua Wong
and Nathan Law were released on bail in
October and Alex Chow in November
pending their appeals.
The District Court sentenced seven police
officers to two years’ imprisonment in
February for assaulting protester Ken Tsang
during the Umbrella Movement protests.
After the sentencing, China’s state
mouthpieces initiated an orchestrated
campaign attacking Hong Kong’s judiciary.
Appeals were pending at year end.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER
AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In April, the Court of First Instance ruled that
the government’s refusal to extend work
benefits to the same-sex husband of a civil
servant was discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
In September, the Court of Appeal ruled that
the Immigration Department’s refusal to grant
a dependant visa to the same-sex civil
partner of a foreign professional on a work
visa was discriminatory. The government
appealed against the decisions in both cases.
MACAO SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE
REGION
In August, the Macao government stopped
four Hong Kong journalists from entering
Macao to report on the destruction and
clean-up work of Typhoon Hato, which media
reported caused 10 deaths. In December,
Macao’s legislature voted to suspend pro-
democracy lawmaker Sulu Sou and to
remove his legislative immunity. He was
elected in September and charged in
November for taking part in a May 2016
peaceful protest against Macao’s Chief
Executive.
1.
China: Submission on the draft “National Intelligence Law” (ASA
17/6412/2017)
2.
China: Submission on the draft “Supervision Law” (ASA
17/7553/2017)
3. Liu Xiaobo: A giant of human rights who leaves a lasting legacy for
China and the world (Press
release,
13 July)
4.
Further information: China − lawyer on bail remains under tight
surveillance: Xie Yang (ASA
17/6307/2017)
5. China: Taiwanese activist sentenced to five years in jail (Press
release)
6.
Why China must scrap new laws that tighten the authorities’ grip on
religious practice (News
story,
31 August)
7.
China’s deadly secrets (ASA
17/5849/2017)
8. China: Disclose the whereabouts of two Tibetans who attempted self-
immolation (ASA
17/6098/2017)
9.
China: Uighur woman incommunicado after secret trial – Buzainafu
Abudourexiti (ASA
17/7168/2017)
10. Hong Kong: Freedom of expression under attack as scores of peaceful
protesters face “chilling” prosecutions (News
story,
26 September)
COLOMBIA
Republic of Colombia
Head of state and government: Juan Manuel Santos
Calderón
The civilian population, especially
Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant and
peasant farmer communities, and human
rights defenders, continued to be the main
victims of the ongoing armed conflict.
Although official figures indicated that
there was a decrease in the number of
civilians killed in military actions involving
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the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian
security forces from the start of the
negotiations to signing of the Peace
Agreement in 2016, the armed conflict
persisted in 2017 and in some parts of the
country it seemed to have intensified.
Concerns remained about impunity for
crimes committed during the armed
conflict. Security forces used excessive
force, sometimes causing civilian deaths.
Violence against women, particularly sexual
violence, persisted.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
PEACE PROCESS
On 11 October, the Constitutional Court gave
backing to the Peace Agreement signed by
the Colombian government and the FARC
guerrilla group on 24 November 2016.
However, at the end of 2017 legislation had
yet to be implemented for most of the points
in the Peace Agreement.
During separate negotiations in Quito,
Ecuador, between the National Liberation
Army (ELN) guerrilla group and the
Colombian government, the parties declared
on 4 September that a bilateral ceasefire
would take effect from 1 October until early
2018. The ceasefire was declared in principle
for a period of four months, after which the
Colombian government and the ELN would
begin to discuss a possible peace agreement.
However, from October there were various
reports of ELN attacks against civilians in
contradiction of the ceasefire agreement.
ELN acknowledged one such attack: the
killing of Aulio Isaramá Forastero, an
Indigenous leader from Chocó, by ELN
members on 24 October. Civil society
organizations in the Department of Chocó
issued a call for a “Humanitarian Agreement
Now”, directed at the national government
and the ELN guerrillas, in order to implement
concrete humanitarian actions to stop ethnic
communities in Chocó continuing to be put at
risk by confrontations in their territories.
Between 28 January and 18 February,
6,803 FARC guerrillas moved into 26
demobilization zones with the support of the
UN Monitoring and Verification Mission in
Colombia established by UN Security Council
resolution 2261 (2016). The process to verify
FARC disarmament, which was due to be
completed in 180 days, began on 1 March.
On 27 June, the process of surrendering of
weapons by individuals ended, and on 15
August the process of removing arms and
munitions from the 26 FARC camps was
completed. In accordance with the Peace
Agreement, the UN Security Council adopted
resolution 2377 (2017) approving a second
verification mission on the political, economic
and social reintegration of FARC members,
which commenced on 26 September.
Despite the stipulations in the “Ethnic
Chapter” of the Peace Agreement, there were
complaints about the lack of guarantees for
the effective participation of Indigenous
Peoples and Afro-descendant communities in
the implementation of the Agreement. On 21
September, members of the Permanent
Bureau for Co-ordination with Indigenous
Peoples and Organizations declared
themselves to be in a state of emergency and
permanent assembly to demand that the
provisions of the Peace Agreement be fully
complied with.
CIVILIAN VICTIMS OF THE ARMED CONFLICT
The Unit for the Victims’ Assistance and
Reparation, created in 2011 by Law 1148,
recorded a total 8,532,636 victims for the
five-decade duration of the armed conflict.
This included 363,374 victims of threats,
22,915 victims of sexual offences, 167,809
victims of enforced disappearance,
7,265,072 victims of forced displacement
and 11,140 victims of anti-personnel mines.
Crimes against 31,047 victims of the armed
conflict were recorded for the first time
between January and October 2017.
In the departments of Chocó, Cauca,
Antioquia and Norte de Santander, among
others, crimes under international law and
human rights violations persisted, including
targeted killings of members of Afro-
descendant communities and Indigenous
Peoples, collective forced displacements, the
forced confinement of communities within
their territories (limiting their freedom of
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movement and access to essential services
and food), the forced recruitment of children,
sexual violence, and the use of anti-
personnel mines.
Despite the signing of the Peace
Agreement, the armed conflict intensified in
some areas of Colombia as a result of armed
confrontations between ELN guerrillas,
paramilitary groups and state forces seeking
to fill the power vacuum left by the
demobilized FARC guerrillas. On 27
November, 13 people were killed as a result
of a confrontation between FARC dissidents
and ELN members in Magüí Payán Nariño
department. There were complaints about
the weak state presence in areas that were
historically controlled by the FARC, which
facilitated incursions and control by other
illegal armed groups, putting Afro-
descendant and peasant farmer communities
and Indigenous Peoples at risk.
Paramilitary structures continued to operate
in various parts of the country, despite their
supposed demobilization under the terms of
Law 975, passed in 2005. There were reports
of paramilitary attacks and threats against
leaders of the Peace Community of San José
de Apartadó in the department of Antioquia.
1
On 29 December, armed men attempted to
kill Germán Graciano Posso, the legal
representative of the community. Other
community members disarmed them, but
were injured in the process. The Peace
Community had sought to distance itself from
the armed conflict by formally refusing to
allow state security forces, guerrilla groups or
paramilitary groups to enter their territory.
Despite their efforts to remain neutral, people
living in San José de Apartadó continued to
be victims of attacks, torture, sexual abuse
and forced displacement at the hands of all
parties to the conflict.
There were reports of paramilitary
incursions in the department of Chocó, in
northwestern Colombia, particularly affecting
Afro-descendant communities and
Indigenous Peoples. On 8 February, a group
of paramilitaries belonging to the Gaitanista
Self-Defence Forces entered the
Humanitarian Zone of Nueva Esperanza en
Dios, in the Cacarica River Basin, department
of Chocó, searching for several people said to
be on a “death list”.
2
On 6 March, a
paramilitary incursion was reported in the
town of Peña Azul, municipality of Alto
Baudó, Chocó, which resulted in the large-
scale displacement of families and the forced
confinement of many people within their
communities near Peña Azul.
3
On 18 April,
residents of Puerto Lleras in the Jiguamiandó
collective territory, Chocó, reported that they
had received threats and that there had been
a paramilitary incursion into the
Humanitarian Zone of Pueblo Nuevo that put
all the inhabitants at risk.
4
Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Colombian
communities continued to be at risk from
anti-personnel mines on their territory; the
laying of such mines is a grave violation of
international humanitarian law. On 11 July,
Sebastián Carpio Maheche, from the
Wounaan Indigenous community of Juuin
Duur in the Embera Wounaan Katio de
Quiparadó Reserve in the municipality of
Riosucio, Chocó, was injured by an exploding
anti-personnel mine.
5
Clashes between ELN guerrillas, the security
forces and paramilitary groups put
Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Colombian
communities at serious risk.
6
According to the
National Indigenous Organization of
Colombia, between 1 November 2016 and
31 July 2017, 3,490 Indigenous people were
victims of mass forced displacements, 827
were subjected to forced confinement, 115
received threats and 30 were killed, including
community leaders.
The ELN abducted two Dutch journalists on
19 June in the area of El Tarra, Norte de
Santander. Both were released on 24 June.
According to the Office of the
Ombudsperson, hostage-taking by ELN
guerrillas continued.
REPARATION FOR VICTIMS
Point 5 of the Peace Agreement created the
“Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-
repetition System”, which included the
Special Jurisdiction for Peace and judicial
mechanisms such as a unit for investigating
and dismantling the criminal organizations
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that succeeded paramilitarism. Point 5 also
defined the position regarding reparations for
the victims of the armed conflict. In this
context, victims of the armed conflict
demanded guarantees of access to justice, as
well as guarantees of the right to truth and
reparation and, especially, of non-repetition
of abuses such as forced displacement and
sexual violence, for Indigenous, Afro-
descendant and peasant farmer communities
at risk. These demands had yet to be met,
and the long-term viability of the Peace
Agreement was threatened due to the
perpetrators of crimes under international
law, including war crimes, crimes against
humanity and human rights abuses not being
brought to justice.
In April Legislative Act No.1 of 2017 was
adopted, to ensure Congress would pass
legislation implementing Point 5 of the Peace
Agreement. One of its provisions provided for
the separate – and privileged – treatment of
state agents before the law, to the detriment
of the rights of victims of crimes by the state
in the context of the armed conflict. The law
also provided for the possibility that the state
would not pursue criminal prosecutions in
certain cases – although how this would be
implemented was not clear – potentially
breaching the obligation of the state to
investigate, prosecute and punish grave
violations of human rights, undermining the
rights of victims to truth and full reparation.
On 27 November, Congress approved the
Special Jurisdiction for Peace.
with the FARC. Police, army and navy officers
were present in the area. Protesters reported
that tear gas was used against peaceful
demonstrators. The Ombudsperson reported
that approximately 205 children as well as 10
pregnant women and 19 elderly people
suffered health complications as a result. In
total, health problems as a result of exposure
to tear gas were reported by 313 people, and
16 people sustained gunshot injuries or
trauma from blunt objects. The “Civic Strike”
ended on 7 June.
One Indigenous man, Felipe Castro Basto,
was reported to have died in the municipality
of Corinto, in the North of Cauca, when
ESMAD opened fire on a demonstration by
200 Indigenous people.
The Association of Community Councils
Mira, Nulpe and Mataje (Asominuma)
reported that, on 5 October, security forces
killed nine peasant farmers by
indiscriminately firing at a peaceful
demonstration in Tumaco (Nariño).
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders continued to be the
victims of threats and targeted killings. The
Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights reported that at least 105
human rights defenders were killed in
Colombia during the year. There was
continuing concern over the increase in the
number of attacks against defenders,
especially community leaders; defenders of
land, territory and the environment; and
those campaigning in favour of the signing of
the Final Agreement with the FARC. There
continued to be an alarming rate of attacks
against defenders of the rights of Indigenous
and Afro-descendant people, peasant
farmers and women, calling into question the
implementation of the Peace Agreement.
According to the organization Somos
Defensores, the number of killings of
defenders increased by 31% in the first half
of the year compared to the same period in
2016. The killings of women exercising any
kind of leadership role increased compared
to 2016, with seven such killings occurring in
the first six months of 2017. 
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
There were allegations of deliberate killings
by state forces and allegations of excessive
use of force by the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad
(ESMAD) during protests in Chocó, Valle del
Cauca, Cauca and Catatumbo.
Inhabitants of Buenaventura on the Pacific
coast reported police repression of peaceful
demonstrations which were part of the “Civic
Strike” declared on 16 May to demand that
the Colombian government guarantee
economic, social and cultural rights and the
right of the city’s inhabitants to participate in
the implementation of the Peace Agreement
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There were reports of killings of Afro-
descendant leaders. On 8 June, Afro-
descendant human rights defender Bernardo
Cuero Bravo of the National Association of
Displaced Afro-Colombians in Malambo,
Atlántico, was killed. He had been threatened
and attacked many times on account of his
work for the community and as a defender of
those who had been forcibly displaced.
Despite his repeated requests, he had not
been granted any protection measures by the
National Protection Unit.
In November and December, two land
claimant leaders from collective Afro-
descendant territories were killed by
paramilitaries from the Gaitanistas Self-
Defence Forces of Colombia. There were
reports of at least 25 other leaders being
threatened by paramilitaries in these areas
during the year.
Many death threats against human rights
defenders and other activists were attributed
to paramilitary groups, but in most cases of
killings it was difficult to identify which groups
were responsible. However, the nature of the
work carried out by the victims, many of
whom were community leaders or land and
environmental rights activists, suggested that
several of them may have been killed
because of their human rights work.
Moreover, it appeared that denouncing
abuses was perceived as a threat by regional
and local economic and political interests, as
well as by various armed groups, including
paramilitaries.
7
by women’s organizations of serious cases of
sexual violence perpetrated during the year.
According to the organization Sisma Mujer,
between 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2017,
the Ombudsperson issued 51 statements
warning of the risk of sexual violence,
including six reports and notes associated
with women defenders/leaders, in which he
highlighted the extraordinary risks faced by
women leaders and human rights defenders.
Due to weak protection mechanisms, there
was a heightened risk of gender-based
violence, particularly domestic violence
against women, in the context of the
transition towards peace. Official figures
recognized that following the demobilization
of the United Self-Defence Forces of
Colombia (AUC) in 2005 there was a 28%
increase in cases of sexual violence in the
communities where ex-combatants from the
AUC were reintegrated. However, the
government had yet to implement
mechanisms for prevention and for ensuring
care, assistance, protection and access to
justice for women survivors of sexual
violence, notably in communities where
FARC guerillas were to be reintegrated during
the year. There were also weaknesses in
mechanisms to ensure that survivors of
sexual violence are heard and can participate
equally in all bodies responsible for
implementing the Peace Agreement.
1. Colombia: Paramilitary build-up in peace community (AMR
23/5614/2017);
Colombia: Spike in attacks against peace community
shows conflict still alive (News
story,
21 March)
2. Colombia: Paramilitary incursion in humanitarian zone (AMR
23/5685/2017)
3. Colombia: Over 300 displaced due to paramilitary incursion (AMR
23/5826/2017)
4. Colombia: Further information: Continued paramilitary presence in
Chocó (AMR
23/6082/2017)
5. Colombia: Wounaan Indigenous community in danger (AMR
23/6774/2017)
6. Colombia: Recent collective displacements and violence indicate the
lack of non-repetition guarantees for Chocó’s Indigenous Peoples and
Afro-Colombian communities (AMR
23/6946/2017)
7.
The human rights situation in Colombia – Amnesty International’s
written statement to the 34th Session of the UN Human Rights
Council (27 February-24 March 2017) (AMR
23/5573/2017)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The efforts of women’s organizations ensured
that the Peace Agreement established that
people suspected of committing crimes of
sexual violence would be required to appear
before transitional justice tribunals. In
addition, the Agreement confirmed that such
crimes would not be subject to amnesties or
pardons, although human rights groups had
serious reservations as to whether this
provision would be genuinely implemented.
Official statistics showed no progress in
access to justice for women survivors of
sexual violence, despite repeated allegations
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CONGO (REPUBLIC
OF THE)
Republic of the Congo
Head of state: Denis Sassou Nguesso
Head of government: Clément Mouamba
Dozens of political opponents remained in
detention; some were prisoners of
conscience. There were no investigations
into allegations of torture and other ill-
treatment by security forces and prison
guards. Armed conflict between security
forces and armed groups continued in Pool;
around 81,000 internally displaced people
(IDPs) from the area continued to live in
appalling conditions; and the rate of acute
malnutrition reached alarming levels.
BACKGROUND
The government conducted military
operations, including air strikes, in the
southeastern department of Pool.
Government restrictions and the continuing
armed conflict limited access to the area.
The Congolese Labour Party won 90 of the
151 National Assembly seats in legislative
elections in July while elections in Pool had
been postponed indefinitely due to the
conflict. On 23 December, the government
and armed groups led by Frédéric Bintsamou
(also known as Reverend Ntumi) signed up
to a ceasefire in Pool.
On 31 March, the Republic of the Congo
ratified the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
EXPRESSION
The authorities used restrictive legislation,
relating to public gatherings and assemblies,
to curtail the right to freedom of assembly. On
23 March, the Prefect of Brazzaville, the
capital, rejected a request to hold a peaceful
demonstration from the Congolese
Observatory of Human Rights, the
Association for Human Rights and Prison
Conditions, and the United Forces for
Freedom and Democracy. The organizations
had intended, during the demonstration, to
give the Prime Minister a letter raising
concerns about the human rights situation.
The right to freedom of expression was
restricted. On 11 January, Ghys Fortuné
Dombé Bemba, editor of the
Talassa
newspaper, was summoned by the judicial
police in connection with charges of
“complicity in undermining state security”.
This followed his publishing a statement by
Reverend Ntumi, leader of the “Ninjas”, an
armed group operating in the Pool
department.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
In November Paulin Makaya completed a
two-year prison sentence for participating in
an unauthorized protest. However, he
remained in prison at the end of the year as a
result of additional charges brought against
him on 6 January 2017 which included
“undermining national security, complicity in
a plan to escape from detention, and
complicity in the unlawful possession of arms
and munitions of war”. The charges related
to a shooting in Brazzaville central prison in
December 2016 in which, according to
witnesses, he played no part.
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Little progress was made in judicial
proceedings involving opposition leaders and
members detained since 2015 for opposing
changes to the Constitution, or the
presidential election results.
The opposition Initiative for Democracy in
the Republic of Congo
–
Republican Front for
the Respect of Constitutional Order and
Democratic Change (FROCAD-IDC)
–
said
that over 100 political prisoners remained in
detention in Brazzaville central prison at the
end of the year. Local human rights
organizations compiled a list of names of 90
political prisoners held during the year. They
included opposition leaders Okouya Rigobert
of the Convention for Action, Democracy and
Development (CADD); Jean-Marie Michel
Mokoko, a presidential candidate and retired
army general; and Jean Ngouabi, a member
of the latter’s campaign team. In January,
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André Okombi Salissa, former member of the
National Assembly and president of CADD,
was arrested and detained at the General
Directorate of Territorial Surveillance after
spending almost a year in hiding.
Also in January, Noël Mienanzambi Boyi,
president of the Association for the Culture of
Peace and Non-Violence and a broadcaster
for a community radio station, was arrested in
Kinkala, the main town in Pool. The
authorities claimed that he was transporting
medicine and food to Reverend Ntumi, and
charged him with “complicity in undermining
state security”. Local NGOs said that he was
arrested after he agreed to organize
mediation between the authorities and
Reverend Ntumi on the government’s
request. They also alleged that he was
tortured in various detention centres before
being transferred to Brazzaville central prison
in June where he remained at the end of the
year.
grounds, in public buildings, or in
overcrowded makeshift sites.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The refugee status of around 10,000
Rwandan refugees expired on 31 December,
under the Cessation Clause for Rwandan
refugees, on the grounds that Rwanda was a
safe country. Some of the refugees may be
permitted to choose between voluntary
repatriation and residency in their host
countries, or otherwise retain their refugee
status if they fulfill certain criteria.
RIGHT TO FOOD
According to the UN, 138,000 people in Pool
required humanitarian assistance, and over
50% of families were food insecure.
Global Acute Malnutrition − the
measurement of the nutritional status of
those in long-term refugee situations –
affected between 17.3 and 20.4% of IDP
children aged under five who fled from Pool.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Several cases of torture and other ill-
treatment by security services were reported.
No investigations or judicial proceedings into
these allegations were conducted by the
authorities.
On 24 January, Modeste Boukadia,
president of the opposition Congolese Circle
of Democrats and Republicans, was admitted
to Clinique Guénin in Pointe Noire city as a
result of injuries he sustained when prison
guards beat him at Pointe Noire prison in
November 2016. The beating resulted in two
fractured bones, and caused him to have
high blood pressure and a heart condition.
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Republic of Côte d’Ivoire
Head of state: Alassane Dramane Ouattara
Head of government: Amadou Gon Coulibaly (replaced
Daniel Kablan Duncan in January)
Around 200 detainees, loyal to former
President Laurent Gbagbo, awaited trial in
connection with post-electoral violence in
2010 and 2011. Killings in the context of
mutinies and clashes between demobilized
soldiers and security forces were
uninvestigated. The rights to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly were restricted; some protests
were prohibited. Simone Gbagbo, wife of
former President Gbagbo, was acquitted of
crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The ICC tried Laurent Gbagbo and Charles
Blé Goudé.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
Following fighting between government forces
and the Ninjas armed group, around a third
of residents in Pool fled their homes. An
estimated 81,000 people were IDPs; 59,000
of them were registered displaced in 2017.
IDPs were in dire need of shelter, food, water,
basic health services and adequate
sanitation. They were forced to live with
families in host communities, on church
BACKGROUND
The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
concluded its mission in June, 13 years after
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its establishment by the UN Security Council.
The UN Independent Expert praised Côte
d’Ivoire’s gradual progress towards national
reconciliation and stability which, he warned,
was fragile given the unrest in January.
The government launched an investigation,
supported by UN investigators, into the
discovery of an arms cache in a house owned
by a close aide of the President of the
National Assembly.
In July, there were several attacks by armed
groups. Three soldiers were killed when
armed men attacked a military camp in
Korhogo in the north.
One student said the police arrested her with
her friends in her room, and beat her. Some
of those arrested had thrown stones at the
police, but others were peaceful. All were
charged with disruption of public order and
provisionally released after 20 days.
IMPUNITY
People suspected of supporting former
President Gbagbo were tried for human rights
violations committed during and after the
2010 election. In contrast, none of President
Ouattara’s supporters were arrested or tried
in connection with human rights violations.
In May Simone Gbagbo was acquitted of
crimes against humanity and war crimes by
the Assize Court of Abidjan. Victims of
human rights violations were denied their
legal right to participate in the hearing. New
lawyers, appointed by the head of the bar
after her lawyers withdrew in 2016, also
pulled out in March saying the Court was
irregularly constituted because a judge was
appointed after the trial had begun.
Around 200 supporters of Laurent Gbagbo,
arrested since 2011 for crimes allegedly
committed during the post-electoral violence,
were still detained awaiting trial. Two of them
− Assi Jean Kouatchi and Bonfils Todé – died
in custody in 2017.
Some detainees were provisionally released
and awaited trial. They included Antoinette
Meho, a member of civil society organization
Solidarité Wé, released in May. She was
charged with undermining state security. In
December Hubert Oulaye, a former minister
who was provisionally released in June, and
Maurice Djire, were sentenced to 20 years in
prison for the murder of, and complicity in
the murder of, UN soldiers in 2012. Despite
defence lawyers’ requests, the court did not
provide testimonies from two prosecution
witnesses during their trial.
In July, Adou Assoa, another former
minister was sentenced to four years’
imprisonment for public disorder but cleared
of charges of undermining state security.
David Samba, opposition activist and
president of the NGO Coalition des Indignés
de Côte d’Ivoire, completed his six-month
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Legislation which contained provisions that
curtailed the right to freedom of expression,
including in relation to defamation, offending
the President and disseminating false news,
was adopted.
In February, six journalists were detained for
two days in the city of Abidjan, accused of
divulging false information on army mutinies.
They were not charged but continued to be
summoned by authorities for questioning.
In August, two
Le Quotidien
journalists were
arrested over an article they wrote about the
National Assembly President’s finances.
FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION AND
ASSEMBLY
In February, the police used tear gas and
rubber bullets to repress a peaceful protest
by cocoa planters and National Agricultural
Union members in Abidjan.
In July, demobilized soldiers held peaceful
protests in Bouaké city calling on the
government to deliver on promises made
after protests in May (see below). Amadou
Ouattara, Mégbè Diomandé and Lassina
Doumbia, members of “Cellule 39” (an
association of demobilized soldiers), were
arrested and charged with public disorder
and organizing an unauthorized protest.
At least 40 students were arrested in
September after FESCI (Fédération
estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d’Ivoire)
organized protests across the country against
police violence and increased university fees.
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sentence for public disorder in March 2016.
Prior to completing that sentence, he was
charged with a new offence of undermining
state security in relation to an attempted
uprising in Dabou in 2015 and was held
pending trial at the end of the year.
MUTINIES
At least 10 people were killed and dozens
wounded in mutinies and clashes between
the security forces and demobilized soldiers.
Four people were killed between 12 and 14
May during a mutiny in Bouaké which spread
to other cities. It was led by soldiers who had
been integrated into the army in 2011 and
were demanding the payment of bonuses. On
13 May a group of mutineers went to the
office of “Cellule 39” and shot at them, in
response to “Cellule 39” condemning the
munity. Issoufou Diawara was killed after he
was shot in the back, and several were
wounded. The violence ended when the
government agreed to meet the mutineers’
payment demands.
On 22 May, four demobilized soldiers were
killed in clashes with police when they held
protests calling for an agreement equivalent
to the one obtained by the mutineers. They
said they were unarmed when police fired on
them. (The demobilized soldiers were former
members of armed groups who fought on the
side of President Ouattara during the
2010-2011 election violence.)
There was no indication that suspected
perpetrators, including security forces, would
be brought to justice for human rights
violations by the end of the year.
where 540,000 litres of toxic waste were
dumped in Abidjan in 2006. The waste had
been produced by the company Trafigura.
The authorities had still not assessed the
long-term health risks to individuals of
exposure to the chemicals in the waste or
monitored victims’ health. Compensation
claims against the company continued
although many had not received payments.
CROATIA
Republic of Croatia
Head of state:
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Head of government:
Andrej Plenković
Discrimination against ethnic and sexual
minorities persisted. Refugees and migrants
entering irregularly were returned without
access to an effective asylum process.
Croatia accepted less than a 10th of the
refugees and asylum-seekers it had
committed to relocate and resettle under
EU schemes. Access to abortion remained
restricted.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Of the over 6,000 people who went missing
during the 1991-1995 war, the fate and
whereabouts of more than 1,500 remained
unclarified. The International Commission on
Missing Persons reported that Croatia failed
to make significant steps towards fulfilling the
rights to truth, justice and reparation for
victims, including by failing to account for
over 900 unidentified mortal remains in its
mortuaries.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
The ICC trial of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles
Blé Goudé for crimes against humanity,
including murder and rape during the post-
electoral violence, continued. In July, the ICC
Appeals Chamber ordered the Trial Chamber
to review its ruling to deny Laurent Gbagbo’s
provisional release.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination against ethnic and sexual
minorities remained widespread.
Civil society organizations criticized new
government proposals for a national strategy
and action plan to fight discrimination that
were presented in March. The policies
subsequently adopted by the government in
December failed to reflect and adequately
address human rights violations faced by
Serbs, Roma and sexual minorities.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
delayed until 2018 the publication of its
assessment of lasting pollution at the 18 sites
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In February, the European Court of Human
Rights found in
Škorjanec
v. Croatia
that the
authorities had failed to guarantee the
applicant’s right to be free from torture and
other inhuman or degrading treatment by
failing to adequately investigate and
prosecute the racist motives of the assailants
who violently attacked and beat the applicant
and her partner, who is Roma, in 2013.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Croatia continued to return to Serbia refugees
and migrants who entered the country
irregularly, without granting them access to
an effective asylum process. These push-
backs by police, sometimes from deep inside
Croatian territory, routinely involved coercion,
intimidation, confiscation or destruction of
private valuables and the disproportionate
use of force by the police.
In July, the Court of Justice of the European
Union ruled that Croatia had acted against
the rules of the Dublin Regulation (which
defines which EU member state has the
obligation to evaluate the asylum claims) by
allowing transit for refugees and migrants
through the country in 2015 without
examining applications for international
protection.
The NGO Centre for Peace Studies
documented that between January and April,
at least 30 asylum applications – including
those from families with children – had been
dismissed on the grounds of “security
concerns” during a routine security check
carried out by the Security and Intelligence
Agency as part of the asylum process. The
notes of these applications were marked as
“classified” and could not be seen and thus
could not be rebutted or challenged on
appeal by those seeking asylum or their legal
representatives. Cases with classified notes
led to an automatic rejection by the Ministry
of Interior. Subsequently, the failed asylum-
seekers were at risk of expulsion from the
country and at heightened risk of
refoulement
–
a measure forcing an individual to return to
a country where they would risk serious
human rights violations.
Unaccompanied minors represented a
quarter of all asylum-seekers in the country.
By the end of the year, fewer than 200
asylum-seekers had been granted
international protection.
Croatia committed to accept 1,600 refugees
and asylum-seekers under the EU
resettlement and relocation schemes by the
end of the year; by mid-November, fewer
than 100 people had been relocated, and
none had been resettled.
In June, amendments introduced to the Law
on Foreigners forbade the provision of
assistance in accessing basic needs, such as
housing, health, sanitation or food, to foreign
nationals irregularly residing in Croatia,
except in cases of medical and humanitarian
emergencies or life-threatening situations.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The criminal justice system continued to fail
many victims of domestic abuse by routinely
treating abuse as a minor offence.
In June, the European Court of Human
Rights found in
�½.B.
v. Croatia
that the
authorities violated the right to respect for
private and family life of a victim of multiple
instances of domestic violence. The
authorities had failed to criminally prosecute
the alleged perpetrator and establish the
facts, suggesting that the victim should have
acted by herself as a subsidiary prosecutor
and pursued private prosecution.
Croatia had yet to ratify the Council of
Europe Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and
domestic violence.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
In April, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
right of everyone to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health noted with concern the
renewed and pending revision of the 1978
Act on Health Care Measures for Exercising
the Right to a Free Decision on Giving Birth,
which could potentially restrict access to
abortion. Individual doctors, and in some
cases health care institutions, continued to
refuse abortions on grounds of conscience,
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forcing women to undergo clandestine and
unsafe abortions. In March, the Constitutional
Court ruled against a challenge seeking the
1978 Act to be declared unconstitutional and
called on the national assembly to refrain
from adopting any laws which would
effectively ban abortions. In pharmacies,
women and girls continued to be assessed
against a questionnaire for which they had to
reveal personal information about their sexual
behaviour and reproductive health as a
condition of accessing emergency
contraceptives that were available without
prescription, in violation of their right to
privacy.
Roma children and women continued to be
disadvantaged in accessing health care, and
one fifth of this group lacked access to it
altogether.
economic embargo on Cuba, which
continued to undermine economic, social
and cultural rights.
At least 12 lawyers from the human rights
organization Cubalex received asylum in the
USA after being harassed, intimidated and
threatened with imprisonment for their
peaceful human rights work.
Cuba had not ratified the ICCPR or the
ICESCR, both of which it signed in February
2008, nor the Rome Statute of the ICC.
In December the government announced
that President Raúl Castro would step down
in April 2018.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Human rights and political activists continued
to be harassed, intimidated and arbitrarily
detained in high numbers. The Cuban
Commission for Human Rights and National
Reconciliation, a Cuban NGO not officially
recognized by the state, recorded 5,155
arbitrary detentions in 2017, compared to
9,940 in 2016.
The Ladies in White, a group of female
relatives of prisoners detained on politically
motivated grounds, remained one of the
primary targets of repression by the
authorities. During detention, the women
were often beaten by law enforcement
officials and state security agents dressed as
civilians.
In January, Danilo Maldonado Machado,
known as El Sexto, was released from a
maximum security prison. He had been
arrested in November 2016, hours after the
announcement of Fidel Castro’s death, for
having written Se fue (“He’s gone”)
on a wall
in the capital, Havana.
1
In August, Yulier Perez, a graffiti artist
known for painting dilapidated walls in
Havana, was arbitrarily detained after months
of intimidation and harassment from the
authorities for freely expressing himself
through his art.
2
CUBA
Republic of Cuba
Head of state and government: Raúl Castro Ruz
Arbitrary detentions, discriminatory
dismissals from state jobs, and harassment
in self-employment continued to be used to
silence criticism. Advances in education
were undermined by ongoing online and
offline censorship. Cuba remained mostly
closed to independent human rights
monitors.
BACKGROUND
Lifting of travel restrictions on Cubans in
2013, removal of limits on receiving
remittances, and the draw of visa-free
countries continued to be important push
factors for emigration. Cubans continued to
leave in large numbers, despite the country’s
changing international diplomacy, pushed by
exceptionally low salaries and a tight web of
control on freedom of expression.
In June, the administration of US President
Donald Trump made an almost complete
reversal of the USA’s political rhetoric towards
Cuba. This reduced the chance of US
Congress passing legislation to lift the
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
The leader of the pro-democracy Christian
Liberation Movement, Dr Eduardo Cardet
Concepción, remained in prison having been
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handed a three-year sentence in March for
publicly criticizing Fidel Castro.
3
A family of four human rights defenders
were detained in Holguín, southeast Cuba,
for allegedly leaving their house during the
period of state mourning for Fidel Castro in
2016. The three siblings were given one-year
prison sentences for “defamation of
institutions, organizations and heroes and
martyrs of the Republic of Cuba” and “public
disorder”.
4
Their mother was sentenced to
house arrest. On 2 April, after a prolonged
hunger strike, the three siblings were freed
under conditional release, but they continued
to be intimidated by the authorities.
Jorge Cervantes, a member of the political
opposition group Patriotic Union of Cuba
(UNPACU), was detained for approximately
three months between May and August.
Weeks before, UNPACU had published on its
YouTube channel a video called “Horrors in
jail” in which Jorge Cervantes interviewed a
man who had allegedly been ill-treated in a
Cuban prison, and a series of videos which
alleged corruption by public officials.
5
The authorities continued to present
trumped-up charges for common crimes as a
way to harass and detain political opponents,
meaning there were likely many more
prisoners of conscience than documented.
lawyers limited effective recourse through the
courts.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
Undue restrictions in access to information
and freedom of expression online followed
decades of offline censorship, undermining
Cuba’s advances in education.
Between May and mid-June, the Open
Observatory of Network Interference
conducted testing on a sample of websites in
Cuba and found 41 sites blocked by the
authorities. All the blocked sites expressed
criticism of the Cuban government, reported
on human rights issues, or discussed
techniques to bypass censorship.
While the government continued to expand
access to the internet, it prioritized access to
the highly censored, government-curated
national intranet. Access to the global
internet remained prohibitively expensive for
most Cubans.
7
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In April, the UN Special Rapporteur on
trafficking in persons conducted a visit to
Cuba, and in July the country received the
UN independent expert on human rights and
international solidarity.
Most independent human rights
organizations continued to be denied access
to the country and to its prisons. Cuba
remained the only country in the Americas
region to deny access to Amnesty
International.
1. Cuban graffiti artist released (AMR
25/5545/2017)
2. Urban artist at risk in Cuba (AMR
25/7000/2017)
3. Cuba: Activist sentenced to three years in jail after criticizing Fidel
Castro (News
story,
21 March)
4. Cuba: Prisoners of conscience on hunger strike (AMR
25/6001/2017)
5. Cuba: Opposition activist in maximum security prison (AMR
25/6671/2017)
6.
Cuba: “Your mind is in prison” – Cuba’s
web of control over free
expression and its chilling effect on everyday life (AMR
25/7299/2017)
7.
Cuba’s internet paradox: How controlled and censored internet risks
Cuba’s achievements in education (News
story,
29 August)
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The state continued to use its control – as the
biggest employer in the country, and as a
regulator of the private sector – as a way to
stifle even the most subtle criticism of the
government.
6
Politically motivated and
discriminatory dismissals continued to be
used against those who criticized the
government’s economic or political model.
Workers pushed out of employment in the
public sector for freely expressing themselves
were often further harassed after entering the
emerging but highly regulated self-
employment sector.
The de facto prohibition on independent
trade unions limited workers’ ability to
independently organize and appeal against
discriminatory dismissals. The executive’s
strong influence over the judiciary and
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CYPRUS
Republic of Cyprus
Head of state and government: Nicos Anastasiades
UN-backed peace talks for the reunification
of the island collapsed in early July.
Reception conditions for asylum-seekers
remained a cause of concern.
In September, the NGO Future Worlds
Center warned of the need for a contingency
reception plan, especially in case of an
increase in refugees arriving by boat.
According to the UN Migration Agency, 851
people arrived by boat on Cyprus between
January and November 2017 in comparison
to 345 in the previous year.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Between January and the end of December,
the Committee of Missing Persons in Cyprus
exhumed the remains of 46 people, bringing
the total number of exhumations since 2006
to 1,217. Between 2007 and 31 December
2017, the remains of 855 missing individuals
(645 Greek Cypriots and 210 Turkish
Cypriots) were identified.
BACKGROUND
After intense negotiations, high-level peace
talks for the reunification of Cyprus failed to
reach an agreement in early July. The Greek-
Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders could not
agree on security, including the withdrawal of
Turkish troops, and property issues.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In February, the Supreme Court rejected an
application challenging the detention and
extradition of Seif el-Din Mostafa, an Egyptian
national accused of hijacking an EgyptAir
plane in March 2016. Despite concerns he
would be at real risk of torture or other ill-
treatment if returned to Egypt, the Supreme
Court decided not to accept additional
evidence regarding the risk of torture. The
Court held that the applicant could be
extradited regardless of his not having had a
final decision in his asylum claim. In
November, the Supreme Court also rejected
an appeal lodged against its previous
decision. However, on the same day the
European Court of Human Rights halted Seif
el-Din Mostafa’s extradition to Egypt.
In May, the CERD Committee expressed
concerns about the limited employment
options for asylum-seekers living on the
island, the insufficient amount of social
assistance they received and the limited
reception facilities. The Committee also
raised concern about the insufficient access
to services for those asylum-seekers staying
at the Kofinou Reception and
Accommodation Center for Applicants for
International Protection, the only official
centre hosting asylum-seekers on the island.
DISCRIMINATION – PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES
In May, the UN Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities expressed concerns
about the insufficient access to health care
by people with disabilities, the high level of
unemployment among them and the
insufficient measures to promote their access
to employment in an open labour market.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In April, the European Court of Human Rights
found that the Cypriot Ombudsperson and
the national police complaints mechanism
had failed to investigate effectively the alleged
ill-treatment of a Kenyan national during his
deportation in March 2007 (Thuo
v. Cyprus).
The Court also held that the applicant’s
detention conditions in Nicosia Central Prison
amounted to degrading treatment.
At the end of August, a 60-year-old Turkish
national claimed to have been ill-treated by a
police officer outside and inside a police
station near a designated crossing point of
the UN Buffer Zone. The incident was being
investigated by the national police complaints
mechanism at the end of the year.
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CZECH REPUBLIC
Czech Republic
Head of state:
Miloš Zeman
Head of government:
Andrej Babiš (replaced Bohuslav
Sobotka in December)
The government refused to participate in
the EU mandatory refugee relocation
quotas. Despite reforms, Roma pupils
continued to be segregated in schools. An
amendment allowing municipalities to
declare zones of “socially pathological
behaviour” with restricted access to housing
benefits entered into force.
affect new tenants or those who move to or
within these zones. NGOs raised concerns
that the new regulation would
disproportionately affect Roma and poor
people.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The Czech Republic accepted only 12
asylum-seekers out of the 2,691 it had been
assigned under the 2015 EU Emergency
Relocation Scheme – which aimed to relocate
refugees from EU member states such as
Greece and Italy – by the end of the year. In
June, the European Commission started
infringement procedures against the Czech
Republic, as well as Poland and Hungary, for
refusing to participate in the scheme. In July,
the government stated it would not accept
any further asylum-seekers. In December,
the European Commission decided to step up
the action against all three countries and
referred them to the Court of Justice of the
European Union over their refusal to accept
the asylum-seekers under the scheme.
There were 974 applications made for
international protection by the end of the
year. Thirteen people were successful in their
applications; 79 applications were rejected.
Sixteen asylum-seekers from Afghanistan
were refused an extension to their temporary
protection. The government continued to
base such asylum decisions on its arbitrary
designation of certain areas in Afghanistan as
“safe”, despite evidence to the contrary and
with violence continuing to escalate in
Afghanistan during the year.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
One year after the reform of the primary
education system that aimed to facilitate the
inclusion of pupils from disadvantaged
backgrounds into mainstream schools, Roma
children continued to face discrimination in
access to education. In July, the government
published data which showed that over 24%
of Roma pupils continued to be educated in
ethnically segregated schools.
In March, a district court ordered a primary
school in the city of Ostrava to apologize to
two Roma pupils. The school had refused to
register the pupils in 2014, claiming that it
had reached full capacity. Legal guardians of
the pupils complained that the director
justified his decision by claiming that non-
Roma parents could start removing their
children from the school as there were
already nine Roma pupils registered in that
grade. The court held that a fear of “white
flight” could not justify the treatment of pupils
on the basis their ethnicity.
RIGHT TO HOUSING
In July, an amendment to the law on welfare
benefits entered into force and dozens of
municipalities announced that they would
restrict access to housing allowances. The
amendment allows municipalities to declare
zones of “socially pathological behaviour”
where residents would be barred from
claiming some housing allowances. This will
RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA
High-level government officials, including the
President, made xenophobic statements
about refugees and migrants. During the pre-
election campaign, the Minister of Interior
presented as a success the restrictive policies
that led refugees to avoid the Czech
Republic.
In February, the police discontinued their
investigation into the 2016 death of a Roma
man at a pizzeria in �½atec, determining that
no crime had been committed. The man died
after he was restrained by municipal police
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officers and some customers as a result of
his allegedly aggressive behaviour. The
victim’s family had filed a complaint against
the police in January, alleging that the
investigation was not thorough; their lawyer
criticized the police for failing to secure the
scene and evidence.
In May, the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights urged the
Czech authorities to remove a pig farm from
the site of a former Nazi concentration camp,
where most of the victims were Roma, in the
village of Lety u Písku. While appreciating the
government’s efforts to buy the land, the
Commissioner was concerned over the length
of the process, and the government’s
repeated failure to remove the pig farm and
create a memorial as a measure of reparation
for the Roma who suffered and died there
during the Second World War. In November,
the government signed a contract to buy off
the land from the owner of the pig farm and
made a commitment to build a memorial on
the site.
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF THE
CONGO
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Head of state: Joseph Kabila
Head of government: Bruno Tshibala Nzenze (replaced
Samy Badibanga Ntita in April)
The human rights situation further
deteriorated. Violence in the Kasaï region
left thousands dead, at least 1 million
internally displaced, and caused more than
35,000 people to flee for neighbouring
Angola. In the east, armed groups and
government forces continued to target
civilians and engage in illegal exploitation
of natural resources with impunity. Police,
intelligence services and courts continued
to crack down on the rights to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly. Human rights defenders and
journalists were harassed, intimidated,
arbitrarily arrested, expelled or killed.
SECURITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The Czech Republic continued to export
arms to countries where there was a
substantial risk that such arms could be used
to commit or facilitate serious human rights
violations, including the unlawful use of force
against protesters or opposition groups. In
May, during an arms fair in the city of Brno,
the President stated that the Czech arms
industry needed to “export globally”, denying
that the country had responsibility to prevent
the re-export of its equipment to countries
which are “not safe”.
BACKGROUND
President Kabila remained in post although
his second constitutional term ended on 19
December 2016. A political agreement was
signed in December 2016 by the ruling
coalition, the opposition and some civil
society organizations. It provided that
President Kabila would remain in power, and
a government of national unity would be
appointed, led by a Prime Minister
designated by the Rassemblement, the main
opposition, with the task of organizing the
elections by December 2017. The agreement
established the National Council for the
Implementation of the Accord and the
Electoral Process (CNSA) to monitor
progress, led by Rassemblement leader
Etienne Tshisekedi. The agreement included
a commitment by President Kabila to adhere
to the constitutional two-term limit and not
undertake a revision or change of the
Constitution. Implementation of the
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agreement stalled over the appointment and
distribution of political posts to the
transitional institutions. In February Etienne
Tshisekedi died. In April, President Kabila
unilaterally appointed Bruno Tshibala as
Prime Minister; the Rassemblement refused
to recognize the appointment. In July, Joseph
Olenghankoy was also unilaterally appointed
as chairman of the CNSA. The main
opposition leaders, the Catholic Church and
the international community denounced
these appointments as violating the
agreement.
Voter registration in the run-up to the
elections was significantly delayed. In July,
the president of the Independent National
Electoral Commission announced that
elections could not be held in December
2017, on grounds including the security
situation in the Kasaï region.
Violence that erupted in 2016 over the
killing of Chief Kamuena Nsapu spread to five
provinces, triggering an unprecedented
humanitarian crisis. In the east, several
armed groups stepped up their attacks to
expel President Kabila. Both the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) security forces
and the UN Organization Stabilization
Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) were unable
to tackle the insecurity and neutralize more
than 40 local or foreign armed groups that
remained active.
The annual inflation rate increased by
around 50% in 2017, contributing to
deepening levels of poverty. Strikes were held
demanding salary increases for teachers,
university professors, doctors, nurses and
civil servants. A cholera epidemic affected at
least 24,000 people; over 500 died between
January and September.
Congolese and foreign journalists were
intimidated, harassed and arbitrarily arrested
and detained while carrying out their work. In
many cases, their equipment was confiscated
or they had to erase recorded data. The
Minister of Communication issued a decree
in July introducing new rules requiring
foreign correspondents to obtain
authorization from the Minister to travel
outside the capital, Kinshasa.
In August, the day before a two-day protest,
organized by the opposition, calling on
people across the country to stay at home to
encourage the publication of an electoral
calendar, the Post and Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority ordered
telecommunication companies to strictly limit
all social media activity and communication.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Authorities continued to ban and repress
public dissent and peaceful assemblies
organized by civil society organizations and
the opposition, especially protests concerning
the political crisis and elections. Opposition
peaceful protesters were intimidated,
harassed and arrested by security forces;
government supporters’ demonstrations took
place without interference from the
authorities.
On 31 July, more than 100 people,
including 11 Congolese and foreign
journalists, were arrested during country-wide
demonstrations organized by the Struggle for
Change (LUCHA), to demand the publication
of the electoral calendar. A journalist was
charged in connection with the protest and
remained in detention in Lubumbashi; four
demonstrators received prison sentences.
The others were released without charge the
same or following day.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Press freedom and the right to information
were restricted. The granting of visas and
accreditations to foreign correspondents was
drastically limited. At least one journalist, a
Belgian national, was expelled in September;
a French national and a US national were
unable to renew accreditation in June and
August respectively. On at least 15 occasions,
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Protests other than those organized by
government supporters were often met with
excessive and sometimes lethal force.
On 15 September, in Kamanyola, the army
and police fired at a crowd of Burundian
refugees protesting the detention and
deportation of four refugees by DRC
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intelligence services; 39 protesters were
killed, including at least eight women and five
children, and at least 100 were injured. No
legal action was known to have been taken
against the perpetrators by the end of the
year.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders and youth activists
were targeted by security forces and armed
groups for their work; they included Alex
Tsongo Sikuliwako and Alphonse Kaliyamba,
killed in North Kivu.
In May, the Senate passed a bill purporting
to strengthen protection for human rights
defenders. However, the bill contained a
restrictive definition of what constituted a
human rights defender. It strengthened the
state’s control over human rights
organizations, and threatened to curtail their
activities. It could result in the non-
recognition of human rights organizations.
CONFLICT IN THE KASAÏ REGION
Violence in the region, which erupted in
2016, spread to five provinces and left
thousands dead, and by 25 September, 1
million were internally displaced; there was
widespread destruction of social
infrastructure and villages. Militias emerged,
which increasingly attacked people on the
basis of their ethnicity, namely those
perceived to support the Kamuena Nsapu
uprising.
Followers of Kamuena Nsapu were
suspected of human rights abuses in the
region, including recruitment of child
soldiers, rapes, killings, destruction of over
300 schools and of markets, churches, police
stations and government buildings.
The Bana Mura militia was formed around
March by individuals from the Tshokwe,
Pende and Tetela ethnic groups with the
support of local traditional leaders and
security officials. It launched attacks against
the Luba and Lulua communities whom it
accused of supporting the Kamuena Nsapu
uprising. Between March and June, there
were reports that in Kamonia territory, the
Bana Mura and the army killed around 251
people; 62 were children, 30 of them aged
under 8.
VIOLATIONS BY SECURITY FORCES
The Congolese police and army carried out
hundreds of extrajudicial killings, rapes,
arbitrary arrests and acts of extortion.
Between February and April, internet videos
showed soldiers executing alleged Kamuena
Nsapu followers, including young children.
The victims were armed with sticks or
defective rifles, or were simply wearing red
headbands. The government initially
dismissed the accusations, saying they were
“fabricated” to discredit the army. However,
in February it acknowledged that “excesses”
had taken place and pledged to prosecute
those suspected of serious human rights
violations and abuses in the region, including
its security forces.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
On 6 July, seven army soldiers were given
sentences of between one year and life
imprisonment in connection with extrajudicial
executions in Mwanza-Lomba, a village in
Kasaï Oriental province. The sentences
followed a trial in which the victims were not
identified and nor were their relatives given
the opportunity to testify before the court or
seek reparations.
On 12 March, Swedish national Zaida
Catalan and US national Michael Sharp, both
members of the UN Security Council DRC
Sanctions Committee’s Group of Experts,
were executed during an investigative
mission in the Kasaï Central province. Their
bodies were found 16 days later, near
Bunkonde village. Zaida Catalan had been
beheaded. Three of their drivers and an
interpreter who accompanied them
disappeared and had not been found by the
end of the year. In April, the authorities
showed diplomats and journalists in Kinshasa
a video of the execution of the two experts;
the origins of the video remained unknown.
The video, which claimed that Kamuena
Nsapu “terrorists” were the perpetrators, was
shared on the internet and admitted as
evidence in the ongoing military court trial of
the people accused of the killings. The trial
began on 5 June in the city of Kananga.
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In June, the UN Human Rights Council
established an independent international
inquiry, which was opposed by the
government, to investigate serious human
rights violations in the Kasaï province. In July,
the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights announced the appointment of an
international team of experts, which in
September began investigating the incidents
and is expected to issue its findings in
June 2018.
CONFLICT IN EASTERN DRC
Chronic instability and conflict continued to
contribute to grave human rights violations
and abuses. In the Beni region, civilians were
targeted and killed. On 7 October, 22 people
were killed on the Mbau-Kamango road by
unidentified armed men.
Kidnappings increased in North Kivu; at
least 100 cases were recorded in Goma city.
In North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, dozens of
armed groups and security forces continued
to commit murder, rape, extortion, and to
engage in illegal exploitation of natural
resources. The conflict between the Hutu
and Nande in North Kivu resulted in deaths,
displacement and destruction, especially in
the Rutshuru and Lubero areas.
In the Tanganyika and Haut-Katanga
provinces, communal violence between the
Twa and the Luba continued. In Tanganyika
the number of internally displaced people
(IDPs) reached 500,000. Between January
and September, over 5,700 Congolese fled to
Zambia to escape the conflict.
Despite the security situation, the authorities
continued to close IDP camps around the
town of Kalemie, forcing displaced people to
return to their villages or to live in even worse
conditions.
Bundu dia Congore, resulted in the escape of
over 4,000 prisoners. On 11 June, 930
prisoners escaped from the Kangbayi central
prison in Beni city, including dozens
convicted a few months earlier for killing
civilians in the Beni area. Hundreds of other
detainees escaped from prisons and police
detention centres in Bandundu-ville,
Kasangulu, Kalemie, Matete (Kinshasa),
Walikale, Dungu, Bukavu, Kabinda, Uvira,
Bunia, Mwenga and Pweto.
Prisons were overcrowded, and conditions
remained dire, with inadequate food and
drinking water, and poor health care. Dozens
of prisoners died of starvation and disease.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In August, the Ministry of Mines validated a
National Strategy to Combat Child Labour in
Mining. National and international civil
society groups were given the opportunity to
provide feedback. The government
announced that it would “progressively”
implement many of their recommendations
and eradicate child labour by 2025.
DENMARK
Kingdom of Denmark
Head of state: Queen Margrethe II
Head of government: Lars Løkke Rasmussen
The government annulled an agreement
with UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, to
accept refugees for resettlement. The
classification of transgender identities as a
“mental disorder” was ended.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Denmark failed to accept any refugees for
resettlement. The government annulled its
standing agreement with UNHCR to receive
500 refugees annually for resettlement. From
January 2018, the government, not
Parliament, will decide each year if Denmark
is to accept refugees for resettlement.
Individuals granted subsidiary temporary
protection status had to wait three years
before being eligible to apply for family
DETENTION
There was an unprecedented number of
prison breakouts across the country;
thousands escaped, and dozens died. On 17
May, an attack was carried out on Makala
Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Centre,
Kinshasa’s main prison. The attack, which
the authorities blamed on the political group
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reunification. In May, the High Court of
Eastern Denmark ruled that the
postponement of family reunification of a
Syrian refugee with his wife was not in
violation of the right to family life under the
European Convention on Human Rights. In
November, the Supreme Court confirmed this
ruling.
In January, the Supreme Court ruled that
the compulsory overnight stay and twice daily
reporting regime at a centre for individuals on
“tolerated stay” (those excluded from
protection but who could not be deported),
constituted a disproportionate measure
amounting to custody when extended beyond
a period of four years. The government
implemented the ruling, but also decided that
any person leaving the centre to live with
their family would lose their right to health
care and financial assistance for food.
In March, the Parliamentary Ombudsman
concluded that government policy to separate
asylum-seeking couples when one partner
was under the age of 18 was a violation of the
Danish Act on Public Administration and
possibly a violation of the right to family life.
The policy did not provide for a process to
determine whether the separation was in the
interest of the younger spouse and did not
consider their opinion.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In January, Parliament’s landmark 2016
resolution to end the pathologization of
transgender identities was implemented.
However, existing procedural rules on access
to hormone treatment and gender-affirming
surgery continued to unreasonably prolong
the gender recognition process for
transgender people.
No national guidelines from the Danish
Health Authority outlined how doctors should
treat children with variations of sex
characteristics and the approach was not
human rights-based. This allowed non-
emergency invasive and irreversible medical
procedures to be carried out on children,
typically under the age of 10, in violation of
the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child. These procedures can be carried out
despite the lack of medical research to
support the need for surgical intervention,
and despite documentation of the risk of
lifelong harmful effects.
1
In October the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child raised
concerns regarding surgical interventions on
intersex children.
1.
Europe: First, do no harm − ensuring the rights of children with
variations of sex characteristics in Denmark and Germany (EUR
01/6086/2017)
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
In April, a proposal by the opposition to
introduce a consent-based definition of rape,
in line with the Council of Europe Convention
on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence
(Istanbul Convention) ratified by Denmark in
2014, was rejected in Parliament. In
November, the Council of Europe's Group of
Experts on Action against Violence against
Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO)
encouraged the Danish authorities to change
the current sexual violence legislation and
base it on the notion of freely given consent
as required by the Istanbul Convention.
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
Dominican Republic
Head of state and government: Danilo Medina Sánchez
Limited progress was made in solving the
statelessness crisis. Abortion remained
criminalized in all circumstances. Excessive
use of force by the police and gender-based
violence continued.
BACKGROUND
The Dominican Republic suffered from a
series of natural disasters that hit the
Caribbean during the year, including two
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major hurricanes in September. This, along
with previous flooding earlier in the year, left
tens of thousands of people temporarily
displaced and badly damaged infrastructure.
Like many small, developing island states,
the Dominican Republic remained very
vulnerable to climate change, which
scientists linked to the increasingly extreme
weather. On 21 September, the Dominican
Republic ratified the UN Paris Agreement on
climate change.
Allegations that several Dominican officials
were bribed by the Brazilian construction
company Odebrecht triggered massive
country-wide demonstrations against
corruption under the Green March
movement. In September, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) held
a public hearing on the issue of “human
rights and reports of impunity and corruption
in the Dominican Republic”.
In May, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
sale and sexual exploitation of children visited
the country. She urged the government to put
child protection at the core of any tourism
strategy.
DISCRIMINATION – STATELESS
PERSONS
The Dominican Republic continued to fail to
uphold its international human rights
obligations with respect to the large number
of stateless people born in the country who
were retroactively and arbitrarily deprived of
their Dominican nationality in
September 2013.
1
Law 169-14, adopted in May 2014 to
address the statelessness crisis, continued to
be poorly implemented. According to official
statistics, only 13,500 people of the so-called
“Group A” created by the law (out of an
official estimate of 61,000 individuals) were
able to access some sort of Dominican
identity document proving their Dominican
nationality. In the meantime, many had their
original birth certificates nullified and their
new ones transferred to a separate civil
registry without the necessary measures in
place to avoid further discrimination.
The naturalization plan established by Law
169-14 for people in “Group B” (those whose
birth was never registered in the Dominican
Civil Registry) had made little or no progress
during the year. Of the 8,755 individuals who
were able to register under the new plan
(16% of the estimated 53,000 people in
Group B, according to the government), it
was believed that as few as 6,545 had had
their files approved by the authorities by the
end of the year. The law required a two-year
waiting period after the approval of the
registration for them to be able to formally
request their naturalization as Dominicans.
By the end of the year no one was known to
have been naturalized under the new plan.
Most of the individuals affected remained
stateless in the absence of another
nationality.
During the year, the authorities failed to
discuss, design or implement new solutions
to guarantee the right to nationality for the
tens of thousands of Dominican-born people
who could not benefit from Law 169-14, in
particular the remaining 84% of those in
Group B, and all those who were left out of
the scope of the 2014 legislation.
Responding to this situation, in April the
IACHR incorporated the Dominican Republic
in Chapter IV.B of its annual report that
included countries in need of special human
rights attention.
By the end of the year, no public official had
been held accountable for discriminatory
practices in granting registration and identity
documents, including for the 2013 mass
arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Affected
people continued to be denied a range of
human rights and were prevented from
accessing higher education, formal
employment or adequate health care, among
other things.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
The Office of the Prosecutor General reported
110 killings by security forces between
January and October. The circumstances
around many of the killings suggested that
they may have been unlawful. The homicide
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rate remained high, at nearly 16 per 100,000
inhabitants during the first half of the year.
The media reported allegations of the
repeated use of unnecessary and excessive
force by the police during social protests.
of killings of women and girls, compared with
the same period in 2016.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Dominican Republic continued to lack
legislation to combat hate crimes. In June,
the body of a transgender woman, Rubi Mori,
was found dismembered in wasteland.
4
By
the end of the year, no one had been brought
to justice for her killing.
1. Dominican Republic: What does it take to solve a statelessness
crisis? (News
story,
23 May)
2. Dominican Republic: Vote against decriminalization of abortion, a
betrayal to women (Press
release,
1 June)
3. República Dominicana: Amnistía Internacional y Oxfam llaman a
Cámara de Diputados a garantizar derechos de las mujeres (AMR
27/6605/2017);
Dominican Republic: Further information - Congress
rejects regressive abortion reform (AMR
27/6724/2017);
Dominican
Republic: Further information: Abortion vote pending after President’s
veto (AMR
27/5478/2017)
4. Dominican Republic: Horrifying killing of transgender woman
highlights need for protection against discrimination (News
story,
6
June)
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The authorities remained unable to process
most of the cases of irregular migrants that
they received during the National
Regularization Plan for Foreigners with
Irregular Migration Status that operated
between 2014 and 2015. As a result, in July
the authorities renewed for a further year the
temporary “regularization carnets” issued to
registered individuals, allowing them to stay
in the country.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The Dominican Republic remained one of the
few countries worldwide that criminalized
abortion without exception.
In May the Senate voted against a proposal,
supported by President Medina, to
decriminalize abortion.
2
On 11 July the
Senate’s vote was rejected by the Chamber of
Deputies, providing the possibility of future
reforms that would protect the rights of
women and girls.
3
In August, a petition was presented to the
IACHR seeking justice and reparation for the
death in 2012 of 16-year-old Rosaura
Almonte Hernández, publicly known as
“Esperancita”. Because of the country’s
restrictive legislation on abortion, Rosaura
Almonte Hernández, who was seven weeks
pregnant, was denied life-saving treatment
for leukaemia for several days and died
shortly after.
An investigation published in August by
the NGO Women’s Link Worldwide found that
one woman died every two days in the
Dominican Republic during the first half of
2017 from pregnancy-related causes due to
the lack of access to quality maternal health
services.
ECUADOR
Republic of Ecuador
Head of state and government: Lenín Boltaire Moreno
Garcés (replaced Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado
in May)
Indigenous leaders, human rights defenders
and staff of NGOs faced persecution and
harassment amid continuing restrictions on
the rights to freedom of expression and
association. The right to free, prior and
informed consent of Indigenous Peoples
continued to be restricted. The Bill to
Prevent and Eliminate Violence against
Women was pending revision by the
National Assembly.
BACKGROUND
On 24 May, Lenín Moreno Garcés became
President. Shortly afterwards he called for a
referendum and a popular consultation, to be
held in February 2018, for Ecuadorians to
decide on matters including the amendment
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
According to official statistics, the first half of
the year saw a 21% increase in the number
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of the Constitution to eliminate indefinite re-
election of authorities, the banning of mining
in protected areas, and reducing the area of
oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park.
were pending revision by the National
Assembly at the end of the year.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In July, Indigenous and human rights
organizations denounced before the IACHR
intrusions of the state into the territory of the
Sápara People for future oil extraction. They
also denounced government bids for oil
extraction in the territory of the Kichwa
People of Sarayaku without obtaining their
free, prior and informed consent, despite the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling
that the Kichwa People must be consulted.
In April, Shuar Indigenous leader Agustín
Wachapá was released on parole after four
months in pre-trial detention on charges of
inciting violence in Morona Santiago in 2016.
The Shuar People continued to face a
dispute over the development of two copper
mines in their territory.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In May, Ecuador’s human rights record was
examined under the UN UPR process.
Ecuador accepted recommendations to adopt
a national action plan on business and
human rights, create an effective consultation
mechanism for Indigenous Peoples, align
national laws on freedoms of expression and
assembly with international standards,
ensure the protection of journalists and
human rights defenders, and guarantee
protection from discrimination based on
sexual orientation and gender identity.
Ecuador pledged to lead on creating an
international legally binding instrument on
transnational corporations and human rights.
Ecuador received a total of 182
recommendations of which it accepted 159,
noted 19, and left four for further review.
In July, the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR) held hearings on
violence and harassment against human
rights defenders, and on extractive industries
and the right to cultural identity of Indigenous
Peoples in Ecuador. The IACHR expressed
concern over the absence of state
representatives at both hearings.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
NGOs denounced before the IACHR the lack
of an adequate protection system or
specialized institution responsible for
investigating attacks against and
criminalization of human rights defenders.
They also denounced the frequent misuse of
the charge of attacking or resisting authority
to prosecute human rights defenders.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
In January, the Ministry for the Environment
rejected a complaint filed by the Ministry of
the Interior aimed at shutting down the NGO
Ecological Action Corporation, based on a
lack of evidence linking the NGO to violence
that occurred in 2016 in Morona Santiago
province.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
The UN Committee on Enforced
Disappearances noted in March that no
criminal responsibility had been established
for 17 cases of enforced disappearances
from 1984 to 2008 identified by the Truth
Commission, and that the whereabouts of 12
of those victims remained undisclosed.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In November the National Assembly
approved a Bill to Prevent and Eliminate
Violence against Women. In December,
President Moreno partially vetoed the Bill and
proposed a series of modifications, which
EGYPT
Arab Republic of Egypt
Head of state: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
Head of government: Sherif Ismail
Egypt’s human rights crisis continued
unabated. The authorities used torture and
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other ill-treatment and enforced
disappearance against hundreds of people,
and dozens were extrajudicially executed
with impunity. The crackdown on civil
society escalated with NGO staff being
subjected to additional interrogations, travel
bans and asset freezes. Arbitrary arrests and
detentions followed by grossly unfair trials
of government critics, peaceful protesters,
journalists and human rights defenders
were routine. Mass unfair trials continued
before civilian and military courts, with
dozens sentenced to death. Women
continued to be subjected to sexual and
gender-based violence and were
discriminated against in law and practice.
The authorities brought criminal charges for
defamation of religion and “habitual
debauchery” on the basis of people’s real or
perceived sexual orientation.
Willayet Sinai, affiliated to the armed group
Islamic State (IS), claimed responsibility for
most of the attacks across the country, with
smaller attacks claimed by other armed
groups, such as Hasm, Liwaa al-Thawra and
Ansar al-Islam. In April, IS claimed
responsibility for the bombing of two
churches in Tanta and Alexandria which left
at least 44 dead. In October, at least 16
officials from the Ministry of the Interior were
killed in an ambush in the western desert, a
rare attack on the mainland. In a significant
shift in targeting by armed groups, a
November attack on a mosque in North Sinai
during Friday prayers killed at least 300
people.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The authorities continued to curb the work of
human rights defenders in an unprecedented
manner as part of their relentless efforts to
silence all critical voices. In February the
authorities shut down the El-Nadeem Center,
an NGO offering support to survivors of
torture and violence. The criminal
investigations into so-called “Case 173”
against human rights defenders and NGOs
were ongoing; investigative judges
summoned at least 28 additional human
rights defenders and NGO staff for
interrogation during the year, bringing the
total to 66 people summoned or investigated
in the case since 2013. They were
questioned in relation to charges that
included “receiving foreign funding to harm
Egyptian national security” under Article 78
of the Penal Code, which carries a sentence
of up to 25 years’ imprisonment. The
investigative judges also ordered three
additional travel bans, bringing to 25 the
number of human rights defenders banned
from travelling outside Egypt. In January a
court ordered the freezing of the assets of the
NGOs Nazra for Feminist Studies and the
Arab Organization for Penal Reform and their
directors.
In May, President al-Sisi signed a draconian
new law giving the authorities broad powers
to deny NGOs registration, dissolve NGOs
and dismiss their boards of administration.
BACKGROUND
In June, President al-Sisi ceded sovereignty
over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to
Saudi Arabia, leading to widespread public
criticism. In July, EU-Egypt Association
council meetings resumed for the first time
since 2011 and the priorities of the
Association were finalized.
In February a member of parliament
proposed a constitutional amendment to
extend the presidential term from four to six
years. In April, President al-Sisi passed a new
set of legislative amendments weakening fair
trial guarantees and facilitating arbitrary
arrests, indefinite pre-trial detention,
enforced disappearances and the passing of
more sentences. The amendments also
allowed criminal courts to list people and
entities on “terrorism lists” based solely on
police information. Also in April, President al-
Sisi approved the Judicial Bodies Law 13 of
2017, granting him the authority to appoint
the heads of judicial bodies, including the
Court of Cassation and the State Council, two
courts that had hitherto been regarded as the
most independent judicial bodies in holding
the executive to account.
1
At least 111 security agents were killed,
mostly in North Sinai. The armed group
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The law also provided for five years’
imprisonment for publishing research without
government permission.
2
The government
had not issued the executive regulations to
enable it to start implementing the law by the
end of the year.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Security forces continued to arrest hundreds
of people based on their membership or
perceived membership of the Muslim
Brotherhood, rounding them up from their
homes or places of work or, in one case, from
a holiday resort.
The authorities used prolonged pre-trial
detention, often for periods of more than two
years, as means to punish dissidents. In
October a judge renewed the pre-trial
detention of human rights defender Hisham
Gaafar, despite him having been detained for
more than the two-year limit under Egyptian
law. Photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid,
known as Shawkan, had already spent two
years in pre-trial detention when his trial
started in August 2015. Throughout 2017 he
remained in detention alongside 738 co-
defendants as their trial continued.
Upon release, political activists were often
required to serve probation periods of up to
12 hours a day in a local police station,
amounting to arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
Between January and May, courts sentenced
at least 15 journalists to prison terms ranging
from three months to five years on charges
related solely to their writing, including
defamation and the publication of what the
authorities deemed “false information”. On
25 September a court sentenced former
presidential candidate and prominent human
rights lawyer Khaled Ali to three months’
imprisonment on charges of “violating public
decency” in relation to a photograph showing
him celebrating a court ruling ordering a halt
to the handover of two islands to Saudi
Arabia.
3
From May onwards, the authorities
blocked at least 434 websites, including
those of independent newspapers such as
Mada Masr
and human rights organizations
such as the Arab Network for Human Rights
Information. In March the Minister of Justice
referred two judges, Hisham Raouf and
Assem Abdelgabar, to a disciplinary hearing
for participating in a workshop organized by
an Egyptian human rights group to draft a law
against torture.
Security forces arrested at least 240 political
activists and protesters between April and
September on charges relating to online
posts the authorities considered “insulting” to
the President or for participating in
unauthorized protests. In April, a criminal
court sentenced lawyer and activist
Mohamed Ramadan to 10 years’
imprisonment in his absence under the
draconian Counter-terrorism Law.
4
In
December, an Alexandrian court sentenced
human rights lawyer Mahinour El-Masry to
two years’ imprisonment for her peaceful
participation in a protest.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AND
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Forces of the Ministry of the Interior
continued to subject to enforced
disappearance and extrajudicially execute
people suspected of engaging in political
violence. According to the Egyptian
Commission for Rights and Freedoms,
security forces subjected at least 165 people
to enforced disappearance between January
and August for periods ranging from seven to
30 days.
The Ministry of the Interior claimed that
more than 120 people were shot dead in an
exchange of fire with security forces during
the year. However, in many of these cases the
people killed were already in state custody
after having been subjected to enforced
disappearance. In May the Ministry
announced the death of schoolteacher
Mohamed Abdelsatar “in an exchange of fire
with the police”. However, his colleagues had
witnessed his arrest a month earlier from his
workplace. In April, a leaked video showed
military forces in North Sinai extrajudicially
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executing six unarmed men and a 17-year-
old boy.
DETENTION
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
routine in official places of detention and was
systematic in detention centres run by the
National Security Agency. In July, a Coptic
man was arrested and detained in Manshyet
Nasir police station in the capital, Cairo, in
relation to a minor offence; 15 hours later, he
was dead. Family members stated that they
saw bruises on the upper part of his body,
and the official autopsy report stated that his
death was the result of a “suspected criminal
act”.
Prison authorities, including in Tora
Maximum Security Prison and Wadi el-
Natrun Prison, punished prisoners detained
for politically motivated reasons by placing
them in indefinite and prolonged solitary
confinement. In February the Ministry of the
Interior amended the prison regulations to
allow solitary confinement to be increased up
to six months; a practice that can amount to
torture or other ill-treatment. Political activist
Ahmed Douma spent his third year in solitary
confinement in Tora Prison, confined to his
cell for at least 22 hours a day. Muslim
Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Hadad
remained indefinitely detained in solitary
confinement in Al Aqrab maximum security
prison since his arrest on 17 September
2013.
Other forms of ill-treatment and medical
negligence in prisons continued; dozens of
prisoners died, often due to prison authorities
refusing to transfer them to hospital for
medical treatment. In September, former
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mahdi
Akef died in prison from pancreatic cancer.
heavily on reports of the National Security
Agency and unsound evidence, including
confessions obtained under torture, in their
sentencing. Civilians continued to face unfair
trials before military courts; at least 384
civilians were referred to military trials during
the year.
DEATH PENALTY
Ordinary and military courts continued to
hand down death sentences following grossly
unfair mass trials. In June the Court of
Cassation upheld the death sentences of
seven men in two different cases after grossly
unfair trials. At least six of the men had been
subjected to enforced disappearance and
tortured to force them to “confess” and the
court relied heavily on these coerced
confessions in its verdict and sentencing.
Also in June, the Military High Court upheld
death sentences against four men following
grossly unfair trials in which the court relied
on “confessions” obtained under torture
during 93 days of incommunicado
detention.
5
On 26 December the authorities
executed 15 men who had been convicted by
a military court of killing nine military
personnel in North Sinai in 2013.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to face
inadequate protection from sexual and
gender-based violence, as well as gender
discrimination in law and practice. The
absence of measures to ensure privacy and
protection of women reporting sexual and
gender-based violence continued to be a key
factor preventing many women and girls from
reporting such offences. Many who did report
offences faced harassment and retaliation
from the perpetrators or their families. In
some cases, state officials and members of
parliament blamed victims of sexual violence
and attributed the incidents to their
“revealing clothing”. In March a young
student was attacked and sexually assaulted
by a mob in Zagazig city, al-Sharkia
governorate. Instead of arresting the
perpetrators and bringing them to justice, the
Security Directorate in al-Sharkia governorate
UNFAIR TRIALS
Hundreds were sentenced, some to death,
after grossly unfair mass trials. In September
a Cairo criminal court sentenced 442 people
in the case of the August 2013 al-Fateh
mosque protests to prison terms of between
five and 25 years after a grossly unfair trial of
494 defendants. Courts continued to rely
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issued a statement mentioning that by
“wearing a short dress” the victim had
“caused the mob attack”.
Women continued to face discrimination in
the judiciary. A number of women who
attempted to apply to the State Council for
appointment as judges were not given the
papers needed to process their requests. One
woman filed a suit against the State Council
on grounds of discrimination.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Asylum-seekers and refugees continued to
face arrest, detention and deportation for
entering or exiting the country irregularly.
Between January and April, immigration
officials deported at least 50 asylum-seekers
from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, including
young children, to their countries of origin
without giving them access to legal
representation or to UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency. The forced return of Eritrean asylum-
seekers, as well as Ethiopian and Sudanese
nationals with a well-founded fear of
persecution, constituted
refoulement.
In July
the authorities rounded up Chinese students,
mostly of the Uighur ethnic minority, arresting
at least 200 and deporting at least 21 men
and one woman to China, in violation of
Egypt’s
non-refoulement
obligations.
people to prison terms of between three
months and six years on charges that
included “habitual debauchery”. The other
people arrested remained in detention facing
questioning by prosecutors.
In late October, a group of parliamentarians
proposed a deeply discriminatory law
explicitly criminalizing same-sex sexual
relations and any public promotion of LGBTI
gatherings, symbols or flags. The proposed
law carried penalties of up to five years’
imprisonment, or 15 years’ imprisonment for
a person convicted of multiple charges.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
The authorities continued to violate the right
to freedom of religion by discriminating
against Christians. In August, security forces
prevented dozens of Coptic Christians from
praying in a house in Alforn village in Minya
governorate, citing reasons of security. There
was continued impunity for sectarian attacks
on Christian communities, and the authorities
continued to rely on customary reconciliation
and settlements agreed by local authorities
and religious leaders. Amid this impunity,
violence by non-state actors against
Christians increased significantly. Armed
groups in North Sinai killed seven Coptic
Christians between 30 January and 23
February, prompting an unprecedented
internal displacement of at least 150 Coptic
families living in North Sinai.
6
The authorities
failed to offer them the necessary protection
or appropriate compensation. In December,
IS claimed responsibility for the shooting of
10 people in an attack on a church in
Helwan in southern Cairo.
In November, an attack on a mosque in
North Sinai during Friday prayers killed at
least 300 worshippers. No group claimed
responsibility for the attack.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In the worst crackdown in over a decade, the
authorities across Egypt rounded up and
prosecuted people on the grounds of their
perceived sexual orientation after a rainbow
flag was displayed at a concert in Cairo on 22
September. These prosecutions provoked a
public outcry. Security forces arrested at least
76 people and carried out at least five anal
examinations, a practice which amounts to
torture. Those arrested included a man and a
woman who were detained for three months
for carrying the rainbow flag at the concert,
as well as people who made online
expressions of support for the raising of the
flag. Many of those arrested were entrapped
by security forces through online dating
applications. Courts sentenced at least 48
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The authorities subjected dozens of workers
and trade unionists to arrest, military trial,
dismissal and a range of disciplinary
measures, solely for exercising their right to
strike and form independent trade unions. In
June a Cairo Misdemeanours Appeal Court
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sentenced 32 workers from the privately
owned Tora Cement Company to two months’
imprisonment after they were convicted of
participating in an unauthorized protest and
“assaulting security forces”, despite the
peaceful nature of their 55-day sit-in to
protest at their dismissal. In December, the
Military Court in Alexandria resumed the trial
of 25 workers from the military-run
Alexandria Shipyard Company. The trial
started in May 2016 on charges that included
“inciting the workers to strike”. The
government and the official Egypt Trade
Union Federation sought to deprive
independent unions of the de facto
recognition they had obtained in 2011
through a declaration issued by the then
Minster of Manpower. The authorities
continued to deny their legal recognition and
hinder their ability to function freely through a
range of measures.
7
On 5 December
parliament passed a new trade union law,
replacing Law 35 of 1976, creating excessive
requirements for unions to have at least 150
members to obtain legal recognition or face
automatic dissolution.
4. Egypt: 10-year prison term for insulting President an outrageous
assault on freedom of expression (Press
release,
13 April)
5. Egypt: Seven men facing imminent execution after being tortured in
custody (Press
release,
16 June); Egypt: Four men facing imminent
executions after grossly unfair military trial (MDE
12/6590/2017)
6. Egypt: Government must protect Coptic Christians targeted in string
of deadly attacks in North Sinai (Press
release,
1 March)
7.
Egypt: On Labour Day – relentless assault on labour rights (MDE
12/6154/2017)
8. Egypt: Release 24 Nubian activists detained after protest calling for
respect of their cultural rights (Press
release,
12 September)
EL SALVADOR
Republic of El Salvador
Head of state and government: Salvador Sánchez
Cerén
El Salvador’s high rate of gender-based
violence continued to make it one of the
most dangerous countries to be a woman. A
total ban on abortion persisted, and women
were convicted of aggravated homicide after
suffering miscarriages or other obstetric
emergencies. To combat violence, the
government implemented a series of
security measures, which did not comply
with human rights standards. Measures
were taken to address impunity for
historical abuses; however, the executive
and legislative branches of government
admitted being in contempt of a 2016
Supreme Court judgment that declared the
1993 Amnesty Law unconstitutional.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Despite an explicit constitutional provision
recognizing the Nubian Indigenous people’s
right to return to their traditional lands, the
government continued to deny displaced
Nubians the right to access their traditional
lands, posing a threat to the preservation of
their cultural, historical and linguistic identity.
On 3 September, Nubian activists held a
protest calling on the authorities to repeal a
2014 presidential decree that classified 16
villages on traditional Nubian lands as
military zones and prohibited residents from
living there. The police arrested 25 activists
and detained them for three months.
8
1. New legislation threatens judicial independence in Egypt (Press
release,
27 April)
2. Egypt: NGO law threatens to annihilate human rights groups (Press
release,
30 May)
3. Egypt: Former presidential candidate given jail term in bid to stop
him running in 2018 election (Press
release,
25 September)
BACKGROUND
El Salvador continued to have one of the
world’s highest murder rates, although the
number of homicides fell from 5,280 in 2016
to 3,605 in 2017. The figure for 2017
included 429 femicides.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Abortion continued to be prohibited in all
circumstances, and carried criminal penalties
for women and health care providers. Women
from poor backgrounds were
disproportionately affected.
In March, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (IACHR) admitted a
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petition in the case of Manuela, a woman
convicted of homicide after having a
miscarriage, and who died from cancer in
prison while serving her sentence.
On 5 July, Evelyn Beatriz Hernández Cruz
was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment
after being convicted on charges of
aggravated homicide after suffering obstetric
complications resulting in a miscarriage. On
13 December, a court denied the release of
Teodora del Carmen Vásquez; she had
suffered a stillbirth in 2007 and was later
sentenced to 30 years for aggravated
homicide.
In August a parliamentarian for the
opposition Nationalist Republican Alliance
presented a new proposal to decriminalize
abortion in two circumstances: when a
woman’s life is at risk or when the pregnancy
is a consequence of rape of a minor. The
proposal remained pending in Parliament.
This followed previous, unsuccessful
attempts at partial decriminalization of
abortion in 2016.
In August, Congress approved a law
banning child marriage, without exceptions.
In November, the IACHR admitted a petition
on the case of “Beatriz”, a woman who in
2013 was denied an abortion despite her life
being put at risk by the pregnancy, and the
foetus being diagnosed with fatal impairment,
which would not have allowed its survival
after birth.
threats, and being the victim of extortion by
criminal gangs. Between January and
September, the Association for
Communicating and Training Trans Women in
El Salvador (COMCAVIS TRANS) reported 28
serious attacks, most of them murders,
perpetrated against LGBTI people.
1
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
In September the Human Rights Institute of
José Simeón Cañas Central American
University and the NGO Passionist Social
Service reported before the IACHR that the
armed forces and National Civilian Police
were responsible for carrying out extrajudicial
executions.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In November the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights urged El Salvador to end the
extraordinary security measures adopted
since 2016 to combat gang violence and
organized crime, which failed to comply with
international human rights standards. The
measures included prolonged and isolated
detention under inhuman conditions, and
prolonged suspension of family visits to
prisoners.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
On 6 and 13 October, for the first time, the
Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court
of Justice issued two injunctions (amparo) to
protect internally displaced people. The
injunctions included protective measures for
a family that had been forcibly internally
displaced due to rape, threats, beatings and
harassment by a gang. The decision was
welcomed by the IACHR and the UN Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of internally
displaced persons.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In June the home of human rights defender
Sonia Sánchez Pérez was illegally searched
by National Civilian Police officers. In 2015
the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman
had granted her precautionary measures for
her environmental protection work.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In October, Karla Avelar, a human rights
defender and founder of the first association
of trans people in El Salvador, announced
that she would claim asylum in Europe
because of a lack of protection by the
authorities, despite several security incidents,
IMPUNITY
Measures were adopted nationally and
internationally to redress crimes under
international law and punish perpetrators of
human rights violations committed during El
Salvador’s armed conflict from 1980 to 1992.
In May, a court ordered the reopening of the
case of Monseñor Óscar Arnulfo Romero y
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Galdámez, Archbishop of San Salvador, who
was murdered in 1980 by a death squad
while celebrating mass.
Following a judgment by the Supreme Court
in 2016 in which the 1993 Amnesty Law was
ruled to be unconstitutional, the Court held a
hearing in July to determine what steps the
government had taken to comply with the
ruling. In that hearing, both the executive and
legislative branches of government admitted
to being in contempt of the ruling.
In September the government created a
commission to search for people who were
subjected to enforced disappearance during
the armed conflict.
In November, the Supreme Court of the
USA cleared the way for Colonel Inocente
Orlando Montano Morales to be tried in Spain
on charges that he conspired in the killing of
six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her
daughter in El Salvador in 1989.
1.
Americas: “No safe place” –
Salvadorans, Guatemalans and
Hondurans seeking asylum in Mexico based on their sexual
orientation and/or gender identity (AMR
01/7258/2017)
corruption and money laundering while he
was Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
In November’s legislative and municipal
elections, the ruling Democratic Party of
Equatorial Guinea won 99 of 100 seats in the
Chamber of Deputies, all elected seats in the
Senate, and all but one seat in the municipal
elections. Opposition parties denounced
electoral irregularities and intimidation.
Internet access was severely disrupted for at
least five days.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
The authorities continued to harass,
intimidate and arbitrarily detain human rights
defenders.
On 17 April, Enrique Asumu and Alfredo
Okenve, leaders of the Centre for
Development Studies and Initiatives, were
detained in the capital, Malabo, after they
objected to the authorities’ decision to
prevent Enrique Asumu from boarding a
plane to Bata city the previous day. Enrique
Asumu was released eight days later on
health grounds after paying a fine of CFA
francs 2 million (USD3,500). Alfredo Okenve
was released on 4 May after paying the same
fine. The Ministry of Interior had suspended
the Centre’s activities in 2016.
On 16 September, state security agents
arrested and detained Ramón Esono Ebalé, a
cartoonist and critic of the government, and
two Spanish nationals as they left a
restaurant in Malabo. They were handcuffed,
their mobile phones confiscated, and taken
to the Office against Terrorism and
Dangerous Activities where Ramón Esono
Ebalé was questioned about his cartoons.
The Spanish nationals were released the
same day. Ramón Esono Ebalé was
transferred three days later to the Black
Beach prison in Malabo. National TV
reported that he was accused of heading an
organization involved in money laundering
and counterfeiting money. On 27 November
he was charged with counterfeiting money
and remained in detention at the end of the
year.
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Head of state and government: Teodoro Obiang
Nguema Mbasogo
Harassment, intimidation and arbitrary
detention of human rights defenders
continued. The rights to freedom of
association and assembly were curtailed;
people attending peaceful gatherings were
arbitrarily detained and beaten. Pregnant
girls were barred from attending school.
BACKGROUND
On 27 October, Vice-President Teodoro
Nguema Obiang Mangue, the President’s
son, was given a three-year suspended
prison sentence, and a suspended EUR30
million fine by a court in Paris, France, for
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FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
On 8 March, police arrested 47 women, four
children and at least 12 men at an
International Women’s Day training session in
Mbini city, southwest of Bata, in the office of
the opposition Convergence for Social
Democracy party. The police threatened to
arrest Epifania Avomo, the party’s executive
women’s officer, but when other women
protested they were all arrested and taken to
Mbini police station. Some of them were
beaten at the police station, after which they
were all released the same day.
In May, taxi drivers’ organizations called for
a three-day strike in Malabo to protest at the
high prices of permits and papers. Security
forces arbitrarily arrested at least 17 people
and beat some of those believed to be
participating in the strike, leaving several of
them in need of medical assistance. They
were released without charge about one week
later.
On 27 May, security forces arbitrarily
arrested rapper Benjamín Ndong, also known
as “Jamin Dogg”, in Malabo, for releasing two
weeks ealier a song supporting the striking
taxi drivers and denouncing government
intimidation. He was released the same day
without charge.
DEATH PENALTY
Death sentences continued to be handed
down. On 16 September Raimundo Nfube
Onva and Fausto Luis Nve Adugu were
sentenced to death for a ritual killing
committed in 2016.
ERITREA
State of Eritrea
Head of state and government: Isaias Afwerki
Thousands continued to flee Eritrea while
the authorities severely restricted the right
to leave the country. Indefinite mandatory
national service continued to be imposed.
Restrictions on the rights to freedom of
expression and of religion remained.
Arbitrary detention without charge or trial
continued to be the norm for thousands of
prisoners of conscience. Thousands were
denied the right to an adequate standard of
living.
BACKGROUND
Skirmishes broke out between the Eritrean
and Ethiopian military periodically. Military
hostilities with Djibouti escalated over
ownership of the disputed territory of Ras
Doumeira.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS
In June, the NGO Human Rights Watch
issued a report highlighting the lack of
investment in health and education despite
the increase, over two decades, of the per
capita GDP which arose mainly from oil
revenues. The government continued to
focus spending on large infrastructure
projects, from which some government
officials profited, at the expense of health and
education sectors.
Pregnant girls continued to be banned from
school following a 2016 order issued by the
Ministry of Education as a means to reduce
adolescent pregnancies.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Thousands of Eritreans continued to flee the
country. They faced serious human rights
abuses while in transit and in destination
countries. Sudan remained a key transit for
Eritrean refugees. In one case in August,
Sudanese courts deported 104 refugees to
Eritrea where they were at risk of serious
human rights violations. In a context where
little is known about the fate of those
deported across the border with Sudan, there
were reports that 30 of them were deported
from Kassala city, eastern Sudan, after being
charged with illegal entry. Eritreans also
risked arbitrary detention, abduction, sexual
abuse and ill-treatment on their way to
Europe.
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Attempts to address the causes of migration
from Eritrea continued at an international
level. Following the High Level Dialogues on
migration under the EU-Horn of Africa
Migration Route Initiative (Khartoum
Process), which involves the EU and African
states and aims to address migration flows,
the European Commission apportioned over
EUR13 million for Eritrea in order to support
employment opportunities and skills
development in the country as a means of
reducing migration. The EU channelled
EUR100 million to Sudan through the
European Union Emergency Trust Fund for
Africa for use in addressing the root causes
of migration and displacement in the region.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
The imposition of indefinite military national
service, along with the general human rights
situation, created severe difficulties for many
Eritreans. The right of people to leave the
country was severely restricted. The
authorities continued to prohibit those aged
between five and 50 from travelling abroad,
and anyone attempting to leave was subject
to arbitrary detention. People seeking to leave
to avoid indefinite national service and other
human rights violations, or for family reunion
with relatives abroad, had to travel by foot
and use unofficial border crossings in order
to take flights from other countries. If caught
by the military, they were detained without
charge until they paid exorbitant fines. The
amount payable depended on factors such
as the commanding officer making the arrest
and the time of the year. People caught
during national holidays to commemorate
independence were subject to higher fines.
The amount was greater for those attempting
to cross the border with Ethiopia. A “shoot-to-
kill” policy remained in place for anyone
evading capture and attempting to cross the
border into Ethiopia. Children close to
conscription age caught trying to leave were
sent to Sawa National Service training camp.
calls from the international community on the
government to limit conscription to 18
months. Significant numbers of conscripts
remained in open-ended conscription, some
for as long as 20 years. Despite a minimum
legal conscription age of 18, children
continued to be subjected to military training
under the requirement that they undergo
grade 12 of secondary school at Sawa
National Service training camp, where they
faced harsh living conditions, military-style
discipline and weapons training. Women, in
particular, faced harsh treatment in the camp
including sexual enslavement, torture and
other sexual abuse.
Men of up to 67 years of age were
conscripted into the “People’s Army”, where
they were given a weapon and assigned
duties under threat of punitive repercussions,
such as detention, fines or hard labour.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Arbitrary detention and enforced
disappearances continued, for which security
forces were not held accountable. 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 lawyers
or family members. Many had been detained
for well over a decade.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Bans on religious faiths, other than Islam,
Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Lutheranism
and Catholicism, remained in place. Many
Evangelical Christians practised their religion
in secret to avoid imprisonment.
Patriarch Antonios, head of the Eritrean
Orthodox Church, was reported to have been
seen attending mass in the capital, Asmara,
in July. He had last been seen in public 10
years earlier just before he was sentenced to
house arrest for objecting to government
interference in church affairs.
FORCED LABOUR AND SLAVERY
The mandatory national service continued to
be extended indefinitely despite repeated
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RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF
LIVING 
UNICEF said that malnutrition rates had
increased over the past few years in four out
of six regions of Eritrea, and cited research
which projected that 22,700 children
under five would be affected by severe acute
malnutrition during the year. It also noted
national data indicating that half of all
children had stunted growth. In her June
report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Eritrea cited
UNICEF’s report. She further highlighted
accounts from Eritreans living
abroad describing their relatives at home as
“struggling to meet their basic needs”. Many
of them could not afford “adequate and
sufficient basic supplies” and were dealing
with “acute water shortages, especially in
Asmara”. Reports suggested that more and
more people were leaving “drought-affected
regions in search of better living conditions.”
She noted that the government’s draconian
regulations that limited cash withdrawals
from individuals’ bank accounts prevented
people from buying adequate food and other
basic items.
ESTONIA
Republic of Estonia
Head of state: Kersti Kaljulaid
Head of government: Jüri Ratas
A draft amendment to the Asylum Act
would increase the risk of
refoulement
for
refugees sentenced to imprisonment for
certain types of crimes. The Supreme Court
ruled that the Family Law does not prohibit
recognition of same-sex marriages
registered in other countries.
In accordance with the November 2016
decision of the Tallinn Appeal Court, which
ruled against the blanket application of the
“safe third country” concept for applications
from asylum-seekers entering from the
Russian Federation, the merits of eight
individual asylum requests were assessed.
These cases were pending at the end of the
year.
In May, the government presented a draft
amendment to the Asylum Act. The draft
extended the exceptions under which
refoulement
– the forcible return of people to
countries where they are at real risk of
persecution – was allowed in situations where
refugees have been sentenced to
imprisonment for certain types of crimes.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, raised
concerns that the proposed amendment was
not compliant with the UN Refugee
Convention. In particular, it recommended
that the government clarify the term “danger
to the community of Estonia”, which was
included among the grounds for removal of a
refugee from the country.
A number of refugees faced legal
uncertainty and difficulty in accessing
services as a consequence of the March
2016 Supreme Court decision which held
that asylum-seekers who received a negative
decision on their application immediately lose
their status. The NGO Estonian Human
Rights Centre raised concern over access to
legal aid for asylum-seekers held in detention
centres. This lack of access particularly
affected asylum-seekers who entered the
country via its border with Russia.
The lack of thorough investigations into
racially motivated crimes against refugees
and migrants persisted.
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
80,000 people resident in Estonia remained
stateless – almost 7% of the population, most
of them Russian speakers. Roma continued
to suffer discrimination across a range of
social and economic rights.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
By the end of the year, Estonia had
relocated 141 asylum-seekers from Italy and
Greece under the EU Emergency Relocation
Scheme; however, of these, 71 people had
left the country by the end of the year.
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RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In June, the Supreme Court held that
although the Family Law does not provide for
marriage of same-sex couples, it does not
preclude recognition of same-sex marriages
registered in other countries. The decision
involved an Estonian-US lesbian couple
initially forced to leave Estonia after the
authorities had refused to provide one of the
partners with a residence permit.
credible investigation into the cause and
scale of the deaths.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment of
people accused of terrorism persisted.
Detainees repeatedly complained to the
courts that police tortured and ill-treated
them during interrogations. Although, in
some cases, judges ordered the Ethiopian
Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to
investigate the allegations, the investigations
did not adhere to international human rights
standards. Angaw Tegeny and Agbaw Seteny
were tried under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation (ATP) along with 35 others, in
connection with a fire at Qilinto prison on the
outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa. The two
men complained that the police suspended a
water bottle from their scrotums and flogged
them on the soles of their feet. However, an
EHRC report to the Federal High Court did
not refer to their torture complaints.
ETHIOPIA
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Head of state: Mulatu Teshome Wirtu
Head of government: Hailemariam Desalegn
The government lifted the state of
emergency in June. In August protests
resumed in Oromia against income tax
increases and calling for the release of
Beqele Gerba, Merera Gudina and other
political prisoners. In February, 10,000
people who had been arbitrarily detained
were released. Reports of torture and other
ill-treatment, unfair trials and violations of
the rights to freedom of expression and of
association continued.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Arbitrary detention continued under the state
of emergency declaration which was lifted in
June. On 2 February, the government
ordered the release of 10,000 of the 26,000
people arbitrarily detained and arrested,
under the declaration, in 2016.
Hundreds of people were detained under
the ATP, which includes overly broad and
vague definitions of terrorist acts punishable
by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Detainees
were held in excess of four months, the
maximum period allowed under the law for
pre-trial detention. Seven Oromo artists, for
example, were detained for more than six
months when the prosecutor finally charged
them on 29 June.
BACKGROUND
The authorities failed to implement the
reforms they had promised to address
grievances raised during protests in 2015
and 2016 in Amhara and Oromia. The
demonstrators had been protesting against
the forced eviction of farmers from their lands
in Oromia in the past 20 years; arbitrary
arrests and detention of opposition political
party leaders; and severe restrictions on the
rights to freedom of expression and of
association. Instead, the government
declared a state of emergency in October
2016 after mobs torched farms and
businesses in Oromia and Amhara following a
stampede during the Oromo Thanksgiving
Ceremony (Irrecha) in which at least 55
people were killed. The Ethiopian authorities
have yet to conduct an independent and
UNFAIR TRIALS
Hundreds of political activists, dissenters and
peaceful protesters faced unfair trials on
charges brought under the ATP law. The trials
were marked by prolonged pre-trial
detention, undue delays and persistent
complaints of torture and other ill-treatment.
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Prominent leaders of opposition political
parties such as Merera Gudina, Chairman of
the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), and
Beqele Gerba, Deputy Chairman of the OFC,
were tried on charges under the ATP for their
alleged role in organizing the November 2015
Oromia protest. Beqele Gerba’s trial was
repeatedly adjourned. Finally the court
dismissed the terrorism charges against him.
However, it ruled that his trial should proceed
on charges of provocation and preparation for
outrages against the Constitution or the
Constitutional Order as per the Criminal
Code.
provided rehabilitation for victims and their
families by the end of the year.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
The Ethiopian Somali Liyu Police (Liyu
Police), a special force in Somali Regional
State in eastern Ethiopia, and local Ethiopian
militia, extrajudicially executed hundreds of
Oromos living in the Somali Region. Among
those killed were infants as young as six
months. The Liyu Police also evicted at least
50,000 Oromos living in the Somali Region
between September and October. It attacked
the neighbouring Oromia Regional Districts
and displaced thousands of residents in
February, March, August, September and
October.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The Federal High Court convicted journalists,
bloggers and other activists on terrorism
charges and handed down prison sentences.
Yonatan Tesfaye was convicted of
encouraging terrorism in his Facebook posts
and sentenced to six-and-a-half years in
prison. Getachew Shiferaw was sentenced to
18 months in prison for sending emails to
leaders of a banned opposition political party
based abroad. The court convicted him on
charges including expressing appreciation
of someone who, in 2012, publicly
denounced the late Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi.
ABDUCTION OF CHILDREN
The authorities failed to adequately protect
people in Gambella Regional State from
repeated attacks by armed members of the
Murle ethnic group based in neighbouring
South Sudan. The Murle gunmen crossed the
border to Ethiopia on 12 March and
abducted 22 children from the Anuwa
community. The authorities were not known
to have taken steps to ensure the return of
the abducted children to their families.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS
On 11 March, 115 people were killed as a
result of a landslide at the Koshe rubbish
dump, the largest dump in Ethiopia, located
on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, in an area
inhabited by hundreds of people. Most of the
victims lived next to the site and supported
themselves by recycling rubbish. The
authorities had been aware that the landfill
was full to capacity, and the residents had no
option but to live and work there because the
government failed to protect their right to
adequate housing and decent work. More
than 80 million birr (around USD3 million)
was fundraised for rehabilitation of the
victims. Although the municipal government
managed the fund, the authorities had not
IMPUNITY
The police and army continued to enjoy
impunity for human rights violations
committed in 2015 and 2016. During the
year, the government rejected calls for
independent and impartial investigations into
human rights violations committed in the
context of protests in various regional states.
In the few cases where the EHRC conducted
investigations and found that human rights
violations had taken place, the government
did not investigate or bring to justice
suspected perpetrators.
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FIJI
Republic of Fiji
Head of state: Jioji Konousi Konrote
Head of government: Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama
The government failed to ensure
accountability for the torture and other ill-
treatment of detainees by security forces. In
two incidents, individuals were forcibly
returned without due process to countries
where they may be at risk of serious human
rights violations. The increasing use of
sedition charges, and the arrest of a lone
peaceful protester on the International Day
in Support of Victims of Torture highlighted
the continuing restrictions on the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly.
posting anti-government graffiti in public
places in 2011.
On 26 June, Jope Koroisavou, a youth
leader from the opposition Social Democratic
Liberal Party, was arrested and detained for
48 hours after he carried placards in the
capital, Suva, calling for justice in torture
cases.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Police and military officers charged in 2015
in connection with the torture of Iowane
Benedito had not been brought to trial by the
end of the year.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Vikrant Nand, aged 18, died in police
custody in February. The police promptly
announced an investigation into his death but
by the end of the year it remained unclear
what steps had been taken since the autopsy.
BACKGROUND
In June, the UN Special Rapporteur on
racism published a report from his December
2016 mission to Fiji. The government had not
implemented several of the report’s
recommendations by the end of the year,
including calls to combat hate speech while
protecting the right to freedom of expression,
to facilitate meaningful dialogue to address
past injustices and current inequalities and to
strengthen the Human Rights and Anti-
Discrimination Commission to ensure it
complies with the Paris Principles.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
On two occasions, people were forcibly
returned to countries where they may be at
risk of serious human rights violations. In
January, Iranian refugee Loghman Sawari
fled Papua New Guinea for Fiji to seek
asylum. On his way to meet Fiji’s Director of
Immigration, police intercepted his vehicle,
arrested him and separated him from his
lawyer. He said the police officers punched
and attacked him with pepper spray. He was
returned to Papua New Guinea without due
process (see Papua New Guinea entry).
In August, 77 Chinese nationals
were returned to China in co-operation with
the Chinese authorities. The Fijian authorities
claimed that they had committed “computer
crimes” and breached the terms of their
visas, charges which they were not given the
opportunity to contest. They were
not permitted to seek legal advice or appeal
their forcible return.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY
The authorities used restrictive legislation to
stifle the media and curtail the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly, including by imposing sedition
charges. In March, three senior staff at the
Fiji Times
and the author of a letter to its
editor were charged with sedition, which
carries a maximum prison sentence of seven
years. In May, opposition MP Mosese
Bulitavu and Fiji United Freedom Party
leader Jagarth Karunaratne went on trial on
sedition charges for their alleged role in
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FINLAND
Republic of Finland
Head of state: Sauli Niinistö
Head of government: Juha Sipilä
Changes to the asylum procedure continued
to affect asylum-seekers negatively. Support
services for women who experienced
domestic violence remained inadequate.
Legislation on legal gender recognition
continued to violate the rights of
transgender people. Draft legislative
changes limiting the right to privacy were
proposed.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Legislation on legal gender recognition
continued to violate the rights of transgender
people. They could obtain legal gender
recognition only if they agreed to sterilization,
were diagnosed with a mental disorder, and
were aged over 18. Despite an April decision
by the European Court of Human Rights
condemning sterilization, the government did
not consider amending the law.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
NGOs and state institutions working to
combat violence against women and girls
remained systematically under-resourced.
Neither adequate and accessible walk-in
services nor long-term support services for
survivors of violence were in place. Existing
legislation did not sufficiently protect
institutionalized or hospitalized individuals
from sexual violence.
In May, the first Sexual Assault Support
Centre was opened at the Women’s Hospital
in the capital, Helsinki. Finland still lacked a
nationwide, accessible service network for
victims of all forms of sexual violence, which
could also provide long-term support.
In January, an Administrative Committee on
Coordination on violence against women, as
required by the Istanbul Convention, started
its work to enhance the implementation of
the Convention and facilitate work to prevent
violence against women. However, neither
women’s nor victims’ support organizations
were represented in the Committee and it
was also inadequately resourced.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Many changes in the law introduced in 2016,
including restrictions of the right to free legal
representation and reduced time frames for
appeals, continued to affect refugees’ and
asylum-seekers’ rights. The likelihood of
asylum-seekers being forcibly returned to
countries where they might be at risk of
human rights violations (refoulement) was
increased. The government had not
evaluated the combined impact of these
changes by the end of the year.
Family reunification remained difficult for
most refugees due to both legislative and
practical obstacles, including high income
requirements.
Despite international NGOs raising concern,
Finland continued to forcibly return asylum-
seekers whose applications were rejected to
Afghanistan.
Contrary to international standards, the
authorities continued to detain
unaccompanied children, and families with
children, based on their immigration status.
There was no time limit on detaining families
with children. In February, “directed
residence” was introduced as a new form of
deprivation of liberty for asylum-seekers and
migrants. It meant that asylum-seekers had
to report to a reception centre up to four
times a day.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
In April, draft civilian and military intelligence
legislation was published. It enabled the
acquisition of information on threats to
national security by giving military and civilian
intelligence agencies permission to conduct
communications surveillance without any
requirement for a link to a specific criminal
offence.
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CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
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: Emmanuel Macron (replaced François
Hollande in May)
Head of government: Édouard Philippe (replaced
Bernard Cazeneuve in May)
The state of emergency, introduced in
2015, was eventually lifted. A new law
increased the government’s powers to
impose counter-terrorism measures on
vague grounds and without full judicial
scrutiny. Authorities continued to return
Afghan nationals to Afghanistan in violation
of the principle of
non-refoulement.
A new
vigilance law imposing obligations on large
companies entered into force.
The law required prefects to seek a judicial
authorization only in respect of searches.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism had in September expressed
concern that the bill included a vague
definition of what constituted a threat to
national security and had the effect of
transposing emergency measures into
ordinary law.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Prefects continued to resort to emergency
measures to restrict the right to freedom of
peaceful assembly. In particular, they
adopted dozens of measures restricting the
freedom of movement of individuals to
prevent them from attending public
assemblies. Authorities imposed these
measures on vague grounds and against
individuals with no apparent connection with
any terrorism-related offence. Prefects
imposed 17 measures to prevent individuals
from participating in the public assemblies
calling for police accountability after a young
man reported he had been raped by a police
officer on 2 February. The Paris Prefect of
Police imposed 10 measures to prevent
protesters from attending the public
assembly scheduled for International
Workers’ Day on 1 May.
On 5 January, a police officer was indicted
for firing a sting-ball grenade that blinded
protester Laurent Théron in one eye. The trial
of the police officer was ongoing at the end of
the year. The investigation into the alleged
excessive use of force by police against
dozens of protesters who had attended the
public assemblies organized in 2016 against
the reform of labour laws was still ongoing at
the end of the year.
In March, a new law on the use of force and
weapons by law enforcement officials entered
into force. The law permitted the use of some
weapons, including kinetic impact projectiles,
in instances that did not fully comply with
international standards.
In June, the Constitutional Court ruled that
the emergency measure that had allowed
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In July, Parliament approved the
government’s proposal to extend the state of
emergency until 1 November and then to end
it. It had been in force since the attacks
carried out in the capital, Paris, on 13
November 2015.
In October, Parliament adopted a
governmental bill to introduce new counter-
terrorism measures into ordinary law. The law
increased the powers of the Minister of the
Interior and the prefects to impose
administrative measures on individuals, in
cases where there was not sufficient
evidence to open a criminal investigation.
The measures included restrictions on
freedom of movement, house searches,
closure of places of worship, and the
establishment of security zones where law
enforcement officials were permitted to
exercise enhanced stop-and-search powers.
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prefects to restrict freedom of movement was
unconstitutional. However, in July Parliament
included the same measure in the law that
extended the state of emergency. Prefects
imposed 37 such measures between 16 July
and 30 October.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Between January and July, the prefectural
authorities of Alpes-Maritimes department
stopped 28,000 refugees and migrants who
had crossed the border from Italy. The
authorities sent 95% of them back to Italy,
including unaccompanied minors, without
providing them with the right to seek asylum
in France.
Between January and August, authorities
placed more than 1,600 Afghan nationals in
detention centres in view of returning them to
other European countries under the Dublin III
Regulation – a mechanism for allocating
responsibility for the examination of asylum
claims among EU member states − or to
Afghanistan. In the same period, according to
civil society organizations, authorities
returned about 300 Afghan nationals to other
EU countries and expelled at least 10 of them
to Afghanistan. Authorities returned 640
individuals to Afghanistan in 2016. All returns
to Afghanistan constituted a violation of the
principle of
non-refoulement
− the principle
according to which states are obliged not to
return any person to a country where they
would risk human rights violations − given
the volatile security and human rights
situation in Afghanistan.
In the aftermath of the eviction of the
informal settlement near Calais, known as
“The Jungle”, in November 2016, authorities
put in place punitive measures against the
hundreds of migrants and refugees who had
subsequently returned to Calais. They
enhanced police stop-and-search operations,
which raised concerns over ethnic profiling.
In March, municipal authorities prohibited
humanitarian organizations from distributing
meals to migrants and asylum-seekers in the
town. At the end of March, a court ruled that
the decision constituted an inhumane and
degrading treatment and suspended it.
Municipal authorities refused to fully comply
with the ruling and only allowed the
distribution of one meal a day. In June, the
Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsperson)
expressed concerns about the human rights
violations experienced by migrants and
asylum-seekers in Calais and called on
authorities to ensure the respect of their
social and economic rights, in particular
access to water and to adequate housing,
and to provide them with effective
opportunities to seek asylum in France.
Authorities continued to prosecute and
convict individuals who supported migrants
and refugees in entering or staying in France
irregularly, for example by providing food or
shelter. In August, an appeal court convicted
Cédric Herrou, a farmer living close to the
French-Italian border, and sentenced him to
a suspended sentence of four months’
imprisonment for helping migrants and
refugees to cross the border into France and
for sheltering them.
DISCRIMINATION
In January, a law extending the moratorium
on evictions of informal settlements during
winter entered into force. Authorities
continued to forcibly evict people from
informal settlements, many of them Roma
migrants. Civil society organizations reported
that authorities had evicted 2,689 individuals
in the first half of the year.
On 14 March, the Court of Justice of the EU
failed to uphold Muslim women’s rights to
non-discrimination by ruling that a private
French employer had not breached EU anti-
discrimination law in dismissing a woman for
wearing a headscarf.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In March, a law imposing a “duty of
vigilance” on large companies entered into
force. The law required companies to
establish and implement a “vigilance plan” to
prevent serious human rights abuses and
environmental damage resulting directly or
indirectly from their own activities and those
of subsidiaries and other business partners.
Victims of human rights abuses resulting
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from a company’s failure to comply with the
law could seek compensation before a
French court.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
In January, the new Communications Code
came into force. The Code was criticized by
journalists for its vague and overly broad
provisions, including prohibitions on
Gabonese nationals working for local media
outlets outside the country, and
provisions banning the use of pseudonyms,
holding printers and distributors jointly
responsible for any infractions, and an
obligation for media to “contribute to the
country’s image and national cohesion”.
On 17 March, the authorities suspended the
activities of CONASYSED, the main teachers’
union, citing “disturbance of public order”
caused by strikes that began in October
2016. The Minister of Education also ordered
the suspension of the payment of salaries to
over 800 teachers in order to end the strike.
In June 2017 the National Council of
Communication banned
Les Echos du Nord,
a newspaper considered to be close to the
political opposition, for statements deemed
defamatory against President Bongo and
Prime Minister Issoze-Ngondet. The outlet
reopened in August.
ARMS TRADE
The government continued to license weapon
transfers to governments that were likely to
use them to commit serious violations of
international human rights law and
humanitarian law. The government continued
to license weapon transfers to members of
the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen and
to Egypt.
In May, the Senate recommended the use
of armed remotely piloted vehicles (drones)
for the armed forces to improve their
effectiveness in military operations. The
Minister of Defence confirmed concrete plans
to use armed drones from 2019, but the
authorities were yet to articulate and
implement clear policies on their use and
transfer.
GABON
Gabonese Republic
Head of state: Ali Bongo Ondimba
Head of government: Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet
The new Communications Code was
criticized by journalists for its vague and
overly broad provisions, and a newspaper
was suspended. Prominent opposition
supporters were arbitrarily arrested. The
activities of the teachers’ unions were
severely restricted. Representatives of the
ICC conducted a two-day visit.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
On 14 April, Alain Djally, an assistant to
opposition leader Jean Ping, was arrested
without a warrant in the capital, Libreville. He
was blindfolded and ill-treated by men in
plain clothes, but allowed to see his lawyer
the day after his arrest. After that he was
denied access. He was detained at the
Direction Générale de la Recherche, a facility
run by the Gabonese intelligence services,
before being transferred to the central prison
in Libreville, where he was kept in solitary
confinement for the entire period of his
detention. He was charged with
impersonating an active service member and
illegal possession of firearms, for retaining his
old military ID card and possessing a blank-
firing gun. His lawyer claimed such a weapon
did not require a permit, and that the charges
were politically motivated. He was
provisionally released on 23 June.
BACKGROUND
Presidential candidate Jean Ping continued
to contest the results of the August 2016
presidential elections, and in September
2017 he was temporarily denied the right to
leave the country. Legislative elections were
postponed until April 2018. In November, the
report submitted by Gabon and parallel
reports submitted by civil society
organizations were examined under the UN
UPR process.
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On 15 June, Marcel Libama, an adviser for
CONASYSED and the union confederation
Dynamique Unitaire, was arrested in
Tchibanga city after discussing the case of a
detained colleague, Cyprien Moungouli,
during a Radio Massanga show. He was held
for three days at a police station, and on 20
June transferred to the local prison. He was
charged with insulting a magistrate,
obstruction of justice and defamation. On 17
June, Juldas Biviga, a journalist from Radio
Massanga, was also arrested for refusing to
delete recordings of archived interviews,
among other things. On 13 July, both Marcel
Libama and Juldas Biviga were severely
beaten by their prison guards. Suffering
injuries to his ankles, ribs and ears, Juldas
Biviga was transferred to hospital. They both
received sentences of 184 days in prison and
a EUR450 fine.
On 27 August, security forces arrested
Hervé Mombo Kinga, an activist and
prominent supporter of Jean Ping. He had
publicly projected videos next to his internet
café, and was charged with “instigating
violence” and “insulting the Head of State”,
and spent one and a half months in solitary
confinement. He remained in detention at the
end of the year.
reforming the security forces. Steps were
taken to begin a transitional justice process.
BACKGROUND
Following mediation by regional leaders and
the threat of a military intervention by
ECOWAS,
1
former President Yahya Jammeh
accepted the results of the December 2016
presidential elections and departed Gambia
on 21 January for Equatorial Guinea.
2
ECOWAS had a coalition force stationed in
Gambia scheduled to withdraw in mid-2018.
Adama Barrow was inaugurated in Senegal’s
capital, Dakar, on 19 January during the
impasse.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
On 10 February, the government cancelled
the planned withdrawal from the Rome
Statute of the ICC which had been introduced
under President Jammeh’s rule.
3
On 21 September, Gambia signed the
Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, in an
apparent step towards abolishing the death
penalty.
Plans were initiated to begin a constitutional
reform process and to reform other
repressive laws implemented under the
previous President.
Bills on the Constitutional Review
Commission and Human Rights Commission
were passed by the National Assembly on 13
December.
IMPUNITY
The ICC continued its preliminary
examination into whether alleged crimes
committed after May 2016, including in the
context of the 2016 presidential elections,
could amount to crimes under the Rome
Statute, and whether the criteria for opening
an investigation were met. In June,
representatives of the ICC conducted a two-
day visit.
POLITICAL PRISONERS
Between December 2016 and January 2017,
dozens of political prisoners and prisoners of
conscience were released, including
prisoners of conscience Amadou Sanneh and
Ousainou Darboe. On 30 January, President
Barrow pardoned Ousainou Darboe and
dozens of others arrested for taking part in a
peaceful protest in April 2016.
GAMBIA
Republic of the Gambia
Head of state and government: Adama
Barrow (replaced Yahya Jammeh in January)
The new government committed to
reforming several repressive laws and
DETENTION
Prison conditions did not meet international
standards due to inadequate sanitation, food
and access to medical care. In February, 174
prisoners were released to commemorate
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independence celebrations and a further 84
were released in March in order to reduce
prison overcrowding. Legal aid provision was
limited, especially outside of the capital,
Banjul. New judges were appointed, in order
to address the need for a more independent
judiciary.
against electricity and water shortages, but
permission was denied on 11 November. The
protest was dispersed on 12 November by
riot police.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In February the National Intelligence Agency
(NIA), which practised torture and arbitrary
detention under the previous government,
was renamed the State Intelligence Services
and its powers of detention ended through a
government policy decision. However, the
changes were not supported by new
legislation. During the following months, the
heads of the police, prison, intelligence
agency and military were replaced. However,
there had not been systemic reform of these
institutions, or any vetting of people who had
committed serious human rights abuses. Civil
society groups expressed concern that the
government had not taken steps to preserve
documentary and physical evidence of
abuses by the security forces, particularly the
NIA.
In July, 12 soldiers were arrested on
allegations connected to “mutinous and
seditious” posts on social media in support of
former President Jammeh. They were held
without charge in military detention until
being brought to court on 17 November, in
violation of detention time limits set in the
Constitution. On 27 November, 10 were
charged with treason and mutiny and two
with negligent interference of lawful custody.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The government committed to reforming
several repressive media laws. A number of
journalists returned to the country, having
fled into exile due to harassment or threat of
imprisonment under the previous
government.
On 19 February, a woman was arrested and
detained for breach of the peace after she
allegedly insulted President Barrow. She was
granted bail on 2 March, and the case was
dismissed by the Brikama Magistrates Court
on 3 April.
In November, at a symposium marking the
International Day to End Impunity for Crimes
against Journalists, the government
announced that it would comply with
judgments by the ECOWAS Community Court
of Justice on state involvement in human
rights violations against three journalists
–
Deyda Hydara, Chief Ebrima Manneh and
Musa Saidykhan. This would include
negotiating compensation payments with
victims’ families.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Restrictive laws on freedom of peaceful
assembly had not yet been amended. On 23
November, Gambia’s Supreme Court ruled
that Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1961,
requiring police permission for peaceful
assembly, did not violate the Constitution.
On 2 June, one person died and at least six
were injured when the ECOWAS coalition
force fired live ammunition to disperse
demonstrators near Yahya Jammeh’s former
residence in the village of Kanilai. The
government committed to holding an
investigation, but no information had been
made public by the end of the year.
The Occupy Westfield movement was
initially authorized to peacefully protest
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Ten soldiers were arrested and detained in
January, accused of involvement in enforced
disappearances and killings, but were not
charged and remained in detention at the
end of the year.
In February, criminal proceedings began
against nine NIA officers, including the
former director, accused of murdering
opposition activist Solo Sandeng in April
2016.
In October, victims of human rights abuses,
civil society organizations and international
human rights groups formed a coalition to
campaign for Yahya Jammeh and others who
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committed serious human rights abuses
during his rule to be brought to justice.
Ousmane Sonko, Minister of Interior from
2006 until he fled the country in September
2016, faced investigation in Switzerland for
crimes against humanity committed during
President Jammeh’s rule.
On 13 December, the Truth, Reconciliation
and Reparation Commission (TRRC) bill to
examine events during President Jammeh’s
rule, was passed by the National Assembly,
following consultation on the bill with national
and international actors.
On 10 August, a Commission of Inquiry was
set up to investigate Yahya Jammeh’s alleged
mismanagement of public finances and
abuse of office. The government also froze
assets believed to belong to him.
A Panel on Missing Persons, a specialized
police unit investigating enforced
disappearances during President Jammeh’s
rule, was created in February. In March, the
bodies of four people, possible victims of
enforced disappearance, were exhumed,
including that of Solo Sandeng. It is expected
to submit the list of missing people to be
investigated by the TRRC.
Abortion remained a criminal offence,
except in cases where the pregnant woman’s
life was at risk.
1. Gambia: Adama Barrow must not forget his big promises (News
story,
19 January); Gambia: State of Emergency no licence for repression
(News
story,
18 January)
2. Gambia: Response to the departure of Yahya Jammeh (News
story,
22
January)
3. Gambia: Progress in first 100 days of Barrow government requires
major reform to break with brutal past (News
story,
27 April)
GEORGIA
Georgia
Head of state: Giorgi Margvelashvili
Head of government: Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Continued impunity for human rights
abuses committed by law enforcement
officials emphasized the need for an
independent investigation mechanism. A
legal dispute over a pro-opposition TV
channel caused concern about judicial
independence and media freedom. The
fencing of the de facto border between the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia continued to have a negative impact
on local residents’ economic and social
rights.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Same-sex relations remained criminalized. A
law approved in October 2014, for example,
imposed sentences of up to life imprisonment
for “aggravated homosexuality” offences.
LGBTI people continued to suffer
discrimination and threats from non-state
actors.
BACKGROUND
The Parliament – under the majority ruling
party Georgian Dream – adopted a new
Constitution in October. It deferred until
2024 the introduction of a fully proportional
electoral system, which the opposition had
long been seeking, and ensured that from
2024 mandates won by political parties that
fail to reach the election threshold are
assigned to the winning party. Under the new
rules, electoral blocs will no longer be allowed
from 2020, and the president will no longer
be elected by direct popular vote after 2018.
In December, Parliament started the
process of changing the Constitution again to
accommodate some of the opposition’s
demands which were excluded from the new
Constitution.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In November, the government and
development partners launched the
Comprehensive Sexuality Education
programme to be delivered in schools.
Despite laws criminalizing female genital
mutilation (FGM), it remained widespread.
The government and development partners
developed a communication strategy to
further educate communities about the
harms of FGM.
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Far-right movements organized xenophobic
and homophobic marches in the capital
Tbilisi.
The national currency, Lari, continued to
devalue, adversely affecting living standards.
In February, Georgian nationals were
granted visa-free travel to the Schengen Area
after the government implemented several
key institutional and legislative reforms
demanded as a precondition by the EU.
evidence. The prosecution appealed against
the Court’s decision.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
On 29 May, Azerbaijani investigative
journalist Afghan Mukhtarli – who was exiled
in Georgia – vanished from Tbilisi, and
reappeared the following day in Azerbaijan in
official custody, falsely accused of illegal
border crossing and money smuggling. He
told his lawyer that he had been abducted by
Georgian-speaking men, some wearing
Georgian criminal police uniforms, and
trafficked across the border. The authorities
denied the involvement of Georgian forces,
and started an investigation into Afghan
Mukhtarli’s allegations. The investigation was
not known to have produced substantial
results; he remained in detention in
Azerbaijan at the end of the year.
IMPUNITY
Impunity for human rights abuses committed
by law enforcement officers persisted, while
the government continued to promise, but
failed to deliver, an independent investigation
mechanism. In June, instead of an
independent investigation mechanism, the
government proposed a new department
within the Prosecutor’s Office with a mandate
to investigate alleged abuses by law
enforcement officers.
In June, two members of the rap group Birja
Mafia were arrested for alleged drug
possession, and demonstrations erupted in
their support. The arrested musicians said
police had planted drugs on them in revenge
for a YouTube video satirizing a police officer,
and cited earlier threats from police
demanding that they remove the video. The
protests resulted in their release on bail
pending trial. An investigation was launched
into the musicians’ allegations of police
abuse and was ongoing at the end of the
year.
In June, the first instance court in Kutaisi
acquitted the police officer charged with
“exceeding official capacity”. The alleged
victim, Demur Sturua, a 22-year-old resident
of Dapnari, western Georgia, committed
suicide on 8 August 2016. The prosecution’s
evidence included Demur Sturua’s note
blaming the police officer for his suicide, a
postmortem examination confirming signs of
ill-treatment, video footage showing the
officer picking up Demur Sturua with his car
on the day of the suicide, and phone call
logs. NGOs criticized the court’s decision,
calling it unsubstantiated in light of the
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The litigation over the ownership of Rustavi 2
Broadcasting Company, a pro-opposition TV
channel, continued. On 2 March, the
Supreme Court ruled to transfer the
ownership of Rustavi 2 TV to its former co-
owners – known to be government supporters
– upholding previous rulings by the court of
first instance and the Court of Appeals. Local
NGOs raised concerns about possible
government interference in the judicial
process and called the trial unfair. In March,
the European Court of Human Rights
requested that enforcement of the Supreme
Court’s decision be suspended until it had
considered the case.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Russian forces and de facto authorities in the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia continued to restrict movement
across the de facto border, briefly detaining
and fining dozens of people for “illegal”
border crossing. The increased fencing along
the administrative boundary lines continued
to adversely affect the rights of local
residents, including the rights to work, food
and an adequate standard of living, owing to
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the loss of access to their orchards, pasture
and farm land.
GERMANY
Federal Republic of Germany
Head of state: Frank-Walter Steinmeier (replaced
Joachim Gauck in March)
Head of government: Angela Merkel
Parliament passed a law granting same-sex
couples the right to marry. The authorities
continued to deport to Afghanistan asylum-
seekers whose applications had failed
despite the worsening security situation in
the country. The federal Parliament
extended police powers to conduct
surveillance measures and to impose
administrative measures on individuals
identified as “potential attackers”.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The new Constitution restricted the definition
of marriage from “a voluntary union based on
equality between the spouses” to “a union
between a man and a woman”. Same-sex
couples were not legally recognized.
On 25 August, police arrested two LGBTI
activists after a violent incident at a nightclub
in Batumi, the second largest city. The
activists questioned why they, the targets of
violence, were arrested and charged with
“disorderly conduct” and not their assailants,
and complained of beating and verbal abuse
by police. An investigation was opened into
their complaint and was ongoing at the end
of the year.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In March, September and November, 22
Syrian nationals residing in Germany
submitted four criminal complaints to the
office of the Federal Prosecutor General
against 27 Syrian officials working for the
military police and different intelligence
services for their alleged involvement in
torture as a war crime and a crime against
humanity. The alleged crimes were
committed in Saydnaya and other military
prisons and in prisons of the Air Force
Intelligence in Damascus and other places in
Syria. In May, the Federal Prosecutor General
carried out hearings with Syrian witnesses.
Investigations were ongoing at the end of the
year.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
On 24 May, Mustafa Çabuk – a Turkish
national resident in Georgia since 2002 – was
detained under an extradition request from
Turkey which claimed that he was
“supporting terrorism” and had links with the
Fethullah Gülen movement. Mustafa Çabuk
was at real risk of torture and other ill-
treatment if returned to Turkey. His
application for refugee status in Georgia was
rejected. Appeals were made against the
decision; Mustafa Çabuk continued to be
held in pre-extradition detention at the end of
the year.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Throughout the year, more than a dozen
cases of fatal occupational accidents
were reported, particularly among miners and
construction workers. The need for stricter
regulations and their effective monitoring by
an independent labour standards regulatory
authority remained.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In April, the federal Parliament passed an
amendment that expanded the control
powers of the Federal Criminal Police to
impose administrative measures for
“potential attackers”, such as electronic
ankle tagging, assigned residency and
telecommunication surveillance. These
“potential attackers” were vaguely defined as
“individuals who could be involved in
committing a terrorism-related offence in the
future”.
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In May, the federal Parliament passed a law
that facilitated the detention of people
representing a “significant security threat” to
society, pending their deportation. The law
also granted the Federal Office for Migration
and Refugees the power to seize the
electronic devices of asylum-seekers who do
not possess identity documents.
In July, the state of Bavaria increased the
period of administrative police detention
without charge for “potential attackers” from
14 days to up to three months.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
In June, the federal Parliament passed a law
granting police authorities the power to use
new surveillance techniques, including by
installing surveillance software on computers
and phones.
Also in June, a Higher Administrative Court
ruled in an urgent procedure that the
indiscriminate retention of data prescribed by
a law that was due to enter into full force in
July, was not in compliance with EU law. The
law was not enforced pending the final ruling.
Also in June, a parliamentary committee of
inquiry – established in 2013 following
Edward Snowden’s revelations regarding the
USA’s surveillance of its allies, including
Germany – concluded that the Federal
Intelligence Service had resorted to an overly
broad interpretation of surveillance laws and
had implemented surveillance measures,
such as mass surveillance of foreign-to-
foreign communications, without sufficient
legal basis and oversight.
Despite the worsening security situation in
Afghanistan, authorities continued to forcibly
return Afghan nationals whose asylum claims
had been rejected, in violation of the
principle of
non-refoulement.
By the end of
the year, 121 Afghan nationals had been
forcibly returned.
In March, the Federal Council rejected a
draft law from the government that sought to
classify Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia as
“safe” countries of origin and to establish a
fast-track procedure to determine the refugee
status of applicants from those countries.
Germany had relocated around 9,100
asylum-seekers who had arrived via Italy and
Greece by the end of December. Germany
also resettled almost 280 refugees from Egypt
and Lebanon, and around 2,700 Syrian
refugees from Turkey as part of the EU-
Turkey deal.
DISCRIMINATION – HATE CRIMES
In June, the second Committee of Inquiry –
established by Parliament in 2015 to address
the authorities’ failure to investigate the racist
crimes perpetrated by the far-right group
Nationalist Social Underground (NSU)
between 2000 and 2007 – concluded that
the authorities had to establish clear rules for
infiltrating “far-right extremist” movements,
provide long-term funding to civil society
initiatives against racism and assist victims of
racist crimes. The authorities continued to fail
to launch an official investigation into the
potential role of institutional racism behind
Germany’s failure to investigate the crimes
committed by the NSU.
In the first nine months, the Interior Ministry
reported 1,212 criminal offences against
refugees and asylum-seekers, and 210
offences against asylum-seekers’
accommodations. Federal and state
authorities continued to fail to implement a
comprehensive assessment strategy to
identify the risks of attacks against asylum
shelters, in order to provide adequate police
protection if necessary.
In June, following a comprehensive
consultation with civil society organizations,
the federal government adopted a National
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
There were 222,683 asylum applications
made, a drop by 70.1% compared to 2016,
and the decisions on 68,245 claims were
pending.
The right to family reunification for
beneficiaries of subsidiary protection
remained suspended throughout the year.
This had a particularly negative impact on
Syrian refugees who were increasingly
granted subsidiary protection instead of full
refugee status, providing them with fewer
rights.
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Action Plan against racism and other forms of
discrimination, including homophobia and
transphobia.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Authorities at both the federal and the state
levels continued to fail to establish any
independent complaints mechanism to
investigate ill-treatment by police.
Civil society organizations continued to
report discriminatory identity checks by
police on members of ethnic and religious
minorities.
In November, the central investigation unit
in Hamburg was investigating complaints
filed against 109 police officers for the
alleged unlawful use of force during protests
against the G20 summit in Hamburg in July.
In eight federal states, police officers
remained under no legal obligation to wear
identification badges. In October, the newly
elected Parliament in North-Rhine
Westphalia repealed the recently introduced
requirement for law enforcement officials in
the federal state to wear identification
badges.
In October, prosecutorial authorities closed
the new investigations opened in May into the
death in custody of Oury Jalloh, a Sierra
Leonean national who died in a fire in a cell
of a police station in Dessau in 2005. In
November, media reports revealed that
months before the investigations were closed,
fire experts meeting in February had
unanimously excluded the possibility of Oury
Jalloh setting fire to himself. In December,
the Minister of Justice of Saxony-Anhalt
newly assigned the investigations to the
Prosecutor General of Naumburg.
The federal government continued to
license the export of arms and other related
military equipment to countries, such as
India and Turkey, where there was a risk that
such arms could be used to commit or
facilitate serious human rights violations.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In March, Parliament passed a law
implementing the 2014 EU Directive on non-
financial reporting, which required certain
large companies to report on the human
rights impacts of their global operations.
However, the law was more limited than the
Directive, requiring companies to report only
on risks that were “very likely to cause severe
negative consequences” on human rights
and only to the extent necessary for an
understanding of their business operations.
There continued to be a lack of a binding
mechanism requiring business enterprises to
exercise due diligence to ensure that they
respect human rights throughout their
operations and supply chain. Access to the
justice system for victims of human rights
abuses by or involving business enterprises
remained burdensome.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In July, the federal Parliament passed a law
granting same-sex couples the right to marry
and to access adoption.
Children and adults with variations of sex
characteristics continued to suffer human
rights violations. Invasive and irreversible
medical procedures carried out on children
with variations of sex characteristics
continued and had lifelong harmful effects.
Guidelines drawn up by intersex activists and
medical professionals for treatment of
individuals with variations of sex
characteristics had not been widely
implemented.
In November, the Federal Constitutional
Court ruled that individuals should be allowed
to choose a legal gender other than male and
female by the end of 2018.
ARMS TRADE
The selective post-shipment control system to
improve the monitoring of German small
arms exports to ensure compliance with end-
use certificates entered its pilot phase. In
May, a first control mission on the
whereabouts of exported sniper rifles in India
was conducted in agreement with the Indian
authorities.
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GHANA
Republic of Ghana
Head of state and government: Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo (replaced John Dramani Mahama in
January)
Concerns were raised around unfair trials
and poor prison conditions for people on
death row, as well as the shackling of
people with psychosocial disabilities. LGBTI
people continued to face discrimination,
violence and police harassment.
arrests. No official report concerning the
death had been released by the end of the
year.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In May the Minister for Gender, Children and
Social Protection launched a strategy for
2017-2026 to address the issue of child
marriage. Some regions were
disproportionately affected by child marriage;
34% of girls in northern Ghana were married
before the age of 18. The strategy included
accelerating access to quality education and
sexual and reproductive health information
and services, as well as enforcing the existing
legal and policy frameworks in relation to
child marriage.
BACKGROUND
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New
Patriotic Party was inaugurated as President
in January, following presidential and
parliamentary elections in December 2016.
DEATH PENALTY
Scores of people on death row, including six
officially considered to have mental and
intellectual disabilities, faced poor prison
conditions. Inmates experienced
overcrowding and lack of access to health
care and educational and recreational
facilities.
Many death row inmates reported that they
had not received adequate legal
representation at their trials. Fewer than one
in four death row inmates interviewed by
Amnesty International had been able to
appeal against their conviction or sentence.
Few inmates interviewed were aware of how
to appeal or access legal aid, while most were
unable to pay for private lawyers. The Ghana
Prison Service reported that only 12 death
row inmates had filed appeals since 2006 –
half of which were successful.
1
 Proposals
made by the Constitutional Review
Implementation Committee to abolish the
death penalty continued to be stalled as a
result of delays in the constitutional review
process.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In July, Ghana signed the AU Convention on
Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection,
and the Protocol to the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of
Older Persons in Africa.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
On 23 March, Ghana ratified the UN
Minamata Convention on Mercury, which
aims to protect workers from toxic liquid
metal by reducing mercury use in artisanal
and small-scale gold mining and protecting
children from exposure. About 1 million
people were working in Ghana’s gold mines,
and nearby communities were often directly
exposed to mercury. In April, the government
began a campaign to end illegal small-scale
gold mining (known as “galamsey”), the
negative impacts of which include increased
crime, lost revenues and environmental
damage as well as encouraging hazardous
child labour. The government launched a
five-year project to provide illegal miners with
alternative livelihoods in the legal mining
sector. More than 300 people were arrested
on suspicion of illegal gold mining; one
person was shot dead by police during the
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Access to justice remained limited, especially
for people from low income or marginalized
backgrounds. The Ghana Legal Aid Scheme
suffered from funding shortages; just 23
lawyers offering legal aid were available to the
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country’s population of more than 28 million
people.
1. Locked up and forgotten: The need to abolish the death penalty in
Ghana (ACT
50/6268/2017)
RIGHT TO HEALTH
Shackling of people with psychosocial
disabilities remained common, particularly in
private “prayer camps” across the country.
The practice involved restraining a person
using chains or ropes and locking them in a
confined space such as a room, shed or
cage. In June the Mental Health
Authority of Ghana released 16 people,
including two girls, held in shackles at
Nyakumasi Prayer Camp, a “spiritual healing
centre” in the Central Region. Those freed,
some of whom had mental health conditions,
were taken to nearby Ankaful Psychiatric
Hospital. A coalition of civil society
organizations called on the government to
adopt and enforce a ban on shackling and to
invest in appropriate community-based
services to support people with mental health
conditions. They also called on the
government to fully implement the Mental
Health Act 2012, which, among other things,
required the establishment of regional mental
health committees responsible for monitoring
mental health facilities across the country.
Funding for mental health services remained
lacking.
GREECE
Hellenic Republic
Head of state: Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Head of government: Alexis Tsipras
Thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants
remained trapped on the Greek islands in
appalling conditions. The European Court of
Human Rights found that Greece failed to
prevent human trafficking in the case of 42
migrant workers from Bangladesh. New
legislation reforming legal recognition of
gender identity was adopted.
BACKGROUND
Unemployment rates dropped but remained
high, particularly for the 15-24 age group. In
July, the unemployment rate was 20.5% and
youth unemployment was at 39.5%. Also in
July, Greece returned to the international
bond market after a three-year hiatus.
According to the 2017 Gender Equality
Index, Greece ranked last among EU states
in terms of overall gender equality. In
November, the Ministry of Justice presented
a bill on the ratification of the Council of
Europe Convention on Preventing and
Combating Violence against Women and
Domestic Violence.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex sexual relations
between men remained a criminal offence.
LGBTI people continued to face
discrimination, violence and police
harassment as well as extortion attempts by
members of the public. In February the
Speaker of Parliament stated in the media
that the Constitution should be amended to
make homosexuality completely illegal and
punishable by law. In July he also stated in
the media that Ghana would not
decriminalize homosexuality as this could
lead to bestiality and incest becoming
legalized.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Nearly 47,000 asylum-seekers remained
trapped in Greece due to the closure of the
Balkans migration route and the
implementation of the EU-Turkey deal in
March 2016. By the end of the year, 29,716
people had arrived by sea from Turkey in
comparison with 173,450 in 2016. However,
Greece continued to be one of the main entry
points for refugees and migrants into Europe.
THE EU-TURKEY MIGRATION DEAL
The expectation that everyone arriving
irregularly on the Greek islands, including
asylum-seekers, would be returned to Turkey
under the EU-Turkey deal of March 2016
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continued to condemn many to extended
asylum procedures while being stranded in
appalling reception conditions on the islands.
In September, the Greek Council of State,
the highest administrative court in the
country, rejected the final appeals of two
Syrian refugees, against previous decisions
declaring their asylum claims inadmissible on
the basis that Turkey was a safe third country.
This decision could result in the first forcible
returns of Syrian asylum-seekers under the
EU-Turkey deal.
By the end of the year, 684 individuals were
returned to Turkey from the Greek islands
(1,485 in total since the EU-Turkey deal
became effective). Out of those, five were
Syrian nationals in detention who did not
challenge their return after their claims were
found inadmissible at second instance.
In October, NGOs, including Amnesty
International, documented instances in which
Syrian asylum-seekers were automatically
detained upon arrival as the authorities
expected them to be shortly returned to
Turkey, under the EU-Turkey deal.
Greek authorities discriminated against
asylum-seekers of certain nationalities. Due
to the EU-Turkey deal, many of those with
nationalities of countries prejudged to be
producing “economic migrants” rather than
“refugees” were automatically detained and
expected to be returned to Turkey.
EU RELOCATION SCHEME
The EU relocation scheme continued to be
one of very few formal options available, for
those eligible, to safely leave Greece and
move elsewhere in Europe. However, asylum-
seekers who arrived in Greece since the EU-
Turkey deal came into effect, were arbitrarily
excluded from the scheme. A total of 21,703
asylum-seekers had been relocated from
Greece to other European countries, out of
the 66,400 that were foreseen to be relocated
under the scheme.
RECEPTION CONDITIONS
Security continued to be a main concern in
many of the remaining refugee camps, in
particular in overcrowded “hotspots” on the
islands.
In June, the three refugee camps in the
Elliniko area in the capital Athens – which
housed around 1,000 refugees and migrants,
including many children – were evacuated.
The majority of refugees and migrants were
transferred to alternative camps. The
conditions in the Elliniko camps, which
occupied two former Olympic sites and the
arrivals terminal of an unused airport, had
been appalling and unsafe. NGOs had raised
serious concern regarding security in Elliniko,
especially for women and girls. Many women
reported verbal harassment and being at risk
of sexual and gender-based violence.
In January, three men died within one week
in Moria camp on the island of Lesvos. Their
deaths were suspected to be linked to carbon
monoxide poisoning from makeshift heaters
used to heat their tents. By the end of the
year, the investigation into the deaths had not
been concluded.
Following these deaths, the Greek
authorities transferred thousands of
vulnerable asylum-seekers from the islands
to the mainland. However, in August, rising
numbers of people arrived on the islands and
reception facilities returned to being
overcrowded. The authorities had not been
able to provide reception conditions on the
islands that met minimum standards under
EU law by the end of the year.
The use of urban accommodation for
asylum-seekers, largely flats, increased. By
the end of the year, there were around
18,000 asylum-seekers and refugees staying
in flats and other urban accommodation
rather than in camps. The majority of those
living in the urban accommodation were in
mainland Greece; there were fewer than
1,000 asylum-seekers living in flats on the
islands.
UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN
In September, the Council of Europe
Committee for the Prevention of Torture
criticized the continued and routine detention
of unaccompanied migrant and refugee
children. As of 15 December, there were
2,256 unaccompanied children waiting to be
placed in shelters, including 74 detained in
police stations.
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FORCED LABOUR AND SLAVERY
In March, in
Chowdury and Others v. Greece,
in a landmark judgment, the European Court
of Human Rights found that 42 migrant
workers from Bangladesh had been
subjected to forced labour and human
trafficking while working at a strawberry farm
in the village of Manolada. The Court also
found that Greece had failed to prevent
human trafficking and to conduct an effective
investigation into the offences committed.
RACISM
Numerous hate-motivated attacks were
reported during the year. Between August
2016 and the end of 2017, over 50 attacks
reportedly took place in the town of
Aspropyrgos where groups of young locals
attacked migrant workers from Pakistan. In
June, representatives of national NGOs filed a
complaint and authorities launched a
criminal investigation. In October, police
arrested three young men suspected of being
linked to one of the violent attacks.
Sixty-nine individuals linked to the far-right
party Golden Dawn, including the party’s
leader and MPs, were put on trial in 2015 for
the murder of anti-fascist singer Pavlos
Fyssas in 2013 and for participation in a
criminal organization. In October, the Athens
Court of Appeal completed hearing evidence
from all prosecution witnesses called to testify
in the trial.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
Conscientious objectors continued to be
arrested, repeatedly prosecuted, tried in
military courts and fined. In June, a 53-year-
old conscientious objector who was
prosecuted for having refused to enlist in
1990, was tried in a military court, but was
acquitted.
According to the 2016 submissions of the
Greek National Commission for Human
Rights and the European Bureau for
Conscientious Objection, the duration of
alternative civilian service for certain
categories of conscientious objectors was still
not conforming with the European Social
Charter. In July, the European Committee of
Social Rights asked Greece to provide further
information.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Refugees and migrants stranded on the
Aegean islands were also subjected to hate-
motivated crimes. Some of the victims were
transgender women and gay men.
In October, amid transphobic reactions
inside and outside Parliament, the
government passed a new law reforming legal
recognition of gender identity. Law
4491/2017 expressly stated that transgender
people could change their identity
documents without the requirements of
medical interventions, tests and psychiatric
assessments. However, the new legislation
also contained several flaws, including a
single status requirement and the validation
of gender recognition by a local court. While
the procedure was open to individuals above
the age of 15, blanket age restrictions
remained and 15- to 16-year-old children
seeking legal gender recognition faced the
additional barrier of a psycho-medical
assessment.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Allegations of ill-treatment and excessive use
of force by law enforcement officials
persisted. The majority of victims of the
reported incidents were refugees and
migrants trapped on the Aegean islands as a
result of the EU-Turkey deal.
There were allegations that police used
excessive force against asylum-seekers
during an operation to arrest protesters who
were clashing with the police in the Moria
camp, on Lesvos, on 18 July. Police also
allegedly ill-treated some of those arrested
and detained in the island’s main police
station following the clashes. In July, a local
prosecutor ordered a criminal investigation
into the allegations. The investigation was
ongoing at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
In October, Parliament adopted a legislative
amendment seeking to implement three
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European Court of Human Rights judgments.
The judgments were regarding the violation of
the right to freedom of association in relation
to the authorities’ refusal to register
associations of Greece’s national minorities in
2007, 2008 and 2015. The new provision
amended the Code of Civil Procedure to allow
the possibility of reopening proceedings in
these cases. However, the NGO Greek
Helsinki Monitor expressed concern over the
limitations placed by the law in relation to the
reopening of such proceedings, including on
grounds of national security and public order.
GUATEMALA
Republic of Guatemala
Head of state and government: Jimmy Morales Cabrera
Thousands continued to flee the country to
escape high levels of inequality and
violence. Human rights defenders, in
particular those working on land, territorial
and environmental issues, were at great risk
and faced smear campaigns. Impunity and
corruption persisted, undermining public
trust in local authorities and hindering
access to justice. Recent progress to
consolidate the criminal justice system and
the rule of law was challenged. High-profile
cases of past crimes under international law
remained stalled.
military, including the former head of the
High Command of the Guatemalan Army,
were sent to trial charged with crimes against
humanity and rape against Emma Guadalupe
Molina Theissen, and the enforced
disappearance of her younger brother, Marco
Antonio Molina Theissen.
Criminal proceedings remained stalled
against former members of the military on
charges related to multiple cases of enforced
disappearances and unlawful killings carried
out in a military base, now known as
Creompaz, in the northern Alta Verapaz
region. Appeals filed against decisions
affecting the victims’ rights were pending and
several officers remained at large. In both
cases, victims and human rights defenders
were intimidated and harassed inside or
outside the court and online. After several
failed attempts since 2015, the trials of
former military head of state José Efraín Ríos
Montt and former intelligence chief
Rodríguez Sánchez resumed in October.
IMPUNITY
Judges and prosecutors continued to face
intimidation and pressure. Efforts to fight
impunity were at great risk of setbacks due to
increased resistance from certain political
actors. A constitutional reform introduced in
Congress in November 2016, aimed at
consolidating efforts towards justice and
accountability and strengthening the
independence of the judiciary, had not been
approved at the end of the year. Mass
protests took place in August and September
and the country faced a political crisis when
several members of the government resigned
in September, in reaction to President
Morales’ attempt to expel the head of the
International Commission against Impunity in
Guatemala (an independent body established
by the UN and the Guatemalan government
in 2006 to strengthen the rule of law post-
conflict).
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In August, Augusto Jordan Rodas took up
office as Ombudsperson for Human Rights.
In November, the last criminal provisions
referring to the death penalty were declared
unconstitutional.
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Despite progress in the prosecution of some
crimes against humanity committed during
the internal armed conflict (1960-1996),
efforts towards truth, justice and reparations
remained halted, and the vast majority of
cases continued to suffer setbacks and
undue delays. Five former members of the
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders faced continuous
threats, stigmatization, intimidation and
attacks.
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The Guatemalan NGO Unit for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders in
Guatemala said that defenders working on
rights related to land, territory and the
environment faced the highest number of
attacks. In January, Sebastián Alonso Juan
was killed during a peaceful protest against
the construction of hydroelectric projects in
the Ixquisis region of San Mateo Ixtatán.
In addition, human rights defenders were
constantly subjected to smear campaigns to
stigmatize and discredit them and their work
in an attempt to force them to stop their
legitimate activities. From the end of June,
members of the Centre for Environmental,
Social and Legal Action were targeted with
smear campaigns after they challenged the
licence of Minera San Rafael mining
company in San Rafael Las Flores. The
justice system was regularly misused to target
and harass human rights defenders in an
attempt to break up movements and
organizations, and silence human rights
defenders.
A General Instruction by the Public
Prosecutor’s Office containing guidelines to
effectively investigate attacks against human
rights defenders was under review pending
its approval for several months. Despite some
progress, the process to create, in
consultation with civil society, a
comprehensive public policy for the
protection of human rights defenders had not
concluded by the end of the year.
400 people, including children and elderly
people, who were stranded at the northern
border with Mexico from early June in poor
sanitary conditions. They had abandoned
their community situated in Laguna Larga
hours before a massive eviction was carried
out. By the end of the year the authorities
had not facilitated their return.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Thousands of Guatemalans migrated to the
USA through Mexico in an effort to escape
the high levels of inequality and violence
affecting marginalized groups. UNHCR, the
UN refugee agency, said that between
January and October 18,764 Guatemalans
sought asylum in other countries.
Unaccompanied children from Guatemala
comprised the biggest group of arrivals
apprehended at the US border. Although
large numbers of people continued to be
forcibly returned to Guatemala, there was no
comprehensive mechanism or protocol in
place to address the needs of returnees who
were sent back to the same conditions and
danger that they had fled.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In March, 41 girls died in a fire in the Virgen
de la Asunción government-run shelter in
San José Pinula municipality while locked
inside a classroom. The deaths revealed the
lack of sufficient and adequate measures to
protect children’s rights in Guatemala. A
number of public officials were charged, but
delays in the investigation were reported.
High levels of child pregnancy remained a
particular concern. The Observatory on
Sexual and Reproductive Health registered
69,445 births by girls and young women
aged from 10 to 19 between January and
September.
LAND DISPUTES
In September the Supreme Court recognized
the lack of prior consultation with the Xinca
Indigenous People of Santa Rosa and Jalapa,
who had been negatively affected by the
activities of the mine of San Rafael Las
Flores. The Court ordered the Ministry of
Energy and Mines to carry out a consultation,
but it also allowed the company to continue
mining operations. As a result, an appeal was
filed before the Constitutional Court, which
remained pending.
In September the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights ordered
Guatemala to protect the rights of around
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GUINEA
Republic of Guinea
Head of state: Alpha
Condé
Head of government:
Mamady Youla
The security forces continued to use
excessive force against demonstrators.
Journalists, human rights defenders and
others expressing dissent were arbitrarily
arrested. Impunity was widespread. The
right to adequate housing was not fulfilled.
neighbourhood, and taken to a gendarmerie
detention centre. He was charged with
“participating in an unlawful assembly” and
was detained without trial at the Maison
centrale, Conakry’s main prison, until his
release on bail on 21 December.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists, human rights defenders and
others expressing dissent were beaten and
arbitrarily detained. At least 20 people were
arrested solely for exercising their right to
freedom of expression and 20 others were
subjected to police violence.
In February, Radio Lynx FM reporter
Mariam Kouyaté was arrested by security
agents as she investigated health services at
the Ignace Deen Hospital in Conakry. She
was questioned at a police station after
refusing to hand over her press badge and
recording equipment, and released the same
day without charge. In May, Gangan TV
journalist Aboubacar Camara was beaten by
gendarmes as he filmed a land dispute in a
Conakry suburb where he believed the
security forces were using excessive force.
The officers forced him into their car, took
him to the gendarmerie and released him
later the same day after deleting his
recordings.
In June, the High Authority of
Communication suspended Espace FM radio
presenter Mohamed Mara for one month on
grounds that he had used “insulting”
language during a radio debate on polygamy.
In November, the Authority ordered that the
radio station be taken off air for one week
after the station discussed under-resourcing
in the army which the authorities claimed
could undermine national security and
morale among the armed forces. In July,
National Television suspended Alia Camara,
one of their journalists, for criticizing the low
pass rate in baccalaureate examinations.
On 27 June, gendarmes arrested
guinéematin.com journalist Amadou Sadio
Diallo in Lélouma for “disturbing public
order” after he published what the authorities
described as “false news” about a possible
BACKGROUND
The postponement of local elections until
February 2018, along with speculation about
whether President Condé would run for a
third term, led to social and political tensions.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
At least 18 people were killed and dozens
were injured during demonstrations. In
February, seven people were killed in the
capital, Conakry, during protests connected
to a strike over the authorities’ decision to
review teachers’ terms and conditions, and to
school closures. The security forces
dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas,
batons and live ammunition.
On 20 February, the police arrested seven
human rights defenders of the Voice of the
People movement who had organized a sit-in
in Conakry calling for schools to reopen. They
faced charges of “disturbing public order”,
later amended to “participating in an
unlawful assembly”, and were released the
same evening. Three days after his release,
national television journalist Hassan Sylla −
one of the seven − was suspended from his
job for six months for gross misconduct; no
explanation was given.
Security forces used live ammunition during
violent protests against poor living standards
in the Boké region in April, May and
September. At least four people died from
gunshot wounds.
On 22 August, former soldier and trade
unionist Jean Dougou Guilavogui was
arrested by gendarmes in Matoto, a Conakry
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cholera outbreak. He was released the
following day.
On 30 October, four Gangan TV journalists
were arrested by gendarmes in Matam, a
neighbourhood of Conakry, and charged with
publishing false information and offending
the head of state by spreading rumours of
President Condé’s death. Three of them were
released hours later and one was released
the following day. At least 18 journalists who
gathered in solidarity with the arrested
journalists at the Matam gendarmerie were
beaten and had their equipment broken by
security forces.
none of the suspected perpetrators had
been brought to trial by the end of the year.
In September, a group of victims filed a
lawsuit against Sékouba Konaté, who served
as Minister of Defence in 2009, as well as
transitional President between 2009
and 2010.
1
There was no progress in the judicial
proceedings against security force members
for the human rights violations committed
during demonstrations in Conakry between
2011 and 2017, in Zogota in 2012 and
during the occupation by the security forces
of the village of Womey in 2014.
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
In June, the National Assembly adopted a
new Military Code of Justice, which if
promulgated would effectively abolish the
death penalty. The Code also contained
provisions that could undermine the rights to
fair trial and justice, including by allowing the
trials of civilians before military courts.
RIGHT TO HOUSING
In August, at least 10 people, including two
children, were killed in a landslide at a
rubbish dump site at Dar-Es-Salam, a
neighbourhood of Conakry. In September, the
government spokesperson acknowledged a
failure in the sanitation services. The National
Director of Humanitarian Actions at the
Ministry of Territorial Administration said that
the remaining inhabitants should be evicted
immediately.
1. Guinea: 8 years later, justice for massacre needed (Press
release,
27
September)
IMPUNITY
In February, an Anti-Crime Brigade captain in
Kipé, a neighbourhood of Conakry, was
arrested and charged with torturing a man in
police custody in March 2016. At least 10
other gendarmerie and police officers were
suspended over the incident, but were not
brought to justice.
There was progress in the trial proceedings
relating to the killing of over 150 peaceful
demonstrators and the rape of at least 100
women in the Conakry Stadium in 2009. In
March, Aboubacar Sidiki Diakité was
extradited to Guinea from Senegal after being
at large for several years, and faced charges
in connection with the Stadium event. He
was the former aide to Moussa Dadis Camara
(leader of the military junta in 2009). Several
people charged in connection with the
killings and rapes retained influential
positions, including Mathurin Bangoura,
Moussa Tiégboro Camara and Claude Pivi
who were senior officials in the military junta
at the time. In November, the investigating
judges announced that the judicial
investigation had been completed; however,
HAITI
Republic of Haiti
Head of state: Jovenel Moïse (replaced Jocelerme
Privert in February)
Head of government: Jack Guy Lafontant (replaced
Enex Jean-Charles in March)
Violence against women and girls,
particularly sexual violence, continued.
Legislators sought to approve openly
discriminatory laws against LGBTI people.
BACKGROUND
In February, Jovenel Moïse assumed the
presidency after being elected in November
2016 following an electoral crisis; a new
Prime Minister was appointed.
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In March, prompted by the Haitian
government, the mandate of the UN
Independent Expert on the situation of
human rights in Haiti ended.
In October, UN Security Council resolution
2350 ended the mandate of the UN
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)
after 13 years. Peacekeepers left following
years of controversy over their alleged
responsibility for the cholera outbreak of
2010, and numerous reports of sexual
violence. It was replaced by the UN Mission
for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH),
mandated to strengthen the rule of law.
The authorities took steps to re-establish the
army which had been dissolved in 1995. It
was unclear what vetting processes would be
established to recruit soldiers following the
widespread allegations of human rights
violations committed by previous forces.
nationals was due to expire in January 2018
with a delayed effective date of 18 months
which, according to the Department, would
“allow for an orderly transition before the
designation terminates on 22 July, 2019”.
TPS is granted to nationals from particular
countries on the grounds that they cannot
return safely to their country due to
conditions there.
RIGHT TO HEALTH – CHOLERA
EPIDEMIC
Between January and June, there were 7,623
new cases of suspected cholera and 70
related deaths, a decrease of more than 60%
in comparison with the same period in 2016.
Since the 2010 outbreak, more than 800,000
people had been infected and nearly 10,000
had died, according to the authorities.
The UN’s “new approach to cholera in
Haiti”, presented in 2016, was severely
underfunded. There were no consultations
with cholera survivors, as planned. Individual
assistance was consequently suspended.
Victims’ advocates objected to this on
the grounds that it was inconsistent with the
right to remedy.
According to the government, almost 70%
of the Haitian population did not have access
to health services.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
The International Organization for Migration
reported that by June, 37,867 people were
internally displaced because of the 2010
earthquake; most of them lived in makeshift
camps.
DISCRIMINATION − STATELESS
PERSONS
In March, Parliament voted to accede to the
1954 and 1961 UN Conventions on
Statelessness, following recommendations
made during Haiti’s examination under the
UN UPR process in 2016.
1
Haiti had not
signed or ratified the Conventions by the end
of 2017.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Sexual violence and violence against women
and girls was prevalent although under-
reported.
In April, the government tabled
comprehensive reforms of the Criminal Code
in Parliament. It contained new provisions to
tackle sexual violence, including criminalizing
rape in marriage. In July, the NGO Doctors
Without Borders found that 77% of survivors
of sexual and gender-based violence who
were treated in its specialized clinic in the
capital, Port-au-Prince, between May 2015
and March 2017, were under the age of 25;
53% were under 18.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In July, the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported an
increase in deportation cases at the
Dominican-Haitian border.
Despite a request in October from the
Haitian government for a further extension,
the US Department of Homeland Security
announced, in November, its decision to
terminate the temporary protected status
(TPS) for nearly 60,000 Haitians at risk of
deportation from the USA. TPS for Haitian
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RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Senate supported bills which
discriminated against LGBTI people; they
were pending approval by the Chamber of
Deputies at the end of the year. In July, the
Senate voted for certificates to be issued
which would vouch for an individual’s “good
moral” standing and from which anyone
deemed to be “homosexual” would be
excluded. In August, it approved a law
making same-sex marriage and public
support or advocacy for “homosexuality”
illegal.
1. Following political crisis Haiti must urgently advance human rights
agenda (AMR
36/5899/2017)
2.
Haiti: Human rights defenders’ lives in danger (AMR
36/6045/2017)
3.
Haiti: Women’s rights defender threatened with death: Sanièce Petit
Phat (AMR
36/7598/2017)
HONDURAS
Republic of Honduras
Head of state and government: Juan Orlando
Hernández Alvarado
The level of insecurity and violence
remained high. Widespread impunity
continued to undermine public trust in the
authorities and the justice system. Protests
in the aftermath of the presidential election
were brutally repressed by security forces.
Honduras remained one of the most
dangerous countries in the Americas region
for human rights defenders, especially for
those working to protect land, territory and
the environment. The government
announced the creation of a Ministry for
Human Rights and Justice, to become
operational in 2018.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders David Boniface and
Juders Ysemé reported fearing for their lives
following the sudden death in March of their
colleague Nissage Martyr. He died a day after
the three men filed a lawsuit in the USA
against Jean Morose Viliena − former Mayor
of Les Irois, their hometown in Haiti − for
grave human rights violations. Jean Morose
Viliena had fled to the USA from Haiti in
2009. The men said that they had
been subjected to repeated death threats and
to violent attacks by or on behalf of the
former Mayor since 2007. However, the
authorities did not implement adequate
protection measures, although the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights
granted them precautionary measures to
ensure their safety in 2015.
2
Sanièce Petit Phat reported that she
had received death threats because of her
work in defence of the rights of women and
girls.
3
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Mass protests, which began on 29 November
around the country to denounce the lack of
transparency around the presidential
election, were brutally repressed by security
forces. Hundreds of people were arrested or
detained and a 10-day curfew was
implemented in December. Security forces
used excessive force against protesters,
including with lethal weapons. At least 31
people were killed, and multiple cases of
people being injured by firearms or brutally
beaten by security forces were also reported,
as well as cases that could amount to torture
and other cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
In June, the UN Economic and Social
Council Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti
criticized inefficiency in the education sector.
It noted that most schools were privately
managed, “making education an expensive,
profit-based system” too expensive for many
Haitian families. Illiteracy among over-15s
was over 50%.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders, particularly
environmental and land activists, continued
to be at risk of human rights abuses. They
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were subjected to smear campaigns by both
state and non-state actors to discredit their
work, and were regularly targeted with
intimidation, threats, and attacks. In June,
three members of the Civic Council of
Popular and Indigenous Organizations of
Honduras (COPINH) were attacked by armed
assailants while they were in a car, returning
from a meeting. Local NGOs said that the
justice system continued to be misused to
harass and discourage human rights
defenders. Unnecessary and excessive use of
force by security forces during peaceful
protests was also reported.
The vast majority of attacks registered
against human rights defenders remained
unpunished, as a result of multiple obstacles
hindering investigations and trials. There was
little progress in the investigation into the
killing in March 2016 of Berta Cáceres, the
Indigenous environmental defender and co-
founder of COPINH. The public hearings of
eight suspects detained in relation to the
case were postponed on multiple occasions.
Independent experts revealed a lack of due
diligence in the investigations, including a
lack of prosecution of other individuals
potentially involved in the crime. There was
no information about any progress made by
the Public Prosecutor in identifying those
responsible for planning her killing.
Although some progress was made to
protect human rights defenders through the
National Mechanism to Protect Human
Rights Defenders, Journalists, Social
Commentators and Justice Officials, efforts to
ensure their comprehensive protection
remained insufficient.
New provisions of the Criminal Code on
terrorism and related criminal offences
approved by Congress in February and
September were defined in an overly broad
and vague manner, contrary to the principle
of legality. The provisions could lead to the
arbitrary and inadequate application of the
Code against peaceful protesters and human
rights defenders, which could further
criminalize their work and obstruct social
movements.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Several Indigenous Peoples continued to
claim that their rights to consultation and to
free, prior and informed consent were
violated in the context of projects to explore
and exploit natural resources in their
territories. Killings, aggressions and cases of
misuse of the justice system against those
defending Indigenous Peoples were reported.
The Draft Framework Law on Free, Prior
and Informed Consultation of Indigenous
Peoples faced criticism, including of the
insufficient participation of Indigenous and
Garifuna (Afro-descendant) communities in
the process.
Reparation measures ordered in 2015 by
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in
two cases where Honduras had violated the
collective land rights of the Garifuna
communities had yet to be implemented.
LAND DISPUTES
Conflicts persisted due to the lack of secure
land tenure. High levels of violence were
reported in the Aguán Valley where long-
standing land disputes remained unresolved.
According to the Unified Campesino
Movement of the Aguán, precautionary
measures granted by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights to protect the
life and integrity of leaders in the Aguán
Valley were not adequately implemented.
GENDER-RELATED VIOLENCE
Women, girls and LGBTI people continued to
face high levels of gender-related violence.
Between January and October, 236 violent
deaths of women were registered by the
Centre for Women’s Rights. According to the
Lesbian Cattrachas Network, killings of LGBTI
people also increased, with a total of 35
people killed. Impunity remained high in
these cases, as authorities lacked sufficient
capacity and resources to investigate,
prosecute and punish those responsible.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The failure to protect women’s and girls’
rights and guarantee access to safe and legal
abortion in any circumstances continued.
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Despite recommendations from international
human rights bodies and mechanisms, in
April Congress decided to maintain the
prohibition of abortion in all circumstances in
the new Criminal Code.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Hungary continued to severely restrict access
to the country for refugees and asylum-
seekers, limiting admission to its two
operational border “transit zones” in which
only 10 new asylum applications could be
submitted per working day. Consequently,
between 6,000 and 8,000 people were left in
inadequate conditions in Serbia, in
substandard camps and at risk of
homelessness and of
refoulement
further
south to Macedonia and Bulgaria.
In March, the European Court of Human
Rights ruled in
Ilias and Ahmed v. Hungary
that the confinement of asylum-seekers in
“transit zones”, essentially heavily guarded
container camps at Hungary’s external land
borders, amounted to arbitrary deprivation of
liberty. The Court also found that, due to the
poor conditions in which asylum-seekers
were held for weeks and the lack of judicial
remedies available against this form of
detention, Hungary had failed to provide
adequate protection against a real risk of
inhuman and degrading treatment.
The same month, a package of
amendments to five laws on migration and
asylum was passed in the National Assembly,
enabling the automatic detention, without
judicial review, of all asylum-seekers in
border “transit zones”, including
unaccompanied minors of 14-18 years of
age. These amendments also allowed for the
detention of asylum-seekers for the whole
duration of their asylum processes, including
any appeals, and for the summary expulsion
of all irregular migrants found on Hungarian
territory to the external side of Hungary’s
extensive border fences.
Consequently, most asylum-seekers in
Hungary either absconded from the
procedure or were detained in the border
“transit zones” indefinitely. By the end of the
year, almost 500 asylum-seekers were
unlawfully detained at the border. The
Hungarian authorities denied or provided
extremely limited access to human rights
monitors and NGOs providing legal aid.
These draconian measures were originally
supposed to apply during a “crisis situation
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Widespread violence across Honduras
remained a key factor of forced migration
from the country. According to UNHCR, the
UN refugee agency, between January and
October, 14,735 Hondurans sought asylum
worldwide, mostly in Mexico and the USA.
However, large numbers of Hondurans also
continued to be forcibly returned from these
countries to the same life-threatening
situations which initially pushed them to
escape. To date, there was no comprehensive
mechanism or protocol to detect and address
in a systematic manner the protection needs
of deportees.
HUNGARY
Hungary
Head of state: János Áder
Head of government: Viktor Orbán
The systematic crackdown on the rights of
refugees and migrants continued. Foreign-
funded universities and NGOs faced
restrictions under new legislation.
BACKGROUND
The government faced domestic protests and
increased international scrutiny for its
continued rollback on human rights and non-
compliance with EU law. The European
Commission launched and moved forward
with four formal infringement proceedings
following the introduction of legislation
deemed incompatible with EU freedoms, and
in May the European Parliament adopted a
comprehensive resolution expressing alarm
at the situation of human rights in the
country. More than a quarter of the
population remained at risk of poverty and
social exclusion and 16% were severely
materially deprived.
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caused by mass immigration”. However, a
“crisis situation” had been continuously
invoked since September 2015 and was
extended in August until March 2018,
despite the lack of a factual or legal basis for
its prolongation.
Hungary further enhanced its border fences
and police presence at its southern borders.
More than 20,000 people were summarily
and sometimes violently returned to Serbia or
otherwise prevented from entering Hungary
without access to fair and efficient asylum
processes and an examination of their
protection needs. In March, the newspaper
Magyar Nemzet
revealed that, contrary to the
government’s statements refuting allegations
of abuse, more than 40 investigations had
been launched into instances of excessive
use of force by police at the border over a
period of 18 months; most of the
investigations were closed without further
action.
In September, Hungary lost a case at the
Court of Justice of the European Union,
which ruled that it could not absolve itself of
participation in the EU Emergency Relocation
Scheme for the relocation of asylum-seekers
from Greece and Italy to other EU member
states. Hungary continued to refuse to
relocate any of its minimum quota of 1,294
asylum-seekers, or to participate in other
regional solidarity mechanisms. By the end of
the year, it had not resettled or relocated
anyone.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
In April, the adoption in an emergency
procedure of amendments to the National
Higher Education Law prompted widespread
protests and criticism from academic experts
and the general public. The law, widely
interpreted as targeting the operations of a
particular educational institution, the Central
European University (CEU), introduced new
requirements for foreign universities
operating in Hungary under an extremely
tight deadline – including the requirement of
a bilateral state-level agreement – putting at
risk the continued functioning of those
institutions. The same month, the European
Commission took legal action against
Hungary by launching infringement
proceedings. In the Commission’s
assessment, the law was not compatible with
fundamental EU freedoms, including the
freedom to provide services, the freedom of
establishment, and academic freedom. In
October, the National Assembly voted to
extend the deadlines by which the new
requirements had to be met by one calendar
year. By the end of the year the government
had failed to strike an agreement with the
State of New York that would allow for the
continued operations of the CEU.
In June, the National Assembly passed a
law effectively stigmatizing NGOs that
received foreign funding. Under the law on
the transparency of organizations funded
from abroad, NGOs receiving more than
EUR24,000 direct or indirect funding from
abroad had to re-register as a “civic
organization funded from abroad” and to put
this label on every publication. Additionally,
the law required NGOs to reveal the identity
of their funders and supporters above a
threshold of around EUR1,650. The law was
adopted amid a government-sponsored
communication campaign discrediting NGOs
and accusing several of undermining national
sovereignty and security. By only covering
certain types of civil society organizations, the
law directly discriminated against these
organizations and imposed limitations on
their right to association, including the right
to seek, receive and utilize resources. In mid-
July, the European Commission notified
Hungary of another infringement procedure,
based on an assessment that this law
imposed measures at odds with the right to
freedom of association and unjustified and
disproportionate restrictions on the free
movement of capital, and raised concerns in
relation to the obligation of protecting private
life and personal data.
In August, a coalition of more than 20 NGOs
submitted a complaint to the Constitutional
Court requesting that the law be annulled.
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COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In June, an appeals court in the southern
town of Szeged annulled the conviction of
Ahmed H, a Syrian man sentenced to 10
years’ imprisonment for allegedly committing
“acts of terror” while participating in a riot by
refugees and migrants at the Serbia-Hungary
border in September 2015. On appeal, the
court found that available evidence had not
been properly assessed and ordered a retrial.
In August, the Prosecutor General appealed
against this decision to the Curia (the highest
court in Hungary). In November, the Curia
ruled that the appeals court should have
delivered a binding judgment instead of
ordering a retrial; this, however, did not affect
ongoing proceedings. Ahmed H’s case was
pending before a newly appointed court of
first instance at the end of the year.
cow protection groups. Press freedom and
free speech in universities came under
attack. India failed to respect its human
rights commitments made before the UN
Human Rights Council. The Supreme Court
and High Courts delivered several
progressive judgments, but some rulings
undermined human rights. Impunity for
human rights abuses persisted.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
In January, three road construction workers
were killed in an attack on a military camp by
suspected members of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa
armed group in Akhnoor, in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The United
Liberation Front of Asom (Independent)
claimed responsibility for detonating seven
bombs across Assam state on 26 January; no
casualties were reported. In July, suspected
members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba armed
group attacked a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims
in Botengoo, J&K, killing eight people and
injuring 17.
Suspected armed group members in J&K
threatened and attacked political workers and
ransacked the homes of state police
personnel. Armed groups in northeastern
states were suspected of carrying out
abductions and unlawful killings. The
Communist Party of India (Maoist) armed
group was suspected of killing suspected
police “informants” in several states.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
By October, allegations of abuse committed
by men holding positions of power sparked a
national debate on the recognition and
prosecution of rape and other forms of sexual
violence. Hungary had yet to ratify the
Council of Europe Convention on preventing
and combating violence against women and
domestic violence, and prosecutions of these
crimes remained limited.
INDIA
Republic of India
Head of state: Ram Nath Kovind (replaced Pranab
Mukherjee in July)
Head of government: Narendra Modi
Religious minority groups, particularly
Muslims, faced increasing demonization by
hardline Hindu groups, pro-government
media and some state officials. Adivasi
communities continued to be displaced by
industrial projects, and hate crimes against
Dalits remained widespread. Authorities
were openly critical of human rights
defenders and organizations, contributing to
a climate of hostility against them. Mob
violence intensified, including by vigilante
CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION AND
VIOLENCE
Official statistics released in November stated
that more than 40,000 crimes against
Scheduled Castes were reported in 2016.
Several incidents were reported of members
of dominant castes attacking Dalits for
accessing public and social spaces or for
perceived caste transgressions.
In May, two Dalit men were killed, several
injured, and dozens of Dalit homes burned
by dominant caste men in Saharanpur, Uttar
Pradesh, following a clash between members
of the communities. In August, S. Anitha, a
17-year-old Dalit girl who had campaigned
against the introduction of a uniform national
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exam for admission to medical colleges,
committed suicide, sparking protests in Tamil
Nadu. Protesters said the exam would
disadvantage students from marginalized
backgrounds.
Activists said that at least 90 Dalits
employed as manual scavengers died during
the year while cleaning sewers, despite the
practice being prohibited. Many of those
killed were illegally employed by government
agencies. In August, the Delhi state
government said that people who employed
manual scavengers would be prosecuted for
manslaughter. In November, the UN Special
Rapporteur on safe drinking water and
sanitation expressed concern that the
government’s emphasis on building new
toilets as part of its Clean India Mission could
prolong manual scavenging.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In November, statistics were published
stating that over 106,000 cases of violence
against children were reported in 2016. In
June, India ratified two key ILO conventions
on child labour. Activists remained critical of
amendments to child labour laws which
allowed children to work in family enterprises.
According to national survey data released
in March, nearly 36% of children aged below
five were underweight, and more than 38%
were short for their age. In September, 70
children died at a hospital in Gorakhpur,
Uttar Pradesh, allegedly because of
disruption to the oxygen supply. The share of
public spending on health remained low at
1.2% of GDP. Spending on government
programmes to provide nutrition and pre-
school education to children under six
remained inadequate. 
Rajasthan police cleared six men suspected
of killing Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer who had
named the suspects before he died. Some
BJP officials made statements which
appeared to justify the attacks. In September,
the Supreme Court said that state
governments were obligated to compensate
victims of cow vigilante violence.
A special investigation team set up in 2015
to reinvestigate closed cases related to the
1984 Sikh massacre closed 241 cases and
filed charges in 12 others. In August, the
Supreme Court set up a panel comprising
two former judges to examine the decisions
to close the cases.
In March, mobs carried out with impunity a
string of racist attacks against black African
students in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. In
June, three people were killed in Darjeeling,
West Bengal, in violent clashes between
police and protesters demanding a separate
state of Gorkhaland.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists and press freedom came under
increasing attack. In September, journalist
Gauri Lankesh, an outspoken critic of Hindu
nationalism and the caste system, was shot
dead outside her home in Bengaluru by
unidentified gunmen. The same month,
journalist Shantanu Bhowmick was beaten to
death near Agartala while covering violent
political clashes. In September,
photojournalist Kamran Yousuf was arrested
in J&K for allegedly instigating people to
throw stones at security forces, under a law
which does not meet international human
rights standards. In November, journalist
Sudip Datta Bhowmik was shot dead,
allegedly by a paramilitary force member, at a
paramilitary camp near Agartala. In
December, a French film-maker conducting
research for a documentary on the Kashmir
conflict was detained for three days in J&K,
allegedly for violating visa regulations.
Journalists continued to face criminal
defamation cases filed by politicians and
companies. In June, the Karnataka
legislature sentenced two journalists to one
year’s imprisonment each for allegedly writing
COMMUNAL AND ETHNIC VIOLENCE
Dozens of hate crimes against Muslims took
place across the country. At least 10 Muslim
men were lynched and many injured by
vigilante cow protection groups, many of
which seemed to operate with the support of
members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP). Some arrests were made, but no
convictions were reported. In September,
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defamatory articles about members of the
state assembly.
Repressive laws were used to stifle freedom
of expression. In June, 20 people were
arrested for sedition in Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan, following complaints that they had
cheered the Pakistan cricket team’s victory
over India. In July, 31 Dalit activists were
arrested and detained for a day in Lucknow
for organizing a press conference about
caste-based violence. State governments
banned books, and the central film
certification board denied the theatrical
release of certain films, on vague and overly
broad grounds. In November, five state
governments banned the release of
Padmaavat,
a Hindi period film, on the
grounds that it would “hurt community
sentiments”.
Freedom of expression in universities
remained under threat. The student body of
the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh used threats and
violence to block events and talks at some
universities. In June, eight Lucknow
University students were arrested and
detained for 20 days for protesting against
the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. In
September, Uttar Pradesh police personnel
baton-charged students, mostly women,
protesting against sexual assault at Banaras
Hindu University.
In August, India’s Supreme Court ruled in a
landmark judgment that the right to privacy
was part of the constitutional right to life and
personal liberty.
pamphlets and videos, and used the
provisions of the Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act, a law which does not meet
international human rights standards.
The same month, Jailal Rathia, an Adivasi
activist, died in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, after
allegedly being poisoned by members of a
land mafia he was campaigning against. In
April, Varsha Dongre, an official at Raipur
Central Jail in Chhattisgarh, was transferred
after she posted on Facebook that she had
seen police torturing Adivasi girls.
In May, four men were arrested in Chennai
and held in administrative detention for more
than three months for attempting to stage a
memorial for Tamils killed in the civil war in
Sri Lanka. The same month, the Odisha state
police arrested Kuni Sikaka, an Adivasi
activist opposing bauxite mining in the
Niyamgiri hills, and released her only after
presenting her to journalists as a surrendered
Maoist.
In August, activist Medha Patkar and three
others protesting against inadequate
rehabilitation for families affected by the
Sardar Sarovar dam project (see below) were
arrested on fabricated charges and detained
for more than two weeks.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In November, statistics were published
stating that over 6,500 crimes were
committed against Scheduled Tribes in 2016.
Indigenous Adivasi communities continued to
face displacement by industrial projects. The
government acquired land for coal mining
under a special law without seeking the free,
prior and informed consent of Adivasis. In
July, an Environment Ministry panel said that
coal mines seeking to increase production
capacity by up to 40% did not have to
consult affected communities.
In September, activists protested against the
inauguration of the Sardar Sarovar dam in
Gujarat, saying that some 40,000 displaced
families, including many Adivasi families, had
not received adequate reparation. In June,
98 Adivasis in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, tried to
file criminal cases under the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In January, the Home Ministry said that it had
refused to renew the foreign funding licence
of the NGO known as People’s Watch
because it had allegedly portrayed India’s
human rights record in a “negative light”
internationally.
In March, GN Saibaba, an activist and
academic, was convicted with four others
and sentenced to life imprisonment by a
Maharashtra court for being a member of
and supporting a banned Maoist group. The
conviction was based primarily on letters,
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Atrocities) Act, alleging that they had been
forced into selling their land to agents of
private companies, following intimidation and
coercion. The police accepted the complaints
but refused to register criminal cases.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In January, four Adivasi women in Dhar,
Madhya Pradesh, said they had been gang-
raped by police personnel. In March, Adivasi
villagers in Sukma, Chhattisgarh, accused
security force personnel of gang-raping a 14-
year-old Adivasi girl. In September, two
paramilitary personnel were arrested on
suspicion of killing a woman and raping and
throwing acid on her friend in Mizoram in
July.
In April, a senior officer of the paramilitary
Central Reserve Police Force alleged in
writing to his commanding authorities that
multiple security agencies had killed two
suspected armed group members in an
extrajudicial execution in Assam. The officer
was transferred. In July, the Supreme Court
directed the Central Bureau of Investigation
to investigate more than 80 alleged
extrajudicial executions by police and
security force personnel in Manipur between
1979 and 2012. The court ruled that cases
should not go uninvestigated merely because
of the passage of time.
In June, the Madhya Pradesh police shot
dead five farmers who were among protesters
in Mandsaur demanding better prices for
crops. In August, at least 38 people were
killed, some of them by the use of excessive
force, when they were fired on by police
during protests in Haryana following the
conviction for rape of a self-styled “godman”,
or guru.
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
In April, eight people were killed by security
forces, some of them by the use of excessive
force, following protests during a by-election
for a parliamentary seat. One voter, Farooq
Ahmad Dar, was beaten by army personnel,
strapped to the front of an army jeep and
driven around for over five hours, seemingly
as a warning to protesters. In May, the officer
suspected of being responsible received an
army commendation for his work in counter-
insurgency operations. In July, the J&K State
Human Rights Commission directed the state
government to pay Farooq Dar 100,000 INR
(around USD1,500) as compensation. In
November, the state government refused to
pay.
Impunity for human rights abuses persisted.
In June, a military court set up under the
paramilitary Border Security Force acquitted
two soldiers of killing 16-year-old Zahid
Farooq Sheikh in 2010. The force had
successfully prevented the case from being
prosecuted in a civilian court. In July, the
Supreme Court refused to reopen 215 cases
in which over 700 members of the Kashmiri
Pandit community were killed in J&K in
1989, citing the passage of time. The same
month, an appellate military court suspended
the life sentences of five army personnel
convicted by a court-martial of the
extrajudicial executions of three men in
Machil in 2010. In November, the State
Human Rights Commission repeated a
directive issued to the state government in
2011 to investigate over 2,000 unmarked
graves.
Security forces continued to use inherently
inaccurate pellet-firing shotguns during
protests, blinding and injuring several people.
Authorities frequently shut down internet
services, citing public order concerns.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
An estimated 40,000 Rohingya people in
India were at risk of mass expulsion. They
included more than 16,000 who were
recognized as refugees by UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency. In August, the Home
Ministry wrote to state governments asking
them to identify “illegal immigrants”,
including Rohingya. In September, the
Ministry said that all Rohingya in India were
“illegal immigrants”, and claimed to have
evidence that some Rohingya had ties to
terrorist organizations. In October, in
response to a petition filed by two Rohingya
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refugees, the Supreme Court temporarily
deferred expulsions.
In September, the Home Ministry said that it
would grant citizenship to about 100,000
Chakma and Hajong refugees who had fled
to India from Bangladesh in the 1960s.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Between January and August, 894 deaths in
judicial custody and 74 deaths in police
custody were recorded. In February, Uma
Bharti, a central government minister, said
she had ordered rape suspects to be tortured
when she was Chief Minister of Madhya
Pradesh. In August, Manjula Shetye, a
woman prisoner at the Byculla jail in
Mumbai, died after being allegedly beaten
and sexually assaulted by officials for
complaining about food in the prison. A team
of parliamentarians that visited Byculla jail
reported that prisoners were routinely beaten.
In November, a committee set up by the
Delhi High Court said that 18 prisoners in
Tihar jail in New Delhi had been beaten after
they had objected to their pillow covers being
taken.
In September, during India’s UN UPR
process before the UN Human Rights
Council, the government accepted for the
third time recommendations to ratify the UN
Convention against Torture, which it signed in
1997. India’s Law Commission released a
report in October recommending that the
government ratify the Convention and enact a
law criminalizing torture.
court rulings undermined women’s
autonomy. In August, the Supreme Court
weakened a law enacted to protect women
from violence in their marriages, by requiring
that complaints be initially assessed by civil
society “family welfare committees”. In
October, the Supreme Court suggested that it
would review its judgment. The same month,
it ruled that sexual intercourse by a man with
his wife, if she was under 18, would amount
to rape.
Several rape survivors, including girls,
approached courts for permission to
terminate pregnancies over 20 weeks, as
required under Indian law. Courts approved
some abortions, but refused others. In
August, the central government instructed
states to set up permanent medical boards to
decide such cases promptly.
INDONESIA
Republic of Indonesia
Head of state and government: Joko Widodo
Indonesia failed to address past human
rights violations. The rights to freedom of
expression, of peaceful assembly and of
association continued to be arbitrarily
restricted. Blasphemy provisions were used
to imprison those who peacefully exercised
their rights to freedom of religion and
belief. At least 30 prisoners of conscience
remained in detention for peacefully
exercising their rights to freedom of
expression or of religion and belief. The
security forces carried out unlawful killings
and used excessive force during protests
and security operations. Two men were
caned in public in Aceh after being
convicted by a local Shari’a court of same-
sex consensual sexual relations.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In November, statistics were published
showing that over 338,000 crimes against
women were registered in 2016, including
over 110,000 cases of violence by husbands
and relatives. Responding to petitions in
courts seeking to criminalize marital rape, the
central government stated that doing so
would “destabilize the institution of
marriage”.
In July, the Supreme Court banned the
practice of triple talaq (Islamic instant
divorce), declaring that it was arbitrary and
unconstitutional. However, in other cases,
BACKGROUND
Indonesia’s human rights record was
examined in May under the UN UPR
process. Although Indonesia accepted 167
out of 225 recommendations, it rejected,
among other things, calls to investigate past
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human rights violations and to repeal
blasphemy provisions in laws and
regulations. These included several
provisions of the Criminal Code and Law No.
1/PNPS/1965, which imposed restrictions on
freedoms of expression and of religion and
belief.
1
IMPUNITY
Despite commitments made by the
President, Indonesia failed to address past
human rights violations. In February, the
Administrative Court in the capital, Jakarta,
overturned a decision by the Public
Information Commission ordering the
government to publish a report on the 2004
murder of human rights defender Munir Said
Thalib, which reportedly implicated senior
intelligence officers. The Court made the
decision on the grounds that the current
government had not received the report from
the previous government. In August, the
Supreme Court upheld the Administrative
Court’s decision.
During the UPR, Indonesia promised that
the Attorney General would finalize a criminal
investigation into alleged gross human rights
violations in Wasior in 2001 and Wamena in
2003, both in Papua region, and forward the
case to the Human Rights Court established
under Law No. 26/2000. However, this had
not happened by the end of the year.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY, ASSOCIATION
AND EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to prosecute those
participating in peaceful political activities,
particularly in areas with a history of pro-
independence movements such as Papua.
Prisoner of conscience Oktovianus Warnares
remained in detention because he refused to
sign a document declaring his allegiance to
the state of Indonesia, despite having served
two thirds of his prison sentence and being
eligible for release on parole. He had been
convicted of “rebellion” (makar)
in 2013 after
taking part in activities peacefully marking
the 50th anniversary of the handover of
Papua to the Indonesian government by the
UN Temporary Executive Authority.
In August Novel Baswedan, an investigator
for the Corruption Eradication Commission,
was reported to the police by the
Commission’s director of investigation under
Article 27(3) of the Electronic Information
and Transactions (ITE) Law, which concerns
online defamation. The defamation report
related to an email he had sent in his
capacity as representative of the
Commission’s workers’ union, criticizing the
director’s leadership. Novel Baswedan
suffered an acid attack in Jakarta on 11 April
that severely damaged his corneas. At the
time of the attack he was leading an ongoing
investigation into misappropriation by high-
ranking government officials of funds for an
electronic ID cards project.
On 10 July President Widodo signed
Government Regulation in Lieu of Law
(Perppu) No. 2/2017, amending the 2013
Law on Mass Organizations to remove judicial
safeguards over the process of banning
NGOs and other organizations. The new
legislation, enacted by Parliament in October,
would impose restrictions on the rights to
freedom of association, expression, religion
and belief, which were even more extensive
than those currently set out in the Law on
Mass Organizations. The Law already stifled
the work of human rights defenders and
reflected discriminatory attitudes towards
certain groups.
2
Security forces and vigilante groups broke
up closed-door discussions and public events
relating to serious human rights violations
committed in 1965. On 1 August, the local
police and military from East Jakarta
disrupted a workshop in Jakarta concerning
the findings of the International Peoples
Tribunal 1965, a civil society initiative to raise
international awareness about the mass
human rights violations that occurred that
year.
On 16 September the police banned a
closed-door seminar at the office of the
Indonesian and Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
featuring a discussion by survivors of the
1965 violations. On the night of 17
September, a crowd of around 1,000
claiming to be “anti-communists”
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surrounded the office, trapping scores of
artists and activists attending an event
concerning the recent crackdown on the
rights to freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly. Early the following morning, the
crowd threw rocks at the office and destroyed
the fence surrounding the building.
Hundreds of police officers used tear gas to
disperse the crowd.
3
teachings. The Mayor also said that it was
necessary to protect the Ahmadiyya
community in Depok from violent attacks by
other groups in the area.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Human rights groups reported unlawful
killings and other serious human rights
violations by security forces, primarily in the
context of excessive use of force during mass
protests or during security operations. No
perpetrators were known to have been held
to account, particularly for numerous
incidents in Papua.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Between September 2016 and January
2017, joint police and military forces carried
out security operations in Dogiyai, Papua
province, during the run-up to the 2017 local
elections. On 10 January police officers
arbitrarily arrested Otis Pekei when he
refused to hand over a knife at a police
checkpoint, and detained him at the
Moanemani sub-district police station. Later
that day, police delivered Otis Pekei’s body to
the home of his family; the family accused
the police of torturing him during detention.
No investigation was known to have been
conducted.
On 1 August in Deiyai, Papua province,
police officers arbitrarily opened fire into a
crowd of protesters without warning,
wounding at least 10 people, including
children. Nine police officers were subjected
to disciplinary action; no criminal
proceedings were known to have been
opened.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
The number of killings by police of suspected
drug dealers increased sharply, from 18 in
2016 to at least 98 in 2017. Some of the
officers involved in the incidents were
seconded to the National Narcotics Agency.
Police claimed that all the killings were in
self-defence or because suspects tried to flee
the scene. No independent investigations
were known to have been conducted into
these killings. The number of deaths
escalated after several high-ranking
Indonesian officials, including the President,
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Blasphemy provisions in Articles 156 and
156(a) of the Criminal Code and Article 28(2)
of the ITE Law were used to imprison those
who peacefully exercised their rights to
freedom of religion and belief. At least 11
people were convicted under blasphemy
laws. Individuals belonging to minority
religions or faiths or holding minority beliefs
were often targeted for prosecution. On 9
May, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja
Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian known
as Ahok, was sentenced to two years’
imprisonment for “insulting Islam” in a video
posted on the internet. Ahok was the first
high-ranking government official to be
convicted of blasphemy.
4
On 7 March, Ahmad Mushaddeq, Mahful
Muis Tumanurung and Andry Cahya, leaders
of the disbanded Fajar Nusantara religious
movement known as Gafatar, were convicted
of blasphemy by the East Jakarta District
Court. The conviction was upheld by the
Jakarta High Court on 3 July.
At the end of the year, at least 30 prisoners
of conscience remained in detention for
peacefully exercising their right to freedom of
expression or of religion and belief.
On 4 June, the local government in Depok,
West Java, sealed a mosque belonging to the
Ahmadiyya religious minority, considered by
many Islamic groups to be “deviant and
outside of Islam”. Authorities prevented the
Ahmadis from using the mosque during
Ramadan. The Depok Mayor argued that the
legal basis for the closure of the mosque was
a ministerial decree and a provincial
regulation, both forbidding Ahmadiyya
community members from promoting their
activities and spreading their religious
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advocated during the year for tougher
measures to address drug-related crime,
including calling for the application of
unrestrained lethal force against suspected
traffickers.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Deaths in custody and torture by police
personnel were reported by human rights
organizations.
On 27 August Rifzal Riandi Siregar was
arrested in Batang Toru precinct in North
Sumatra province after he was involved in a
fight with a police officer. When his relatives
visited him at the Batang Toru police station,
he told them that he had been badly beaten
at the station by four police officers, including
the one with whom he had had the
altercation. On 3 September, Rifzal Riandi
Siregar was found dead in the police station.
At the request of his family, the police
transferred his body to a police hospital in
Medan, where an autopsy was conducted.
The police promised to give the autopsy
report to the family within a week. They had
not received it by the end of the year.
next day the police released 126 men, but
charged 10 of them with providing
“pornography service” under Law No.
44/2008 on Pornography. On 6 October, 51
people, including seven foreign nationals,
were arrested in a Central Jakarta sauna.
Most of the customers were released the
following day; five employees remained in
detention at the end of the year. The police
charged six people with providing
pornography and prostitution services.
6
With the exception of Aceh, consensual
same-sex relations were not treated as crimes
under the Indonesian Criminal Code.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS – RIGHT TO WATER
On 10 October, the Supreme Court ordered
the government to terminate a water
privatization scheme in Jakarta. The Court
approved an appeal filed by the Coalition of
Jakarta Residents Opposing Water
Privatization that the private provider had
“failed to protect the right to water” of the
residents. The Court ordered the government
to immediately revoke its contracts with two
private water utilities.
1. Indonesia: Human Rights Council must ensure strong
recommendations at human rights review (ASA
21/6156/2017)
2. Indonesia: Amendments to the mass organizations law expand
threats to freedom of association (ASA
21/6722/2017)
3. Indonesia: Offices of human rights defenders attacked (ASA
21/7113/2017)
4. Indonesia: Blasphemy conviction demonstrates intolerance - Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) (ASA
21/6213/2017)
5. Indonesia: Revoke conviction and caning sentence for gay men in
Aceh (ASA
21/6279/2017)
6. Indonesia: Arrest of 51 people fuels hostile environment for LGBTI
people (ASA
21/7289/2017)
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING
PUNISHMENT
At least 317 people were caned in Aceh
during the year for offences such as adultery,
gambling and drinking alcohol, as well as
same-sex consensual sexual relations.
In May, two men were each caned 83 times
in public after being convicted by the Banda
Aceh Shari’a Court of consensual same-sex
sexual relations (liwath) under the Aceh
Islamic Criminal Code. Although Shari’a by-
laws have been in force in Aceh since the
enactment of the province’s Special
Autonomy Law in 2001, and are enforced by
Islamic courts, this was the first time that gay
men had been caned under Shari’a law in
the province.
5
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 25 May, 141 men were arrested in North
Jakarta by local police after attending what
police described as a “gay sex party”. The
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IRAN
Islamic Republic of Iran
Head of state: Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei (Supreme
Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
Head of government: Hassan Rouhani (President)
The authorities heavily suppressed the
rights to freedom of expression, association
and peaceful assembly, as well as freedom
of religion and belief, and imprisoned
scores of individuals who voiced dissent.
Trials were systematically unfair. Torture
and other ill-treatment was widespread and
committed with impunity. Floggings,
amputations and other cruel punishments
were carried out. The authorities endorsed
pervasive discrimination and violence based
on gender, political opinion, religious belief,
ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and
gender identity. Hundreds of people were
executed, some in public, and thousands
remained on death row. They included
people who were under the age of 18 at the
time of the crime.
Switzerland also started bilateral human
rights dialogues with Iran.
At the end of December, thousands of
Iranians took to the streets to protest against
poverty, corruption and political repression, in
the first anti-establishment demonstrations
on such a scale since 2009.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The authorities continued to crack down
heavily on the rights to freedom of
expression, association and peaceful
assembly, jailing scores of peaceful critics on
spurious national security charges. Among
those targeted were peaceful political
dissidents, journalists, online media workers,
students, filmmakers, musicians and writers,
as well as human rights defenders including
women’s rights activists, minority rights and
environmental activists, trade unionists, anti-
death penalty campaigners, lawyers, and
those seeking truth, justice and reparation for
the mass executions and enforced
disappearances of the 1980s.
Many prisoners of conscience undertook
hunger strikes to protest against their unjust
imprisonment.
The authorities arrested hundreds of
protesters following anti-establishment
demonstrations that began across the
country at the end of December. Reports
emerged that security forces killed and
injured unarmed protesters by using firearms
and other excessive force. On 31 December
the Minister of Information and
Communications Technology blocked access
to Instagram and the popular messaging
application Telegram, used by activists to
promote and support the protests.
Earlier in the year, judicial officials had
exerted persistent pressure on the Ministry of
Information and Communications Technology
to request that Telegram relocate its servers
to Iran and close tens of thousands of
Telegram channels, which according to the
judiciary “threatened national security” or
“insulted religious values”. Telegram said it
rejected both requests.
BACKGROUND
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 her and other UN experts entry to the
country.
In May, President Rouhani was elected to a
second term in office, following an electoral
process that discriminated against hundreds
of candidates by disqualifying them on the
basis of gender, religious belief and political
opinion. The appointment of individuals
allegedly involved in grave human rights
violations to ministerial posts attracted public
criticism.
The EU and Iran worked towards renewing
a bilateral human rights dialogue while
several human rights defenders served prison
sentences imposed for communicating with
EU and UN officials. Several governments
including those of Australia, Sweden and
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Other popular social media sites including
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube remained
blocked.
Journalists and online media workers faced
a renewed wave of harsh interrogations and
arbitrary arrests and detentions before the
presidential election in May. Those using
Telegram were particularly targeted for harsh
prison sentences, some exceeding a decade.
Freedom of musical expression remained
curtailed. Women were banned from singing
in public and the authorities continued to
forcibly cancel many concerts. In August,
several hundred artists called on President
Rouhani to end such restrictions.
The authorities continued their violent raids
on private mixed-gender parties, arresting
hundreds of young people and sentencing
many to flogging.
Censorship of all forms of media and
jamming of foreign satellite television
channels continued. The judicial authorities
intensified their harassment of journalists
working with the Persian BBC service,
freezing the assets of 152 former or current
BBC journalists and banning them from
conducting financial transactions.
The Association of Journalists remained
suspended.
Scores of students continued to be barred
from higher education in reprisal for their
peaceful activism, despite President
Rouhani’s election promise to lift the ban.
Bans on independent trade unions
persisted and several trade unionists were
unjustly imprisoned. Security forces
continued to violently suppress peaceful
protests by workers, including on
International Workers’ Day.
Dozens of environmental activists were
summoned for interrogation, detained and
prosecuted for participating in peaceful
protests against air pollution, disappearing
lakes, river diversion projects and dumping
practices.
Opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir
Hossein Mousavi and the latter’s wife, Zahra
Rahnavard, remained under house arrest
without charge or trial since 2011.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment remained
common, especially during interrogations.
Detainees held by the Ministry of Intelligence
and the Revolutionary Guards were routinely
subjected to prolonged solitary confinement
amounting to torture.
Failure to investigate allegations of torture
and exclude “confessions” obtained under
torture as evidence against suspects
remained systematic.
The authorities continued to deprive
prisoners detained for political reasons of
adequate medical care. In many cases, this
was done as a deliberate punishment or to
extract “confessions”, and amounted to
torture.
Prisoners endured cruel and inhuman
conditions of detention, including
overcrowding, limited hot water, inadequate
food, insufficient beds, poor ventilation and
insect infestations.
More than a dozen political prisoners at
Karaj’s Raja’i Shahr prison waged a
prolonged hunger strike between July and
September in protest at their dire detention
conditions. Some faced denial of medical
care, solitary confinement and fresh criminal
charges in reprisal.
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING PUNISHMENT
Judicial authorities continued to impose and
carry out, at times in public, cruel and
inhuman punishments amounting to torture.
Scores of individuals, including children,
faced up to 100 lashes for theft and assault
as well as for acts that, under international
law, must not be criminalized − including
extra-marital relationships, attending mixed
gender parties, eating in public during
Ramadan or attending peaceful protests.
In January, journalist Hossein Movahedi was
lashed 40 times in Najaf Abad, Esfahan
province, after a court found him guilty of
inaccurately reporting the number of
motorcycles confiscated by police in the city.
In August, a criminal court in Markazi
province sentenced trade unionist Shapour
Ehsanirad to 30 lashes and six months’
imprisonment for participating in a protest
against unjust work conditions.
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In February, the Supreme Court upheld a
blinding sentence issued by a criminal court
in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province
against a woman in retribution for blinding
another woman.
Dozens of amputation sentences were
imposed and subsequently upheld by the
Supreme Court. In April, judicial authorities in
Shiraz, Fars province, amputated the hand of
Hamid Moinee and executed him 10 days
later. He had been convicted of murder and
robbery. At least four other amputation
sentences were carried out for robbery.
The authorities also carried out degrading
punishments. In April, three men accused of
kidnapping and other crimes were paraded
around Dehloran, Ilam province, with their
hands tied and watering cans used for
lavatory washing hung around their necks.
Eight men were similarly humiliated in
Pakdasht, Tehran province, in July.
In May, a woman arrested for having an
intimate extramarital relationship was
sentenced by a criminal court in the capital,
Tehran, to two years of washing corpses and
74 lashes. The man was sentenced to 99
lashes.
the Judiciary, even though no official list had
been made public.
Trials, particularly those before
Revolutionary Courts, remained closed and
extremely brief, sometimes lasting just a few
minutes.
Foreign nationals and Iranians with dual
nationality continued to face arbitrary arrest
and detention, grossly unfair trials and
lengthy imprisonment. The authorities
claimed that they were countering foreign-
orchestrated “infiltration projects”. In reality,
such individuals were often charged with
vague national security offences in
connection with the peaceful exercise of their
rights to freedom of expression and
association.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Freedom of religion and belief was
systematically violated, in law and practice.
The authorities continued to impose codes of
public conduct rooted in a strict
interpretation of Shi’a Islam on individuals of
all faiths. Non-Shi’a Muslims were not
allowed to stand as presidential candidates or
hold key political offices.
Widespread and systematic attacks
continued to be carried out against the Baha’i
minority. These included arbitrary arrests,
lengthy imprisonment, torture and other ill-
treatment, forcible closure of Baha’i-owned
businesses, confiscation of Baha’i properties,
bans on employment in the public sector and
denial of access to universities. The
authorities regularly incited hatred and
violence, vilifying Baha’is as “heretical” and
“filthy”. There were renewed concerns that
hate crimes could be committed with
impunity after two men who had admitted to
killing Farang Amiri because of his Baha’i
faith were released on bail in June.
Other religious minorities not recognized
under the Constitution, such as Yaresan (Ahl-
e Haq), also faced systematic discrimination,
including in education and employment, and
were persecuted for practising their faith.
The right to change or renounce religious
beliefs continued to be violated. Christian
converts received harsh prison sentences,
UNFAIR TRIALS
Trials, including those resulting in death
sentences, were systematically unfair. There
were no independent mechanisms for
ensuring accountability within the judiciary.
Serious concerns remained that judges,
particularly those presiding over
Revolutionary Courts, were appointed on the
basis of their political opinions and affiliation
with intelligence bodies, and lacked legal
qualifications.
Fair trial provisions of the 2015 Code of
Criminal Procedure, including those
guaranteeing access to a lawyer from the
time of arrest and during investigations, were
routinely flouted. The authorities continued to
invoke Article 48 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure to prevent those detained for
political reasons from accessing lawyers of
their own choosing. Lawyers were told they
were not on the list approved by the Head of
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which ranged from 10 to 15 years in several
cases. Raids on house churches continued.
Gonabadi dervishes faced imprisonment
and attacks on their places of worship. A
number were arbitrarily dismissed from
employment or denied enrolment in
universities.
Those who professed atheism remained at
risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture
and other ill-treatment and the death penalty
for “apostasy”.
Sunni Muslims continued to report
discrimination, including restrictions on
holding separate prayers for Eid al-
Fitr celebrations and exclusion from high-
ranking positions.
In a departure from Iranian law, the Court of
Administrative Justice suspended the
membership of Sepanta Niknam, a
Zoroastrian man, from Yazd’s City Council in
October, based on an opinion from the head
of Iran’s Guardian Council who said it was
against Shari’a law to allow the governance of
non-Muslims over Muslims.
At least two people were sentenced to death
for the peaceful exercise of their rights to
freedom of religion and belief (see below).
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
Ethnic minorities, including Ahwazi Arabs,
Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis, Kurds and
Turkmen, remained subject to entrenched
discrimination, curtailing their access to
education, employment, adequate housing
and political office.
Continued economic neglect of minority-
populated regions further entrenched poverty
and marginalization. In Sistan-Baluchistan
province, residents of many villages reported
a lack of access to water, electricity, schools
and health facilities. The impoverished
province retained high rates of illiteracy
among girls and of infant mortality.
The Persian language remained the sole
medium of instruction during primary and
secondary education, contributing to higher
drop-out rates in minority-populated areas.
There was ongoing criticism of the absence
of measures ensuring minority self-
government.
Members of minorities who spoke out
against violations of their rights faced
arbitrary arrest, torture and other ill-
treatment, grossly unfair trials, imprisonment
and the death penalty. Intelligence and
security bodies frequently accused minority
rights activists of supporting “separatist
currents” threatening Iran’s territorial
integrity.
Iran’s border guards continued to unlawfully
shoot and kill, with full impunity, scores of
unarmed Kurdish men known as Kulbars
who work as cross-border porters between
Iraqi and Iranian Kurdistan. In September,
security forces violently suppressed protests
in Baneh and Sanandaj over the fatal
shootings of two Kulbars, and detained more
than a dozen people.
There was a heavy police presence across
Kurdistan province in September when
members of Iran’s Kurdish minority held
rallies in support of the independence
referendum in the Kurdish region of northern
Iraq. More than a dozen people were
reportedly arrested.
In June, security forces were deployed in
Ahvaz in advance of the Eid al-Fitr holiday to
prevent gatherings planned in solidarity with
families of Ahwazi Arabs imprisoned or
executed for political reasons. More than a
dozen people were arbitrarily detained and
many more were summoned for
interrogation. Ahwazi Arab human rights
defender Mohammad Ali Amouri remained
on death row.
DISCRIMINATION – WOMEN AND GIRLS
Women remained subject to entrenched
discrimination in law and practice, including
in access to divorce, employment, equal
inheritance and political office, and in family
and criminal law.
Acts of violence against women and girls,
including domestic violence and early and
forced marriage, were widespread and
committed with impunity. The authorities
failed to criminalize gender-based violence; a
draft bill remained pending since 2012. The
legal age of marriage for girls remained at 13,
and fathers and grandfathers could obtain
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permission from courts for their daughters to
be married at an even younger age.
All 137 women who registered as
presidential candidates were disqualified by
the Guardian Council. President Rouhani
included no woman ministers in his cabinet,
despite civil society demands.
Compulsory veiling (hijab) allowed police
and paramilitary forces to harass and detain
women for showing strands of hair under
their headscarves or for wearing heavy make-
up or tight clothing. State-sanctioned smear
campaigns were conducted against women
who campaigned against the compulsory
hijab.
Iran’s Civil Code continued to deny Iranian
women married to non-Iranian men the right
to pass their nationality on to their children, a
right enjoyed by Iranian men married to
foreign spouses.
Authorities defied ongoing public pressure
to open football stadiums to women
spectators.
Women experienced reduced access to
affordable modern contraception as the
authorities failed to restore the budget for
state family planning programmes cut in
2012. Parliament passed a law in October
imposing severe restrictions on imparting
information about contraception.
The authorities continued to monitor and
restrict foreign travel of women’s rights
activists. Alieh Motalebzadeh was sentenced
to three years’ imprisonment in August for
attending a workshop in Georgia on
“Women’s empowerment and elections”.
with disabilities and non-consensual medical
treatments against people perceived to have
a disability, including on the grounds of
gender identity and sexual orientation. In
December, parliament passed a proposed
law on the Protection of the Rights of People
with Disabilities which, if implemented fully,
would enhance accessibility and access to
education, housing, health care and
employment.
In August the Ministry of Education adopted
discriminatory criteria for disqualifying
candidates for teaching positions. This
included illnesses, crossed eyes, facial
moles, short height and heavy weight.
Following public outrage, the Ministry
promised revisions but said that people living
with HIV would still be barred as they lacked
“moral qualifications”.
DEATH PENALTY
The authorities continued to execute
hundreds of people after unfair trials. Some
executions were conducted in public.
The authorities continued to describe
peaceful campaigning against the death
penalty as “un-Islamic”, and harassed and
imprisoned anti-death penalty activists.
The majority of executions were for non-
lethal drug-related offences. A new law
adopted in October increased the quantities
of drugs required for imposing the death
penalty but retained mandatory death
sentences for a wide range of drug-related
offences. While the new law provided for
retroactive applicability, it remained unclear
how the authorities intended to implement it
to commute the death sentences of those
already on death row.
It was possible to confirm the execution of
four individuals who were under 18 at the
time of the crime and the cases of 92 other
juvenile offenders who remained on death
row. The real numbers were likely to be much
higher. Several executions were scheduled
and postponed at the last minute because of
public campaigning. Retrials of juvenile
offenders pursuant to Article 91 of the 2013
Islamic Penal Code continued to result in
renewed death sentences following arbitrary
DISCRIMINATION – PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES AND PEOPLE LIVING WITH
HIV
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities reviewed Iran’s human rights
record in March. The Committee condemned
state discrimination and violence against
people with physical and intellectual
disabilities; poor implementation of
accessibility standards; and denial of
reasonable accommodation at the workplace.
The Committee also expressed alarm at
reports of forced institutionalization of people
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assessments of their “maturity” at the time of
the crime.
The death penalty was maintained for
vaguely worded offences such as “insulting
the Prophet”, “enmity against God” and
“spreading corruption on earth”.
In August, spiritual teacher and prisoner of
conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri was
sentenced to death for the second time for
“spreading corruption on earth” through
establishing the spiritual group Erfan-e
Halgheh; in October the Supreme Court
quashed the death sentence. He remained in
solitary confinement.
Prisoner of conscience Marjan Davari was
sentenced to death in March for “spreading
corruption on earth” in connection with her
membership of the religious group Eckankar
and for translating their materials. The
Supreme Court subsequently quashed the
death sentence and sent the case back to the
Revolutionary Court in Tehran for retrial. 
The Islamic Penal Code continued to
provide for stoning as a method of execution.
Some consensual same-sex sexual conduct
remained punishable by death.
government authorities arbitrarily detained,
forcibly disappeared and tortured civilians
suspected of being affiliated with IS. Courts
subjected IS suspects and other individuals
suspected of terrorism-related offences to
unfair trials and sentenced them to death
on the basis of “confessions” extracted
under torture. Executions continued at an
alarming rate.
BACKGROUND
By December, the Iraqi government, Kurdish
forces, paramilitary militias and US-led
coalition forces had recaptured the territory
and population centres held by IS, including
east Mosul in January, west Mosul in July, Tel
Afar in August and Hawija in October. By
November, more than 987,648 people in
Nineveh governorate had been internally
displaced as a result of the military operation
to recapture Mosul and surrounding areas.
More than 3 million people remained
internally displaced across Iraq.
On 25 September the Kurdish Regional
Government (KRG) held a referendum on
independence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
(KR-I) as well as in the “disputed areas” of
Iraq, including areas in the governorates of
Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din and Diyala.
Preliminary results showed that
approximately 93% of votes were cast in
favour of independence. The government of
Iraq declared the referendum illegal and
unconstitutional. Following the referendum,
Iraqi government forces and pro-government
forces including the Popular Mobilization
Units (PMU) retook control of Kirkuk
governorate as well as areas of Nineveh,
Salah al-Din and Diyala governorates.
IRAQ
Republic of Iraq
Head of state: Fuad Masum
Head of government: Haider al-Abadi
Iraqi and Kurdish forces, paramilitary
militias, coalition forces and the armed
group Islamic State (IS) committed
violations of international humanitarian law,
war crimes and gross human rights abuses
in the armed conflict. IS fighters forcibly
displaced thousands of civilians into active
conflict, used them as human shields on a
mass scale, deliberately killed civilians
fleeing the fighting, and recruited and
deployed child soldiers. Iraqi and Kurdish
forces and paramilitary militias
extrajudicially executed captured fighters
and civilians fleeing the conflict and
destroyed homes and other civilian property.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces as well as
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
IS committed gross human rights abuses and
serious violations of international
humanitarian law, some of which amounted
to war crimes. It forcibly displaced thousands
of civilians into zones of active hostilities in an
attempt to shield their own fighters. IS
deliberately killed civilians who were trying to
flee the fighting and hanged their bodies in
public areas as a warning to others who were
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contemplating escape. It carried out
execution-style killings which targeted
opponents, and recruited and deployed child
soldiers. In Mosul, IS regularly denied
medical care to civilians, and its fighters
occupied several medical buildings and
hospitals to avoid being targeted by Iraqi and
coalition forces.
IS killed and injured civilians across Iraq in
suicide bombings and other deadly attacks
that deliberately targeted civilians in markets,
Shi’a religious shrines and other public
spaces. On 2 January, bombings by IS in the
predominantly Shi’a neighbourhood of Sadr
City in the capital, Baghdad, killed at least 35
people and injured more than 60. Suicide
attacks on 30 May outside an ice-cream
parlour and a government building in
Baghdad killed at least 27 people and
wounded at least 50. An IS attack on a
restaurant frequented by Shi’a pilgrims in
Nasiriya on 14 September killed at least 84
people and injured 93.
The UN reported in October that as many
as 1,563 Yazidi women and children
remained in IS captivity in Iraq and Syria.
They were subjected to rape and other
torture, assault and enslavement. Those who
managed to escape or were freed after their
relatives paid ransoms did not receive
adequate remedies, including the necessary
care and support required to help rebuild
their lives. The UN stated in August that at
least 74 mass graves had been discovered in
areas previously controlled by IS in Iraq.
In west Mosul, Iraqi forces consistently used
explosive weapons with wide-area effects,
such as improvised rocket-assisted munitions
(IRAMs), which cannot be precisely targeted
at military objectives or used lawfully in
populated civilian areas. In east Mosul,
hundreds of civilians were killed in air strikes
launched by the coalition and Iraqi forces on
their homes or places where they sought
refuge as they followed Iraqi government
instructions not to leave during the battle.
Iraqi and Kurdish government forces and
paramilitary militias carried out extrajudicial
executions of men and boys suspected of
being affiliated with IS. In the final weeks of
the Mosul battle between May and July,
consistent reports emerged that Iraqi forces,
including the Emergency Response Division,
Federal Police and the Iraqi Security Forces,
had detained, tortured and extrajudicially
executed men and boys who were fleeing the
fighting.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Thousands of men and boys considered to
be of fighting age (roughly 15 to 65) fleeing
territories controlled by IS were subjected to
security screenings by Iraqi security forces,
Kurdish forces and paramilitary militias at
temporary reception sites or in makeshift
detention facilities. Men suspected of
affiliation with IS were held for days or
months, often in harsh conditions, or
transferred onward. Iraqi forces, Kurdish
forces and paramilitary militias, including the
PMU, arrested thousands more alleged
“terrorism” suspects without judicial warrant
from their homes, checkpoints and camps for
internally displaced people (IDPs).
TORTURE AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Men and boys suspected of being members
of IS were subjected to enforced
disappearance – cut off from their families
and the outside world – in facilities controlled
by the Iraqi Ministries of the Interior and
Defence, the KRG and in secret detention
centres. Detainees were interrogated by
security officers without lawyers present and
were routinely tortured. Common forms of
torture included beatings on the head and
ARMED CONFLICT – VIOLATIONS BY
GOVERNMENT FORCES, COALITION
FORCES AND MILITIAS
Government forces, paramilitary militias and
coalition forces committed repeated violations
of international humanitarian law, some of
which may amount to war crimes. In west
Mosul, Iraqi and coalition forces launched a
series of disproportionate or otherwise
indiscriminate attacks. In one such attack, on
17 March in Mosul al-Jadida neighbourhood,
at least 105 civilians were killed by a US air
strike targeting two IS snipers.
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body with metal rods and cables, suspension
in stress positions by the arms or legs,
electric shocks, and threats of rape of female
relatives. Detainees faced limited access to
medical care, which led to deaths in custody
and amputations. They also endured harsh
conditions, including severe overcrowding,
poor ventilation and lack of access to
showers or toilets.
UNFAIR TRIALS
The criminal justice system in Iraq remained
deeply flawed. Defendants, in particular
“terrorism” suspects, were routinely denied
the rights to adequate time and facilities to
prepare a defence, to not incriminate oneself
or confess guilt, and to question prosecution
witnesses. Courts continued to admit
“confessions” that were extracted under
torture as evidence. Many of those convicted
after these unfair and hasty trials were
sentenced to death.
Between July and August, the Iraqi
authorities issued arrest warrants for at least
15 lawyers who were defending suspected IS
members, accusing the lawyers of being
affiliated with IS. These arrests caused
concern among other lawyers that they could
be arrested simply for defending IS suspects.
and from their tents. Families were separated
for days or months due to screening
procedures carried out at temporary
reception centres. Women heads of
households who sheltered in IDP camps –
particularly those whose male relatives were
suspected of affiliation with IS – reported
being subjected to rape and other sexual
abuse and exploitation and systematic
discrimination, including having inadequate
and unequal access to food, water and other
basic supplies.
FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF
PROPERTY
In the context of the armed conflict involving
IS, Iraqi government forces and paramilitary
militias forcibly displaced civilians and
destroyed their homes on a mass scale. For
example, early in the year Sunni tribal militias
within the PMU known as the Hashad al-
Ashari, alongside Iraqi government forces,
forcibly displaced at least 125 families from
Salah al-Din governorate perceived to be
affiliated with IS, following a decree issued by
local authorities authorizing their
displacement. The families were then held
against their will in an IDP camp functioning
as a detention centre near Tikrit.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
More than 3 million people remained
internally displaced across Iraq. The
displaced sheltered in host communities, IDP
camps, informal settlements and buildings
under construction. By November, more than
987,648 people in Nineveh governorate had
been displaced as a result of the Mosul
military operation. Humanitarian agencies
reported significant shortfalls in international
funding.
Civilians in IDP camps experienced
shortages of food, water, medicine and other
basic needs. Freedom of movement in IDP
camps was severely limited, and camp
residents reported that civilians, including
children, were recruited from camps by
paramilitary militias – sometimes forcibly –
and that family members had been forcibly
disappeared from public areas in the camps
ARMS TRADE
Factions of the PMU, which had committed
war crimes and other serious violations
across central and northern Iraq since 2014,
benefited from transfers of arms from a range
of countries, including the USA, Russia and
Iran. The transferred weapons included
armoured vehicles and artillery as well as a
wide range of small arms. Poor management
of weapons stocks and a thriving in-country
and cross-border illicit trade led to the arming
of militia groups, further undermining
security.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ
Journalists and online activists in the KR-I
were subject to arbitrary arrest, beatings,
surveillance, death threats, and smear
campaigns intended to damage their
reputations or the reputations of their family
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members. This trend of interference in the
freedom of expression of journalists and
online activists appeared to escalate in the
run-up to the independence referendum in
the KR-I; Amnesty International documented
12 cases of arbitrary arrests, beatings and
intimidation of journalists and online activists
between June and September.
On 14 March, security forces, including
anti-riot police belonging to the KR-I and
Syrian fighters under the command of the
KRG (“Rojava Peshmerga”), used tear gas
canisters and fired live ammunition to
disperse Yazidi protesters. The protesters
were calling for the Rojava Peshmerga forces
to leave the area, following clashes between
members of the Rojava Peshmerga and
Sinjar Resistance Unit earlier that month.
Protesters and witnesses reported that Nazeh
Nayef Qawal, a Yazidi woman, was killed
during the violent dispersal of protesters.
for grave violations of international law,
including war crimes, during the conflict.
DEATH PENALTY
Iraq remained one of the world’s most prolific
users of the death penalty. Scores of people
were sentenced to death by courts after
unfair trials and executed by hanging. The
death penalty continued to be used as a tool
of retribution in response to public outrage
after attacks claimed by IS. In January,
dozens of men were hanged for their alleged
role in the killing of 1,700 Shi’a cadets at
Speicher military camp near Tikrit in 2014.
The men, whose “confessions” were
extracted under credible allegations of
torture, were convicted following deeply
flawed and hasty trials. These mass
executions followed a similar mass execution
in August 2016, also in relation to the
Speicher massacre. On 25 September,
dozens of men were executed on “terrorism”
charges. This mass execution took place 11
days after an IS suicide attack in Nasiriya on
14 September that killed at least 84 people.
IMPUNITY
In response to allegations of serious violations
of international humanitarian law and war
crimes committed by Iraqi forces and pro-
government militias – such as torture,
extrajudicial execution and enforced
disappearance – the Iraqi authorities
established committees to evaluate the
available evidence and launch investigations.
Such committees consistently failed to
release any findings publicly or to
communicate their findings to international or
national NGOs. More than a year since 643
men and boys from Saqlawiya in the Anbar
governorate were abducted and forcibly
disappeared by PMU militias, a committee
established by the Office of the Prime
Minister on 5 June 2016 had failed to
publicly release any findings.
On 21 September the UN Security Council
passed a unanimous resolution aimed at
ensuring accountability for war crimes and
human rights abuses committed by IS.
However, the resolution crucially failed to
include any provisions to ensure
accountability for crimes committed by Iraqi
forces, paramilitary militias such as the PMU,
the US-led coalition and others responsible
IRELAND
Ireland
Head of state: Michael D. Higgins
Head of government: Leo Varadkar (replaced Enda
Kenny in June)
Historical abuses against women and girls
were not adequately addressed. Access to
and information about abortion remained
severely restricted and criminalized.
Concerns remained about “direct provision”
accommodation provided to asylum-seekers.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In March, the CEDAW Committee published
its concluding observations on Ireland’s sixth
and seventh reports. It expressed concern at
Ireland’s abortion laws, measures to combat
violence against women, including funding
cuts to non-governmental support services,
and the impact of austerity measures on the
funding for women’s NGOs.
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The Committee criticized the state’s failure
to establish an independent, thorough and
effective investigation into all alleged human
rights abuses against women and girls in the
“Magdalene Laundries”, children’s
institutions and mother and baby homes
which operated with state funding and
oversight between the 1930s and 1996. This
concern was echoed by the UN Committee
against Torture in its concluding observations
on Ireland’s second periodic report,
published in August. In November, the
Ombudsman published a report criticizing
the exclusion of some women from the
Magdalene Laundries redress scheme.
The CEDAW Committee also noted
numerous recommendations by other UN
human rights mechanisms on the unresolved
issue of historical abuses of women and girls,
including in respect of symphysiotomies
performed on women without their consent.
abortion services. The government
committed to holding a referendum on the
Eighth Amendment in early 2018.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Concerns remained about poor living
conditions in “direct provision”
accommodation centres for asylum-seekers,
in particular limited living space and privacy,
lack of recreational facilities especially for
children, and little personal spending money.
In May, the Supreme Court ruled that the
state’s prohibition on employment during the
asylum procedure, irrespective of its
duration, was unconstitutional; it gave the
legislature six months to address its decision.
The Ombudsman and Ombudsman for
Children were given statutory powers to
consider complaints from “direct provision”
residents.
In September, the government announced
its commitment to developing a community
sponsorship programme for resettling
refugees.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In June, the UN Human Rights Committee
found in
Whelan v. Ireland
that Ireland’s
abortion law violated the applicant’s rights to
be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment, as well as her rights to privacy and
non-discrimination in forcing her to travel
abroad for an abortion. In its August
concluding observations, the UN Committee
against Torture stated that Ireland’s abortion
law causes women and girls “severe physical
and mental anguish and distress”.
In June, the Citizens’ Assembly, established
by the government to make
recommendations on possible constitutional
reform, recommended the removal of the
Eighth Amendment to Ireland’s Constitution,
which placed the right to life of the foetus on
a par with that of the pregnant woman. It
recommended that access to abortion be
provided without restriction in early
pregnancy, and in a broad range of
circumstances thereafter. Its
recommendations were considered and
supported by a specially convened
parliamentary committee, which also
recommended decriminalizing women and
medical professionals accessing or providing
RIGHT TO HOUSING
A growing number of people were
experiencing homelessness, many as a result
of reduced availability of affordable rental
properties. The number of homeless families
increased by 31% between October 2016
and October 2017, with many children living
in unsuitable hostel-type accommodation. In
October, the European Committee of Social
Rights published a decision finding Ireland in
violation of the Revised European Social
Charter. The decision related to conditions in
some local authority housing.
SEX WORKERS
In February, the Criminal Law (Sexual
Offences) Act 2017 was enacted which,
among other provisions, criminalized the
purchase of sex. While the Act removed
criminal penalties from sex workers for
soliciting and loitering, several aspects of sex
work remained criminalized, despite
international evidence that this can place sex
workers at high risk of stigmatization,
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isolation, violence and other human rights
abuses.
The Council of Europe Group of Experts on
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
noted reports of possible negative impacts of
the criminalization of the purchase of sex on
victims of trafficking. It urged Ireland to
analyse such impacts on the identification,
protection and assistance of trafficking
victims, and the prosecution of traffickers.
DISCRIMINATION – TRAVELLERS
In March, the government granted formal
recognition to the Traveller community as a
distinct ethnic group within Ireland, following
years of campaigning by Traveller groups.
This was seen as a symbolic but significant
step towards recognizing and countering the
long-standing discrimination experienced by
Travellers in Ireland.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Concerns emerged about the growing impact
on civil society groups of the Electoral Act
1997, a law which regulates political funding.
The Act, as amended in 2001, prohibits
overseas donations, or domestic donations
over EUR2,500, to “third party” organizations
for vaguely defined “political purposes”.
humanitarian crisis. The Israeli authorities
intensified expansion of settlements and
related infrastructure across the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem, and severely
restricted the freedom of movement of
Palestinians. Israeli forces unlawfully killed
Palestinian civilians, including children,
and unlawfully detained within Israel
thousands of Palestinians from the
Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT),
holding hundreds in administrative
detention without charge or trial. Torture
and other ill-treatment of detainees,
including children, remained pervasive and
was committed with impunity. Israel
continued to demolish Palestinian homes in
the West Bank and in Palestinian villages
inside Israel, forcibly evicting residents.
Conscientious objectors to military service
were imprisoned. Thousands of African
asylum-seekers were threatened with
deportation.
BACKGROUND
Israeli authorities intensified settlement
expansion and land appropriation in the OPT.
US and international efforts to revive
negotiations failed, and Israeli-Palestinian
relations remained tense. In January, Israeli
authorities passed the so-called
“regularization law” that retroactively
legalized the settler takeover of thousands of
hectares of privately owned Palestinian land
and an estimated 4,500 settler homes. In
addition, Israeli authorities announced and
issued tenders for tens of thousands of new
settlement units in East Jerusalem and
across the rest of the West Bank.
Palestinians carried out stabbings, car-
rammings, shootings and other attacks
against Israelis in the West Bank and in
Israel. The attacks, mostly carried out by
individuals unaffiliated to armed groups,
killed 14 Israelis and one foreign national.
Israeli forces killed 76 Palestinians and one
foreign national. Some were unlawfully killed
while posing no threat to life.
In March, the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia issued, then
withdrew, a report determining Israel to be
ISRAEL AND THE
OCCUPIED
PALESTINIAN
TERRITORIES
State of Israel
Head of government: Benjamin Netanyahu
Head of state: Reuven Rivlin
June marked 50 years since Israel’s
occupation of the Palestinian Territories and
the start of the 11th year of its illegal
blockade of the Gaza Strip, subjecting
approximately 2 million inhabitants to
collective punishment and a growing
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“guilty of the crime of apartheid” against
Palestinians. In May, a UNESCO resolution
reaffirmed the occupied status of East
Jerusalem and criticized Israel’s conduct in
the city. Following the killing of two Israeli
policemen by Palestinians, in July Israel
installed metal detectors to screen Muslim
worshippers entering the Temple Mount/
Haram al-Sharif. The new security measures
led to heightened tensions and mass protests
by Palestinians, including collective prayers,
across the West Bank. The prayer protests,
often met with excessive force, ended once
the metal detectors were removed.
In September, the Hamas de facto
administration in Gaza and the “national
consensus” government in the West Bank
embarked on a reconciliation process, which
was rejected by Israel.
In December, US President Donald Trump
recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in
violation of international law, sparking
widespread protests across the OPT and
globally.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT – GAZA
BLOCKADE AND WEST BANK
RESTRICTIONS
Israel’s illegal air, land and sea blockade of
the Gaza Strip entered its 11th year,
continuing the long-standing restrictions on
the movement of people and goods into and
from the area, collectively punishing Gaza’s
entire population. Combined with Egypt’s
almost total closure of the Rafah border
crossing, and the West Bank authorities’
punitive measures, Israel’s blockade triggered
a humanitarian crisis with electricity cuts
reducing access to electricity from an
average of eight hours per day down to as
little as two to four hours, affecting clean
water and sanitation and diminishing health
service access, and rendering Gaza
increasingly “unlivable” according to the UN.
Gaza’s economy deteriorated further and
post-conflict reconstruction of civilian
infrastructure remained severely hindered;
some 23,500 Palestinians remained
displaced since the 2014 conflict. Many
patients with life-threatening illnesses were
unable to access treatment outside Gaza due
to Israeli restrictions and delays by West
Bank authorities in processing referrals.
Israeli forces maintained a “buffer zone”
inside Gaza’s border with Israel and used live
ammunition against Palestinians who entered
or approached it, wounding farmers working
in the area. Israeli forces also fired at
Palestinian fishermen in or near the
“exclusion zone” along Gaza’s coastline,
killing at least one and injuring others.
In the West Bank, Israel maintained an
array of military checkpoints, bypass roads
and military and firing zones, restricting
Palestinian access and travel. Israel
established new checkpoints and barriers,
especially in East Jerusalem. In response to
Palestinian attacks on Israelis, the military
authorities imposed collective punishment;
they revoked the work permits of attackers’
family members and closed off villages and
entire areas including Silwad, Deir Abu
Mishal and Beit Surik.
In Hebron, long-standing prohibitions
limiting Palestinian presence, tightened in
October 2015, remained in force. In Hebron’s
Tel Rumeida neighbourhood, a “closed
military zone”, Israeli forces subjected
Palestinian residents to oppressive searches
and prevented the entry of other Palestinians
while allowing free movement for Israeli
settlers. In May, Israel erected a new
checkpoint and a new fence barrier within
Hebron’s H2 area, arbitrarily confining the
Palestinian Gheith neighbourhood and
segregating a street alongside the area.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Israel detained or continued to imprison
thousands of Palestinians from the OPT,
mostly in prisons in Israel, in violation of
international law. Many detainees’ families,
particularly those in Gaza, were not permitted
entry to Israel to visit their relatives.
The authorities continued to substitute
administrative detention for criminal
prosecution, holding hundreds of
Palestinians, including children, civil society
leaders and NGO workers, without charge or
trial under renewable orders, based on
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information withheld from detainees and their
lawyers. More than 6,100 Palestinians,
including 441 administrative detainees, were
held in Israeli prisons at the end of the year.
Israeli authorities also placed six Palestinian
citizens of Israel under administrative
detention.
In April around 1,500 Palestinian prisoners
and detainees launched a 41-day hunger-
strike to demand better conditions, family
visits, an end to solitary confinement and
administrative detention, and access to
education. The Israeli Prison Service
punished hunger-striking detainees, using
solitary confinement, fines, and denial of
family visits.
Palestinians from the West Bank charged
with protest-related and other offences faced
unfair military trials, while Israeli civilian
courts trying Palestinians from East
Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip issued harsh
sentences even for minor offences.
In April the Israeli High Court of Justice
issued a decision to reduce excessive
sentencing of Palestinians under the military
judicial system and ordered that legislation
be amended to apply shorter sentences as of
May 2018. Despite the ruling, the sentences
would remain harsher than those in the
Israeli civilian judicial system.
Khalida Jarrar, a member of the Palestinian
Legislative Council and board member of the
NGO Addameer, and Addameer staff
member Salah Hammouri, remained in
administrative detention at the end of the
year.
The trial of Mohammed al-Halabi, a Gaza-
based humanitarian worker, began at Beer
Sheva District Court on charges of
embezzlement from the NGO World Vision to
fund Hamas. Neither an Australian
government review of World Vision Gaza nor
an internal World Vision audit found any
evidence to support the charges. Mohammed
al-Halabi stated in court that he was tortured
during interrogation and detention.
detainees, including children, to torture and
other ill-treatment with impunity, particularly
during arrest and interrogation. Reported
methods included beatings, slapping, painful
shackling, sleep deprivation, use of stress
positions and threats. No criminal
investigations were opened into more than
1,000 complaints filed since 2001.
Complaints of torture and other ill-treatment
by the Israeli police against asylum-seekers
and members of the Ethiopian community
remained common.
In December the Israeli High Court of
Justice accepted the Attorney General’s
decision not to open a criminal investigation
into Asad Abu Ghosh’s torture claims despite
credible evidence, thus condoning the
continued use of stress positions and sleep
deprivation against Palestinian detainees by
Israeli interrogators.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
Israeli soldiers, police and security guards
killed at least 75 Palestinians from the OPT,
including East Jerusalem, and five
Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. Some of
those killed were shot while attacking Israelis
or suspected of intending an attack. Many,
including children, were shot and unlawfully
killed while posing no immediate threat to
life. Some killings, such as that of Yacoub
Abu al-Qi’an, shot in his car by police in
Umm al-Hiran in January, appeared to have
been extrajudicial executions.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Israeli forces, including undercover units,
used excessive and sometimes lethal force
when they used rubber-coated metal bullets
and live ammunition against Palestinian
protesters in the OPT, killing at least 20, and
injuring thousands. Many protesters threw
rocks or other projectiles but were posing no
threat to the lives of well-protected Israeli
soldiers when they were shot. In July, in
response to the tensions over Temple Mount/
Haram al-Sharif, the authorities killed 10
Palestinians and injured more than 1,000
during the dispersal of demonstrations, and
conducted at least two violent raids on al-
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Israeli soldiers and police and Israel Security
Agency officers subjected Palestinian
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Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem. In
December, wheelchair user Ibrahim Abu
Thuraya was shot in the head by an Israeli
soldier as he was sitting with a group of
protesters near the fence separating Gaza
from Israel.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The authorities used a range of measures,
both in Israel and the OPT, to target human
rights defenders who criticized Israel’s
continuing occupation.
In March the Knesset (parliament) passed
an amendment to the Entry into Israel Law
banning entry into Israel or the OPT to
anyone supporting or working for an
organization that has issued or promoted a
call to boycott Israel or Israeli entities,
including settlements. The authorities
continued to obstruct human rights workers’
attempts to document the situation by
denying them entry into the OPT, including
the UN Special Rapporteur on the human
rights situation in the OPT. An Amnesty
International staff member was denied entry
after he was questioned about the
organization’s work on settlements.
Using public order laws in East Jerusalem,
and military orders in the rest of the West
Bank, Israeli authorities prohibited and
suppressed protests by Palestinians, and
arrested and prosecuted protesters and
human rights defenders. In July, the military
trials of Palestinian human rights defenders
Issa Amro and Farid al-Atrash began on
charges related to their role in organizing
peaceful protests against Israel’s settlement
policies. Israeli authorities continued to
harass other Hebron-based human rights
activists, including Badi Dweik and Imad Abu
Shamsiya, and failed to protect them from
settler attacks.
From May to August, the Israeli authorities
detained prisoner of conscience and writer
Ahmad Qatamesh under a three-month
administrative detention order solely on
account of his non-violent political activities
and writing.
Palestinian human rights NGOs, including
Al-Haq, Al Mezan and Addameer,
encountered increased levels of harassment
by Israeli authorities. Israeli authorities
initiated tax investigations against Omar
Barghouti, a prominent advocate of the
boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign,
in what appeared to be an effort to silence his
work.
Several Israeli human rights organizations,
including Breaking the Silence, Gisha,
B’tselem and Amnesty International Israel
were also targeted by government campaigns
to undermine their work, and faced smears,
stigmatization and threats.
RIGHT TO HOUSING – FORCED
EVICTIONS AND DEMOLITIONS
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,
the Israeli authorities carried out a large
number of demolitions of Palestinian
property, including 423 homes and
structures built without Israeli permits that
remained virtually impossible for Palestinians
to obtain, forcibly evicting more than 660
people. Many of these demolitions were in
Bedouin and herding communities that the
Israeli authorities planned to forcibly transfer.
The authorities also collectively punished the
families of Palestinians who had carried out
attacks on Israelis, by demolishing or making
uninhabitable their family homes, forcibly
evicting approximately 50 people.
Israeli authorities forcibly evicted eight
members of the Shamasneh family from their
home in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem,
allowing Jewish settlers to move in. The
authorities also demolished dozens of
Palestinian homes inside Israel that they said
were built without permits, including in
Palestinian towns and villages in the Triangle,
the Galilee, and in “unrecognized” Bedouin
villages in the Negev/Naqab region. In
January the Israeli police forcibly demolished
the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, to
begin building a Jewish town in its place. The
Knesset passed a law in April that raised the
fines for building without permits, charging
punitive costs for the demolition to those
whose homes have been demolished, and
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limited recourse to the courts for those
challenging demolition or eviction orders. In
August, the authorities demolished al-Araqib
village in the Negev/Naqab for the 116th
time. Residents were ordered to compensate
the state 362,000 new shekels
(approximately USD100,000) for the cost of
demolition and lawyers’ fees.
IMPUNITY
More than three years after the end of the
2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, in which some
1,460 Palestinian civilians were killed, many
in evidently unlawful attacks including war
crimes, the authorities had previously
indicted only three soldiers for looting and
obstructing an investigation.
In a rare move, in January an Israeli military
court convicted Elor Azaria, a soldier whose
apparent extrajudicial execution of a
wounded Palestinian in Hebron was filmed,
of manslaughter. His conviction and 18-
month prison sentence, which was confirmed
on appeal but reduced by four months by
Israel’s military Chief of Staff in September,
failed to reflect the gravity of the crime. Israeli
authorities failed to investigate, or closed
investigations into, cases of alleged unlawful
killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in
both Israel and the OPT.
The Prosecutor of the ICC continued her
preliminary examination of alleged crimes
under international law committed in the OPT
since 13 June 2014.
Zayoud, who was stripped of his citizenship
and rendered stateless by the Minister of the
Interior following a conviction for attempted
murder. An appeal against the decision was
pending before the Supreme Court at the end
of the year. The authorities also revoked the
citizenship of dozens of Palestinian Bedouin
residents of the Negev/Naqab region without
process or appeal, leaving them as stateless
residents.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The authorities continued to deny asylum-
seekers, more than 90% of whom were from
Eritrea or Sudan, access to a fair or prompt
refugee status determination process. More
than 1,200 asylum-seekers were held at the
Holot detention facility and at Saharonim
Prison in the Negev/Naqab desert at the end
of the year. According to activists, there were
more than 35,000 asylum-seekers in Israel;
8,588 asylum claims remained pending. In
December, the Knesset passed an
amendment to the anti-infiltration law that
would force asylum-seekers and refugees to
accept relocation to countries in Africa or
face imprisonment. Tens of thousands were
at risk of deportation.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
At least six Israeli conscientious objectors to
military service were imprisoned, including
Tamar Zeevi, Atalia Ben-Abba, Noa Gur
Golan, Hadas Tal, Mattan Helman and Ofir
Averbukh. Israeli authorities recognized
Tamar Zeevi as a conscientious objector and
released her from conscription after she
served a total of 100 days in prison.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
There were new reports of violence against
women; Palestinian communities in Israel
were particularly affected. In June, the
Special Rapporteur on violence against
women issued recommendations urging
Israeli authorities to carry out law and policy
reforms by integrating CEDAW standards; to
combat and prevent violence against women
in Israel and the OPT; and to investigate
reported abuses.
ITALY
Italian Republic
Head of state: Sergio Mattarella
Head of government: Paolo Gentiloni
Italy co-operated with the Libyan authorities
and non-state actors to restrict irregular
migration through the central
Mediterranean. This resulted in refugees
DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY
On 6 August the Haifa District Court
confirmed the citizenship revocation of Alaa
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and migrants being disembarked and
trapped in Libya, where they faced human
rights violations and abuse. Roma
continued to be forcibly evicted and
segregated in camps with sub-standard
living conditions. The European
Commission failed to take decisive action
against Italy for discrimination against
Roma in access to adequate housing.
Legislation criminalizing torture was
introduced; however, the new law did not
meet all the requirements of the Convention
against Torture.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Over 2,800 refugees and migrants were
estimated to have died at sea while
attempting to reach Italy from Libya on
unseaworthy and overcrowded vessels. The
numbers were down from more than 4,500
deaths registered in 2016. Over 119,000
people survived the crossing and reached
Italy, compared to 181,000 arrivals in 2016.
In May, the Italian magazine
L’Espresso
published new information regarding the 11
October 2013 shipwreck in the Maltese
search and rescue region of the central
Mediterranean. Over 260 people died, mostly
Syrian refugees, among them about 60
children. According to recorded phone
conversations obtained by the magazine, in
the period preceding the capsizing of the
refugees’ boat, Italian navy and coastguard
officials were reluctant to deploy the Italian
warship
Libra
which was the closest to the
boat in distress, despite repeated requests by
Maltese authorities to do so. In November, a
judge of the Rome tribunal ordered that
charges be brought against two high-ranking
officials of the Italian navy and coastguard
respectively and that further investigations be
carried out into the conduct of the
Libra’s
captain. The charges against four other navy
and coastguard officials were dismissed. The
trial was pending at the end of the year.
The government continued to fail to adopt
the decrees required to abolish the crime of
“illegal entry and stay”, despite being
instructed to do so by parliament in April
2014.
CO-OPERATION WITH LIBYA TO CONTROL MIGRATION
In February, to reduce arrivals, Italy signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with Libya,
committing to provide support to Libyan
authorities responsible for official immigration
detention centres. Torture and other ill-
treatment remained widespread in these
centres. Italy continued to implement
measures to increase the Libyan coastguard’s
capacity to intercept refugees and migrants
and take them back to Libya. This was done
amidst growing evidence of the Libyan
coastguard’s violent and reckless conduct
during interceptions of boats and of its
involvement in human rights violations. In
May, Italy provided the Libyan coastguard
with four patrolling speedboats. Italy also
continued to train Libyan coastguard and
navy officials as part of the EU Naval Force
Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR Med) operation.
In July, following a request from the Libyan
government, Italy deployed a naval mission to
Libyan territorial waters to combat irregular
migration and the smuggling of refugees and
migrants.
In November, a Libyan coastguard vessel
interfered in an ongoing rescue operation in
international waters. Several people drowned.
The Libyan coastguard’s vessel – one of those
donated by Italy – was recorded on video
departing at high speed, ignoring people in
the water, and with a man still holding on to
ropes the Libyan officials had thrown off the
vessel.
Between August and December, Italy’s co-
operation with Libyan authorities was
criticized by various UN experts and bodies,
including the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights as well as the Council of
Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Committee against Torture expressed
concern over the lack of assurances that co-
operation with the Libyan coastguard or other
Libyan security actors would be reviewed in
light of human rights violations.
NGOS’ SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS
Many of those who reached Italy by sea –
over 45,400 – were rescued by NGOs. In
July, Italy, with support from the EU, imposed
a code of conduct on NGOs operating at sea,
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limiting their capacity to rescue people and
disembark them in Italy. During the year,
rescue NGOs were targeted by some officials,
claiming that they encouraged departures
from Libya. Criminal investigations were
opened and were ongoing at the end of the
year against some NGOs for abetting irregular
migration.
ASYLUM PROCEDURES
By the end of the year, nearly 130,000
people sought asylum in Italy, a 6% increase
over the nearly 122,000 in 2016. Throughout
the year, over 40% of applicants received
some form of protection in the first instance.
In April, legislation was introduced to speed
up asylum procedures and counter irregular
migration, including by reducing procedural
safeguards in appeals against rejected
asylum applications. The new law failed to
adequately clarify the nature and function of
the hotspots set up by the EU and the
government following agreements in 2015.
Hotspots are facilities set up for the initial
reception, identification and registration of
asylum-seekers and migrants coming to the
EU by sea. In its May report, the National
Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture
highlighted the continued lack of a legal basis
and applicable norms regulating the
detention of people in hotspots.
Also in May, the UN Human Rights
Committee criticized the prolonged detention
of refugees and migrants at hotspots. It also
criticized the lack of safeguards against the
incorrect classification of asylum-seekers as
economic migrants, and the lack of
investigations into reports of excessive use of
force during identification procedures. In
December, the UN Committee against Torture
expressed concern about the lack of
safeguards against the forcible return of
people to countries where they could be at
risk of human rights violations.
In September, the criminal trial started in
Perugia against seven officials implicated in
the illegal expulsion to Kazakhstan of Alma
Shalabayeva and Alua Ablyazova, the wife
and daughter of Kazakhstani opposition
politician Mukhtar Ablyazov, in May 2013.
The accused, charged with kidnapping, false
statements and abuse of power, included
three high-ranking police officers and the
judge who validated the expulsion.
UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN
Nearly 16,000 unaccompanied children
reached Italy by sea. A new law to strengthen
their protection was introduced in April. It
covered access to services and introduced
safeguards against expulsions. However, the
authorities continued to struggle to ensure
their reception in accordance with
international standards.
RELOCATION AND RESETTLEMENT SCHEMES
Of the around 35,000 asylum-seekers who
were to be transferred to other EU countries
under the EU relocation scheme, only 11,464
had left Italy by the end of the year, while a
further 698 were about to be transferred.
Italy continued to grant humanitarian
access to people transferred through a
scheme funded by the faith-based NGOs
Comunità di Sant’Egidio, Federation of
Evangelical Churches and Tavola Valdese.
Over 1,000 people were received under the
scheme since its beginning in 2016.
At the end of December, Italy also granted
access to 162 vulnerable refugees evacuated
from Libya to Italy by UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
Roma continued to experience systemic
discrimination in access to adequate
housing. The European Commission still
failed to take decisive action against Italy for
breach of EU law for discrimination in its
denial of the right to housing, including the
lack of safeguards against forced evictions
and the continued segregation of Roma in
camps.
In April, hundreds of Roma living in the
informal settlement of Gianturco in Naples
were forcibly evicted after authorities failed to
carry out any meaningful consultation with
the affected families. The only alternative the
authorities offered was the rehousing of 130
people in a new authorized segregated camp.
The remaining adults and children were
rendered homeless. Around 200 of them
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settled in a former market area in Naples and
remained at risk of being forcibly evicted.
In August, the authorities forcibly evicted
hundreds of people, including many children,
from a building in the centre of Rome. Many
of them were recognized refugees who had
been living and working in the area for
several years. The authorities failed to provide
adequate housing alternatives, leaving scores
of people to sleep in the open for days,
before they were violently removed by police
in riot gear. Several people were hurt by
police using water cannons and batons.
Some families were eventually rehoused
temporarily outside Rome.
batons. The trial was pending at the end of
the year.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
In July, following a second police
investigation which started in 2016, five
police officers were charged in relation to the
death in custody of Stefano Cucchi in 2009.
Three officers were charged with
manslaughter and two with slander and
making false statements. The trial was
pending at the end of the year.
JAMAICA
Jamaica
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Patrick Linton Allen
Head of government: Andrew Michael Holness
Unlawful killings – some of which may
amount to extrajudicial executions –
continued to be carried out by the police
with impunity. A review of national
legislation related to sexual offences,
domestic violence, child care and child
protection was underway. NGOs raised
concerns over the right to privacy after
proposals to introduce national identity
cards. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice. Gay
and bisexual prisoners continued to be at
heightened risk for HIV.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In July, Italy finally introduced legislation
criminalizing torture, having ratified the
Convention against Torture in 1989. However,
in December, the Committee against Torture
noted that the definition of torture in the new
law was not in line with the Convention. The
new law also failed to provide for the
implementation of other key provisions,
including the reviewing of interrogation
policies and provision of redress to victims.
In September, the Council of Europe
Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT) published the report of its visit to Italy
in April 2016. The CPT received allegations
of ill-treatment, including unnecessary and
excessive use of force by law enforcement
officials and prison officers in virtually all
detention facilities it visited. The CPT noted
that overcrowding persisted, despite recent
reforms.
In October, the European Court of Human
Rights found that the treatment of 59 people
by police and medical staff during their
detention, following the protests against the
2001 Genoa G8 summit, amounted to
torture.
Also in October, 37 police officers, serving
in the Lunigiana area in northern Tuscany,
were charged in relation to numerous cases
of personal injury and other abuses. Many of
these abuses were against foreign nationals,
on two occasions involving the use of electric
BACKGROUND
Despite committing to the establishment of a
national human rights institution, Jamaica
had not established the mechanism by the
end of the year.
Jamaica continued to have one of the
highest homicide rates in the Americas.
Between January and June, homicides
increased by 19% compared with the same
period in 2016, according to police data.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Between January and March, the police
oversight mechanism, the Independent
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Commission of Investigations (INDECOM)
received 73 new complaints of assault and
documented 42 killings by law enforcement
officials. During the year, 168 people were
killed by law enforcement officials, compared
with 111 people in 2016.
Female relatives of those allegedly killed by
the police continued to battle an
underfunded, sluggish court system in their
fight for justice, truth and reparation.
1
More than a year after a Commission of
Enquiry published its findings into the events
that took place in Western Kingston during
the 2010 state of emergency that left at least
69 people dead, the government had still not
officially responded on how it planned to
implement the recommendations, or made a
public apology. In June, the Jamaica
Constabulary Force completed an internal
administrative review into the conduct of
officers named in the Commissioners’ report.
However, it found no misconduct or
responsibility for human rights violations
during the state of emergency.
In June, legislation was passed to create
“zones of special operations” as part of a
crime prevention plan.
INDECOM hosted a Caribbean Use of Force
Conference to develop a region-wide Use of
Force Policy consistent with best practice in
human rights. Law enforcement officials from
across the region participated in the forum,
along with experts in policing and human
rights.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
The NGO Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) raised
concerns that the National Identification and
Registration Authority Act could undermine
the right to privacy and that Article 41
specifically could limit access to public goods
and services.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
JFJ made a series of recommendations to the
Parliamentary Joint Select Committee to
strengthen the Child Care and Protection Act.
Among other things, JFJ recommended
expanding the list of authorities to which
members of the public can make a legally
mandated report of child abuse, to make
reporting easier.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL
AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE
There remained no legal protection against
discrimination based on real or perceived
sexual orientation or gender identity. As a
result, LGBT people continued to face
harassment and violence.
Consensual sex between men remained
criminalized, and there was limited protection
against intimate-partner violence for
people in same-sex relationships. NGOs
recommended that laws be amended to
ensure that rape is treated as a gender-
neutral offence.
As transgender people continued to be
unable to change their legal name and
gender, LGBTI organizations were concerned
that the proposed national identification
system could undermine the privacy of
transgender people and expose them to
stigma and discrimination, including from
potential employers.
Jamaica’s third annual Pride event took
place in August and continued to increase
visibility for the LGBTI community and create
opportunities for engagement with wider
society.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In March, women’s movements and survivors
of gender-based and sexual violence took to
the streets in the capital, Kingston, to protest
against impunity for sexual violence.
Jamaican NGOs made a series of
recommendations to the Joint Select
Committee of Parliament tasked with
reviewing national legislation related to sexual
offences, domestic violence, child care and
child protection. These included, among
other things, repealing marital rape
exceptions under the Sexual Offences Act to
protect women against rape, irrespective of
their marital status.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
In June, the NGO Stand up for Jamaica
released
Barriers Behind Bars,
a report
which analysed the high risk of sexual
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violence, human rights violations, and
consequently HIV, faced by gay and bisexual
men in Kingston’s General Penitentiary, in
which gay and bisexual men are segregated
from the general prison population. The
report aimed to generate discussion about
best practices for reducing HIV in prisons.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
Jamaica again failed to ratify the Rome
Statute of the ICC, which it signed in
September 2000, nor had it adhered to the
UN Convention against Torture or the
International Convention for the Protection of
All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
1. Jamaica: A thank you from Shackelia Jackson (News
story,
15
December 2017)
abused, authorities in the city of Osaka
approved a gay couple as foster parents. The
couple had been looking after a teenage boy
since February. This was the first case of a
same-sex couple becoming foster parents
and being considered as a single household
by the city. Sapporo City and Minato Ward
advanced towards recognizing same-sex
partnerships, following the practices of five
other municipalities in 2015 and 2016.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In June, the Diet (parliament) adopted an
overly broad law targeting alleged
conspiracies to commit “terrorism” and other
serious crimes. The law gave authorities
broad surveillance powers that could be
misused to curtail the rights to freedom of
expression, association and privacy, without
sufficient safeguards.
The law also presented a threat to the
legitimate work of independent NGOs, as the
definition of “organized crime group” was
vague and overly broad and not clearly
limited to activities that would constitute
organized crime or pose a genuine threat to
national security. Protests were held in
multiple locations against the law’s potentially
adverse effect on civil society.
JAPAN
Japan
Head of government: Shinzo Abe
Despite harsh criticism from civil society
and academics expressing fears that human
rights would be weakened, parliament
passed a controversial law targeting
conspiracies to commit “terrorism” and
other serious crimes. Authorities in Osaka
city approved a same-sex couple as foster
parents, and two municipalities moved
towards recognizing same-sex partnerships.
Detention of a prominent peace activist
raised fair trial concerns. A District Court
supported tuition waivers for a Korean
school that was excluded due to their
alleged ties to the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (North Korea).
Executions continued to be carried out.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Prominent peace activist Hiroji Yamashiro
was arrested and detained for five months
from late 2016 until March 2017, under
restrictive conditions and without access to
his family, for his role in protests against new
US military construction projects on
Okinawa.
2
The protracted detention of one of
the most vocal opponents of the US military
construction on Okinawa, without respecting
the presumption of release pending trial, had
a chilling effect on others exercising their
right to peaceful assembly. Some activists
hesitated to join protests for fear of reprisals.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
While pervasive discrimination based on real
or perceived sexual orientation and gender
identity continued, some progress was made
in local municipalities.
1
Under the foster care
scheme providing support to children without
guardians or children who are neglected or
DISCRIMINATION – ETHNIC MINORITIES
In July the Osaka District Court ruled as
illegal the government’s exclusion of Osaka
Korean High School from its high school
education tuition waiver programme. The
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Court found that this hindered the right to
education of children of Korean origin. This
was the first ruling in a number of similar
lawsuits on the eligibility of such schools for
the programme. Although public high schools
had been exempt from tuition fees under the
programme since 2010, the government
excluded Korean schools due to concerns
that the subsidies may be misused because
of the schools’ historical ties to North Korea.
1. Japan: Human rights law and discrimination against LGBT people
(ASA
22/5955/2017)
2.
Japan: Prominent peace activist detained without bail - Hiroji
Yamashiro (ASA
22/5552/2017)
JORDAN
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Head of state: King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein
Head of government: Hani Al-Mulki
Parliament approved several reforms
including the repeal of a law which allowed
rapists to escape prosecution if they
married their victims. Women continued to
be discriminated against in law and in
practice. Parliament passed a law that
would guarantee certain rights for pre-trial
detainees and reduce the length of
custodial sentences. Local governors
continued to issue orders to hold
individuals in prolonged detention without
charge. The rights to freedom of expression
and of association continued to be
restricted. Migrant workers were
inadequately protected from exploitation
and abuse. Around 50,000 refugees from
Syria remained trapped in the desert on the
border with Syria in appalling conditions.
Death sentences were imposed and
executions carried out.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
In November, the government began to
accept the first of 10,000 Vietnamese
nationals to be admitted over three years
under the Technical Intern Training Program
to meet Japan’s labour shortage. The scheme
had been harshly criticized by human rights
advocates for causing a wide range of human
rights abuses. Critics feared that expanding
the scheme without addressing its problems
would result in increased incidents of sexual
abuse, work-related deaths and working
conditions amounting to forced labour.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
While the number of asylum applications
continued to increase dramatically, the
government reported in February that it had
approved 28 out of 10,901 claims in 2016,
which was a 44% increase in claims from the
previous year.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of
Korea (South Korea) made a statement in
December that the 2015 agreement between
Japan and South Korea on Japan’s Military
Sexual Slavery System failed to solve the
issue, following the findings of the task force
appointed in July to review the deal. The
agreement had been criticized by civil society
organizations as well as historians for its
failure to provide a fully victim-centred
approach and to provide an official,
unequivocal recognition of responsibility by
Japan for serious human rights violations
committed by its military against women and
girls before and during World War II.
BACKGROUND
Jordan remained part of the US-led military
coalition fighting in Iraq and Syria against the
armed group Islamic State (IS) (see Iraq and
Syria entries), and of the Saudi Arabia-led
coalition engaged in the armed conflict in
Yemen (see Yemen entry).
In August, local elections were held which,
for the first time, included local governorate-
level councils in accordance with the 2015
Decentralization Law.
In February, the government adopted
several measures to address the economic
crisis amid public protests driven mainly by
rising unemployment and low wages. They
included subsidy cuts, and tax hikes on fuel
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and commodities as well as
telecommunication services.
In May, the national Law on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities came into force; its
provisions were largely in line with the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, which Jordan ratified in 2008.
In July, Parliament held ordinary and
exceptional sessions to discuss a 16-bill
package of draft laws and by-laws proposed
by the Royal Committee for Developing the
Judiciary and Enhancing the Rule of Law,
which was established by the King in
October 2016.
terrorism, espionage, treason, drugs and
counterfeiting.
The NGO Sisterhood Is Global Institute in
Jordan reported that women who were
victims of domestic violence or at risk of so-
called honour crimes were held under
administrative detention for their protection.
More than 1,700 such women were held in
administrative detention, which represented a
16% decrease since 2015.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
In August, the Companies Control
Department notified the Attorney General that
the Center for Defending Freedom of
Journalists (CDFJ) violated the 1997 Law on
Companies by receiving foreign funding while
registered as a “civil company” instead of a
“non-profit company”. CDFJ received a copy
of the notification which ordered it to stop
receiving foreign or domestic funding and
calling itself a non-profit company.
Prior to this, CDFJ had not received an
official warning about its funding although it
had been active for 19 years with the stated
mission to protect media freedoms, address
violations of journalists’ rights, and to reform
legislation to protect press freedoms.
DETENTION
In April, the National Centre for Human
Rights published a report that detailed
ongoing human rights violations by security
forces during arrest, including late-night
security raids where excessive force was
used, and in pre-trial detention in temporary
detention facilities. Detainees were denied
access to a lawyer during interrogations, and
faced torture and other ill-treatment. The
report also documented poor detention
conditions and the lack of a classification
system to protect detainees’ safety, including
by holding incompatible categories of
detainees in the same cell.
In mid-2017, Parliament enacted laws that
guaranteed suspects the right of access to a
lawyer on arrest, created a legal aid fund,
and limited the use of pre-trial detention as
an “exceptional measure” for specific
purposes. The new laws set a maximum
three-month period for those charged with
minor offences, and up to 18 months for
serious charges. The legislation also
introduced alternatives to pre-trial detention,
such as electronic monitoring, travel bans
and house arrest but did not cover detention
under the General Intelligence Directorate.
ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION
The authorities continued to detain suspects
under the 1954 Crime Prevention Law that
allowed detentions of up to one year without
charge or trial or any means of legal remedy.
It was used particularly in cases related to
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The Audiovisual Commission continued to
block access to several websites and online
platforms under Article 49 of the Press and
Publications Law, which required any
“electronic publication that engages in
publication of news, investigations, articles,
or comments, which have to do with the
internal or external affairs of the Kingdom” to
obtain a licence, and granted executive
authorities the power to close unlicensed
sites.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In February, the CEDAW Committee noted
Jordan’s efforts to address discrimination
against women in marriage and the family,
but remained concerned about the continued
application of discriminatory provisions in the
Personal Status Act, particularly in relation to
the guardianship of women. It also raised
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concerns about the persistence of child
marriage in accordance with legislation that
allows Shari’a courts and legal guardians the
discretion to allow marriage, in certain
circumstances, of girls aged 15 and over. The
Committee further noted the continued
discrimination in inheritance law, and the
tendency of Shari’a courts to rule in favour of
husbands in divorce, alimony and child
custody proceedings.
In July, Parliament abolished Article 98 of
the Penal Code which was invoked in so-
called honour killing cases and allowed a
man to receive a reduced sentence if he
killed a woman relative and the act was
deemed to have been committed in a “fit of
rage caused by an unlawful or dangerous act
on the part of the victim”. However, Article
340 remained; it allowed for a reduced
sentence on grounds of mitigating
circumstances in cases where a man
murdered his wife or any woman relative after
finding her in an “adulterous situation”.
Although this applied to both men and
women, men remained less likely to face
adultery charges in a polygamous system.
In August, Parliament repealed Article 308,
which allowed rapists to escape prosecution
if they married their victims.
such as the issuing of unified standard
contracts, protection under Labour Code
provisions, regulation of employment
agencies, and the adoption of a law which
criminalized trafficking in people. It remained
concerned, however, that the measures were
insufficient due to the lack of shelters,
restricted access to justice, the largely
ineffective application of the Labour Code
and lack of regular inspection visits to the
workplace.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Jordan hosted about 655,000 Syrian
refugees registered by UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency, in addition to over 13,000
Palestinian refugees from Syria, and over 2
million long-term Palestinian refugees,
among others.
Some 50,000 refugees from Syria remained
trapped at Rukban in the “berm”, a desert
area between Jordan and Syria, with
humanitarian access effectively blocked
since June 2016, apart from in June 2017
when the authorities permitted one round of
aid distribution. Refugees were trapped in
appalling humanitarian conditions: food,
medical assistance and shelter were
extremely limited, and they had sporadic
access to water.
In October, Jordan ended even limited
cross-border aid and said that aid could only
be delivered from Syria. The international
community and Jordan failed to agree to a
long-term solution for the stranded refugees
who were denied access to asylum
procedures or opportunities for resettlement
to third countries.
According to humanitarian agencies, by
September the authorities had forcibly
returned more than 2,330 refugees to Syria.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
– MIGRANT
WORKERS
The NGO Tamkeen Fields for Aid said that
almost 1.2 million migrant workers resided in
Jordan although only 315,016 had work
permits. Migrant workers continued to face
exploitation and abuse, including confiscation
of their passports by employers, poor working
and living conditions, the denial of their right
to change employment, forced labour, and
human trafficking.
Migrant women domestic workers continued
to be denied their annual leave entitlement,
and were subject to ill-defined working hours,
verbal, physical and sexual abuse,
confinement to their employers’ home and
unpaid wages.
In February, the CEDAW Committee
welcomed measures adopted to protect
women migrant domestic workers’ rights,
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In December, the ICC ruled that Jordan failed
to comply with its obligations as a state party
to the Rome Statute of the ICC after it did not
execute the Court’s request for the arrest of
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The
Court decided to refer Jordan’s non-
compliance to the Assembly of States Parties
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of the Rome Statute and to the UN Security
Council. Jordanian authorities failed to arrest
President al-Bashir when he visited the
country in March for the Arab League
summit. The ICC has issued two arrest
warrants against him on charges of genocide,
war crimes and crimes against humanity in
Darfur, Sudan.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to hand down death
sentences and several people were executed.
KAZAKHSTAN
Republic of Kazakhstan
Head of state: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Head of government: Bakytzhan Sagintayev
Leading or participating in an unregistered
organization continued to be an offence.
Trade unions and NGOs faced undue
restrictions. Torture and other ill-treatment
in detention facilities persisted. Journalists
were subjected to politically motivated
prosecutions and attacks. Women and
people with disabilities continued to face
discrimination.
property and sentenced to two years’
imprisonment, and on 25 July, Larisa
Kharkova was sentenced for abuse of power
and given a sentence of four years of
restricted freedom by a court in Shymkent. In
the period 19-24 January, 63 oil workers
were prosecuted and fined for their
participation in the hunger strike. In June,
the Committee on the Application of
Standards of the ILO expressed concern
about the “grave issue” of the dissolution of
the KNPRK and called on the authorities to
ensure that the KNPRK and its affiliates “are
able to fully exercise their trade union rights”.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
On 20 January, the Atyrau Regional Court in
western Kazakhstan upheld the sentence of
human rights defenders and prisoners of
conscience Maks Bokaev and Talgat Ayan to
five years’ imprisonment for their involvement
in organizing peaceful demonstrations and
for their posts on social media against the
Land Code. At the end of January, they were
transferred to a penal colony in
Petropavlovsk, northern Kazakhstan,
1,500km from their home city. Maks Bokaev
and Talgat Ayan were not informed in
advance of their transfer and did not have
adequate clothing for the winter weather
conditions in northern Kazakhstan. On 13
April, the Supreme Court rejected Maks
Bokaev’s and Talgat Ayan’s appeals. On 22
August, following his lawyer’s successful
petition, Talgat Ayan was transferred to a
penal colony in Aktobe, in northwestern
Kazakhstan, closer to his young children.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
Independent trade unions faced restrictive
laws and closure. Trade unionists were
prosecuted on fabricated charges of inciting
illegal strikes or embezzlement.
On 4 January, a court ordered the
dissolution of the Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions of Kazakhstan
(KNPRK), and two affiliates, the National
Healthcare Workers' Union and National
Domestic Workers’ Union, on the grounds
that they failed to meet a registration
deadline. On 5 January, hundreds of oil
workers began a hunger strike to protest
against the dissolution, and three union
leaders were arrested. On 7 April, Nurbek
Kushakbaev was sentenced to two and a half
years’ imprisonment. On 16 May, Amin
Yeleusinov was charged with
misappropriation or embezzlement of
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Following its second periodic report to the
UN Human Rights Committee, in April
Kazakhstan reported that the Prosecutor
General’s office received 700 allegations of
torture in detention facilities in 2016, and
that over the past five years 158 officials had
been convicted of torture.
In June, the UN Committee against Torture
found that Aleksei Ushenin had been
subjected to torture and other ill-treatment
and that the authorities failed to conduct a
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prompt, impartial and effective investigation
into his complaint. Aleksei Ushenin claimed
that he was beaten for two days in August
2011 to force him to confess to a robbery.
Police officers put a plastic bag over his head
until he lost consciousness, stubbed out
cigarettes on his body, and repeatedly
inserted a rubber baton into his anus.
IMPUNITY
The authorities had not fully and effectively
investigated allegations of human rights
violations committed in connection with the
violent clashes between police and
demonstrating oil workers in Zhanaozen in
December 2011, during which at least 15
people were killed and over 100 were
seriously injured when the police reportedly
used excessive force against demonstrators.
Tribuna,
which is critical of the authorities,
was sentenced to three years of restricted
freedom for money laundering. He claimed
that the charges were politically motivated.
Zhanbolat Mamai had been detained since
February. On 14 May, Ramazan Yesergepov,
journalist and chairman of the NGO
Journalists in Trouble, was stabbed while
travelling by train to the capital Astana to
discuss Zhanbolat Mamai’s case with foreign
diplomats and international experts. He
believed that the attack was linked to his
critical reporting and interest in Zhanbolat
Mamai’s case.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Organizing or participating in a peaceful
demonstration without the authorities’ prior
authorization remained an offence under
both the Administrative Offences Code and
the Criminal Code, punishable by heavy fines
or up to 75 days’ detention.
On 13 July, the UN Human Rights
Committee found that Andrei Sviridov’s right
to freedom of peaceful assembly had been
violated in 2009 when he was prosecuted for
holding a one-man picket to protest
against the prosecution of human rights
defender Yevgeny Zhovtis. He was found
guilty of conducting a demonstration without
prior authorization and fined 12,960 tenge
(EUR33).
On 1 August, peaceful protesters Askhat
Bersalimov and Khalilkhan Ybrahamuly were
detained and sentenced to five and three
days’ administrative detention respectively for
taking part in an unauthorized
demonstration. They were part of a group of a
dozen people who gathered in Mahatma
Ghandi Park in the city of Almaty on 29 July,
walked to the main post office and sent
appeals to foreign governments and
international organizations on behalf of
Zhanbolat Mamai and other prisoners.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
NGOs faced undue restrictions, stringent
reporting requirements under legislation
introduced at the end of 2015, and frequent
tax inspections. Failure to regularly supply
accurate information for the central database
of NGOs led to fines or a temporary ban on
activities.
The NGOs International Legal Initiative (ILI)
and Liberty Foundation faced punitive fines
for allegedly failing to pay tax. On 6 April, the
Special Inter-District Economic Court of
Almaty upheld the decision of the Tax
Directorate that ILI should pay corporate
income tax on grants received from foreign
donors, although not-for-profit organizations
were exempt from paying tax. On 31 May, the
Special Inter-District Economic Court of
Almaty rejected Liberty Foundation’s appeal
against the Tax Directorate’s decision. The
organizations paid fines of 1,300,000 tenge
and 3,000,000 tenge (EUR4,000 and 8,300)
respectively.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Independent journalists critical of the
authorities were subjected to politically
motivated prosecutions and attacks.
In September, Zhanbolat Mamai, editor of
the independent newspaper
Sayasi Kalam
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that
during the first half of the year, 35,253
protection orders were applied in cases of
domestic violence. However, NGOs reported
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that violence against women was under-
reported and that there was a low rate of
prosecution of cases of violence against
women as well as in sexual harassment
cases.
The authorities continued to refuse to
acknowledge that Anna Belousova had been
a victim of sexual harassment despite the
CEDAW Committee ruling in 2015 that
recommended that Kazakhstan provide her
with adequate compensation. In March, the
Supreme Court upheld a ruling by a court in
Kostanai that she was not due compensation.
In July, the Saryarkinsk District Court refused
a claim for compensation against the Ministry
of Finance. Anna Belousova had been
employed at a primary school in Pertsevka
since 1999. In January 2011, the school’s
new director threatened to dismiss her unless
she engaged in sexual relations with him. She
refused and her employment was terminated
in March 2011.
KENYA
Republic of Kenya
Head of state and government: Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta
Police used excessive force against
opposition protesters following the
elections, leaving dozens dead. The ruling
party made statements threatening the
independence of the judiciary after the
Supreme Court annulled the election
results. The NGOs Coordination Board
threatened organizations working on human
rights and governance with closure and
other punitive measures after they criticized
the electoral process. Prolonged strikes by
medical workers had an impact on access to
public health care, disproportionately
affecting the poor.
BACKGROUND
The general election held on 8 August was
contested by the ruling Jubilee Party, led by
incumbent President Kenyatta, and the
opposition coalition, the National Super
Alliance (NASA), led by former Prime
Minister Raila Odinga. On 11 August, the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission declared that President Kenyatta
had won 54% of the vote and Raila Odinga
44%. NASA rejected the presidential results
citing irregularities in the counting process,
and the way the results were transmitted. It
filed a petition against the results with the
Supreme Court on 18 August.
On 1 September, the Court ruled that the
election results should be annulled because
they were “invalid, null and void”, and
ordered a new presidential election to take
place. NASA said they would not participate
unless their demands were met including,
among other things, the appointment of new
returning officers in all 291 constituencies,
and the engagement of independent
international experts to monitor the electoral
information and communication technology
system. On 10 October Raila Odinga
announced his withdrawal from the contest
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In April, the NGO Coalition for the Defence of
Human Rights Defenders and Activists sent a
petition to the President. It called for the
adoption of legislation to allow for the
implementation of decisions by UN treaty
bodies relating to Kazakhstan. The Coalition
stated that of 25 decisions taken in favour of
applicants from Kazakhstan since 2011,
none had been implemented due to the
absence of necessary legislation.
In September, the UN Special Rapporteur
on the rights of persons with disabilities
visited the country. The Special Rapporteur
called on Kazakhstan to bring its national
legislation on legal capacity and mental
health in line with international human rights
law and standards. She highlighted the fact
that under current legislation people with
disabilities may be institutionalized and
subjected to medical interventions without
their free and informed consent.
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because the Commission had not made the
necessary reforms.
The election re-run was planned for 26
October. On 30 October, the Commission
declared that Uhuru Kenyatta had won with
98% of the vote from a turnout of under 40%
− less than half the turnout recorded in
August. On 31 October, Raila Odinga called
for a “national resistance movement” and the
formation of a “people's assembly” to bring
civil society groups together to “restore
democracy”.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
High-ranking members of the Jubilee Party
verbally attacked the Supreme Court after its
1 September ruling annulling President
Kenyatta’s August election victory. On 2
September, President Kenyatta announced
that there was a problem with the judiciary. A
record of telephone calls by one Court judge
appeared in the media, prompting him to
pursue legal action on defamation grounds
against the Senior Director of Innovation,
Digital and Diaspora Communication in the
Office of the President.
On 24 October, an unidentified gunman
shot and injured the Court Deputy Chief
Justice’s driver in the capital, Nairobi. The
incident happened a day before the Court’s
ruling that there would be an election re-run
on 26 October.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
In the run-up to the 8 August election, the
police classified opposition stronghold areas
of Nairobi, including Mathare, as likely
“hotspots” for election-related violence.
In the period following the August election
and the Supreme Court’s decision to annul it,
supporters of both parties took to the streets
in protest.
The police used excessive force to disperse
protesters who supported the opposition
party and demonstrated against the electoral
process, including with live ammunition and
tear gas. Dozens died in the violence,
including at least 33 people who were shot by
police and of whom two were children.
Meanwhile, pro-government protesters were
permitted to demonstrate without
interference.
On 19 September, Jubilee Party supporters
protested outside the Supreme Court in
Nairobi against its decision to annul the
election; they accused the Court of “stealing”
their victory.
They blocked a main highway and burned
tyres. There were similar demonstrations in
the towns of Nakuru, Kikuyu, Nyeri and
Eldoret. The demonstrators, mostly young
people, accused the judges of making an
illegal judgment.
On 28 September, University of Nairobi
students clashed with General Service Unit
police during a protest outside the university
premises against the arrest of MP and former
student leader Paul Ongili. Paul Ongili was
arrested the same day for abusive remarks
he allegedly made about President Kenyatta
in connection with the election. Following the
protest, the police raided the university
buildings and beat students with batons,
injuring 27 of them. The Inspector General of
Police said the university administration had
invited the police to enter after the protesting
students stoned motorists. The university
Senate then closed the university on 3
October; it had not reopened by the end of
the year.
Following the 26 October election, there
were further killings when police fired live
ammunition at protesters. The real number of
deaths during this period was unknown;
relatives of victims did not report the killings
for fear of reprisals from the police.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
The authorities continued to use legal and
administrative measures to restrict the
activities of civil society organizations working
on human rights and governance. In May the
Nairobi High Court ruled that the government
should publish the Public Benefit
Organization (PBO) Act 2013. If
implemented, the law could improve the
working environment for civil society
organizations and NGOs. It contains
provisions, in line with the Constitution,
guaranteeing the right to freedom of
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association. However, the authorities
continued to use the Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO) Law, which restricted the
full realization of these rights.
Between 14 and 16 August, the NGOs
Coordination Board (within the Ministry of
Interior and Co-ordination of National
Government) accused two human rights
organizations – the Kenya Human Rights
Commission and the Africa Centre for Open
Governance (AfriCOG) – of financial and
regulatory impropriety. It called upon the
Kenya Revenue Authority, the Directorate of
Criminal Investigations and the Central Bank
of Kenya to take action against them,
including by freezing their accounts and
arresting and prosecuting AfriCOG’s directors
and board members.
1
On 16 August, the
NGOs Coordination Board threatened to
arrest the heads of both organizations, as well
as a former UN Special Rapporteur on the
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of
association, who also served on AfriCOG’s
board of directors. The same day, Kenya
Revenue Authority officials, accompanied by
police, attempted to raid AfriCOG’s offices
with irregular search warrants. They stopped
the raid on the orders of an official in the
Ministry of Interior and Coordination of
National Government who also suspended
the closure threat for 90 days. AfriCOG and
the Commission had been at the forefront of
those exposing the electoral irregularities.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS
Kenya continued to host almost 500,000
refugees, most of whom resided in Dadaab
refugee camp in Garissa County, and
Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County.
Other refugees were located in Nairobi. The
majority of refugees in Dadaab were from
Somalia; the majority of refugees in Kakuma
were from South Sudan. By September,
appeals for international support from
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, for the
regional refugee crisis had secured only 27%
of the necessary funding.
In February, the High Court declared the
2016 government directive to close Dadaab
refugee camp by May 2017 to be in violation
of the Constitution and Kenya’s obligations
under international law with regard to the
principle of
non-refoulement
and the
prohibition of discrimination on grounds of
race or ethnicity. Thus, Dadaab refugee
camp remained open. The ruling also stated
that the government’s move to revoke the
assumed refugee status of Somalis who had
fled to Kenya was unconstitutional and
violated rights guaranteed in national and
international instruments.
The authorities continued the voluntary
repatriation of Somali refugees, initiated in
2014 under the Tripartite Agreement
framework. Between May 2016 and
September 2017, over 70,000 refugees were
repatriated from Dadaab to Somalia.
On 17 February, the Court of Appeal upheld
a 2013 High Court ruling which quashed
government directives to round up all
refugees living in urban areas and relocate
them to refugee camps, as part of a plan to
repatriate them.
On 25 April, a High Court in Garissa ordered
the deportation of 29 Somali asylum-seekers
to Somalia. The group had been arrested in
Mwingi in March and charged before a
Magistrate Court with being in Kenya
unlawfully. The magistrate ordered that they
be taken to Dadaab refugee camp and
registered by the Refugee Affairs Secretariat
(RAS); however, the RAS officer refused to
register them. The magistrate’s order was
ultimately quashed by the High Court and all
29, including 10 children, were deported to
Somalia on 4 May 2017.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Elias Kimaiyo, Indigenous Sengwer
community leader and human rights
defender, suffered a broken collar bone when
he was beaten and shot at by a Kenya Forest
Service guard in Embobut Forest on 5 April.
He was attacked when he photographed
guards burning Sengwer huts in violation of a
2013 injunction issued by the High Court of
Eldoret to stop arrests and evictions of the
Sengwer people.
On 26 May, the AU African Court on Human
and Peoples’ Rights ruled that the
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government had illegally evicted Ogiek
Indigenous People from the Mau Forest, and
failed to substantiate its claim that the
eviction would serve to conserve the forest.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
The strike by doctors in public hospitals
which began in December 2016 ended in
March 2017. The strike followed the
breakdown, after several years, of
negotiations between the government and the
Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists
and Dentist Union regarding the Collective
Bargaining Agreement signed in 2013. The
strike took place against a background of
alleged massive financial corruption at the
Ministry of Health. It was followed in June
by a strike by public hospital nurses which
lasted until November, when the government
and the nurses’ union signed the 2013
Agreement.
The strikes adversely affected public health
services across the country, and
disproportionately impeded access to health
care for people who could not afford private
medical insurance cover, particularly those
living in informal settlements.
1. Kenya: Attempts to shut down human rights groups unlawful and
irresponsible (News
story,
15 August)
detained in political prison camps, where
conditions fell far short of international
standards. Restrictions on the rights to
freedom of expression and freedom of
movement remained severe. Workers sent
abroad suffered harsh working conditions.
BACKGROUND
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(North Korea) conducted a nuclear test on 3
September, the sixth in its history, and carried
out numerous medium- and long-range
missile tests throughout the year. The military
provocations resulted in the UN issuing
unprecedentedly stringent sanctions on the
country. Exchange of military and political
threats between authorities of North Korea
and the USA further escalated tensions.
Concerns over the safety risks of nuclear
tests increased after media reports of
landslides near a nuclear test site, and
people who had previously lived near sites
showing signs of possible radiation exposure.
The killing of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of
leader Kim Jong-un, in Malaysia on 13
February by two women allegedly using
chemical agents raised questions about the
possible involvement of North Korean state
agents.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Systematic, widespread and gross human
rights violations continued as up to 120,000
people remained in detention in the four
known political prison camps, and were
subjected to forced labour as well as torture
and other ill-treatment. Some of the violations
amounted to crimes against humanity; no
action to ensure accountability was known to
have been taken during the year. Many of
those living in the camps had not been
convicted of any internationally recognized
criminal offence; they were detained
arbitrarily for being related to individuals
deemed threatening to the state, or for “guilt-
by-association”.
Foreign nationals continued to be arrested
and detained for extended periods. Tony Kim
and Kim Hak-song, both US nationals and
academics at the foreign-funded Pyongyang
KOREA
(DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE’S
REPUBLIC OF)
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Head of state: Kim Jong-un
Head of government: Pak Pong-ju
Although the government took some positive
steps to engage with international human
rights mechanisms, the situation on the
ground failed to show real progress. Up to
120,000 people continued to be arbitrarily
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University of Science and Technology, were
arrested on 22 April and 6 May respectively
for “hostile acts against the country”. A US
diplomat was allowed to meet them in June.
North Korean authorities said that they were
investigating their alleged crimes, and
verdicts and sentences were pending in the
courts. The two men remained in detention at
the end of the year.
US national Otto Warmbier, imprisoned in
2016 for stealing a propaganda poster, died
on 19 June, six days after he was returned to
the USA in a coma. North Korean authorities
failed to adequately explain the cause of his
poor state of health. A coroner’s report
released on 27 September in his home state
of Ohio noted no evidence of torture or other
ill-treatment, but also did not rule out its
possibility.
Lim Hyeon-soo, a Canadian pastor who was
sentenced in 2015 to life imprisonment with
hard labour, was released on 9 August for
“humanitarian reasons”, after more than two
years of detention during which adequate
medical treatment was not provided.
1
reported cases of North Koreans dying while
working in Russia, which hosted at least
20,000 North Koreans. In May, two
construction workers died in the Russian
capital Moscow after complaining of
breathing problems; they were believed to
have suffered acute heart failure. A
subcontractor of a World Cup stadium project
in St Petersburg, where a worker died from
heart failure in November 2016, said in a
media interview that many workers suffered
from severe fatigue due to working long hours
continuously for months without rest days.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
During the year, 1,127 North Koreans left the
country and resettled in South Korea (the
Republic of Korea), the lowest number since
2002. Tightened security on both sides of the
Chinese-North Korean border could be a
possible reason for the change. Some North
Korean women were able to leave the country
through deals with human traffickers, only to
find themselves subjected to physical and
sexual abuse or exploitative work conditions
once on the Chinese side of the border.
The year saw larger numbers of North
Koreans being detained in China or forcibly
returned to North Korea, where they were at
risk of forced labour or torture and other ill-
treatment.
2
Media also reported that the
North Korean government was actively
requesting that China repatriate individuals
suspected of leaving North Korea without
prior approval.
A number of sources, including the UN
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, reported cases of North Koreans who
had left the country, but returned or
expressed a wish to return after arriving in
South Korea. Some individuals who returned
appeared in state media testifying about the
hardships they faced outside North Korea. As
the procedures for these people to re-enter
North Korea remained unclear, their
appearance led to speculations about
whether they had returned voluntarily or were
abducted back to the country, and whether
they had been persuaded by the North
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
The authorities continued to dispatch workers
to other countries, including China and
Russia. The number of workers deployed was
hard to estimate and believed to be in
decline, as some countries, such as China,
Kuwait, Poland, Qatar and Sri Lanka, stopped
renewing or issuing additional work visas to
North Koreans in order to comply with the
new UN sanctions on North Korea’s
economic activities abroad. North Korea
derived part of its state revenue from these
workers, who did not receive their wages
directly from their employers, but from their
government after significant deductions. The
North Korean authorities maintained tight
control on the workers’ communications and
movement, and deprived them of information
about workers’ rights in the host countries.
Workers remaining in their host countries
continued to be subjected to excessive
working hours and were vulnerable in terms
of occupational health and safety. The media
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Korean authorities to give fabricated
testimonies.
for some children to perform extensive
amounts of strenuous labour.
1. North Korea: Pastor Lim Hyeon-soo released after more than two years
of imprisonment (ASA
24/6921/2017)
2. China: Eight North Koreans at risk of forcible return (ASA
17/6652/2017)
3. North Korea: Amnesty International's submission to the United
Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (ASA
24/6500/2017)
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The government continued to exercise severe
restrictions over information exchange
between North Koreans and the rest of the
world. All telecommunications, postal and
broadcasting services remained state-owned,
and there were no independent newspapers,
other media or civil society organizations.
Apart from a select few in the ruling elite, the
population had no access to the internet and
international mobile phone services.
Despite the risk of arrest and detention,
people close to the Chinese border continued
to contact individuals abroad by connecting
with the Chinese mobile network using
smuggled mobile phones. Media reports said
the authorities further strengthened efforts to
trace mobile phone activity on Chinese
networks and jam the signals through the
installation of new radar detectors in the
border areas.
KOREA (REPUBLIC
OF)
Republic of Korea
Head of state and government: Moon Jae-in (replaced
acting President Hwang Kyo-an in May, who replaced
Park Geun-hye in March)
Large protest rallies took place in response
to a corruption scandal involving former
President Park Geun-hye. She was removed
from office in March. Following the change
of government, the Korean National Police
Agency accepted recommendations for
comprehensive reform that called for a
change in the overall approach to policing
assemblies so as to better respect freedom
of peaceful assembly, although their full
implementation remained pending at the
end of the year. An increasing number of
lower courts handed down decisions
recognizing the right to conscientious
objection. Discrimination against
LGBTI people remained prevalent in public
life, especially in the military. Arbitrary
detention based on the vaguely worded
National Security Law continued. A series
of deaths of migrant workers raised
concerns about safety in the workplace.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
Following the state’s ratification of the UN
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities in December 2016, the Special
Rapporteur on the rights of persons with
disabilities conducted an official visit to North
Korea between 3 and 8 May. This was the
first visit to North Korea by an independent
expert designated by the UN Human Rights
Council.
The CEDAW Committee and the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child
reviewed North Korea’s human rights record
in 2017. North Korea submitted state party’s
reports to the Committees, after an interval of
14 and nine years respectively, and
responded to questions at the sessions. In its
review, the Committee on the Rights of the
Child noted the inability of North Korean
children to regularly communicate with their
parents and family members who live in a
different country.
3
They also noted the
exclusion of children aged 16 and 17 under
the current domestic Act for the Protection of
the Rights of the Child, and the requirement
BACKGROUND
Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer
and leader of the Democratic Party, was
elected President in May, following the
decision by the Constitutional Court in March
to uphold a parliamentary vote impeaching
then President Park. Charges against her
included bribery and abuse of power.
1
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FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Han Sang-gyun, president of the Korean
Confederation of Trade Unions, was held
criminally responsible for sporadic clashes
between protesters and police, and for his
role in organizing a series of largely peaceful
anti-government protests in 2014 and 2015.
In May, the Supreme Court rejected his final
appeal against a three-year jail sentence,
despite an opinion by the UN Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention that the charges
against Han Sang-gyun violated his rights to
freedom of expression and of peaceful
assembly, and that his detention was
arbitrary. The Working Group called for his
immediate release.
In June, Lee Cheol-seong, commissioner
general of the Korean National Police Agency
(KNPA), offered an apology to the family of
Baek Nam-gi, an activist farmer who died in
2016 as a result of injuries sustained when
police used water cannons during protests
against the government’s agricultural policies.
The family and civic groups criticized the
belated apology that lacked a clear
acknowledgement by police of their
responsibility.
In September, following calls by civil society
organizations, the KNPA accepted
recommendations by the newly established
Police Reform Committee.
2
These included a
presumption that assemblies would be
peaceful and that spontaneous and other
urgent peaceful assemblies would be
protected, marking a shift in the previous
overall approach to policing. While the
decision was an important step forward, the
measures fell short in other regards,
including not lifting the blanket ban on
outdoor assemblies taking place at specific
times and places. In addition, the adopted
measures still needed to be firmly enshrined
in law to bring them into line with
international human rights law and
standards.
courts ruled in favour of men who refused
military service for reasons of conscience.
They included at least 44 District Court
decisions during the year.
In May and December, the Seoul
Administrative Court ordered suspension of
the practice of publicly disclosing personal
information about conscientious objectors,
including name, age and address, until it had
made its final rulings on two cases brought
against the Military Manpower Administration
for issuing the lists. The Administrative Court
noted the irrevocable damage to
conscientious objectors caused by this public
disclosure.
Calls to introduce an alternative to military
service increased. In May, two additional bills
to amend the Military Service Act by
introducing an alternative service were
submitted to the National Assembly. In June,
the National Human Rights Commission of
Korea again issued a recommendation to the
Ministry of National Defense to introduce an
alternative to military service.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Gay men faced considerable difficulties in
fulfilling compulsory military service free from
violence, bullying or verbal abuse. In May, a
gay soldier was found guilty of violating
Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act that
prohibits military personnel from engaging in
same-sex consensual sexual activity. Dozens
of others were charged under the same
Article.
The advocacy group Center for Military
Human Rights Korea published screen shots
of dating app conversations that the group
said resulted from military pressure on
targeted men to identify other supposedly gay
men. The group said that military
investigators had confiscated mobile phones
belonging to up to 50 soldiers suspected of
being gay and insisted that they identify other
gay men on their contact lists and gay dating
apps.
In September, the National Assembly
rejected Kim Yi-su as chief justice of the
Constitutional Court despite his nomination
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS
At the same time as the Constitutional Court
was examining the legality of conscientious
objection, an increasing number of lower
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by President Moon Jae-in. He had been
questioned during the National Assembly’s
public hearing about his support for LGBTI
rights and there were active campaigns by
some religious groups opposing his
candidacy.
Commission had claimed that the site
breached the NSL, which had been used in
the past to imprison people for “praising” or
expressing sympathy for North Korea.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
Courts handed down decisions
acknowledging the responsibility of
multinational corporations for the work-
related death or illness of former or current
employees. These included a Supreme Court
judgment in August against Samsung
Electronics that a former factory worker
should be recognized as suffering from an
occupational disease. The Supreme Court
returned the case to the High Court, noting
that the lack of evidence resulting from the
company’s refusal to provide information and
an inadequate investigation by the
government should not be held against the
worker.
1. South Korea: 8-point human rights agenda for presidential
candidates (ASA
25/5785/2017)
2. Mission failed: Policing assemblies in South Korea (ASA
25/7119/2017)
WORKERS’ RIGHTS − MIGRANT
WORKERS
Migrant workers continued to be vulnerable
to exploitation under the Employment Permit
System, including having to work long hours
with little or no rest time, low and irregularly
paid wages, and dangerous working
conditions.
In May, two Nepalese migrant workers died
from suffocation while cleaning a septic tank
at a pig farm in North Gyeongsang Province.
Two weeks later, two migrant workers from
China and Thailand died after losing
consciousness while cleaning excrement at a
different pig farm in Gyeonggi Province.
In August, a Nepalese migrant worker in
North Chungcheong Province committed
suicide in a factory dormitory. He left a note
stating that his employer had refused to allow
him to either change his workplace or return
to Nepal to receive treatment for severe
insomnia.
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 continued to unduly restrict
freedom of expression, including by
prosecuting and imprisoning government
critics and banning certain publications.
Members of the Bidun minority continued
to face discrimination and were denied
citizenship rights. Migrant workers
remained inadequately protected against
exploitation and abuse. Courts continued to
hand down death sentences and executions
resumed after a hiatus of four years.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Arbitrary detention of individuals based on
the vaguely worded National Security Law
(NSL) continued. Lee Jin-young, owner of
online library “Labour Books”, was brought to
court for alleged violations of the NSL after
distributing online materials deemed to
“benefit” the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea (North Korea). A District Court
acquitted him in July, but an appeal by the
government to the High Court remained
pending.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In April, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled
as unlawful the decision by the Korea
Communications Standards Commission,
which censors internet content, to ban a blog
entitled “North Korea Tech” covering IT
development in North Korea. The
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BACKGROUND
On 6 April, Parliament reversed a 2015
amendment to the Juvenile Law, once again
raising the age of minors from 16 to 18 years.
As such, those arrested below 18 years of
age could be protected from life-term prison
sentences and the death penalty.
In July the authorities reinstated mandatory
military service, imposing punitive measures
for those failing to register for military service
within 60 days of reaching the age of 18.
Kuwait led mediation efforts seeking to
resolve the Gulf crisis that erupted in early
June, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed
relations with Qatar. Kuwait remained part of
the Saudi Arabia-led coalition engaged in
armed conflict in Yemen (see Yemen entry).
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to unduly restrict
the right to freedom of expression,
prosecuting and imprisoning government
critics and online activists under penal code
provisions that criminalized comments
deemed offensive to the Emir or damaging to
relations with neighbouring states.
In March, UK-based writer and blogger
Rania al-Saad was sentenced on appeal and
in her absence to three years in prison on
charges of “insulting Saudi Arabia” on
Twitter. The Appeal Court reversed her earlier
acquittal rendering this verdict final.
In May the Cassation Court upheld an
Appeal Court verdict in the “al-Fintas group”
case of 13 men charged in connection with
WhatsApp discussions about video footage
that appeared to show government members
advocating the Emir’s removal from power.
Six were acquitted and seven were sentenced
to between one and 10 years’ imprisonment,
some in their absence. The trial was marred
by irregularities.
In July the Cassation Court upheld a 10-
year prison sentence against blogger Waleed
Hayes on vaguely worded charges that
included “defaming” the Emir and the
judiciary. During his trial, Waleed Hayes
claimed he was tortured to make him
“confess” to offences he did not commit. He
remained on trial on other similar charges.
Former MP Musallam al-Barrak was
released in April after serving a two-year
prison term for criticizing the government. He
continued to face separate trials on other
charges.
Bidun activist Abdulhakim al-Fadhli was
released on 1 August after serving a one-year
prison sentence in relation to a peaceful
demonstration in 2012, after which he had
been due to be expelled from Kuwait. In
February, the Cassation Court had overturned
his acquittal along with 25 other Bidun men
for their participation in peaceful
demonstrations in Taima. The court
reinstated their two-year prison sentence, as
well as a bail of 500 Kuwaiti dinars (about
USD1,660) to halt the implementation of the
prison sentence on condition that they signed
a pledge to no longer take part in
demonstrations. Abdulhakim al-Fadhli signed
the pledge which, in his case, also annulled
his expulsion order.
In August the Public Prosecutor ordered a
ban on publications in connection with
reporting on ongoing state security cases
before the courts. The ban was despite the
Cassation Court establishing in May that
there were no provisions in the law
criminalizing the breach of “confidentiality”
or prohibiting the publication of such
information.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
On 18 July, the Cassation Court issued its
verdict in the case against 26 defendants on
charges that included “spying for Iran and
Hizbullah”. The court upheld the death
sentence of one defendant in his absence
and commuted that of another to life
imprisonment. Thirteen men had their
acquittals overturned and were sentenced to
between five and 15 years in prison. During
the trial, some of the 26 defendants reported
that they had been tortured in pre-trial
detention; their allegations were not
investigated. In August the authorities re-
arrested 14 men who had been acquitted
and released on appeal.
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DEPRIVATION OF NATIONALITY
In March the Emir ordered that the nationality
of some government critics and their families
be reinstated.
On 2 January the Court of Cassation
suspended the Appeal Court’s decision to
restore the nationality of Ahmad Jabr al-
Shamari and his family until it issued its
verdict. In early March, Ahmad Jabr al-
Shamari withdrew his appeal against the
2014 government decision to strip him of his
nationality and in April the Cassation Court
closed the case, declaring the dispute
resolved.
DEATH PENALTY
Executions were carried out on 25 January,
the first since 2013. Courts continued to
hand down death sentences for offences
including murder, drugs offences and
terrorism-related charges.
KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyz Republic
Head of state: Sooronbai Jeenbekov (replaced
Almazbek Atambaev in October)
Head of government: Sapar Isakov (replaced Sooronbai
Jeenbekov in August)
The authorities restricted the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly, particularly in the run-up to the
presidential elections. LGBTI people
continued to face discrimination and
violence from state and non-state actors.
Vulnerable groups, including people with
disabilities, faced additional difficulties
accessing health care. The life sentence of
prisoner of conscience Azimjan Askarov was
upheld following his retrial.
DISCRIMINATION – BIDUN
More than 100,000 Bidun residents of
Kuwait remained stateless. In May 2016,
Parliament had approved a draft law that
would grant Kuwaiti citizenship to up to
4,000 Bidun, but it had not been enacted by
the end of 2017. In September the UN
Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination recommended that all Bidun
should be guaranteed access to adequate
social services and education on an equal
footing with Kuwaiti nationals, and that in its
next periodic report Kuwait should provide
information on access to education for Bidun.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
On 24 January, the Chui Regional Court
completed the retrial of prisoner of
conscience Azimjan Askarov, an ethnic
Uzbek human rights defender, and upheld
his conviction and life sentence for
“participating in ethnic violence and the
murder of a police officer” in 2010. In March
2016, the UN Human Rights Committee
recommended that Azimjan Askarov be
released immediately, recognizing that he
had been tortured, denied the right to a fair
trial and detained arbitrarily and under
inhumane conditions. Following the 24
January decision, the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights stated that
the Court’s decision highlighted “serious
shortcomings” in the country’s judicial
system.
In September, a court in the town of Bazar-
Korgan overturned the 2010 court decision to
confiscate Azimjan Askarov’s family home. If
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
Migrant workers, including those in the
domestic, construction and other sectors,
continued to face exploitation and abuse
under the official
kafala
sponsorship system,
which prevents them from changing jobs or
leaving the country without their employers’
permission.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In May, the UN Working Group on the issue
of discrimination against women in law and in
practice recognized improvements, including
women’s rights to vote, to stand for elections
and to receive equal pay to men.
Discrimination against women continued,
however, with regard to laws on inheritance,
marriage, child custody, nationality rights and
domestic violence.
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approved, the confiscation order would have
rendered his wife, Khadicha Askarova,
homeless.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
The authorities imposed restrictions on the
rights to freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly, particularly in the run-up to the
October presidential elections. Independent
journalists, media outlets, human rights
defenders and political activists faced
intimidation and harassment, including
prosecution on charges of spreading false
information and destabilizing the country.
Between March and April, the General
Prosecutor’s Office initiated a number of civil
court proceedings for defamation against
online media outlet Zanoza.kg, its co-
founders and independent journalists
Narynbek Idinov and Dina Maslova, and
human rights defender Cholpon Dzhakupova.
This was in connection with media articles
critical of the President. In June, the court
ruled in favour of the plaintiff in two trials and
ordered Zanoza.kg as well as the other three
defendants to pay 3 million soms
(USD44,000) each in moral damages. The
Supreme Court upheld the rulings in
November.
On 18 March, police disrupted a peaceful
demonstration in the capital Bishkek and
arrested a number of participants. Human
rights defenders, journalists, and other
activists had organized the march to protest
against the deterioration of freedom of
expression. The route had been previously
agreed with the relevant authorities. Five
demonstrators were charged and sentenced
to five days’ administrative detention for
disrupting traffic. The hearing was closed,
including to the defendants’ lawyers who
were denied access to the courtroom.
In July, a court in Bishkek accepted a
request by the Mayor’s Office for a blanket
ban on all public demonstrations at key
locations until after the presidential elections.
The ban, however, did not apply to official
events organized by the authorities.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people continued to face
discrimination and violence from state and
non-state actors. Labrys, an LGBTI rights
group, continued its efforts to bring to justice
the suspected perpetrators of a violent attack
in 2015 on its office and on a private event to
mark the International Day against
Homophobia and Transphobia. Criminal trials
against the members of a nationalist youth
group behind the attacks collapsed when the
victims named in the court documents
“reconciled” with the perpetrators.
SEX WORKERS
Sex work was not criminalized but continued
to be highly stigmatized, and sex workers
faced discrimination and violence. Police
operations targeting sex workers through
arbitrary arrests for “petty hooliganism” and
other purported administrative offences
continued throughout the year. Police officers
regularly extorted money from sex workers.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
Marginalized groups, including people living
in rural areas, people living in poverty, and
people with disabilities, continued to face
barriers to accessing adequate health care.
Although they were entitled to free or
subsidized health care, they were routinely
denied access to quality health care facilities,
specialist treatment and medications.
Informal payments to medical personnel, who
were affected by low salaries, were
commonplace.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Kyrgyzstan signed the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2011,
but had not ratified it, citing Kyrgyzstan’s
economic difficulties as the primary reason.
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LAOS
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Head of state: Bounnhang Vorachith
Head of government: Thongloun Sisoulith
The rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly
remained severely restricted, and the state
exercised strict control over media and civil
society. Three activists were convicted in a
trial concerning their participation in
protests in Thailand and comments made
on social media. There was no progress on
investigations into a number of enforced
disappearances.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY
AND ASSOCIATION
Various criminal code provisions and
restrictive decrees were used to imprison
activists and to suppress the rights to
freedom of expression and assembly.
Broadcast media, print media and civil
society activity remained under stringent
state control. Political parties other than the
ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party
remained banned.
After a secret trial held in April, activists
Soukan Chaithad, Somphone Phimmasone
and Lodkham Thammavong were convicted
on charges relating to co-operating with
foreign entities to undermine the state,
distributing propaganda, and organizing
protests to cause “turmoil”. They were
sentenced to between 12 and 20 years in
prison. The three had been arrested the
previous year after returning from Thailand to
renew their passports. They had previously
participated in a protest outside the Lao
embassy in the Thai capital, Bangkok, and
posted a number of messages on Facebook
criticizing the Lao government. In August, the
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
declared that their detention was arbitrary.
Also in August, the government passed a
Decree on Associations that imposed onerous
registration requirements and restrictions on
NGOs and other civic groups and stipulated
harsh criminal penalties for failure to comply.
BACKGROUND
Laos submitted state party reports to the UN
Human Rights Committee, as well as to the
CEDAW Committee and the UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Despite signing the International Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance in 2008, Laos had
yet to ratify the treaty.
The government failed to establish the fate
or whereabouts of Sombath Somphone, a
prominent civil society member who was
abducted in 2012 outside a police post in the
capital, Vientiane. CCTV cameras captured
him being stopped by police and driven
away. Authorities also failed to establish the
fate or whereabouts of Kha Yang, a Lao
ethnic Hmong arrested after his forced return
from Thailand in 2011, and of Sompawn
Khantisouk, an entrepreneur who was active
on conservation issues and abducted in 2007
by men believed to be police.
In July, Ko Tee, a Thai political activist
sought by the Thai government, disappeared
in Laos. The Lao government made no
apparent efforts to investigate his
disappearance.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Villagers affected by development projects,
including the construction of dams and a
Laos-China railway, were forced to relocate.
They claimed that they had not been
adequately consulted or compensated. In
April, the Prime Minister acknowledged
problems with implementing land concession
regulations. Activists expressed concerns
about damage to livelihoods and the
environment caused by the construction of
hydropower dams.
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LATVIA
Republic of Latvia
Head of state:
Raimonds Vējonis
Head of government:
Māris Kučinskis
Ill-treatment of detainees by law
enforcement officials continued to be
reported and prison conditions remained
poor. A disproportionate fine imposed on a
news portal for defamation gave rise to
concerns about the right to freedom of
expression. The government put forward
draft legislation that would discriminate
against women wearing full-face veils in
public places.
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human
Rights described the fine as disproportionate
and raised concerns about the harmful effect
of such a measure on the right to freedom of
expression in the country.
DISCRIMINATION
In August, the government put forward draft
legislation which effectively prohibits wearing
the full-face veil in public. The Justice
Ministry argued that the measure would
protect people’s welfare and morality, and
facilitate the integration of immigrants. Critics
called the legislation discriminatory and
disproportionate.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Latvia continued to build a fence along its
border with Russia, expected to be
completed in 2019 and to cover a 90km
area, with the stated aim of preventing an
“influx of migrants”.
Under the EU relocation and resettlement
schemes, Latvia pledged to relocate 481
asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy. By
May it had relocated 308.
UNFAIR TRIALS
In January, the European Court of Human
Rights found that Latvia had violated the
European Convention on Human Rights,
including in relation to Article 6 because
proceedings had exceeded a reasonable time
in the case of a man seeking compensation
for injuries inflicted on him by a police officer
upon his arrest in 1995. The man alleged he
had lost his sight as a result of being beaten
and kicked by the officer. Although the
perpetrator was convicted of ill-treatment in
2003, the complainant had not received
adequate reparations.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In March, the Minister of Welfare announced
that the government would ratify the Council
of Europe Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and
domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) by
the end of 2018.
DETENTION
In June, the European Committee for the
Prevention of Torture called on the authorities
to address inter-prisoner violence and
improve prisoners’ access to health care. It
also expressed concerns about allegations of
excessive use of force by police officers
during the apprehension and questioning of
suspects in the absence of their lawyers.
LEBANON
Lebanese Republic
Head of state: Michel Aoun
Head of government: Saad Hariri
Lebanon hosted more than 1 million
refugees from Syria, in addition to several
hundred thousand long-term Palestinian
refugees and more than 20,000 refugees
from other countries. The authorities
maintained restrictions that effectively
closed Lebanon’s borders to people fleeing
Syria. Parliament repealed a law allowing
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In January, the Riga Higher Court ordered the
news portal Tvnet to pay a EUR50,000 fine
for damaging the reputation of the Latvian
National Opera and Ballet. Tvnet had
published an article criticizing it for becoming
a “public house of Putin’s court”. The
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people accused of rape to escape
punishment by marrying their victim, and
passed a new law criminalizing torture.
Access to essential services remained
curtailed by the economic crisis. Authorities
handed down death sentences; there were
no executions.
BACKGROUND
The economic crisis continued. Access to
basic services, including electricity and water,
remained severely curtailed across the
country. Public protests and strikes
continued throughout the year, including by
judges, public sector staff, parents and
workers, as well as residents living near sites
of unprocessed waste. Waste
mismanagement, which had prompted the
largest protests in years, remained
unresolved.
On 4 November, Prime Minister Hariri
announced his resignation in a speech
delivered from the Saudi Arabian capital,
Riyadh, under circumstances that remained
unclear. President Aoun did not accept his
resignation.
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the
armed group Hezbollah launched two military
operations in the northern border town of
Arsal against the armed groups Jabhat Al-
Nusra and Islamic State (IS), in July and
August respectively. By the end of August,
the LAF had regained control of Arsal and the
surrounding area, and retrieved the bodies of
10 Lebanese soldiers taken hostage by IS
in 2014.
In the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-
Helweh, in the southern city of Saida, clashes
erupted between IS and IS-affiliated groups
on the one hand, and Palestinian armed
groups and the LAF.
In June, the Parliament approved a new
electoral law and scheduled the twice-
postponed parliamentary elections for May
2018, the first to take place since 2009.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
A government decision from May 2015
continued to bar UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, from registering newly arrived
refugees.
Syrian refugees faced financial and
administrative difficulties in obtaining or
renewing residency permits, exposing them
to a constant risk of arbitrary arrest, detention
and forcible return to Syria. In February the
authorities introduced a waiver of the
300,000 Lebanese pound (USD200)
residency fee for Syrian refugees registered
with UNHCR, excluding those who had
entered Lebanon after January 2015 or who
had renewed their residency through work or
a private sponsor, as well as Palestinian
refugees from Syria. The waiver was not
applied consistently by government officials,
and many refugees were not able to renew
their residency permits.
Refugees from Syria continued to face
severe economic hardship. According to the
UN, 76% of Syrian refugee households lived
below the poverty line and more than half
lived in substandard conditions in
overcrowded buildings and densely
populated neighbourhoods. Refugees faced
restrictions to finding official work and were
subjected to curfews and other restrictions on
their movement in a number of
municipalities. Several municipalities served
refugees with eviction notices, forcing them
to seek alternative places to live in an
increasingly hostile and xenophobic
environment. In March the LAF issued
eviction notices to refugees living in camps in
the vicinity of Riyak Airbase in the Bekaa
region, affecting around 12,665 individuals.
The UN humanitarian appeal for Syrian
refugees in Lebanon was only 56% funded
by the end of the year and resettlement
places in other countries remained
inadequate.
On 30 June the LAF conducted raids on two
informal tented settlements accommodating
Syrian refugees in Arsal. At least 350 men
were arrested during the raids. Most were
subsequently released but there were reports
that some detainees were tortured and
otherwise ill-treated by soldiers and four men
died while in custody. The authorities did not
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publish any findings from their investigations
into these deaths.
Between June and August, thousands of
Syrians returned from Arsal to Syria, mostly
following agreements negotiated by
Hezbollah with armed groups in Syria.
Palestinian refugees, including many long-
term residents in Lebanon, remained subject
to discriminatory laws excluding them from
owning or inheriting property, accessing
public education and health services, or
working in at least 36 professions. At least
3,000 Palestinian refugees who did not hold
official identity documents faced further
restrictions denying them the right to register
births, marriages and deaths.
Lebanon had not yet ratified the 1951 UN
Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.
Committee on the Rights of the Child also
included this recommendation in its
concluding observations on Lebanon, in
addition to calling on Lebanon to ensure that
citizenship would be conferred to children
who would otherwise be stateless.
Women migrant workers continued to suffer
discriminatory laws and practices, restricting
their rights to freedom of movement,
education and health, including sexual and
reproductive health.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) continued
to arrest people and press charges under
Article 534 of the Penal Code, which
criminalized “sexual intercourses which
contradict the laws of nature” and was used
to prosecute LGBTI people.
In May the ISF banned several activities that
had been planned across the country to mark
International Day against Homophobia and
Transphobia, citing security concerns
following threats made by radical Islamist
groups.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In May, Lebanon made its first appearance
before the UN Committee against Torture,
following ratification of the UN Convention
against Torture and its Optional Protocol in
2000 and 2008, respectively. A new anti-
torture law came into effect on 26 October.
The law was largely aligned with Lebanon’s
international obligations but failed to
incorporate the Committee’s observations
with regards to the statute of limitations and
penalties for committing the crime of torture.
Moreover, the law failed to provide that army
officers accused of torture would be tried
before civilian courts.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The ISF Cybercrime and Intellectual Property
Bureau continued to interrogate, arrest and
hold in pre-trial detention peaceful activists
for posting comments on social media. The
Public Prosecution issued at least four arrest
orders on charges that included “insulting
the President… the flag or the national
emblem”, “defamation” and “libel and
slander”. During their pre-trial detention,
which lasted several days, most of the
activists were denied access to their lawyers
and families.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In August, the Parliament repealed Article
522 of the Penal Code which allowed a
person convicted of kidnapping or rape,
including statutory rape, to escape
prosecution if they proposed to marry the
victim. Civil society organizations continued
to call for the repeal of Articles 505 and 518,
which allowed for marriage with minors aged
between 15 and 18 as a way to escape
prosecution.
Women’s rights groups continued to
advocate for the right of women married to
foreign nationals to pass their nationality to
their husband and children. The UN
RIGHT TO HEALTH
In August the governmental General
Disciplinary Council confirmed that expired
and fake drugs were being used to treat
cancer at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University
Hospital, the capital’s largest public hospital,
and took disciplinary action against the head
of the hospital pharmacy.
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Civil society raised a number of cases
before the judiciary related to violations of the
rights to health and clean water, including
cases related to the sale of expired drugs in
public hospitals and to waste
mismanagement; these efforts were
unsuccessful, either as a result of delayed
court rulings or failure to implement rulings.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to hand down death
sentences; no executions were carried out.
LESOTHO
Kingdom of Lesotho
Head of state: King Letsie III
Head of government: Thomas Motsoahae Thabane
(replaced Pakalitha Mosisili in June)
The continued political and security crisis
led to a sharp increase in human rights
violations. Allegations of torture and other
ill-treatment continued. The right to
freedom of expression remained severely
restricted. There were unlawful killings.
BACKGROUND
On 1 March, after months of unrest,
Parliament passed a vote of no confidence in
then Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. On 7
March, King Letsie announced Parliament’s
dissolution and elections were held on 3
June. A coalition government, led by Thomas
Thabane of the All Basotho Convention party,
was formed.
Police Commissioner said that a criminal
investigation into the case was ongoing.
In August the High Court ruled in favour of a
habeas corpus application brought by the
family of Mokalekale Khetheng who
disappeared on 26 March 2016 after arrest
on unspecified charges by four LMPS officers
in Leribe District. In August, the police
officers were arrested in connection with his
murder; Mokalekale Khetheng’s body was
exhumed. The former Minister of Defence
was then arrested in connection with the
murder. He and the officers were also
charged with conspiracy to cause a
disappearance. The former Minister was
released on bail in September. The former
National Police Commissioner, who remained
abroad throughout the year, was apparently
implicated in the case although he was not
charged.
On 5 September, Lesotho Defence Force
(LDF) Commander Khoantle Motsomotso was
shot dead in his office at the LDF
headquarters in the capital, Maseru. Two
suspects in the killing, LDF members
Brigadier Bulane Sechele and Colonel Tefo
Hashatsi, also died in retaliatory fire. The
Prime Minister announced an investigation
into the incident. No further information
about the progress of the investigation had
been received by the end of the year.
IMPUNITY
On 14 June, Lipolelo Thabane, the estranged
wife of Prime Minister Thabane, was killed on
the eve of his inauguration. The National
Police Commissioner said that a criminal
investigation into the case was ongoing.
In August, the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) extended the tenure of
an oversight committee, established in 2016
to ensure implementation of the
recommendations made by its Commission of
Inquiry. The Commission was set up in the
light of heightened political instability in 2015
and, among other things, investigated the
killing by LDF soldiers of former army chief
Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe Mahao.
The Commission found that he was
deliberately killed and recommended a
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
On 28 April, Tumelo Mohlomi, a student from
the University of Lesotho was killed when she
was shot in the back of the head by a
Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS)
officer while she was in a restaurant outside
the campus. A police officer was arrested
after the killing and apparently released on
bail. The victim’s family brought a civil case
of murder against the LMPS, which sought
an out-of-court settlement. The National
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criminal investigation. In June his widow
instituted a case for damages against the
LDF’s Commander, the Minister of Defence
and National Security and the Attorney
General. On 1 December, eight LDF
members appeared before the Maseru
Magistrates Court on charges connected to
his killing.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The right to freedom of expression continued
to be threatened. Nkoale Oetsi Tsoana, a
journalist with
Moeletsi Oa Basotho,
received
death threats from Lesotho Congress for
Democracy (LCD) supporters in August while
he covered the Directorate on Corruption and
Economic Offences’ investigation into
corruption allegations against LCD leader and
former Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa
Metsing. The same day, Palo Mohlotsane, a
PC-FM radio journalist, received threats from
the Deputy Leader and members of the LCD
after he covered the same story.
Nthakoana Ngatane, South African
Broadcasting Corporation correspondent,
received repeated online death threats from
June after she reported on possible motives
for the killing of Lipolelo Thabane. On 16
June crowds gathered outside MoAfrika FM
radio station’s offices and threatened the
owner, Sebonomoea Ramainoane, after the
station implicated Prime Minister Thabane in
the killing of his wife. On 8 September the
Maseru Magistrate Court ordered
Sebonomoea Ramainoane, also the station’s
editor-in-chief, to release to the LMPS the
station’s audio recordings of interviews aired
between 28 August and 6 September. On 13
September, the authorities closed the station
for 72 hours and on 15 September detained
Sebonomoea Ramainoane for several hours.
On 25 September, the Lesotho High Court
cancelled the Magistrate Court’s order.
On 29 August, exiled investigative journalist
Keiso Mohloboli received online death threats
for comments she posted on social media
about human rights violations in Lesotho. She
had received similar threats on 10 June.
On 13 December, five members of the LDF
went on trial for the attempted murder of the
Lesotho Times
editor Lloyd Mutungamiri in
July 2016. He suffered near fatal gunshot
wounds after being attacked outside his
home in Maseru. The shooting followed his
newspaper’s publication of an article claiming
that the outgoing LDF head was to receive an
exit package of USD3.5 million.
UNFAIR TRIALS
In August, the Prime Minister postponed
indefinitely the court-martial of 23 LDF
officers accused of mutiny. Sixteen officers
were released from prison in 2016; the
remaining seven were released on 1 March
2017. All 23 were under “open arrest”, a
form of military bail,
1
for most of the year. In
August, 22 of the officers had signed a
petition to the government raising concerns
that the deferred court-martial could
undermine their rights to redress and
requesting that due process be followed and
that their open arrest be cancelled. In
November, the High Court ordered the court-
martial against one of them to be
discontinued. On 18 December, a court-
martial hearing found the remaining 22
soldiers not guilty on all charges.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Thato Makara said that he was tortured and
otherwise ill-treated after he reported to the
Maseru police headquarters in April; he had
been summoned in connection with a
murder case. He attended the police station
with his employer, Thuso Litjobo, president of
the Alliance for Democrats Youth League,
who was released the same evening. Thato
Makara said that he was taken to Ha Matela
police holding cell in the Maseru area, and
then to Lekhalo La Baroa where he was
subjected to torture including waterboarding,
rubber gloves tied over his mouth and nose,
and beatings. After a habeas corpus
application, Thato Makara appeared in court
where he testified about his torture; he was
released on 18 April. He was charged with
murder the next day in connection with a
death at a political rally. He was bailed on
20 April.
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1. Lesotho: A human rights agenda for the new Lesotho government
(AFR
33/6468/2017)
LIBERIA
Republic of Liberia
Head of state and government: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Domestic violence, and sexual violence
against women and girls remained
widespread. Impunity for human rights
violations persisted. Prison conditions did
not meet international standards and
individuals were frequently held in
prolonged pre-trial detention.
crimes committed by Alieu Kosiah and
Martina Johnson – commanders in rebel
groups − who were arrested in Switzerland
and Belgium respectively, in 2014.
DETENTION
Prisons continued to be overcrowded, partly
because hundreds of people were held in
prolonged pre-trial detention. Detainees had
inadequate access to medical care and
recreational facilities. In June, an inmate
became pregnant by a male prisoner at
Tubmanburg Central Prison after she was
coerced into sex. The incident was facilitated
by prison officers who then took her to have
an abortion without her consent. Following an
investigation, several prison officers were
dismissed; however, none of them were
known to have been prosecuted.
BACKGROUND
Presidential and legislative elections began in
October. George Weah, of the Congress for
Democratic Change party, was elected as
President on 26 December and was expected
to take up his position in January 2018.
The practice of placing government schools
under the control of a private company
limited children’s access to adequate
education, a concern raised in 2016 by the
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to
education.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
A bill was introduced in the House of
Representatives to decriminalize press
offences, particularly related to libel. It
remained pending at the end of the year.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
In August, 174 national and international
organizations called on investors to stop
supporting Bridge International Academies, a
private company that runs 25 schools in
Liberia and other African countries. Earlier, in
March, the Coalition for Transparency and
Accountability in Education highlighted
concerns about the company’s practices
such as capping classroom numbers in
government schools, a practice that left
children without access to a local school. The
running of these schools had been
outsourced to the Bridge International
Academies in 2016.
IMPUNITY
Most of the 2009 recommendations of the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission were
yet to be implemented, including a
recommendation to establish a criminal
tribunal to prosecute crimes under
international law, and measures aimed at
obtaining accountability and reparation for
victims. The Commission was established
following human rights violations and abuses
carried out during the 14-year civil war which
ended in 2003.
No one had been prosecuted in Liberia for
human rights violations committed during the
civil war. However, Mohammed Jabbateh was
convicted of perjury and immigration fraud in
the USA, in relation to his role in alleged war
crimes. Investigations also continued in
Switzerland and Belgium into alleged war
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Domestic violence, rape and other forms of
sexual violence against women and girls,
including practices such as female genital
mutilation and early marriage remained
widespread. Impunity for rape and other
forms of violence against women remained
prevalent. However, a domestic violence bill
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was passed by the legislature in July and was
awaiting the President’s signature at the end
of the year. The government, the UN and
development partners continued to invest in
sexual and gender-based violence units,
located in police stations and government
ministries to investigate sexual abuse and
violence, as well as a specialized court to
deal with such crimes in Montserrado County
in the northwest. The authorities continued to
run 12 one-stop centres in seven counties
which offered medical and support services
to survivors of sexual violence.
Affordable and accessible abortion services
continued to be largely unavailable to rape
survivors, despite legislation allowing for
abortion in sexual violence cases where the
attack is recorded with the police and
authorization given by two medical
professionals. Unsafe abortions continued to
contribute to Liberia having one of highest
rates of maternal deaths and injuries in
Africa.
groups abducted, arbitrarily arrested and
indefinitely detained thousands of people.
Torture and other ill-treatment was
widespread in prisons under the control of
armed groups, militias and state officials.
Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers were
subjected to widespread and systematic
serious human rights violations and abuses
at the hands of state officials, smugglers
and armed groups. Women faced
discrimination, including arbitrary
restrictions on their right to travel. The
death penalty remained in force; no
executions were reported.
BACKGROUND
Three rival governments and hundreds of
militias and armed groups continued to
compete for power and control over territory,
lucrative trade routes and strategic military
locations. The UN-backed Government of
National Accord (GNA) continued to reinforce
its positions in the capital, Tripoli, gradually
gaining territory through strategic alliances
and often after armed clashes. In May, the
Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade and the Abu
Salim Brigade, both affiliated to the GNA’s
Ministry of the Interior, removed the coalition
of militias supporting the Government of
National Salvation (GNS) from their key
positions in Tripoli. These included the site of
Hadba prison where former senior officials
from the rule of Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi were
detained, and Tripoli International Airport,
where they took control of key strategic areas,
including the airport road.
The self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA),
led by Khalifa Haftar, consolidated its power
and made significant gains in eastern Libya
after defeating the Shura Council of Benghazi
Revolutionaries (SCBR) in Benghazi and
evicting the Benghazi Defence Brigades
(BDB) from Benghazi, the oil port of Ras
Lanuf and the desert military base of al-Jufra.
In May, the Misrata 3rd force aided by the
BDB attacked the Brak al-Shati air base,
resulting in the deaths of 141 people
including LNA soldiers. The LNA regained
control of the air base, aided by air strikes
from the Egyptian air force.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people experienced discrimination,
harassment and threats. The Penal Code
criminalized consensual sexual activity
between same-sex adults. A man arrested in
June 2012 on allegations of “voluntary
sodomy” remained in detention at the
Monrovia Central Prison at the end of the
year.
LIBYA
State of Libya
Head of state: Disputed
Head of government: Fayez Serraj
Forces affiliated to three rival governments,
as well as armed groups and militias,
committed serious violations of
international law and abuses of human
rights with impunity. All sides to the
conflict carried out indiscriminate attacks
in heavily populated areas leading to deaths
of civilians and unlawful killings. Armed
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In July the Constitutional Drafting Assembly
approved the new draft Constitution, an
initiative that had begun in 2014. No date
was set for the referendum on the
Constitution.
In September and November, the USA
carried out several strikes by remotely piloted
vehicles (drones) in Libya including south of
Sirte, targeting the armed group Islamic State
(IS). In May, the armed group Ansar al-
Shari’a in Libya announced its own
dissolution.
In September, the UN Security Council
extended the mandate of the UN Support
Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) until 15
September 2018. Ghassan Salamé, the UN’s
newly appointed Special Representative for
Libya, outlined his action plan, which
included amending the UN-brokered Libyan
Political Agreement (LPA), convening a
national congress, and holding legislative and
presidential elections in 2018. In December,
the UN Security Council reiterated its
commitment to the LPA as the only viable
framework for the transition period.
Ganfouda area of Benghazi by launching an
attack to drive the BDB forces out of one of
their last strongholds in the city. The two-
month siege had cut off all supplies to the
area, including food and water, and had
trapped civilians and wounded fighters
without access to medical care and other
basic services. The attack on Ganfouda was
indiscriminate and resulted in the deaths of
at least five civilians. LNA fighters posed for
photos with the bodies, including the
exhumed body of a BDB commander who
had been killed in air strikes and buried in
the days prior to the ground attack.
In July the LNA tightened its siege on the
city of Derna in its fight against the Derna
Mujahideen Shora Council, hindering access
to food, petrol and medical supplies, resulting
in a rapid deterioration of the humanitarian
situation in the city. A series of air strikes on
Derna killed scores of civilians and injured
others, including children.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
In March, LNA-affiliated fighters were filmed
killing captured SCBR fighters, a serious
violation of international humanitarian law
and a war crime. In August, the ICC issued a
warrant for the arrest of Mahmoud el-Werfelli
for alleged war crimes committed while he
was field commander of the Special Forces
Brigade (Al-Saiqa) affiliated to the LNA,
including for involvement in the March
killings.
A number of mass graves were uncovered
in Benghazi between February and October.
On at least four occasions, groups of bodies
were found in different parts of the city with
their hands bound behind their backs, and in
some cases blindfolded with signs of torture
and execution-style killing. In August, the
bodies of six unidentified men were found in
a rubbish bin in the eastern Benghazi
neighbourhood of Shabneh. The bodies
showed signs of torture and had bullet
wounds in the head and chest. On 26
October, the bodies of 36 men were found on
a deserted road south of the town of al-Abyar,
including a 71-year-old Sufi sheikh who had
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
Armed clashes between rival forces
continued to take place sporadically
throughout the country, with armed groups
and militias carrying out indiscriminate
attacks in heavily populated areas leading to
the deaths of civilians. In February, clashes
between militias in the Abu Salim area of
Tripoli resulted in two civilians being killed
and three injured, including a child who was
shot in the head by a stray bullet. In July,
clashes broke out between two militias near
Mitiga airport in Tripoli over the control of a
local beach resort. The militias used
explosive weapons with wide-area effects,
including rocket propelled grenades (RPGs),
in densely populated civilian areas. In one
case, RPGs hit a nearby beach, killing five
civilians – two women and three children –
from the same family. A forensic doctor in
Tripoli confirmed that the deaths were caused
by shrapnel from an RPG.
In March, LNA forces broke the siege they
had imposed on an apartment complex in the
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been abducted in August, and a medical
student.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION
AND ASSOCIATION
Journalists, activists and human rights
defenders were particularly vulnerable to
harassment, attacks and enforced
disappearance by armed groups and militias
aligned with various authorities of rival
governments.
In the west, Special Deterrence (Radaa)
forces operating under the Ministry of the
Interior of the GNA carried out a series of
arrests, targeting people for peacefully
exercising their right to freedom of
association and other rights. In September,
an imam in Tripoli was arbitrarily arrested by
Radaa on suspicion of using his mosque to
incite violence. He remained in detention at
the end of the year. In November, Radaa
forces raided a comic-book convention in
Tripoli and arrested 20 people, including the
organizers and some attendees. They were
released at the end of November.
In the east, forces associated with the LNA
targeted journalists and others deemed to
have criticized Khalifa Haftar and LNA forces.
Armed groups composed of adherents of the
Madkhali doctrine, a strand of Salafism
inspired by the Saudi Arabian sheikh Rabee
al-Madkhali, burned books and abducted
student members of a university group who
had organized an Earth Day event on their
campus in Benghazi. Those abducted
included photographer Abdullah Duma, who
was later released. In September a radio host
from the city of al-Marj was detained for
nearly three weeks for openly criticizing a
decision made by Abdelraziq al-Nathouri, the
LNA’s military governor of eastern Libya.
armed group in Bayda abducted cameraman
Musa Khamees Ardia and transferred him to
Grenada prison in the east. He was released
without charge on 3 November.
Armed groups and militias abducted and
unlawfully detained hundreds of people
because of their opinions, origin, perceived
political affiliations or perceived wealth.
Those abducted included political activists,
lawyers, human rights activists and other
civilians. Militias carried out abductions with
the aim of extracting ransoms from families,
to negotiate an exchange of detainees, or to
silence criticism. In April a militia abducted a
university professor in Sayyad on the outskirts
of Tripoli. He was held for 47 days in an
undisclosed location with little access to food,
water and medication. In August, unidentified
militiamen abducted former Prime Minister
Ali Zeidan from a hotel in Tripoli. He was
released after eight days.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
An environment of impunity continued to
prevail, leaving perpetrators of serious abuses
emboldened and without fear of
accountability, which in turn threatened
prospects of political stability. Courts and
prosecutors’ offices were dysfunctional and
often feared reprisals for their work. The post
of Public Prosecutor remained vacant. In
September, senior prosecutor Sadik Essour
announced that 800 arrest warrants had
been issued and 250 people had been
referred to court for their involvement in
political violence. In October, just hours
before one of these trials was due to start, a
gun and suicide-bomb attack on a court in
GNA-controlled Misrata killed four people -
two civilians and two security personnel - and
injured at least 40. IS claimed responsibility
for the attack.
Torture was widespread in prisons, where
thousands were held without charge. Many
detainees had been held since 2011 with no
judicial oversight or means to challenge the
legality of their detention.
None of the parties to the conflict
implemented any of the human rights
provisions in the UN-brokered Libya Political
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Militias, armed groups and security forces
affiliated to rival governments continued to
arbitrarily arrest and indefinitely detain
thousands of people. In the east, militias
operating as security forces associated with
the LNA abducted people and imprisoned
them without charge or trial. In June, an
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Agreement of December 2015, including
those obliging them to release detainees held
without legal basis.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
Some 40,000 former residents of the town of
Tawargha, near Misrata, remained displaced
for a sixth year. In June a political agreement
was signed by the mayor of Misrata, the
Tawargha local council and the Misrata-
Tawargha Reconciliation Committee
chairman, in the presence of Prime Minister
Serraj, ostensibly to allow the displaced
former residents to return to Tawargha.
However, the agreement made no mention of
accountability for past crimes. Three days
later, a group of Tawargha families attempted
to return but were threatened and intimidated
at a checkpoint manned by residents of
Misrata and forced to return to Tripoli. By the
end of the year there had been no progress
on the return of the Tawargha people or the
implementation of the agreement.
MIGRANTS, REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-
SEEKERS
Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers were
subjected to widespread and systematic
serious human rights violations and abuses at
the hands of detention centre officials, the
Libyan Coast Guard, smugglers and armed
groups. Some were detained after being
intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard at sea
trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
It was estimated that up to 20,000 people
were held in detention centres in Libya run
by the Directorate for Combating Illegal
Migration (DCIM), a division of the Ministry of
the Interior of the GNA. They were held in
horrific conditions of extreme overcrowding,
lacking access to medical care and adequate
nutrition, and systematically subjected to
torture and other ill-treatment, including
sexual violence, severe beatings and
extortion. While the DCIM formally controlled
between 17 and 36 centres, armed groups
and criminal gangs ran thousands of illicit
holding sites throughout the country as part
of a lucrative people-smuggling business. In
November, a video released by US media
organization CNN showing the apparent sale
of migrants into slavery caused international
outrage. Libyan law continued to criminalize
the irregular entry, stay or exit of foreign
nationals, and still lacked a legal framework
for asylum. In November, UNHCR, the UN
refugee agency, announced that it had
reached an agreement with the Libyan
authorities to temporarily accommodate
people from a transit centre who were in
need of international protection. However,
there was no progress on a Memorandum of
Understanding that would formally recognize
UNHCR’s operations in Libya. The
International Organization for Migration
calculated that there were 416,556 migrants
in Libya at the end of September. UNHCR
stated that 44,306 people in Libya were
registered as refugees or asylum-seekers as
of 1 December, but the actual number of
refugees was likely to be higher. The
International Organization for Migration
continued to assist in the “voluntary return”
of 19,370 nationals to their home countries
during the year, often from detention centres.
In a significant development, UNHCR began
evacuating refugees and asylum-seekers,
taking 25 people to Niger for resettlement in
France in November and 162 people to Italy
in December.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women were particularly affected by the
ongoing conflict, which disproportionately
affected their right to move freely and to
participate in political and public life.
In February the military in eastern Libya
issued Decree No. 6 of 2017, restricting
Libyan women under the age of 60 from
travelling abroad without a legal male
guardian. Following a public outcry and calls
from civil society for its removal, Decree No.
6 was replaced on 23 February with Decree
No. 7, which stipulated that no Libyan male
or female between the ages of 18 and 45
could travel abroad without prior “security
approval”. The Decree failed to specify the
procedure required to obtain such approval
or the criteria that would be used to grant or
deny it.
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In the face of intimidation and targeting,
high-profile women activists continued to be
forced to retreat from public and political
engagement.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In April, the Vilnius City District Court ordered
the Civil Registry Office to change the identity
documents of a transgender individual who
had applied for legal gender recognition,
without them having to undergo gender
reassignment surgery. In May, the Court ruled
that the Civil Registry Office should change
the gender marker and personal identity
number of another transgender applicant.
In July, the President signed an amendment
to the Law on Equal Opportunities which
defines family members as “spouses or direct
descendants”, effectively excluding
unmarried partners and thereby preventing –
among others – same-sex couples from being
legally considered as family members.
LITHUANIA
Republic of Lithuania
Head of state:
Dalia Grybauskaitė
Head of government: Saulius Skvernelis
The President signed legislation which
discriminated against lesbian, gay and
bisexual people. Parliament considered a
law which would severely restrict access to
abortion. Lithuania offered visas to two gay
men from the Russian republic of Chechnya
who feared for their safety. In two separate
cases, a district court ruled in favour of two
transgender people seeking to change their
identity documents without undergoing
gender reassignment surgery.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In October, Parliament considered a draft law
initiated by the Electoral Action of Poles in
Lithuania, a political party. If implemented, it
would restrict women’s access to abortion in
cases where the pregnancy poses a risk to
the woman’s life or health, or when it is the
result of rape.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
The case of
Abu Zubaydah v. Lithuania
remained pending before the European Court
of Human Rights. Abu Zubaydah alleged he
had been forcibly disappeared and tortured
at a secret CIA detention centre in Antaviliai,
a neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania’s
capital, between 2005 and 2006. In
September, the UN Committee on Enforced
Disappearances urged Lithuania to
investigate its involvement in US-led rendition
and secret detention programmes; hold those
responsible to account; and provide victims
with appropriate redress and reparation.
MACEDONIA
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Head of state: Gjorge Ivanov
Head of government: Zoran Zaev (replaced Emil
Dimitriev in
May)
Impunity for war crimes persisted. Asylum-
seekers and migrants were unlawfully
detained. A court’s judgment provided for
legal gender recognition for transgender
people.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In May, Lithuania offered visas to two
Chechen men who were seeking international
protection outside of Russia for fear of
persecution based on their sexual orientation.
This followed allegations of abductions,
torture and other ill-treatment and in some
cases even the killing of men suspected of
being gay in Chechnya (see Russian
Federation entry).
BACKGROUND
Following elections in December 2016, the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary
Organization - Democratic Party for
Macedonian National Unity gained over half
the seats, but could not form a government.
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
(SDSM) agreed to form a coalition with ethnic
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Albanian parties and formed a government in
May 2017 following a violent invasion of
Parliament by former government supporters.
In November, a former police chief and
several MPs were arrested for their part in the
disruption.
The election followed a political crisis
triggered by the publication by SDSM in 2015
of audio recordings revealing unlawful
surveillance and widespread corruption
within the government.
The European Commission asked
Macedonia to implement measures including
ensuring the rule of law, the right to privacy,
freedom of expression, an independent
judiciary and an end to government
corruption.
June 2014 of the killing of five Macedonians
at Easter 2012. The retrial was called on the
grounds that the 2014 trial had not met
international standards for fair trial.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Asylum seekers and migrants, including
unaccompanied children, were unlawfully
detained at the Reception Centre for
Foreigners as witnesses in criminal
proceedings against smugglers, for an
average of two weeks, after which they were
released. Most applied for asylum, but left
the country shortly afterwards.
The European Court of Human Rights
(ECtHR) considered the case of eight
refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan
who were among 1,500 refugees and
migrants forcibly returned to Greece in March
2016 by the Macedonian authorities, who
failed to examine their individual
circumstances or provide an effective
remedy.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Until May, media freedom was seriously
compromised by government interference in
print and other media, including through the
control of advertising and other revenues,
resulting in widespread self-censorship and
little investigative journalism. In March, 122
NGOs issued a statement protesting against
the government’s apparent campaign to
undermine their work.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In September, the Administrative Court ruled
that a transgender person could change their
gender marker in the official registry,
providing for the legal recognition of gender
identity.
IMPUNITY
The Special Prosecution Office, established
to investigate crimes arising from the audio
recordings, opened an investigation into the
2011 murder of Martin Neshkovski and the
subsequent government cover-up. In June,
the Office indicted 94 former government
officials, including former Prime Minister
Gruevski and the former head of Security and
Counter Intelligence.
Impunity for war crimes, including enforced
disappearances and abductions, persisted.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
A court in Skopje, the capital, determined in
July that the termination of a woman’s
employment contract, because she was
pregnant for a second time, constituted direct
discrimination.
Also in July, a local antenatal clinic in Suto
Orizari, a predominatly Roma suburb of
Skopje, was reopened after eight years. In
September, four newborn babies died within
two days in the Clinic of Gynaecology and
Obstetrics in Skopje. A subsequent
inspection found a shortage of medical staff,
babies sharing intensive care incubators,
faulty ventilation and a leaking roof. Between
January and October, 127 babies died.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Following votes by the Council of Public
Prosecutors and the Parliament, Public
Prosecutor Marko Zvrlevski was removed
from office in August for his lack of
independence. In October, provisional Public
Prosecutor Liljana Spasovska called for the
retrial of six ethnic Albanians, convicted in
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DEATHS IN CUSTODY
In March, the European Roma Rights Centre
highlighted the deaths in custody of young
Romani men from overdoses of methadone
only available to prison guards, and the death
of a Romani woman, allegedly after she had
been ill-treated. In October the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture
raised concerns about the failure since 2006
to improve the management of, and
conditions in, Idrizovo Prison in Skopje,
where nine prisoners died in 2016.
BACKGROUND
An outbreak of pneumonic plague, first
reported in August, continued throughout the
year in rural and urban areas. Of 2,348
reported cases between 1 August and 22
November, 202 resulted in deaths.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In July, the UN Human Rights Committee
expressed concern about human rights
violations including the excessive use of force
by police against alleged cattle rustlers
(dahalos); and revenge attacks by members
of the security forces after two police officers
were killed by villagers, in the northern town
of Antsakabary.
The Committee called on Madagascar to
immediately provide the National Human
Rights Commission with an independent and
sufficient budget to enable it to carry out its
mandate. It also recommended that the
government expedite the establishment of the
High Council for the Defence of Democracy
and the Rule of Law, whose mission included
the promotion and protection of human
rights, and provide it with financial autonomy.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In December, the Committee of Ministers
reviewed implementation of the judgment of
the ECtHR in 2012 in the case of German
national Khaled el-Masri, expressing concern
at the failure to make a public apology and
requesting information on any progress in
implementing the judgment. The Court held
Macedonia liable for Khaled el-Masri's
detention, enforced disappearance, torture
and other ill-treatment in 2003, and
subsequent handover to the CIA which
transferred him to a secret detention site in
Afghanistan.
In November, 37 ethnic Albanian
defendants were convicted of terrorism for
their participation or assistance in a
gun battle with police in Kumanovo in 2015,
in which 18 people were killed.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The criminal justice system remained
seriously flawed and failed to guarantee due
process. The excessive use of pre-trial
detention continued despite provisions in the
Constitution and the Code of Penal
Procedure that limited its use as an
exceptional measure for specific reasons;
60% of prison inmates were awaiting trial.
Despite constitutional provisions
guaranteeing the right to legal defence at all
stages of the process, where lack of
resources should not be an obstacle, lawyers
reported that they were not paid for legal aid
work, including trial attendance, and were
prevented from fulfilling their duties. In
practice, pre-trial legal aid was not available.
MADAGASCAR
Republic of Madagascar
Head of state: Hery Rajaonarimampianina
Head of government: Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana
There was widespread poverty; access to
food, water, health care and education was
restricted. Prison conditions remained
harsh; the excessive use of pre-trial
detention persisted. The criminal justice
system continued to be used to harass and
intimidate human rights defenders and
journalists, and restrict their freedom of
expression, particularly those working on
environmental and corruption issues.
DETENTION
The government allowed international NGOs,
as well as the National Human Rights
Commission, to visit detention centres.
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Prisons were severely overcrowded and
conditions were inhumane. Food and
medical care were inadequate. Toilets and
showers did not work properly, and some
prisons had open sewers putting inmates at
risk of disease. Most of the country’s prisons
had not been adequately renovated for more
than 60 years. Infrastructure was dilapidated
and, in some instances, put prisoners’ lives at
risk. In July, four detainees were killed after a
wall collapsed in the Antsohihy prison in the
north.
Families of inmates reported being forced to
pay bribes to visit their relatives and
detainees relied on their families for food.
Antanimora prison in the capital,
Antananarivo, held around 2,850 detainees,
the highest number of inmates in the country,
and three times its intended capacity.
Overcrowding was mainly due to the large
number of pre-trial detainees, the ineffective
judicial system and lengthy trial delays. Some
detainees had been held for up to five years
before being brought to trial.
In contravention of international standards,
convicted prisoners and pre-trial detainees
were held together. As of July, Tsiafahy
maximum security prison near Antananarivo
hosted 396 pre-trial detainees alongside
sentenced prisoners, in inhumane
conditions, despite National Law 2006-015
stipulating that it should house only prisoners
serving life sentences or those considered to
be dangerous. The need to separate children
from adults was not respected in all prisons.
In July, police stopped a protest planned by
the Movement for Freedom of Expression to
mark the first anniversary of the passing of
the new Code of Media Communication law
which imposes heavy fines for offences such
as contempt, defamation or insult against a
government official.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders who opposed
projects to exploit natural resources, or who
made allegations of corruption against
government officials were particularly at risk
of harassment, arrests on trumped-up
charges, or other abuses under the criminal
justice system. In June, after 10 months’ pre-
trial detention on charges of organizing a
protest which became violent, environmental
activist Clovis Razafimalala was released from
Tamatave prison. In July, the Tamatave
Tribunal sentenced him to a five-year
suspended prison sentence.
1
On 27
September, environmental activist Raleva was
detained in Mananjary police station, in the
southeast, after he questioned the legality of
a Chinese mining company in the Mananjary
region.
2
He was later transferred to
Mananjary prison. On 26 October, the
Mananjary court found him guilty of using the
false title of “Head of District”, and gave him
a two-year suspended sentence.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Abortion remained criminalized in all cases
under Article 317 of the Penal Code. Anyone
providing or attempting to provide an abortion
was subject to a heavy fine and
imprisonment of up to 10 years. Medical
personnel providing information on obtaining
an abortion were subject to, in addition to
imprisonment and fines, suspension from
practice for between five years and life.
Women who sought or had abortions were
also subject to a heavy fine and up to two
years’ imprisonment. Several women were
sent to prison for abortion-related offences
during the year.
In July, the government stated that it was
working on a bill which would make abortion
a minor offence.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Peaceful protests were repressed. Civil
society organizations claimed that the
authorities banned protests on the grounds
that they were likely to be a “high risk of
public disorder”. In June, civil society
movements Wake-Up Madagascar and
SEFAFI, which works to improve democratic
processes in the country, criticized a one-
month ban on public protests which the
government said was necessary to protect
public order during National Day celebrations
on 26 June.
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Later in July, the UN Human Rights
Committee considered Madagascar’s fourth
periodic report. The Committee called for the
decriminalization of abortion, and for greater
efforts to make sexual and reproductive
health services more accessible to women.
1.
Madagascar: A Damocles sword on environmental activist’s head
(AFR
35/6841/2017)
2.
Madagascar: Environmental rights defender falsely accused −
Raleva (AFR
35/7248/2017)
violence. The Ministry of Gender, Children,
Disability and Social Welfare publicly
expressed its concerns about the killings.
One of the protesters, Beatrice Mateyo, was
arrested and charged with carrying a placard
bearing “offensive and obscene words”. She
was charged with “insulting the modesty of a
woman” under section 137(3) of the Penal
Code and released on bail the same day. If
convicted she faced up to one year’s
imprisonment.
MALAWI
Republic of Malawi
Head of State and Government: Arthur Peter Mutharika
Two people were killed as attacks against
people with albinism resumed. Gender-
based violence increased. Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people continued to live in fear of
harassment and attacks. Draft legislation
threatened to silence NGOs and civil society
organizations working on governance and
human rights issues.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Harassment of and attacks against LGBTI
people continued. In January the People’s
Party spokesman, Kenneth Msonda, publicly
said that “gays are worse than dogs and must
be killed”. Activists brought a case against
him for inciting violence against gay and
lesbian people. The Constitutional Court was
considering whether charges should be
brought against him at the end of the year.
In August, a 12-year-old boy stopped going
to school after he faced repeated harassment
and attacks, such as people throwing stones
at him and urinating on him. He and his
family lived in fear that he might be killed.
Same-sex sexual relations between
consenting adults remained illegal. However,
the solicitor general intervened in April after
political and church leaders held a protest
against LGBTI people. The Malawi Human
Rights Commission indicated it would hold
public consultations on whether to reform the
law.
DISCRIMINATION – PEOPLE WITH
ALBINISM
Attacks against people with albinism
resumed in January after an interval of seven
months. Two people were killed. On 10
January, Madalitso Pensulo, a teenage boy,
was killed in Mlonda village in the Tyolo
District. In February, Mercy Zainabu Banda
was found murdered in Lilongwe with her
wrist, right breast and hair removed. In
March, two brothers were stabbed in Nsanje.
As of 30 August, 20 murders of people with
albinism which have taken place since 2014
remained unresolved.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Draft amendments to the NGO law remained
before Parliament. The amendments, which
introduced broad, excessive, intrusive and
arbitrary controls on the activities of NGOs,
could silence critics including human rights
groups. If implemented, the law would
establish an NGO Board under the Ministry of
Gender, Children, Disability and Social
Welfare with wide discretionary powers,
including to approve NGOs’ funding
applications to donor agencies; and to
demand that such applications fall in line
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Gender-based violence continued; seven
women were reported to have been
murdered in August and September alone.
On 14 September, around 150 women
participated in a national march to protest
against the alarming levels of gender-based
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with government policies and be designed to
“advance the public interest”. NGOs would
be forced to register with the NGO Board
which would have power to deregister them.
They would also be required to sign
Memorandums of Understanding with local
government before operating in the
community.
authorities also barred several human rights
defenders from entering Malaysia; they
included Bangladeshi activist Adilur Rahman
Khan
2
and Singaporean activist Han Hui Hui,
who were deported after attempting to attend
human rights conferences. Bans were
secretive, arbitrary and not subject to appeal.
No prior notice was given.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia
Head of state: King Muhammad V
Head of government: Najib Tun Razak
Civic space shrank further as a crackdown
on civil and political rights continued. There
was a rise in the use of open-ended and
arbitrary travel bans to restrict and threaten
the freedom of movement of human rights
defenders. Indigenous rights activists and
journalists were arrested and investigated
for campaigning against and reporting
human rights abuses.
FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION AND
ASSEMBLY
Human rights defenders and opposition
parliamentarians continued to stand trial for
participating in peaceful protests. In July, the
Kota Kinabalu High Court reversed an earlier
acquittal by the Magistrate’s Court of activist
Jannie Lasimbang who had been charged
under Section 9 of the Peaceful Assembly
Act 2012. Her trial was ongoing at the end of
the year. Parliamentarians and activists were
charged after joining the peaceful
#KitaLawan (We Fight) protest rally; they
included MP Sim Tze Tzin, Maria Chin
Abdullah, Mandeep Singh and Adam Adli.
Charges against Maria Chin Abdullah,
Mandeep Singh and Sim Tze Tzin were
initially dismissed by the courts, but brought
again in October. Adam Adli was acquitted of
his charges by the Magistrate’s Court in
November.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The government continued to harass, detain
and prosecute critics through the use of
restrictive laws such as the Sedition Act and
the Communications and Multimedia Act.
More than 60 individuals were arrested,
charged or imprisoned under various pieces
of legislation. Four individuals were charged,
and another convicted, under Section 233 of
the Communications and Multimedia Act
which criminalizes, among other things, the
“misuse of network facilities” for criticizing
the government or for government-related
satire.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
In January, following peaceful protests
against logging licences granted by local
authorities, 21 Indigenous human rights
defenders from the Temiar people in the
northern state of Kelantan were detained.
Two journalists were also arrested.
3
They
were released within 48 hours, but the rights
of the Temiar to their customary lands
remained under threat because logging
activities continued without the free, prior
and informed consent of the communities. In
August, 11 Indigenous human rights
defenders in Perak were arrested by police
when peacefully protesting against a logging
company.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
In July, the Court of Appeal ruled that the
government has absolute discretion to bar
any citizen from travelling abroad without
needing to provide a reason.
1
This ruling
facilitated continued violations of the right to
freedom of movement and the work of
human rights defenders, including cartoonist
Zunar and activist Hishamuddin Rais. The
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ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Preventive detention laws such as the
Prevention of Terrorism Act and Security
Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA)
continued to be used to detain, prosecute
and imprison people alleged to have
committed security offences. The maximum
detention period of 28 days under the
SOSMA was set to remain in force for five
years from 31 July, following a parliamentary
vote.
On 26 April, the Kuala Lumpur High Court
sentenced Siti Noor Aishah to five years’
imprisonment for possession of 12 books,
under a sweeping provision of the SOSMA
prohibiting the possession, custody or control
of any item associated with any terrorist
group or the commission of a terrorist act.
4
The books owned by Siti Noor Aishah had not
been banned, which raised further concerns
about the arbitrary nature of the law and the
way it was applied.
drug trafficking activities”. The provision
included a mandatory 15 whip lashes.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Discrimination against LGBTI people
continued both in law and practice. Section
377A of the Penal Code criminalizes
consensual sexual relations between adult
men. In June, the Health Ministry received
local and international criticism for its
decision to launch a video competition for
teenagers on how to “prevent gender
confusion” which included “gay, lesbian,
transgender, transvestite and tomboy”. The
wording was subsequently removed.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In July, Kelantan state assembly passed
amendments to the Syariah Criminal
Procedure Enactment 2002 which would
allow caning of criminals to be carried out in
public. Torture is not adequately defined or
prohibited in the state Syariah Criminal Code
or the Malaysian Penal Code.
1. Malaysia: Open-ended travel bans violate the rights of human rights
defenders (ASA
28/6697/2017)
2. Malaysia: Bangladeshi human rights activist detained (News
story,
20 July)
3. Malaysia: End harassment of Indigenous rights defenders (ASA
28/5549/2017)
4.
Malaysia: Student convicted for possession of ‘illegal’ book − Siti
Noor Aishah (ASA
28/6136/2017)
5. Malaysia: Stop execution of prisoners due to be hanged on Friday
(News
story,
23 March)
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Impunity for deaths in custody and excessive
use of force and firearms persisted. There
were at least five deaths in custody during
the year. They included S. Balamurugan
who, according to cellmates, was beaten by
police during interrogation. A magistrate had
earlier ordered that he be released and given
medical attention. No police investigation into
his death was known to have been carried
out.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty continued to be retained
as the mandatory punishment for offences
including drug trafficking, murder and
discharge of firearms with intent to kill or
harm in certain circumstances. Executions
continued to be carried out during the year
and there remained no established
procedure for notification of scheduled
executions.
5
In November, Parliament
amended the Dangerous Drugs Act,
providing the judiciary with discretion on the
mandatory death penalty in the event the
accused is a drug courier and has co-
operated with law enforcement in “disrupting
MALDIVES
Republic of Maldives
Head of state and government: Abdulla Yameen Abdul
Gayoom
The crackdown on the rights to freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly
continued. Authorities used the criminal
justice system to silence political
opponents, as well as human rights
defenders, journalists and civil society. The
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lack of independence of the judiciary
remained a concern. The President
reaffirmed that executions would resume
after more than 60 years.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Political turmoil persisted as the President
used the military and the judiciary to stifle the
opposition. In July, the opposition initiated a
no confidence motion to impeach the
Speaker of Parliament, but proceedings were
halted with the suspension of four opposition
MPs. On 24 July, parliamentarians were
denied entry into the Parliament and the
President directed the military to use pepper
spray and tear gas to disperse them. MPs
Faris Maumoon and Qasim Ibrahim were
arrested arbitrarily for allegedly bribing
law makers to unseat the Speaker of
Parliament.
1
prosecutions of perpetrators, and were
marred by political interference.
In March, journalists from Raajje TV
reported to the Maldives Police Service that
they had received threats of death if they sent
journalists to Faafu Atoll to cover a visit by the
King of Saudi Arabia. No additional security
was granted by police. Around the same
time, two journalists from the newspaper
Maldives Independent
were taken into
“protective custody” by police after receiving
threats from members of the ruling party. The
journalists claimed that the police read their
notes and treated them like suspects.
In July, seven journalists from Sangu TV and
Raajje TV were arrested while covering a
protest marking Independence Day. They
were detained for several hours accused of
obstructing police.
UNFAIR TRIALS
The authorities ignored constitutional
provisions safeguarding the right to a fair trial,
as evidenced by a string of criminal cases
against political opponents. On 18 July, MP
Faris Maumoon was arrested during a raid on
his house for allegedly bribing law makers to
sign the motion of no confidence against the
Speaker. He was seeking to cancel the
charges, claiming that the evidence was
obtained unlawfully.
In April, Qasim Ibrahim, leader of the
Jumhooree Party, was sentenced to 38
months’ imprisonment after being convicted
on charges including plotting to overthrow the
government. After repeated requests for
medical attention, in September the court
granted him permission to travel abroad for
treatment.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Arbitrary restrictions on peaceful protesters
and human rights defenders continued. On
24 July, the military used pepper spray and
tear gas to disperse parliamentarians trying to
enter the Parliament building. On 8 August, a
march led by relatives and friends of Ahmed
Rilwan to mark the third anniversary of his
disappearance was blocked by Specialist
Operations police officers who used pepper
spray, snatched banners, tore up placards
and briefly detained nine people. Several
days later, Ahmed Rilwan’s nephew and
Yameen Rasheed’s sister were dismissed
from their posts as civil support staff at
Maldives Police Service for joining the
protest.
DEATH PENALTY
The government stated that the death penalty
was to be implemented “by the end of
September”. Executions would be the first to
be carried out in over 60 years. Three men –
Hussain Humaam Ahmed, Ahmed Murrath
and Mohamed Nabeel – remained at risk of
imminent execution despite serious concerns
about the fairness of the legal proceedings.
These included the use of an apparently
coerced “confession” by Hussain Humaam
Ahmed, which he later retracted. The UN
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In April, popular political blogger and social
media activist Yameen Rasheed was stabbed
to death in his apartment building in the
capital, Malé.
2
The year marked three years
since the disappearance of journalist Ahmed
Rilwan. By the end of the year, neither of the
investigations had resulted in successful
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Human Rights Committee made repeated
requests to the government to stay the
executions of the three men during 2016 and
2017, in accordance with Maldives’
commitments under the Optional Protocol to
the ICCPR.
3
Of the 17 prisoners on death
row, at least five were sentenced to death for
crimes committed when they were below 18
years of age.
4
1. Maldives: Opposition MP must get a fair trial (News
story,
22
September)
2. Maldives: Killing of popular blogger an attack on freedom of
expression (News
story,
23 April)
3. Maldives: Halt first execution in more than 60 years (News
story,
20
July)
4. Maldives to resume executions by September (ASA
29/7007/2017)
cases included 21 instances of extrajudicial
executions and deliberate and arbitrary
killings, 12 cases of enforced disappearance
and 31 cases of torture and other ill-
 treatment.
The French authorities opened an inquiry
into the death of a child during the November
2016 Operation Barkhane involving French
soldiers. The results had not been made
public by the end of 2017. In December the
spokesman for the French Army said that the
internal inquiry did not reveal any individual
or collective responsibility.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Attacks in the central regions of Mopti and
Ségou increased during the year. A rise in the
presence of armed groups and in local
recruitment aggravated tensions between
different ethnic groups. In February, 20
people were killed and 18 others injured
when unidentified assailants attacked
members of the Fulani community. The
attack followed the killing of a well-known
opponent of radical influences in Ségou
region.
Between January and September,
MINUSMA recorded at least 155 attacks
against its own peacekeeping forces, the
Malian security forces and French soldiers
involved in Operation Barkhane. Throughout
the year, more than 30 MINUSMA-related
personnel, including civilians and
contractors, were killed by armed groups.
Most attacks were claimed by the Group for
the Support of Islam and Muslims. Victims
included eight children.
In June, five people were killed and 10
wounded during an attack by an armed
group on a hotel on the outskirts of the
capital, Bamako.
In July, armed men beat 10 women who
were part of a wedding party. In August, 12
women who were not wearing a veil were
flogged in Mopti.
At the end of the year at least eight people
remained held hostage by armed groups
following their abductions in Mali, Burkina
Faso and Niger over the last three years. The
eight included three women – Beatrice
MALI
Republic of Mali
Head of state: Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Head of government: Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga
(replaced Abdoulaye Idrissa Maïga in December, who
replaced Modibo Keïta in April)
A bill for the protection of human rights
defenders was adopted by the National
Assembly in December. The government
postponed the revision of the Constitution
following protests. Full implementation of
the 2015 Algiers peace agreement
remained delayed. Joint operations between
the Malian army and some armed groups
began in Gao under the Operational
Coordination Mechanism.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
The UN Independent Expert on the situation
of human rights in Mali and the UN
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization
Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) raised concerns
about serious security threats in the northern
and central regions, which put civilians at risk
and hampered their access to basic social
services. During the year MINUSMA
documented 252 cases of human rights
violations by security forces and armed
groups involving more than 650 victims. The
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Stockly, a Swiss missionary, Gloria Cecilia
Agoti Narvaez, a Colombian missionary, and
Sophie Petronin (French) – as well as Julian
Ghergut (Romanian); Jeffery Woundke (US);
Ken Eliott (Australian); and Malian nationals
Mamadou Diawara and Soungalo.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of speech was under threat in the
run-up to a referendum on amendments to
the Constitution.
In June, at least eight people were injured
when protesters against the constitutional
changes clashed with police using tear gas
and batons.
Physical and verbal threats against
opponents of the referendum were reported
in July. Also in July, Maliba FM radio
journalist Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, known
as Ras Bath, was sentenced to one year’s
imprisonment for “incitement to military
disobedience” following criticisms of the
army in 2016. In November, he was
acquitted by the Bamako Court of Appeal.
violations, had not been implemented by the
end of the year.
In August, the former head of the police unit
of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in
West Africa, Aliou Mahamane Touré, was
convicted of “violation of internal security,
illegal possession of weapons of war, criminal
conspiracy and aggravated assault” by the
Bamako Assizes Court and sentenced to 10
years’ imprisonment.
The trial of General Amadou Haya Sanogo
in relation to the abduction and murder of 21
soldiers in April 2012 had not recommenced
after it was postponed in December 2016.
The postponement followed a ruling that DNA
tests were held inadmissible because the
correct legal procedure had not
been followed.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
The UN Independent Expert on the situation
of human rights in Mali expressed concern
about the high number of schools closed due
to insecurity in central and northern parts of
the country, depriving more than 150,000
children of their right to education.
Throughout the year, more than 500
schools in Gao, Kidal, Ségou, Mopti and
Timbuktu remained closed. Many schools,
notably in Niono, Macina and Tenenkou,
were threatened with attack by armed groups
if they did not either close or convert to
Qur’anic teaching. In May, an armed group
burned down a school in Mopti, threatening
further attacks against non-Qur’anic schools.
Despite Article 39 of the peace agreement
committing all signatories to pay particular
attention to education for all, armed groups
continued to occupy some schools.
DETENTION
Prisons remained overcrowded and
conditions were poor. At the end of the year,
the Bamako Central Prison housed 1,947
detainees despite a capacity of 400. Of those
held, 581 had been convicted and 1,366
were awaiting trial. Detainees held since
2013 on terrorism charges were not
permitted to leave their cramped and poorly
ventilated prison cells, even for exercise.
Detainees continued to be held at an
unofficial detention centre known as the
“Sécurité d’Etat”.
IMPUNITY
Efforts to tackle impunity faltered as several
high-profile trials related to abuses
committed in northern Mali during the
2012-2013 occupation failed to make
significant progress. The 2015 peace
agreement, which recommended the
establishment of an international commission
of inquiry to investigate crimes under
international law including war crimes,
crimes against humanity and human rights
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In August, the International Criminal Court
held Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi liable for €2.7
 million in individual and collective
reparations. He was convicted in 2016 of the
war crime of intentionally directing attacks
against religious and historic buildings in
Timbuktu, and sentenced to nine years’
imprisonment. ICC investigations into alleged
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war crimes committed since January 2012 in
Mali were ongoing.
MALTA
Republic of Malta
Head of state: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
Head of government: Joseph Muscat
New information emerged regarding the
2013 shipwreck in which many Syrian
refugees died. It exposed Italy’s reluctance
to assist Maltese authorities in rescuing the
boat in distress. Malta denied three Libyan
asylum-seekers who were rescued within its
search and rescue region permission to
disembark. The authorities admitted 168
asylum-seekers under the EU relocation
programme, a higher number than they had
committed to. Marriage rights were
extended to same-sex couples. Abortion
remained prohibited in all circumstances.
BACKGROUND
In October, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia
was killed in a car bomb explosion. She had
been critical of the government and
investigated organized crime, corruption
including against politicians, and the Maltese
chapter of the so-called “Panama Papers” –
leaked files from an offshore law firm
regarding tax havens and their users. The
government was under pressure from the EU
and others to ensure a thorough and
independent investigation into Daphne
Caruana Galizia’s death. In December, three
men were charged with her murder and
remanded in custody.
showed that Italian navy and coastguard
officials were reluctant to deploy the Italian
warship
Libra
which was the closest to the
boat in distress, notwithstanding repeated
requests by Maltese authorities to do so.
Criminal proceedings and investigations
against some of the Italian navy and
coastguard officials involved were ongoing in
Italy at the end of the year. No investigation
was known to have been initiated by the
Maltese authorities into the incident.
In August, Maltese authorities denied
authorization to disembark three Libyan
asylum-seekers from the rescue boat
Golfo
Azzurro,
operated by the NGO Proactiva
Open Arms. The three men had been
rescued within Malta’s search and rescue
region in the central Mediterranean. After
three days of negotiations between Malta and
Italy over which country should take the
asylum-seekers, Italy accepted the request
and the three men were taken to Sicily.
Malta received 168 refugees and asylum-
seekers from Greece and Italy, more than the
131 it legally committed to accept under the
EU relocation programme, which closed on
26 September.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In July, marriage equality legislation was
approved by Parliament. The new law
extended full marriage rights to same-sex
couples.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Abortion remained prohibited in all
circumstances. Women were denied access
to abortion even when the life of the pregnant
woman was at risk.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In May, the Italian magazine
L’Espresso
published new information regarding the
shipwreck that occurred on 11 October 2013
in the Maltese search and rescue region of
the central Mediterranean. Over 260 people
died, mostly Syrian refugees, many of them
children. The magazine reported that phone
conversations held in the period immediately
preceding the capsizing of the refugees’ boat
MAURITANIA
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Head of state: Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Head of government: Yahya Ould Hademine
Human rights defenders, bloggers, anti-
slavery activists and other opponents of the
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government were intimidated, attacked and
prosecuted for their peaceful activities.
Freedoms of expression, association and
peaceful assembly were restricted.
International human rights activists were
refused entry to the country. Torture and
other ill-treatment in custody was common.
Haratine and Afro-Mauritanian people faced
systematic discrimination. Slavery practices
persist.
BACKGROUND
In March, the Senate rejected a proposal to
amend the 1991 Constitution. The authorities
called a referendum for August; the majority
voted to abolish the Senate.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
Security forces continued to intimidate and
attack bloggers, human rights defenders and
others who criticized the government.
Anti-slavery activists, among them prisoners
of conscience, were detained. Abdallahi
Abdou Diop was released in January after
serving a six-month prison sentence.
Abdallahi Maatalla Seck and Moussa Biram
remained in Bir Moghrein prison, more than
1,000km from their homes, since July 2016.
The three prisoners of conscience were
convicted on charges including participating
in an unauthorized gathering and
membership of an unauthorized association.
In April, the security forces used tear gas
and batons to repress a peaceful protest in
the capital, Nouakchott, that was organized
by youth groups calling for policies to address
youth unemployment and to support young
people. At least 26 people were arrested.
Most of them were released the same day,
but 10 were detained for four days, charged
with participating in an unauthorized
gathering. The court in Nouakchott gave one
woman a three-month suspended prison
sentence, which was overturned on appeal.
The others were acquitted.
On 23 April, police arrested seven people,
of whom four were foreign nationals and two
were children, in connection with their
attending a religious service in Nouakchott.
One of them was released without charge
after three days; the others were charged
with belonging to an unauthorized
organization and released six days later.
Ahead of the August referendum, the Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights expressed concern about the
authorities’ apparent suppression of dissent
and the reported use of excessive force
against protest leaders.
Five days after the referendum, Senator
Mohamed Ould Ghadda, who opposed the
vote, was arrested and charged with
corruption. He remained in detention without
trial at the end of the year. Three weeks later,
12 Senators and four journalists were
questioned by a judge regarding allegations
that they received financial support from a
businessman. They were required to sign
weekly at the police station while the police
were investigating the allegations.
In November, the Appeal Court of
Nouadhibou commuted the death sentence
of blogger Mohamed Mkhaïtir to two years’
imprisonment. He was convicted in
December 2014 of apostasy for writing a blog
critical of those who used Islam to foster
discrimination against Moulamines
(blacksmiths) and had been held since
January 2014. Although he was scheduled
for release at the end of the year, he
remained in custody; his family and his
lawyers were not able to visit him or confirm
his whereabouts.
In November, 15 human rights defenders
were arrested in the southern town of Kaédi
by plain clothes men who identified
themselves as members of the Battalion for
Presidential Security. They had been
distributing leaflets and holding banners
calling for justice for their relatives who had
been unlawfully killed between 1989 and
1991. They were taken to a military base and
questioned about their activities. Ten were
released the same day and five were
transferred to a police station and detained
for six days, without access to a lawyer,
before being released without charge.
International human rights activists and
NGOs were refused access to Mauritania
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throughout the year. In May, a foreign lawyer
and journalist carrying out research into
slavery were asked to leave the country. In
September, US anti-slavery activists were
denied entry visas when they arrived at
Nouakchott International Airport. In
November, the authorities refused an
Amnesty International delegation access to
the country.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Detainees reported that they were tortured
during pre-trial detention in order to extract
confessions and to intimidate them. People
held in police stations including the
Commissariat in Nouakchott were routinely
placed in prolonged solitary confinement − a
type of detention condemned by the UN
Human Rights Committee as a violation of
the prohibition of torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment.
In his March report, the UN Special
Rapporteur on torture acknowledged that
while torture and other ill-treatment was no
longer “rampant”, it occurred frequently. He
expressed concern that the “culture of
torture” persisted in police and gendarmerie
units, and that torture continued to be used
to extract confessions. The Special
Rapporteur noted that the practice of
detaining terrorism suspects for up to 45
days without access to legal representation
was excessive; oversight mechanisms for the
investigation of allegations of torture and
other ill-treatment lacked due diligence and
were slow; existing laws and safeguards
needed to be expanded and implemented;
and that there was no significant
improvement in detention conditions, such as
overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate
nutrition.
without adequate access to food, education,
water, sanitation and health care. The Special
Rapporteur stressed that despite Mauritania’s
obligations under international human rights
treaties, there was a complete absence of
prenatal and postnatal care in rural areas. He
also highlighted that Haratines and Afro-
Mauritanians, who constituted an estimated
two thirds of the population, were excluded
from many areas of economic and social life.
In addition, the fact that the government had
not collected statistics on the numbers of
Haratine and Afro-Mauritanian people in the
country, served to render their needs and
rights invisible.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
In his March report, the UN Special
Rapporteur on torture expressed concerns
about the collective expulsion of irregular
migrants and refugees who were often
abandoned on the southern border with
Senegal which could contravene the principle
of
non-refoulement.
During a visit to a site
where irregular migrants were held in
Nouakchott, he said that the 20 to 30
detainees had no toilet facilities and had
insufficient room to lie or even sit down to
sleep.
MEXICO
United Mexican States
Head of state and government: Enrique Peña Nieto
Violence increased throughout Mexico. The
armed forces continued to undertake
regular policing functions. Human rights
defenders and journalists were threatened,
attacked and killed; digital attacks and
surveillance were particularly common.
Widespread arbitrary detentions continued
to lead to torture and other ill-treatment,
enforced disappearances and extrajudicial
executions. Impunity persisted for human
rights violations and crimes under
international law. Mexico received a record
number of asylum claims, mostly from
nationals of El Salvador, Honduras,
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
In his report in March the UN Special
Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human
rights concluded that while the government
had made progress in alleviating poverty in
recent years, a large proportion of the
population continued to live in poverty
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Guatemala and Venezuela. Violence against
women remained a major concern; new data
showed that two thirds of women had
experienced gender-based violence during
their lives. The rights to housing and
education were compromised by two major
earthquakes.
BACKGROUND
Early in the year an increase in gas prices
caused social unrest, including road
blockages, lootings and protests throughout
the country, leading to hundreds of arrests
and some fatalities. Throughout the year,
security forces carried out a number of
operations to crack down on a spate of
clandestine robberies of petroleum. At least
one of these security operations resulted in a
likely extrajudicial execution by the army in
May. The National Human Rights
Commission raised concerns over deficient
security measures in prisons that affected the
rights of people deprived of their liberty.
There were riots in prisons including in the
states of Nuevo León and Guerrero, and a
hunger strike in the federal maximum
security prison at Puente Grande, Jalisco
state.
The new adversarial criminal justice system,
fully operational since June 2016, continued
to replicate problems from the old
inquisitorial system, including violations of
the presumption of innocence and the use of
evidence collected in violation of human
rights and other illicit evidence. Bills were
introduced in Congress that would weaken
fair trial guarantees and expand the scope of
mandatory pre-trial detention without a case-
by-case assessment by a judge.
Congress approved long-overdue laws
against torture and other ill-treatment and
against enforced disappearance by state
actors and disappearances committed by
non-state actors. Legal reforms allowed the
use of cannabis for medical purposes.
Sustained public debates over the
transformation of the federal Attorney
General’s Office, responsible for law
enforcement and prosecution, into an
independent body were conducted during
the year. In August, civil society organizations
and opinion leaders presented a proposal for
the design of this institution.
In October, the acting Attorney General
removed the Special Prosecutor for Electoral
Crimes, regarded as independent by different
political forces, after he publicly reported
being subjected to political pressure to
disregard a high-profile corruption case.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
There was a marked increase in the number
of homicides, with 42,583 recorded
nationally, the highest annual number of
homicides registered by authorities since the
start of the presidential term in December
2012. The real number may be higher, with
some crimes not being reported to police,
and not all of those reported triggering official
action.
In December, Congress passed a Law on
Interior Security enabling the prolonged
presence of the armed forces in regular
policing functions without any effective
provisions for transparency, accountability or
civilian oversight.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Arbitrary arrests and detentions remained
widespread, and often led to further human
rights violations including torture and other
ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and
extrajudicial executions. Arbitrary arrests
often included the planting of evidence,
commonly guns and illicit drugs, by law
enforcement officials. Authorities appeared to
especially target those who had historically
faced discrimination, in particular young men
living in poverty.
The police routinely disregarded their
obligations during and following an arrest.
They usually did not inform the persons of
the reasons for the arrest or of their rights,
such as the right to legal counsel and to
communicate with their families. Unjustified
delays in bringing the detainee before the
relevant authorities were common and often
enabled other human rights violations. Police
reports of arrests often contained significant
errors, fabricated information and other
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serious flaws, including inaccuracies in
recording date and time of arrest.
The reasons for arbitrary arrests were
varied, but included: to extort money from
detainees; to detain a particular individual in
return for payment from a third party; for
politically motivated reasons; and to
investigate detainees in connection with
another crime by detaining them for a
misdemeanour that they usually had not
committed.
There was no unified and accessible
register of detention, consistent with
international human rights law and
standards, in which every detention by law
enforcement officials is recorded in real
time.
1
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In February, the UN Special Rapporteur on
torture issued a follow-up report to a previous
visit to Mexico in 2014; the report concluded
that torture and other ill-treatment remained
widespread, including the alarming use of
sexual violence as a frequent method of
torture.
In June, a new general law on torture came
into force, replacing existing state and federal
laws with nationwide application. Civil society
organizations welcomed it as an advance that
better incorporated international standards
compared to the previous legislation. The
Special Unit on Torture of the Federal
Attorney General’s Office reported 4,390
cases of torture under revision at the federal
level and commenced 777 investigations
under the new adversarial justice system.
Federal authorities did not announce any
new criminal charges against public officials,
nor provide any information on arrests made
for the crime of torture. In Quintana Roo
state, a federal judge sentenced a former
policeman to five years’ imprisonment for the
crime of torture.
almost absolute impunity. The official
National Register of Missing and Disappeared
Persons indicated that the fate or
whereabouts of 34,656 people (25,682 men
and 8,974 women) remained unclarified. The
actual numbers were higher because the
official figure excluded federal pre-2014
cases and cases classified as other criminal
offences such as hostage-taking or human
trafficking.
Investigations into cases of missing persons
continued to be flawed and authorities
generally failed to immediately initiate
searches for the victims. Impunity for these
crimes continued, including in the case of 43
students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training
college who were forcibly disappeared in
Guerrero state in 2014. The investigations
into the case made little progress during the
year. In March, in a hearing before the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights,
state representatives reasserted the
government’s version of events that the
students had been killed and burned in a
local rubbish dump − a theory that was
proved to be scientifically impossible by the
Interdisciplinary Group of Independent
Experts appointed by the Commission.
In October, Congress passed a general law
on disappearances that defined the crime in
accordance with international law and
provided tools to prevent and prosecute it.
The implementation of the law was expected
to require a sufficient budget allocation in the
following years.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
Cases of extrajudicial executions were not
properly investigated and perpetrators
continued to enjoy impunity. For the fourth
consecutive year, the authorities failed to
publish the number of people killed or
wounded in clashes with the police and
military forces. No information was made
available regarding criminal charges in the
cases of Tlatlaya, Mexico state, where
soldiers killed 22 people in 2014;
Apatzingán, Michoacán state, where federal
police and other security forces killed at least
16 people in 2015; and Tanhuato,
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Enforced disappearances with the
involvement of the state and disappearances
committed by non-state actors continued to
be common and those responsible enjoyed
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Michoacán state, where the security forces
killed 43 people during a security operation
in 2015.
On 3 May, military personnel carried out
public security operations in Palmarito
Tochapan town, Puebla state, and reported
that seven people died, including four
soldiers. Days later, video footage from
security cameras installed at the location
were published on the internet. One of the
videos clearly showed a person in military
uniform shooting dead a man lying on the
floor. Amnesty International independently
verified the video and concluded that there
was sufficient reason to believe that an
extrajudicial execution took place.
2
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
A total of 8,703 asylum claims were lodged
between January and August, a similar
number as for the whole of 2016. The
percentage of claims that resulted in the
granting of refugee status decreased from
35% in 2016 to 12% in 2017. The majority of
asylum claims came from Honduran and
Venezuelan nationals, the latter surpassing
for the first time the number of refugees and
asylum-seekers from El Salvador and
Guatemala.
Between January and November, 88,741
irregular migrants were detained and 74,604
deported, in most cases without the
opportunity to challenge their deportation. Of
those deported, 94% were from Honduras,
Guatemala and El Salvador, countries which
have registered some of the highest homicide
rates in the world in recent years, and 20% of
those deported to these countries were
children. In February, Mexico’s Foreign
Minister announced that Mexico would not
receive foreign nationals turned back from
the USA under the US Border Control
Executive Order announced by US President
Donald Trump on 25 January.
In June, the government met with North
American and Central American
governments, ostensibly to tackle the root
causes of the regional refugee crisis; they did
not publish any agreements reached.
The Unit for the Investigation of Crimes
against Migrants of the Attorney General’s
Office marked two years in operation, yet
remained marred by institutional challenges
in its operation and problems in co-ordinating
with other authorities. These problems limited
advances in criminal investigations, including
into massacres of migrants, that remained
shrouded by impunity.
In August, a citizen consultative body
published research demonstrating the
involvement of the National Migration
Institute in a number of human rights
violations against those deprived of liberty in
migration detention centres run by the
Institute. Violations included overcrowding,
lack of access to adequate medical services,
solitary confinement used as punishment,
allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.
The authorities denied allegations of torture
committed by the Institute, despite the
National Human Rights Commission having
also confirmed evidence of torture on prior
occasions.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
AND JOURNALISTS
Human rights defenders and journalists
continued to be threatened, harassed,
attacked and killed.
At least 12 journalists were killed, the
highest number recorded in one year since
2000. They included prize-winning journalist
Javier Valdez, founder of the newspaper
Ríodoce,
who was killed on 15 May in Sinaloa
state. Many of the killings of journalists
occurred in daylight in public places. The
authorities made no significant advances into
the investigations of these killings. The
Special Prosecutor’s Unit for Attention to
Crimes against Freedom of Expression failed
to investigate the journalists’ work as a
possible motive in the majority of cases of
attacks. The federal Mechanism to Protect
Human Rights Defenders and Journalists left
human rights defenders and journalists
inadequately protected.
Former Goldman Prize winner Isidro
Baldenegro López and Juan Ontiveros
Ramos, two Indigenous human rights
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defenders of the Raramuri (Tarahumara)
Indigenous People, were killed in January
and February respectively. In May, Miriam
Rodríguez, a human rights defender leading
the search for her daughter and other
disappeared persons in Tamaulipas, was
killed. In July, Mario Luna Romero, leader of
the Indigenous Yaqui People in Sonora state
and beneficiary of protection measures from
the federal protection mechanism, was
subjected to an intrusion in his house by
unidentified assailants who set fire to his
partner’s car.
In January, it became known that a network
of people was using the internet to harass
and threaten human rights defenders and
journalists throughout Mexico.
3
In June,
evidence emerged of surveillance against
journalists and human rights defenders using
software that the government was known to
have purchased. The federal Mechanism to
Protect Human Rights Defenders and
Journalists provided no strategy to respond to
digital attacks and unlawful surveillance for
those who have been granted protection
measures.
violence against women and girls. By the end
of the year, the Alerts mechanisms were not
shown to have reduced gender-based
violence against women and girls.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Same-sex couples were able to marry in
Mexico City and 11 states without recourse to
judicial proceedings. Couples in states where
laws or administrative practice did not allow
for same-sex marriage had to file a
constitutional complaint (amparo) before
federal tribunals to have their case reviewed
and their rights recognized.
Supreme Court rulings continued to uphold
same-sex couples’ rights to marry and to
adopt children without being discriminated
against on the basis of sexual orientation and
gender identity. In March, the Supreme Court
ruled unconstitutional the Law of the Institute
of Security and Social Services for State
Workers because it protected only different-
sex couples’ rights.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Gender-based violence against women and
girls was widespread. Most of the cases were
inadequately investigated and perpetrators
enjoyed impunity. Sufficient and current data
on gender-based killings was not available.
However, official data for 2016 was published
indicating that 2,668 women were
considered to be victims of homicide,
pending further investigations.
In August, the National Institute of Statistics
and Geography published a survey estimating
that 66.1% of girls and women aged 15 or
above had experienced gender-based
violence at least once in their lives, and that
43.5% of women had experienced gender-
based violence committed by their partners.
Mechanisms known as “Alerts of gender-
based violence against women” were active
in 12 states. Established by the General Law
on Women’s Access to a Life Free from
Violence, the Alert mechanisms relied on co-
ordinated efforts to confront and eradicate
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Two earthquakes in September had a serious
impact on vast areas, mostly in central and
southern Mexico. More than 360 people
died; in Mexico City the majority of fatalities
were women. According to official figures,
more than 150,000 households were affected
and at least 250,000 people were made
homeless.
The government implemented survivor
rescue and emergency care actions with the
participation of both civil and military
personnel and with the support of the
international community. However, several
reports emerged of inadequate co-ordination
among authorities, inaccurate and untimely
information on the rescue and recovery of
bodies, illegal commandeering of food and
other essential services meant for survivors,
and insufficient aid deliveries to many
devastated areas, especially in small,
impoverished communities.
Expert preliminary assessments published
in the media suggested that some of the
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collapsed structures might have been in
breach of building regulations. There was no
comprehensive strategy to guarantee that
people made homeless were provided with
safe and adequate housing options. On 6
 October, President Peña Nieto called on
affected families to organize themselves to
rebuild their houses.
Educational services, including many
primary schools, were disrupted for weeks or
months while safety checks and
reconstruction of schools were underway.
Thousands of national monuments and other
culturally significant public buildings were
destroyed or damaged by the earthquakes.
1. False suspicions: Arbitrary detentions by police in Mexico (AMR
41/5340/2017)
2. Mexico: Open letter to the President on a possible extrajudicial
execution by the military (AMR
41/6347/2017)
3.
Mexico’s misinformation wars: How organized troll networks attack
and harass journalists and activists in Mexico (News
story,
24
January)
changes were widely seen as benefiting the
two biggest parties in Parliament, the ruling
Democratic Party of Moldova and the
opposition Socialist Party of Moldova. On 19 
June, the Venice Commission of the Council
of Europe issued a highly critical opinion on
the amendments. Most of the mainstream
media remained effectively controlled by and
biased towards the Democratic Party of
Moldova.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
A draft law on NGOs was agreed by a
Working Group which included
representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the
Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, and several NGOs. The law
was widely welcomed by civil society.
However, in July, the Ministry of Justice
unexpectedly introduced three articles into
the draft without consulting the Working
Group. These articles would compel NGOs
involved in broadly defined “political
activities” to publish financial reports and
disclose the origin and use of their funding,
among other requirements. Non-compliance
would incur severe penalties, including hefty
fines, exclusion from the government-run
financial mechanism that facilitates and
encourages voluntary donations to NGOs by
taxpayers, and potential closure of the NGO.
The amendments met strong opposition from
civil society and international organizations
who regarded them as undue restrictions on
NGOs receiving foreign funding. Critics
foresaw a stigmatizing effect on human rights
defenders and civil society, particularly for
those critical of the authorities. In September,
the government recalled the draft law.
MOLDOVA
Republic of Moldova
Head of state: Igor Dodon
Head of government: Pavel Filip
The government recalled a draft law on
NGOs which contained undue restrictions
for organizations that receive foreign
funding. Nine activists were convicted of
attempting to organize mass disturbances in
2015 and given conditional prison
sentences in an unfair trial. In May, the
LGBTI Pride in the capital Chișinău was
stopped by police due to alleged security
concerns, while President Igor Dodon made
homophobic statements. Public spending
on health, education and social protection
continued to fall; discrimination against
Roma persisted.
UNFAIR TRIALS
In June, the former leader of the “Our Home
– Moldova” political party, Grigore Petrenco,
and eight fellow political activists were
convicted of attempting to organize mass
disturbances on 6 September 2015, received
conditional prison sentences and were
prohibited from attending public events. The
sentences ranged from three to
four and a half years. On the day of the
BACKGROUND
In July, the Parliament adopted controversial
changes to the Electoral Law despite public
protests and international condemnation. The
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alleged offence, they had attempted to
forcibly enter a government building during
an otherwise peaceful rally. Their trial faced
multiple delays and procedural
infringements.
Grigore Petrenco’s lawyers, Ana Ursachi
and Eduard Rudenco, who also defended
other high-profile clients in politically
sensitive cases, continued to be subjected to
smear campaigns in pro-government media,
and reported harassment by the authorities in
connection with their work.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Moldova’s third periodic report on its
implementation of the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was
considered by the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in
September. Particular concerns raised during
the review included the continually falling
rate of public spending on health, education
and social protection, and the persistent
discrimination and marginalization of Roma.
The Committee described the situation of
Roma as a “glaring problem” and “the failure
in many aspects” of the National Action Plan
on Roma for 2011-2015 as “a serious cause
for concern”.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment
in places of detention and in the criminal
justice system continued to be reported.
On the night of 26 August, Andrei Braguta,
a driver who had been arrested for speeding,
died in police custody. The authorities
claimed that he had died of pneumonia and
later admitted that Andrei Braguta had been
beaten up by two fellow cell mates. Three
police officers who were on duty that night
and the two cell mates were arrested as
criminal suspects in the case. One of the
cell mates claimed that Andrei Braguta had
already been severely beaten when placed in
the cell, and protested his and the other
cell mate’s innocence. The criminal
investigation was ongoing at the end of the
year.
MONGOLIA
Mongolia
Head of state: Khaltmaa Battulga (replaced Tsakhia
Elbegdorj in July)
Head of government: Ukhnaa Khurelsukh (replaced
Jargaltulga Erdenebat in September)
The death penalty was abolished as the new
Criminal Code and Code of Criminal
Procedure came into force. Impunity for
torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
and attacks against human rights defenders
continued. The economic, social and
cultural rights of people living in rural areas
affected by mining activities, and in
ger
areas − areas without adequate access to
essential services − were at risk of being
violated.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The police cut short the 21 May Pride march
after the demonstrators had walked just a few
hundred metres, stating that they were
unable to guarantee their security in the
event of violent attacks by counter-
demonstrators.
The President publicly criticized the LGBTI
community, described the Pride march as
being contrary to the country’s “traditional
values”, and participated in a parallel
demonstration named the “Traditional Family
Festival”.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was abolished for all
crimes when the new Criminal Code came
into force on 1 July, after its adoption in
December 2015.
1
However, in November, the
newly elected President proposed
reinstatement to the Ministry of Justice in
response to two violent rape and murder
cases.
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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders continued to report
physical attacks and harassment by law
enforcement authorities and private
corporations. These human rights defenders
included students with disabilities acting as
whistleblowers exposing discrimination and
sexual abuse in a school, and journalists
trying to report human rights issues such as
gender-based violence. Existing laws failed to
protect them from harassment and
unjustified interference with their privacy.
livestock and people. Media workers filmed
mining company representatives intimidating
journalists and herders. Following his visit to
Mongolia in September, the UN Special
Rapporteur on human rights and the
environment called for consultation with local
communities before mining permits were
issued, and for improved standards to ensure
safe operation.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
Residents in the
ger
areas of the capital,
Ulaanbaatar, continued to live with the
possibility of forced eviction due to urban
redevelopment, without updated information
on redevelopment plans, genuine
consultation or adequate compensation.
Residents complained that the new local
government elected in June 2016 had failed
to implement redevelopment plans agreed
with the previous government; the new
government claimed it lacked funds. These
plans included the provision of essential
components of adequate housing such as
safe drinking water, sanitation and energy.
1. Mongolia: Death penalty confined to history as new criminal code
comes into effect (ACT
50/6646/2017)
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Impunity and under-reporting of torture and
other ill-treatment of individuals in detention,
including people with disabilities and foreign
nationals, continued in the absence of an
independent, dedicated investigation
mechanism. The new Criminal Procedure
Code becoming effective in July did not re-
establish the previously disbanded
independent investigation unit, despite
advocacy efforts by civil society.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 1 July, a new Administrative Offence Act
came into effect, allowing for increased
administrative fines including when false
information was published that could damage
the reputation of individuals or business
entities. A media professionals’ organization
criticized the law for being vague and overly
broad, and feared it could be excessively
used to suppress freedom of expression.
Media companies staged a media blackout
on 26 April to protest against the law, which
was subsequently passed with reduced fines.
MONTENEGRO
Montenegro
Head of state:
Filip Vujanović
Head of government:
Duško Marković
Past murders and attacks on journalists and
media workers were not resolved. The
Constitutional Court found that
investigations into alleged torture and ill-
treatment failed to meet international
standards. The funding of NGOs was
threatened and human rights defenders
were subjected to smear campaigns by
media supportive of the government.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Authorities failed to protect traditional herders
from the operations of mining companies that
negatively affected their livelihoods,
traditional culture, and access to land and
clean water. The influx of mining companies
and transporting trucks in the Dalanjargalan
subdivision of Dornogovi province caused
heavy dust which severely degraded pastures
and threatened the health and safety of
BACKGROUND
Montenegro joined NATO in June. Serious
concerns continued about criminal
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proceedings against 14 men, including
Russian intelligence officers and opposition
leaders, who were indicted in May for “violent
overthrow of the government” and
“preventing NATO accession” on election day
in October 2016.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
The State Prosecutor’s Office reportedly
reviewed seven war crimes cases, in which
all but four defendants had been acquitted,
to determine whether grounds existed to
reopen proceedings. In September, the
government reported it would pay the victims
EUR1.35 million in compensation.
Proceedings opened in September against
Vlado Zmajević, who was arrested in
Montenegro in 2016 and indicted – originally
by Serbia – for war crimes in Kosovo.
alleging his membership of a drug-trafficking
gang that he had been investigating –
continued at the end of the year.
In October, the Constitutional Court awarded
journalist Tufik Softić EUR7,000 in
compensation for the ineffective investigation
into the 2007 attack on his life, continued
threats and his fear of another attempt on his
life.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In April, activists proposed a model law on
gender identity. In August, members of the
NGO LGBT Forum Progress were attacked;
one was hospitalized.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS
In January, the government cut by 25% a
lifetime benefit, provided under the 2016 Law
on Social and Child Protection, to mothers
with three or more children who gave up
employment. Protests followed, including a
14-day hungerstrike in March. In June, the
government abolished the benefit completely.
Although the law was potentially
discriminatory, beneficiaries feared that, with
insufficient support to enable them to return
to work, the lost benefit would have a drastic
impact on their family income.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In June and again in July, the Constitutional
Court found that the State Prosecutor’s Office
had failed to conduct effective investigations
into the alleged torture and ill-treatment
during demonstrations in November 2015 of
Branimir Vukčević and Momčilo Baranin, and
Milorad Martinović, respectively.
Proceedings against prison officers indicted
in 2016 for abusing prisoners continued to
be delayed by their lawyers, with no verdict
by December.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In June, the government proposed to amend
the Law on Gatherings to prohibit protests in
front of Parliament. NGOs feared that
amended legislation on sources of NGO
income would potentially reduce their
funding, and allow the government to decide
whether new NGOs could be registered.
JOURNALISTS
Civil society members of a commission
charged with monitoring investigations into
violence against journalists continued to be
denied security clearance to classified
documents.
Investigative journalist Jovo Martinović,
detained in 2015, was released in February
after international appeals, but proceedings –
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Almost 1,000 Roma and Egyptian refugees
who fled Kosovo in 1999 remained at Konik
camp outside the capital, Podgorica, awaiting
resettlement into adequate EU-funded
apartments, 120 of which were completed in
November.
Around 800 Roma and Egyptians remained
at risk of statelessness, their applications for
regular status pending. Some 379 had only
three years’
temporary residence. In May, the
government withdrew a procedure to
determine statelessness from a draft Law on
Foreigners.
Four men convicted in May of grave
offences against general safety, for
overloading a boat in 1999, resulting in the
deaths of 35 Roma refugees, were sentenced
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in December to between six and eight years'
imprisonment.
MOROCCO/
WESTERN SAHARA
Kingdom of Morocco
Head of state: King Mohammed VI
Head of government: Saad-Eddine El
Othmani (replaced
Abdelilah Benkirane in March)
Journalists and protesters calling for social
justice and political rights were imprisoned,
often following unfair trials. Judicial
authorities did not adequately investigate
reports of torture in detention. Impunity
persisted for past human rights violations.
Migrants continued to face excessive force
and detention. Courts imposed death
sentences; there were no executions.
BACKGROUND
Significant and sustained social justice
protests took place in Morocco’s northern Rif
region. In January, Morocco rejoined the
African Union. In February, Morocco
submitted a request to join ECOWAS. In
March, King Mohammed VI appointed Saad-
Eddine El Othmani as head of government
following a government reshuffle. In April, the
UN Security Council extended the mandate
of the UN Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara (MINURSO) for another year
without human rights monitoring.
1
In
September, the UN Human Rights Council
adopted recommendations following a review
of Morocco’s human rights record under the
UN UPR process.
2
protests. In the second half of the year,
prosecutors investigated at least one
protester for “false reporting” after he
claimed that the police had tortured him.
Courts also convicted and imprisoned
journalists and activists on vague and overly
broad state security and terrorism offences in
what amounted to punishment for their
criticism of the authorities.
Between May and August, security forces
arrested and detained eight journalists and
bloggers over critical coverage or online
commentary of the protests in Rif.
Prosecutors charged them with protest-
related, state security offences. Hamid El
Mahdaoui was convicted of inciting others to
take part in an unauthorized protest and
sentenced to three months’ imprisonment
and a fine of 20,000 dirhams (around
USD2,100), increased to one year’s
imprisonment on appeal.
Seven people, including journalists, activists
and the academic Maati Monjib, remained on
trial on charges including “threatening state
security” for promoting a mobile application
for citizen journalism that protected users’
privacy. Journalist Ali Anouzla remained on
trial on trumped-up charges of “advocating,
supporting and inciting terrorism” for an
article he had published on the website
lakome.com in 2013.
The authorities imposed restrictions on
some organizations in Morocco and Western
Sahara perceived to be critical of the
authorities. Restrictions included continuing
obstruction of the registration of associations,
banning the activities of associations, and
expelling foreign nationals invited by such
associations.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Authorities tried and imprisoned hundreds of
activists involved in social or environmental
justice protests on assembly-related charges.
Courts also used trumped-up criminal
charges for offences under ordinary law and
charges under vaguely defined state security
and terrorism provisions to try protesters.
In February, gendarmes violently arrested
peaceful environmental protesters including
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
The authorities used Penal Code provisions
on insult and on incitement to protest or
rebellion to prosecute and imprison
journalists, bloggers and activists who
criticized officials or reported on human
rights violations, corruption or popular
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Mohamed Akkad, causing significant sight
loss in his right eye. He and 13 other people
who had protested peacefully against a stone
quarry near their village in Beni Oukil were
convicted by a court in Oujda city of
“obstructing public officials” and sentenced
to a one-month suspended prison term and
fines which totalled 10,000 dirhams (around
USD1,050). In a separate protest, gendarmes
arrested environmental activist
Abderrahmane Akhidir from Imider in the
Atlas Mountains. In March, a court convicted
him on trumped-up charges of assault and
theft and sentenced him to a four-month
prison term.
In April, gendarmes arrested human rights
defenders Mahjoub El Mahfoud, Miloud
Salim and Saif Saifeddine after they
participated in a protest organized by Zohra
El Bouzidi, who self-immolated to protest
against her forced eviction from her home in
the town of Sidi Hajjaj. Gendarmes also
arrested Zohra El Bouzidi’s sister, Khadija El
Bouzidi. A court convicted the four of
assaulting and insulting public officers and
sentenced the three men to two-year prison
terms reduced on appeal to four months, and
Khadija El Bouzidi to 10 months’
imprisonment, reduced on appeal to two
months, as well as fines of 500 dirhams
(around USD50) each. Zohra El Bouzidi died
from her injuries in October.
From May onward, the authorities deployed
security forces on a scale unmatched in
recent years to prevent protests in the Rif
region, and conducted mass arrests of largely
peaceful protesters, including children.
3
On
some occasions, security forces used
excessive or unnecessary force. Judicial
authorities failed to conduct adequate
investigations into the circumstances of the
deaths in August of two protesters, Imad El
Attabi and Abdelhafid Haddad.
Between July and November, courts
convicted many protesters in relation to
protests in Rif, sentencing them to terms of
up to 20 years’ imprisonment on charges
ranging from unauthorized protest to plotting
to undermine state security. Throughout the
year, the authorities routinely used excessive
and unnecessary force to disperse peaceful
protests in Western Saharan cities including
Laayoune, Smara, Boujdour and Dakhla,
particularly against those demanding Sahrawi
self-determination and calling for the release
of Sahrawi prisoners. Several protesters,
bloggers and activists were imprisoned, often
after unfair trials on trumped-up charges.
In September, Sahrawi blogger Walid El
Batal was released from prison in Smara after
serving a 10-month sentence and receiving a
fine of 1,000 dirhams (around USD105) on
trumped-up charges of insulting and
assaulting public officers, damaging public
property and taking part in an armed
gathering.
In July, a court in Laayoune convicted
Sahrawi activist Hamza El Ansari on
trumped-up charges of assaulting and
insulting public officers and criminal damage
for his participation in a protest in February,
and sentenced him to one year’s
imprisonment and a fine of 10,000
dirhams (around USD1,050). The court failed
to investigate his allegation that police had ill-
treated him and forced him to sign a
statement while blindfolded. He was released
after his sentence was reduced to three
months on appeal in September.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In October, the UN Subcommittee on
Prevention of Torture visited Morocco.
Morocco had yet to establish a National
Preventive Mechanism against torture.
Courts continued to rely on statements
made in custody in the absence of a lawyer
to convict defendants, without adequately
investigating allegations that statements were
forcibly obtained through torture and other ill-
treatment.
Between July and November, courts in Al
Hoceima and Casablanca tried and convicted
many Rif protesters, drawing on statements
that defendants claimed were coerced,
without adequately investigating their
allegations that they were tortured and
otherwise ill-treated in custody.
4
In July, a civilian court convicted 23 Sahrawi
activists in connection with deadly clashes in
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Gdim Izik, Western Sahara, in 2010, and
handed down heavy sentences, including
some of life imprisonment, following their
grossly unfair trial by a military court in
2013.
5
The civilian court failed to adequately
investigate allegations that they were tortured
in custody and did not exclude information
tainted by torture as evidence from the
proceedings.
6
From September, at least 10 of
the 19 Sahrawi activists who remained
imprisoned went on hunger strike against
prison conditions after being separated into
different prisons in Morocco.
Detainees reported torture and other ill-
treatment in police custody both in Morocco
and in Western Sahara. Judicial authorities
failed to adequately investigate these
allegations and hold those responsible to
account.
Authorities kept several detainees in
prolonged solitary confinement, which
constitutes torture or other ill-treatment.
Prisoner Ali Aarrass was held in isolation for
more than one year.
7
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Morocco did not adopt a law on asylum but
maintained its policy of allowing refugees
access to basic rights and services, including
education. The authorities issued asylum-
seekers and refugees registered by UNHCR,
the UN refugee agency, with documents
protecting them against
refoulement
−
forcible return of individuals to a country
where they risk serious human rights
violations − without taking a decision on their
definitive status.
The authorities left a group of 25 Syrian
refugees stranded in the buffer zone of the
border area with Algeria for three months
before giving them protection in July.
8
Security forces continued to participate in
the summary expulsion of migrants and
asylum-seekers from the Spanish enclaves of
Ceuta and Melilla to Morocco, and to use
excessive or unnecessary force against them.
Courts imprisoned migrants for unlawful
entry, stay or exit from Moroccan territory,
including some who had applied to regularize
their status, and on some occasions put them
on trial without access to a lawyer.
In September, two Burkina Faso nationals
died after Moroccan security forces used tear
gas against migrants attempting to enter the
Spanish enclave of Melilla.
IMPUNITY
The authorities failed to take any steps
towards addressing impunity for grave
violations including systematic torture,
enforced disappearances and extrajudicial
executions in Morocco and Western Sahara
between 1956 and 1999, despite
recommendations by the Equity and
Reconciliation Commission transitional justice
body.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to hand down death
sentences. No executions had been carried
out since 1993.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Courts continued to imprison men under
Article 489 of the Penal Code that
criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual
relations. At least two men were sentenced to
six months’ imprisonment under Article 489.
Victims of homophobic attacks reported
being afraid to approach the police to file
complaints because of the risk of arrest
under Article 489.
POLISARIO CAMPS
The Polisario Front again failed to hold to
account those responsible for committing
human rights abuses in camps under its
control during the 1970s and 1980s.
1. UN peacekeeping force in Western Sahara must urgently monitor
human rights (News
story,
18 April)
2. Human Rights Council adopts Universal Periodic Review outcome on
Morocco (MDE
29/7141/2017)
3. Morocco: Rif protesters punished with wave of mass arrests (News
story,
2 June)
4. Morocco: Dozens arrested over mass protests in Rif report torture in
custody (News
story,
11 August)
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5. Morocco/Western Sahara: Verdict in Sahrawi trial marred by failure to
adequately investigate torture claims (News
story,
19 July)
6. Morocco/Western Sahara: Grant Sahrawi defendants a fair trial (MDE
29/5753/2017)
7. Morocco: Further information: Health risks for detainee in isolation for
232 days − Ali Aarrass (MDE
29/6303/2017)
8. Syrian refugees trapped in desert on Moroccan border with Algeria in
dire need of assistance (News
story,
7 June)
MOZAMBIQUE
Republic of Mozambique
Head of state and government: Filipe Jacinto Nyusi
The government’s hidden borrowing plunged
the country into economic crisis. Food
insecurity deepened because of large-scale
land acquisition for mining which pushed
people off land on which they depended for
subsistence. People expressing dissenting
or critical views continued to face attacks
and intimidation by unidentified individuals
or security forces. An estimated 30,000
people with albinism faced discrimination
and feared for their lives, and at least 13
were killed. Violence against women and
girls remained widespread.
The December 2016 truce reached
between the government, led by the
Mozambique Liberation Front, and the main
opposition party, Mozambique National
Resistance (RENAMO), continued to hold in
2017, after three years of violent clashes.
Peace negotiations continued on
decentralization of government powers. The
relationship between the two leaders
remained tense; RENAMO leader Afonso
Dhlakama accused President Nyusi of failing
to withdraw government troops from the
Gorongosa region by the agreed time.
LAND DISPUTES
Mining companies acquired land used by
residents, exacerbating already existing food
insecurity which affected over 60% of people
in rural areas who depended on the land for
their livelihoods, and for food and water.
Coal mining company Vale Mozambique
began in 2013 to fence off land used by local
residents to graze their livestock and collect
firewood, including in the Nhanchere area in
the Moatize district of Tete province. On 13 
June 2017, Hussen António Laitone was shot
dead by police in Nhanchere during the
community’s peaceful protest against land
acquisition for mining; he had not
participated in the protest.
BACKGROUND
The Administrative Tribunal and the
Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the
Situation of the Public Debt stated in 2016
that the guarantees on the undisclosed
borrowing by the government of USD2.2
billion for use in security and defence
spending was illegal and unconstitutional.
The undisclosed loans were revealed in April
2016; it was projected that they would drive
the public debt to 135% of GDP during
2017. Local currency lost value and prices
increased substantially, a situation which was
compounded by the country’s dependence
on imports.
Senior government officials obstructed a
forensic audit of the loans which had been
demanded by international donors in order to
restore trust and to resume aid support.
Consequently, donors withheld aid pending
the government’s co-operation and its full
disclosure.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
Intimidation and harassment of and attacks
against people who expressed dissenting or
critical views continued.
Journalist and human rights activist
Armando Nenane was severely beaten on 17 
May in the capital, Maputo, by riot police. He
was attacked for his views on the so-called
G40, a group allegedly created under the
government of former President Guebuza to
discredit opponents in favour of the
government. Prior to the beating, Armando
Nenane received anonymous death threats
by telephone. No one had been held
accountable for the attack by the end of the
year.
On 4 October, Mahamudo Amurane, Mayor
of the northern city of Nampula, was shot
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dead in front of his house by an unidentified
gunman. Following disagreements with the
leadership of the Mozambique Democratic
Movement (MDM), Mahamudo Amurane had
announced his intention to leave the party to
form his own party and seek re-election in
October 2018 municipal elections.
On 2 December, a gunman threatened to
kill Aunício da Silva, an investigative journalist
and editor of
Ikweli,
a weekly publication, in
Nampula. The gunman accused him of
publishing articles that tarnished the image of
Carlos Saíde, the MDM mayoral candidate for
Nampula.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
There were high rates of women murdered,
often by men intimately known, or related, to
them. In several cases, the perpetrators
attempted to justify their actions by claiming
the victim used witchcraft against them.
On 10 January, a 31-year-old man stabbed
his 27-year-old wife to death with a kitchen
knife in Inhagoia neighbourhood on the
outskirts of Maputo. In February, in Vanduzi
district, Manica province, a 27-year-old man
decapitated his mother with a machete
saying she had refused to serve him food. In
May, a man killed his mother in Guru district,
Manica province, claiming she cast a spell of
sexual impotence on him. In August, two
brothers killed their 70-year-old grandmother
in the Messano locality, Bilene district, Gaza
province, after accusing her of casting a bad
luck spell on them. In September, in the
Centro Hípico neighbourhood located on the
outskirts of Chimoio, Manica province, a man
killed his 80-year-old mother with an iron bar
after accusing her of bewitching him.
Although, in all these cases, the suspected
perpetrators admitted that they carried out
the killings, the authorities failed to develop,
resource and implement an effective strategy
to combat violence against women.
DISCRIMINATION – PEOPLE WITH
ALBINISM
An estimated 30,000 people with albinism
experienced discrimination and were
ostracized; many lived in fear of their lives.
Incidents of persecution increased; at least
13 people with albinism were known to have
been killed although figures are likely to have
been greater. The killings were fuelled by
superstition or myths about the magical
powers of people with albinism. Most killings
took place in the central and northern
provinces, the country’s poorest regions.
A seven-year-old boy with albinism was
murdered on 31 January by four unidentified
men who broke into his house and abducted
him while the family slept, in Ngaúma
district, Niassa province. On 28 May, a group
of unidentified assailants abducted a three-
year-old boy from his mother in Angónia
district, Tete province. On 13 September, a
17-year-old youth was killed for his body
parts and organs in Benga area, Moatize
district, in Tete province. The attackers
removed his brain, hair, and arm bones.
None of those responsible for the killings
were arrested or brought to justice by the end
of the year.
Despite public outcry, the government did
little to address the problem. A strategy was
designed to stop the killings; however, this
was not implemented, allegedly because of a
lack of resources.
MYANMAR
Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Head of state and government: Htin Kyaw
The human rights situation deteriorated
dramatically. Hundreds of thousands of
Rohingya fled crimes against humanity in
Rakhine State to neighbouring Bangladesh;
those who remained continued to live under
a system amounting to apartheid. The army
committed extensive violations of
international humanitarian law. Authorities
continued to restrict humanitarian access
across the country. Restrictions on freedom
of expression remained. There was
increased religious intolerance and anti-
Muslim sentiment. Impunity persisted for
past and ongoing human rights violations.
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BACKGROUND
The civilian-led administration, headed de
facto by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi,
completed its first year in office in March.
Economic reforms stagnated, while the peace
process – aimed at bringing an end to
decades of internal armed conflicts – stalled.
The military retained significant political
power and remained independent of civilian
oversight. On 6 October, Myanmar ratified the
ICESCR, due to come into force in the
country on 6 January 2018.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW –
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Rakhine State was plunged into crisis when
security forces unleashed a campaign of
violence against the predominantly Muslim
Rohingya ethnic minority in the northern part
of the state, following co-ordinated attacks in
late August by the armed group Arakan
Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on
approximately 30 security posts. The attacks
took place just hours after a commission
headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan presented its recommendations to
“prevent violence, maintain peace and foster
reconciliation” in the state.
The military, often working with Border
Guard Police and local vigilantes, killed an
undetermined number of Rohingya women,
men and children; tortured and otherwise ill-
treated Rohingya women and girls, including
with rape and other forms of sexual violence;
laid landmines; and burned hundreds of
Rohingya villages in what the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights described
as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
The conduct of the security forces amounted
to crimes against humanity.
1
More than 655,000 Rohingya fled to
Bangladesh as a result of the violence. Other
ethnic minority communities were also
affected, with an estimated 30,000 people
temporarily displaced to other parts of
Rakhine State. There were reports of abuses,
including killings of informants and the
enforced disappearance of ethnic Rakhine
and Mro villagers by ARSA.
Rohingya who remained in Rakhine State
continued to live under a system amounting
to apartheid, which severely restricted
virtually every aspect of their lives and
segregated them from the rest of society.
2
Their rights to nationality, freedom of
movement, the highest attainable standard of
health, education, work, food, freedom of
religion and belief, and to participate in
public life were routinely and systematically
violated on a discriminatory basis.
The government dismissed allegations of
human rights violations and ignored calls for
investigations and accountability. It signed a
deal with Bangladesh to repatriate refugees
subject to a verification process, and
announced that it would work to implement
Kofi Annan’s recommendations and bring
development to Rakhine State.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT 
Fighting between the Myanmar Army and
ethnic armed groups intensified in northern
Myanmar. The Army committed wide-ranging
human rights violations against ethnic
minority civilians, including extrajudicial
executions and other unlawful killings,
enforced disappearances, arbitrary
detentions, torture and other ill-treatment and
forced labour. The Army regularly fired
mortar and artillery shells when fighting
ethnic armed groups, which often landed in
civilian areas. In May, an 81-year-old woman
was killed when a mortar exploded near her
home in Namhkan township, northern Shan
State.
3
Several of these violations were likely
to amount to war crimes.
Ethnic armed groups committed violations
of international humanitarian law, including
enforced disappearances, forcible
recruitment and extortion. Both the Myanmar
Army and ethnic armed groups laid anti-
personnel landmines or landmine-like
weapons. Many displaced people were afraid
to return to their homes as a result.
LACK OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
Both the civilian government and the military
continued to severely and arbitrarily restrict
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humanitarian access, placing hundreds of
thousands of people at risk.
In Rakhine State, authorities restricted aid
access in the wake of the August ARSA
attacks, suspending it entirely in the north of
the state. The authorities later allowed the
Red Cross Movement and the World Food
Programme to operate in the area. However,
their access was limited and insufficient to
meet needs. In other parts of Rakhine State,
access was further impaired by local tensions
and hostility towards international aid
groups.
4
The authorities further restricted access to
displaced populations in northern Myanmar,
especially to people living in territory that was
not under government control. In February,
the Myanmar Army prevented the delivery of
200 UN-stamped “dignity kits” – which
included basic sanitary supplies – for women
and girls displaced in areas controlled by the
Kachin Independence Organization.
ongoing instability, militarization in ethnic
areas and lack of access to essential
services.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Despite prisoner amnesties in April and May,
prisoners of conscience remained in
detention. The authorities continued to use a
range of vaguely worded laws that restricted
the rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly to arrest
and imprison people solely for peacefully
exercising their rights.
Prisoner of conscience Lahpai Gam, an
ethnic Kachin farmer, remained in prison,
suffering from serious health conditions. He
was tortured at the time of his arrest in 2012.
The government failed to provide restitution
to former prisoners of conscience and their
families, such as compensation, assistance in
gaining access to education and employment
opportunities, and other forms of reparation.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE
Civilians were displaced as a result of
conflict, violence and natural disasters. More
than 106,000 people remained internally
displaced by the conflicts in northern
Myanmar. Some 120,000 people, mostly
Rohingya, continued to live in squalid
displacement camps in Rakhine State where
they have been confined for five years
following violence in 2012.
By the end of the year more than 655,000
Rohingya refugees had fled to Bangladesh
following unlawful and disproportionate
military operations in northern Rakhine State.
In November, Myanmar and Bangladesh
signed an agreement to repatriate refugees to
Myanmar even as people continued to flee
across the border. The entrenched and
ongoing regime amounting to apartheid in
Rakhine State ensured that any returns
would not be safe or dignified.
Some 100,000 additional refugees from
Myanmar continued to live in camps in
Thailand, where they faced decreasing
humanitarian assistance. Many expressed
concerns about returning to Myanmar, citing
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly remained
subject to severe restrictions. There was a
surge in the number of people charged with
“online defamation” under Section 66(d) of
the 2013 Telecommunications Act.
5
Following
national and international pressure,
Parliament adopted minor amendments to
the law. However, “online defamation”
remained a criminal offence.
Human rights defenders, lawyers and
journalists – in particular those speaking out
about the situation of the Rohingya, religious
intolerance and violations by the military –
faced surveillance, intimidation and attacks.
On 29 January, Ko Ni, a lawyer, was shot
dead at Yangon International Airport while
returning from an interfaith conference in
Indonesia. At the end of the year, the trial of
four alleged perpetrators was still ongoing; a
fifth suspect remained at large. In November,
ethnic Kachin pastor Dumdaw Nawng Lat
and his assistant Langjaw Gam were
imprisoned for providing assistance to
journalists reporting on military air strikes
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near the town of Monekoe in late 2016. Both
men were sentenced to two years’
imprisonment under the Unlawful
Associations Act. Dumdaw Nawng Lat was
sentenced to an additional two years for
“defamation”.
The operations of independent media
outlets were increasingly restricted, and in
some cases journalists were subjected to
criminal prosecution for carrying out their
work. In June, three media workers were
arrested and charged with contacting an
“unlawful association” after returning from an
area controlled by an armed ethnic group
operating in northern Myanmar. They were
released after charges against them were
dropped in August.
6
In December, two
Reuters reporters were detained under the
Official Secrets Act in connection with their
work reporting on the situation in Rakhine
State. Both were held incommunicado for two
weeks and remained in detention at the end
of the year.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
Thousands of families living near the
Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing region
remained at risk of losing their homes and
farmland under plans to expand the project.
7
Villagers living close to the mine continued to
protest against the project. In March, at least
10 people were injured after police fired
rubber bullets at a group of villagers
protesting about the impact of trucks
transporting materials to the mine. According
to local authorities, six police officers were
wounded by protesters using catapults.
8
In August, the Ministry of Defence rejected
a proposal to relocate a factory producing
sulphuric acid to supply the mine. Severe
risks were posed to the health of the
community living nearby. Environmental and
human rights concerns related to the project
had not been addressed by the end of the
year.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to impose death sentences
under legal provisions allowing for the
imposition of the death penalty. No
executions were carried out.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
There was a sharp rise in religious
intolerance and anti-Muslim sentiment in the
wake of the August attacks in Rakhine State.
The government exacerbated the situation by
both allowing and directly producing hate
speech inciting discrimination and violence in
print and online. State media published
derogatory anti-Rohingya articles;
government officials published inflammatory
posts on social media.
Throughout the year religious minorities, in
particular Muslims, continued to face
discrimination. In April, two madrassas
(religious schools) in Yangon were closed by
local authorities and police following pressure
from a mob of Buddhist hardline nationalists.
In September, the Kayin State authorities
issued an order requiring all Muslims in the
state to report to local authorities before
travelling. Although the Kayin State Chief
Minister later said that the order was an
“administrative error”, travel restrictions
reportedly remained in place at the end of
the year.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
A persistent culture of impunity remained for
human rights violations committed by the
security forces. Most perpetrators of past and
current human rights violations, including
crimes under international law, had not been
held accountable for their actions.
The government failed to adequately
investigate and hold to account perpetrators
of serious human rights violations in Rakhine
State, including crimes against humanity. In
August, an Investigation Commission
established by the President to probe the
October 2016 attacks and their aftermath
published a summary of its findings in which
it acknowledged casualties, destruction of
buildings, loss of property and displacement.
However, it failed to establish responsibility
for these acts, or to state whether any action
had been taken to prosecute perpetrators.
The investigation lacked independence.
9
In
November, a military investigation concluded
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that no human rights violations had been
committed in Rakhine State following the 25
August ARSA attacks and subsequent
military campaign.
7.
Mountain of trouble: Human rights abuses continue at Myanmar’s
Letpadaung mine (ASA
16/5564/2017)
8. Myanmar: Investigate police use of force against protesters at
troubled mine (ASA
16/5983/2017)
9. Myanmar: National efforts to investigate Rakhine State violence are
inadequate (ASA
16/5758/2017)
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In March the UN Human Rights Council
established an independent, international
Fact-Finding Mission to “establish the facts
and circumstances” about human rights
violations and abuses, in particular in
Rakhine State. The Council requested the
Mission to present its findings in September
2018. The move was met with strong
opposition by the government, which
disassociated itself from the investigation and
refused to allow the team into the country.
A significant increase in international
attention was focused on Myanmar and the
crisis in Rakhine State following the August
attacks. On 6 November, the UN Security
Council issued a presidential statement
calling for an end to the violence and for the
restrictions on humanitarian aid to be lifted.
Also in November, the UN General Assembly
adopted a resolution on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar. In December, the
Human Rights Council held a special session
on the situation of the Rohingya and other
minorities. The EU and the USA suspended
invitations to senior military officials.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights in Myanmar faced increasing
restrictions on her access, and by the end of
the year had been barred from the country
for the remainder of her tenure. She had
previously raised concerns about the
deteriorating situation in the country.
1.
“My world is finished”: Rohingya targeted by crimes against
humanity in Myanmar (ASA
16/7288/2017)
2.
“Caged without a roof”: Apartheid in Myanmar’s Rakhine State (ASA
16/7484/2017)
3.
“All the civilians suffer”: Conflict, displacement and abuse in
northern Myanmar (ASA
16/6429/2017)
4. Myanmar: Restrictions on international aid putting thousands at risk
(News
story,
4 September)
5. Myanmar: Repeal Section 66(d) of the 2013 Telecommunications Law
(ASA
16/6617/2017)
6. Myanmar: Release journalists immediately (News
story,
26 June)
NAMIBIA
Republic of Namibia
Head of state and government: Hage Gottfried Geingob
The right to adequate housing was
restricted and the situation was exacerbated
by high levels of unemployment, poverty
and inequality. Eight prisoners of
conscience in the long-running Caprivi trial
were held 14 years after their arrest, on
treason and sedition charges.
RIGHT TO HOUSING
Housing remained inadequate; the
government failed to ensure accessible,
affordable and habitable housing. Over
500,000 people lived in shacks or makeshift
settlements in urban areas while only 10% of
the population could afford to buy a house
which cost on average 800,000 Namibian
dollars (USD58,474) per household. Rural to
urban migration, high unemployment levels,
low salaries, high rents and lack of available
and affordable land plots with residential
services led to inadequate housing
particularly in the capital, Windhoek. On 28
 March, 15 families were rendered homeless
when Windhoek City Police arbitrarily evicted
them, without an eviction notice, from their
informal settlements in Agste Laan,
Windhoek. Although the residents took their
case to the High Court seeking to be allowed
to stay in the settlement and have their
shacks rebuilt while their case was finalized,
the Court ruled against them on grounds that
they were not legally resident on the site.
The inadequate housing in informal
settlements was highlighted between 25 and
31 August when five children in the Erongo
and Oshikoto regions died in their homes in
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separate fires after their parents left them
alone in corrugated shacks.
The UN Independent Expert on the
enjoyment of all human rights by older
persons noted that, while housing conditions
for older people in rural areas had improved
since the country gained independence in
1990, it had worsened in urban areas
because of the growth of informal settlements
where access to essential services like
sanitation facilities and water and electricity
supplies were inadequate.
CAPRIVI DETAINEES
The trial of eight prisoners of conscience,
accused in the long-running Caprivi case,
resumed in May. Progress Kenyoka Munuma,
Shine Samulandela, Manuel Manepelo
Makendano, Alex Sinjabata Mushakwa,
Diamond Samunzala Salufu, Hoster Simasiku
Ntombo, Fredderick Ntamilwa and John
Mazila Tembwe were charged and convicted
of treason and sedition in 2007. In 2013, the
Supreme Court set aside their convictions
and sentences ranging from 30 to 32 years
and ordered a retrial. However, they
remained in detention pending trial, in
violation of international fair trial standards, at
the end of the year.
committee found that the main contributing
factors were a harmful living environment,
uncertainty about the future, an inadequate
regulatory framework (including child
protection policies), a lack of transparency in
operations affecting refugees, and a failure to
hold authorities accountable for abuses. By
the end of the year, neither the Australian nor
the Nauruan authorities had taken steps to
remedy the situation.
Reports emerged during the year that the
Spanish multinational company Ferrovial and
its Australian subsidiary Broadspectrum were
complicit in the abuse of refugees on Nauru,
and that they reaped vast profits from
Australia’s refugee policies. Ferrovial stated
that it would not renew its contract when it
expired in October.
1
In August, a medical professional reported
that four refugee women were being denied
transfer to Australia to have abortions, which
are illegal on Nauru.
In November, a refugee died after a
motorcycle accident; a police investigation
was under way. Later in the same month,
another refugee received head injuries in a
motorcycle accident.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
In May, three suspended parliamentarians,
who were charged and convicted for peaceful
protests in 2015, had their prison sentences
substantially increased on appeal: from three
months to 22 months for two defendants,
and to 14 months for the third defendant.
Their lawyer announced the intention of the
three defendants to appeal their conviction
and sentences to the High Court of Australia,
which is the ultimate court of appeal under
Nauru’s legal system.
Journalists seeking to visit Nauru remained
subject to a non-refundable visa fee of
USD6,089. This severely restricted media
freedom and hampered independent scrutiny
of Nauru’s policies and practices.
1.
Treasure i$land – how companies are profiting from Australia’s
abuse of refugees on Nauru (ASA
12/5942/2017)
NAURU
Republic of Nauru
Head of state and government: Baron Waqa
Refugees and asylum-seekers remained
trapped on Nauru. They had been forcibly
sent there by the Australian government,
despite widespread reports of physical,
psychological and sexual abuse. In
September, 27 refugees were sent to the
USA; over 1,000 remained on the island.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In April, an Australian Senate Committee
report described numerous allegations of
physical and sexual abuse, self-harm and
neglect of refugees and asylum-seekers in
Nauru and Papua New Guinea. The
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NEPAL
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Head of state: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Head of government: Sher Bahadur Deuba (replaced
Pushpa Kamal Dahal in June)
Nearly 70% of people made homeless by
the 2015 earthquake remained in
temporary shelters. Thousands of people
affected by monsoon floods in the Tarai
region were not provided with adequate
assistance, including housing. Concerns by
Indigenous and Madhesi people about
clauses they viewed as discriminatory in the
2015 Constitution remained unaddressed.
No effective investigations took place into
the use of excessive force against protesters
in the Tarai. Efforts toward ensuring truth,
justice and reparations for thousands of
victims of human rights violations
committed during the decade-long armed
conflict were inadequate. Nepali migrant
workers continued to be subjected to
extortion, fraud and bonded labour, and
were put at risk of further human rights
abuse in employment abroad.
In August, a vast area of the southern Tarai
was flooded by monsoon rains that killed 143
people and affected 1.7 million others. More
than 400,000 people were forced out of their
homes, with more than 1,000 homes being
completely destroyed. Victims were given
inadequate assistance by the government,
which blocked attempts to distribute aid
privately. Many continued to live in
inadequate housing and poor conditions. 
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Security forces continued to use unnecessary
or excessive force in response to protests in
the Tarai, particularly over grievances relating
to the Constitution. In March, five protesters
were killed and 16 others injured when police
used firearms to disperse Madhesi protesters
in Saptari district.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
The government failed to deliver effective
protection for migrant workers and end the
culture of impunity for unlawful and criminal
recruitment practices. Migrant workers were
systematically subjected to unlawful and
criminal conduct by recruitment businesses
and agents. Recruiters routinely charged
migrant workers illegal and excessive fees;
deceived them about the terms and
conditions of their work abroad; and
manipulated their consent to overseas work
through the accumulation of recruitment
debts. Some recruiters were directly involved
in labour trafficking, which is punishable
under Nepal’s Human Trafficking and
Transportation (Control) Act.
Migrants trapped in forced-labour situations
abroad faced extreme difficulty in accessing
support from Nepalese embassies in order to
return home. Recruiters rarely provided
repatriation assistance to workers when they
encountered problems abroad despite their
obligations under the Foreign Employment
Act. The authorities failed to investigate –
including through autopsies – the high
number of migrant worker deaths during
foreign employment.
BACKGROUND
Local elections were held for the first time in
more than two decades. Parliamentary and
provincial elections took place in November
and December. In October, Nepal was
elected to the UN Human Rights Council.
RIGHT TO HOUSING
Hundreds of thousands of survivors from the
2015 earthquake (nearly 70% of those
affected) were still living in temporary
shelters. The government stipulated proof of
land ownership as a condition for receiving a
rebuilding grant. However, since up to 25%
of the population were considered not to have
met this criterion, tens of thousands of the
earthquake survivors were ineligible for these
grants. The situation primarily affected
marginalized and disadvantaged groups,
including women, Dalits and other caste-
based and ethnic minorities.
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No improvements were made in the
implementation of the government’s “Free
visa, free ticket” policy, which was intended
to curtail recruitment charges by agencies.
Although the government made repeated
public commitments to reduce migration
costs for workers and to protect them from
incurring debt, it increased the burden on
migrants by raising pre-departure costs. In
July, the Foreign Employment Promotion
Board increased the amount migrant workers
were required to contribute to the
government-administered welfare fund.
Fewer than 100 recruitment agencies were
fined or referred to the Foreign Employment
Tribunal for violations of Nepal’s foreign
employment laws, even though more than
8,000 migrant workers filed cases against
recruitment agents. The Foreign Employment
Act 2007 stipulates that victims must file
their complaints with the Department of
Foreign Employment and restricts police from
actively investigating recruitment businesses
for their violations of Nepal’s criminal
legislation. Recruitment businesses
continued to use their political influence to
prevent investigation, prosecution and
redress for their routine abuse and
exploitation of migrants.
Commission and the Commission of
Investigation on Enforced Disappeared
Persons – had respectively collected over
60,000 and 3,000 complaints of human
rights violations, such as murder, torture and
enforced disappearances committed by state
security forces and Maoists during the
conflict from 1996 to 2006. Effective
investigations did not take place. An acute
shortage of resources and capacity adversely
affected the ability of the two bodies to deliver
truth, justice and reparation.
IMPUNITY
Impunity remained entrenched. Political
parties resisted amending transitional justice
laws in what was widely perceived as a
prioritization of reconciliation and monetary
compensation over truth, justice and
other reparations, including guarantees of
non-repetition. No effective investigations had
taken place into the hundreds of killings of
demonstrators by security forces since 1990
in various parts of the country, including the
Tarai.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination persisted on the bases of
gender, caste, class, ethnic origin, sexual
orientation, gender identity and religion.
Constitutional amendments did not fully
guarantee equal rights to citizenship for
women, nor provide protection from
discrimination to marginalized communities
including Dalits and other caste-based and
ethnic minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex people.
The provisions for punishment and
the statutory limitations relating to rape in the
new Criminal Code were still far short of
international law and standards. Gender-
based discrimination continued to undermine
women’s
and girls’ ability to control their
sexuality and make informed choices related
to reproduction; to challenge early and forced
marriages; and enjoy adequate antenatal and
maternal health care.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
The criminal investigation system remained
archaic and draconian. Torture and other ill-
treatment was widespread in pre-trial
detention to extract “confessions”.
The new Criminal Code passed by
Parliament in August contained
provisions criminalizing torture and other ill-
treatment, with a maximum of five years’
imprisonment. A separate anti-torture bill,
which remained pending in Parliament, fell
far short of international legal requirements.
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
The government did not amend the
Investigation of the Disappeared Persons,
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act
2014 as ordered by the Supreme Court in
2014 and 2015. By the end of the year, two
bodies – the Truth and Reconciliation
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NETHERLANDS
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Head of state: King Willem-Alexander
Head of government: Mark Rutte
Undocumented migrants continued to be
deprived of their rights. New security
legislation threatened to undermine human
rights and the rule of law. Ethnic profiling
by police continued to be a pressing
concern, as was the use of Tasers in day-to-
day policing.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
In March, two anti-terrorism laws came into
force for individuals suspected of being a
threat to national security. The first allowed
for administrative control measures on
individuals, including travel bans and
restrictions on movement and contact with
certain persons, without providing sufficient
safeguards against arbitrary and
discriminatory use. The second
administrative law enabled the revocation of
Dutch nationality of dual citizens who are
suspected of having travelled abroad to join
an armed group. The laws did not provide for
a meaningful and effective appeal.
In July, the law on the Intelligence and
Security Services was adopted. It gave
sweeping surveillance powers to intelligence
and security services, threatening the rights
to privacy, freedom of expression and non-
discrimination. Safeguards against abuse of
these powers were insufficient. Serious
concerns remained about the possibility of
information-sharing with intelligence agencies
in countries that might use such information
to target human rights defenders and
government opponents.
Any person suspected or convicted of
terrorism-related offences continued to be
automatically placed in a specialized high-
security prison where they were subjected to
inhuman and degrading treatment.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The number of people in immigration
detention increased, after years of decline.
Insufficient attention was given by the
authorities to alternatives to detention, while
the necessity and proportionality of an
individual’s (continued) detention were also
insufficiently assessed. A draft law on
amending immigration detention rules was
pending at the end of the year. Although the
bill offered minor improvements, the
detention regime would remain “prison-like”
in terms of facilities, detention conditions and
the use of disciplinary measures, including
isolation cells and use of handcuffs.
Despite a deteriorating security situation in
Afghanistan, the Netherlands continued to
forcibly return asylum-seekers whose claims
were rejected to Afghanistan, including
families with children, in breach of the
principle of
non-refoulement.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In order to address ongoing ethnic profiling,
the police introduced a professional standard
and a training module to promote the fair and
effective use of their stop-and-search powers.
However, the impact of this remained
unclear, as there was no systematic
monitoring and recording of how these stop-
and-search powers were executed in
practice.
In February, the police began piloting the
use of Taser X2 electro-shock weapons.
Police records between February and August
showed that Tasers were used in situations
where there was no imminent threat of death
or serious injury. In almost half of the cases,
persons were tasered in direct contact mode,
RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF
LIVING
The authorities remained unwilling to
implement a recommendation by the UN
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights to put in place a comprehensive
strategy to ensure that everyone, including
undocumented migrants, enjoys the
minimum essential levels of all Covenant
rights (such as the rights to food, housing,
health, water and sanitation) and ensure this
is supported by adequate funding.
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including when already handcuffed, inside a
police cell or vehicle, and in a separation cell
in a psychiatric hospital. This usage is
inconsistent with international human rights
standards.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
A government proposal for a ban on face-
coverings in certain public spaces was
pending before the Senate at the end of the
year. The ban would restrict the rights to
freedom of religion and of expression,
particularly of Muslim women.
and/or waist restraints in at-risk units was
found to amount to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. The
separation of children and young people in
“secure care” units in “care and protection”
residences was found to be inappropriate.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The government announced the framework
for its pilot community sponsorship
programme for refugee resettlement, to begin
at the end of the year. The new refugee
category allows community groups to sponsor
25 refugees to enter New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Patricia Lee Reddy
Head of government: Jacinda Ardern (replaced Bill
English in October)
New Zealand received criticism about its
mental health services, detention facilities,
high rates of Indigenous Māori
representation in the criminal justice
system, and about poor health and
wellbeing among children. 
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
A UNICEF report raised concern over the
health and wellbeing of children in New
Zealand, due to the high rates of teen
pregnancy, neonatal mortality and the high
teen suicide rate. The UN Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination
recommended the establishment of an
independent inquiry into abuse suffered by
children, the vast majority Māori, in state care
between the 1950s and 1990s.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
The authorities declined to hold an
independent inquiry into allegations that the
New Zealand Defence Force committed
crimes under international law during a raid
in Afghanistan in 2010, resulting in civilian
deaths. Lawyers filed a civil lawsuit calling for
a judicial review on behalf of the alleged
Afghan victims.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The Waitangi Tribunal, a permanent
commission of inquiry, found that the
government had failed to prioritize the
reduction of the high rate of recidivism
among Māori and had breached its Treaty of
Waitangi obligations. The commission called
for urgent practical action to reduce the
number. The National Preventive Mechanism
found that Māori were disproportionally
represented in all detention centres. Mental
health and disability in detention continued to
be a concern. Separate reviews by the
Ombudsman and an independent expert
commissioned by the Human Rights
Commission highlighted the high use of
prolonged solitary confinement and restraint
practices in places of detention and the over-
representation of ethnic minority groups in
these incidents. The use of “tie-down beds”
RIGHT TO HEALTH
The Auditor-General found that problems
with access to housing, rehabilitation and
other services led to patients being kept in
mental health units for years.
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NICARAGUA
Republic of Nicaragua
Head of state and government: Daniel Ortega Saavedra
Gender-based killings became increasingly
brutal. Attacks against human rights
defenders persisted. A total ban on abortion
remained in place. Impunity persisted for
perpetrators of violence against Indigenous
Peoples. The authorities continued to deny
a genuine and effective consultation
process for communities likely to be
affected by the construction of the Grand
Interoceanic Canal.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Impunity persisted for crimes such as
killings, rapes, kidnappings, enforced
disappearances, death threats and forced
displacement of Indigenous Peoples in the
North Atlantic Autonomous Region, even
though both the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights had
ordered Nicaragua in 2015 to adopt all
necessary measures to investigate those
crimes.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Attacks against women human rights
defenders continued, as reported at a public
hearing before the IACHR in September.
Women’s civil society organizations reported
receiving death threats as well as being
arbitrarily detained and attacked with the
complicity or acquiescence of state officials.
In March, the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights issued its judgment in
Acosta
et al. v. Nicaragua;
it found the state
responsible for having violated the rights to
access to justice, truth and physical integrity
of human rights defender María Luisa Acosta,
following the murder of her husband
Francisco García Valle.
1
The authorities had
yet to take steps to comply with the
judgment, in particular to put an end to the
impunity in the case and ensure the rights to
justice and truth of María Luisa Acosta.
In August the IACHR granted precautionary
measures to Francisca Ramírez and her
family after they were victims of death
threats, harassment and attacks in retaliation
for her activism in opposition to the
construction of the Grand Interoceanic Canal.
BACKGROUND
In January, Daniel Ortega assumed office as
President for a third consecutive term.
Rosario Murillo, his wife, assumed office as
Vice-President for the first time.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Between January and December, there were
55 gender-based killings of women,
according to the NGO Catholics for the Right
to Decide. The NGO found that the killings
were more brutal than in previous years and
tended to be committed by perpetrators
acting in groups.
In June 2017, the National Assembly
approved an amendment to the
Comprehensive Law on Violence against
Women; the amendment reduced the scope
of the definition of femicide to the private
sphere, limiting the crime to relations
between spouses and partners. Critics said
the new definition denied the reality of
femicides, which were also committed in
public places.
Abortion remained banned in all
circumstances. Nicaragua continued to have
one of the highest teenage pregnancy and
maternal mortality rates in the Americas
region, according to the UN Population Fund
(UNFPA).
GRAND INTEROCEANIC CANAL
There continued to be no genuine and
effective consultation process for those who
would be affected by the construction of the
Grand Interoceanic Canal, in violation of
international human rights principles.
2
According to the Centre for Legal Assistance
for Indigenous Peoples, the right to free, prior
and informed consent of the Indigenous and
Afro-descendant Rama Kriol people relating
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to the project had not been guaranteed,
despite several appeals lodged with the
courts. Civil society organizations noted that
the scale of the project, which would include
an oil pipeline and two ports, among other
infrastructure, would affect hundreds of
thousands of people and would put them at
risk of eviction.
Human rights organizations and peasant
farmer communities continued to call for the
repeal of Law 840, the law regulating the
Canal, due to its insufficient safeguards to
protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Their
demands continued to be rejected and the
authorities had yet to open a meaningful
dialogue with the communities likely to be
affected by the construction of the Canal.
suspected Boko Haram members went on
trial. Hundreds of people, including
prisoners of conscience, were arrested and
prosecuted for exercising their rights to
freedom of expression and association.
Security forces used excessive force against
protesters. The rights of refugees and
migrants were violated.
BACKGROUND
In March, the government declared a state of
emergency in the western areas bordering
Mali and extended the security forces’
powers after attacks by armed groups in
Tillabéry and Tahoua. It renewed the state of
emergency in the Diffa region, where attacks
by armed groups continued.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
In November, municipal elections took place
in a context of violence, with at least five
people reported to have been killed and 30
wounded in six municipalities.
There were also reports of unnecessary and
excessive use of force by the police against
people peacefully protesting against the
construction of the Canal, as well as reports
of arbitrary detention of protesters. Human
rights defenders were also reported to have
been harassed and intimidated for their
opposition to the project.
1. Nicaragua: The state must uphold, without delay, the judgment
issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (AMR
43/6173/2017)
2.
Danger: Rights for sale − the Interoceanic Grand Canal project in
Nicaragua and the erosion of human rights (AMR
43/6515/2017)
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
Hundreds of people, including prisoners of
conscience, were arbitrarily arrested and
prosecuted for exercising their rights to
freedom of expression and association.
In May, Insar Abdourahmane, a member of
the Association of Action for Democracy and
Human Rights, was arrested and detained for
more than 20 days in Agadez town for
criticizing the authorities on Facebook. He
was given a six-month suspended prison
sentence for inciting violence.
In April, security forces used excessive force
to repress a student protest in Niamey, the
capital, against the suspension of bursary
payments and new age restrictions on welfare
payments. One student, Mala Bagallé, was
killed after being shot in the back with a tear
gas canister, and dozens were wounded. In
May, a commission of inquiry found that the
gendarmerie was responsible for the killing;
and a judicial investigation was opened.
At least 300 students, including board
members of the Niger Union of Students,
were arrested throughout the country,
detained for a few days and released without
charge for participating in a protest and
blocking traffic.
In May, Amadou Ali Djibo, leader of the
opposition coalition Front for the Restoration
of Democracy and the Defence of the
NIGER
The Republic of Niger
Head of state: Mahamadou Issoufou
Head of government: Brigi Rafini
Armed conflict continued and armed groups
carried out at least 70 attacks, killing tens
of civilians. The humanitarian situation
continued to deteriorate. Over 700
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Republic, was convicted of inciting revolt
and, after 11 days’ detention, was given a 90-
day conditional suspended sentence.
In April, Baba Alpha, an outspoken
journalist working for private television
channel Bonferey, and his father, who was
born in Mali, were arrested and charged with
forgery and illegal status. In July they were
sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for
forgery.
In June, Ibrahim Bana, a member of
opposition party Moden Fa Lumana, and
Gamatié Mahamadou Yansambou, Secretary
General of the Union of Taxi Drivers, were
arrested and charged for attempting to
influence a judicial investigation after they
denounced, on social media, corruption in
the judicial system. In July, Ibrahim Bana
was sentenced to three months’
imprisonment, including two months
suspended, and Mahamadou Yansambou
was released after more than 15 days.
In July, 43 members of the teachers’ union
SYNACEB were convicted of disrupting
public safety and inciting a riot, after they
boycotted substitute teacher evaluations.
They spent more than 15 days in detention
and were sentenced to suspended prison
terms of between one and three months.
Abada on the Nigeria border, when they were
mistaken for members of an armed group.
An investigation was launched into the
killings.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
The UN CEDAW Committee expressed
concern that 82% of the population lived in
extreme poverty. Women were particularly
affected by food insecurity in rural areas, a
fact linked to, among other things, their
socioeconomic status and the impact of
climate change and extractive industries. The
Committee also expressed concern that
temporary measures to achieve greater
gender equality were inadequately applied,
including in employment, education and
health.
As the humanitarian situation deteriorated
due to conflict, the UN estimated that 2.2
 million people, including 408,000 in Diffa,
were in need of humanitarian assistance; 1.8
 million were estimated to be severely food
insecure. Over 73% of children under five
and almost 46% of women of reproductive
age suffered from anaemia.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Over 60,000 refugees and migrants transited
Niger on the way to Libya and Algeria where
many suffered serious abuses including rape,
unlawful detention in harsh conditions, ill-
treatment and extortion, and unknown
numbers died. Operations to arrest
perpetrators pushed smugglers to use more
dangerous routes to Libya or Algeria.
In May, eight migrants from Niger, including
five children, died of thirst after they were
abandoned on the way to Algeria; and 92
migrants were found close to death by the
Niger Army after being beaten and
abandoned by their driver in the desert near
Bilma in the north. In June, 44 migrants,
including babies, were found dead in the
desert near Agadez, central Niger, after their
vehicle broke down on the way to Libya.
ARMED CONFLICT
Armed groups including Boko Haram carried
out at least 70 attacks on soldiers and
villages in the Diffa, Mainé-Soroa, Tillabéry
and Bosso regions. At least 30 people,
including civilians, were killed and others
wounded; over 60 people were abducted. In
June, suspected Boko Haram members
killed nine people and abducted 37 women
in the region of Nguigmi.
The trial of 700 people accused of
supporting Boko Haram began on 2 March.
Most had been arrested in the Diffa region
since 2013, although some had been
detained since 2012. Among them were
Nigerians, including refugees from areas
affected by Boko Haram.
In July, 13 people, including two Niger
nationals and 11 Nigerian nationals, were
killed by Niger soldiers in a village near
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NIGERIA
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Head of state and government: Muhammadu Buhari
The armed group Boko Haram continued to
carry out attacks, resulting in hundreds of
deaths. Reports continued of extrajudicial
executions, enforced disappearances, and
torture and other ill-treatment, which, in
some cases, led to deaths in custody.
Conditions in military detention conditions
were harsh. Communal violence occurred
across the country. Thousands of people
were forcibly evicted from their homes.
of Kala Balge local government, in Borno
state, killing at least 167 civilians, including
many children. The military said the bombing
was an accident as Rann was not identified
as a humanitarian camp.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The military arbitrarily arrested and held
thousands of young men, women and
children in detention centres around the
country. Detainees were denied access to
lawyers and family members. The army
released 593 detainees in April and 760 in
October.
By April, the military detention facility at
Giwa barracks, Maiduguri, held more than
4,900 people in extremely overcrowded cells.
Disease, dehydration and starvation were rife
and at least 340 detainees died. At least 200
children, as young as four, were detained in
an overcrowded and unhygienic children’s
cell. Some children were born in detention.
The military detained hundreds of women
unlawfully, without charge, some because
they were believed to be related to Boko
Haram members. Among them were women
and girls who said they had been victims of
Boko Haram. Women reported inhuman
detention conditions, including a lack of
health care for women giving birth in cells.
On 24 September, the Minister of Justice
announced that the mass trial of Boko Haram
suspects held in different detention centres
had commenced. The first phase of trials was
handled by four judges in secret, between 9
and 12 October. Fifty defendants were
sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.
An interim report of the Director of Public
Prosecutions showed that 468 suspects were
discharged and the trial for the remainder
was adjourned to January 2018.
ARMED CONFLICT
BOKO HARAM
Boko Haram carried out at least 65 attacks
causing 411 civilian deaths, and abducted at
least 73 people. Sixteen women, including 10
policewomen, were abducted in June when
Boko Haram ambushed an army-escorted
convoy on the Maiduguri-Damboa road. In
July, Boko Haram ambushed a team of oil
prospectors in a village in Magumeri. Three
oil workers were abducted and at least 40
other people were killed, including soldiers
and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force.
On 6 May, 82 Chibok schoolgirls, abducted in
2014, were released by Boko Haram fighters
in an exchange deal; 113 girls remained in
captivity. In November, six farmers in Dimge
village in Mafa were abducted and beheaded.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
There remained at least 1.7 million internally
displaced people (IDPs) in the northeastern
states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa; 39%
lived in camps or similar settings and 61% in
host communities. The UN said that 5.2 
million people in the northeast remained in
urgent need of food assistance; 450,000
children under five were in urgent need of
nutrition. In July, Doctors without Borders
reported that 240 children had died from
malnutrition in Borno state.
On 17 January, the Nigerian Air Force
bombed an IDP camp in Rann, headquarters
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
In June, the Special Board of Inquiry to
investigate allegations of gross violations of
human rights, established by the Chief of
Army Staff, found that Giwa barracks was
extremely overcrowded, with poor sanitation
and insufficient ventilation, factors which
resulted in detainees’ deaths. It cleared
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senior military officers, alleged to have
committed crimes under international law, of
wrongdoing.
In August, acting President Yemi Osinbajo
set up a presidential investigation panel to
probe allegations of human rights violations
carried out by the military. Between 11 
September and 8 November, the panel sat in
the capital, Abuja, and in the cities of
Maiduguri, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Lagos and
Kaduna.
In its December preliminary report, the
Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC
announced that it would continue to assess
the admissibility of the eight potential crimes
it had previously identified as having been
allegedly committed in Nigeria.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
At least 10 IPOB members were killed and
12 others wounded by soldiers in Umuahia,
Abia state on 14 September. The military
claimed that they were killed when they tried
to resist the arrest of leader Nnamdi Kanu at
his home. Witnesses say that, in addition to
those killed, at least 10 IPOB members were
shot and taken away by soldiers. The
government subsequently banned the IPOB.
On 9 March, a court in Abuja sentenced two
police officers to death for their part in the
extrajudicial execution of six traders in Apo,
Abuja, in 2005. Three other police officers
including the leader of the police team were
acquitted. In 2005, a Judicial Commission of
Inquiry had indicted six police officers for the
murders and recommended their trial as well
as compensation for the victims’ families.
One of them allegedly escaped from custody
in 2015.
In September, the High Court in Port
Harcourt convicted five SARS policemen for
the extrajudicial executions of Michael Akor
and Michael Igwe in 2009. The court also
awarded 50 million naira (USD143,000) in
compensation to the victims’ families.
In December, after huge pressure on social
media, the Inspector General of Police
agreed to reform SARS.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment and unlawful
detention by the police and the State Security
Service (SSS) continued. In February, Nonso
Diobu and eight other men were arrested and
detained by Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) officers in Awkuzu, Anambra state.
They were tortured and all, except Nonso
Diobu, died in custody. Nonso Diobu was
charged with robbery and released four
months after arrest.
In May, a high court ordered the SSS to
release Bright Chimezie, a member of the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Instead,
the SSS included his name in another case.
Bright Chimezie had not been brought to
court by the end of the year; the SSS had
held him in incommunicado detention for
more than one year.
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and his wife
remained in incommunicado detention
without trial since their arrest in December
2015 despite a court ordering their release
and compensation.
In September, the Nigerian police launched
Force Order 20 which sought to reduce the
excessive use of pre-trial detention by
providing free legal advice to suspects at
police stations. In December, the Anti-Torture
Bill – intended to prohibit and criminalize the
use of torture – was signed into law.
COMMUNAL VIOLENCE
Inter-communal violence linked to lingering
clashes between herdsmen and farming
communities resulted in more than 549
deaths and the displacement of thousands in
12 states. In February, 21 villagers were
killed in an attack by suspected herdsmen in
three communities in the Atakad district of
Kaura, Kaduna state. Witnesses said the
herdsmen killed, looted, and burned the
villagers’ houses. In June, a communal clash
in the Mambilla Plateau of Taraba state left
scores of people dead, mostly herdsmen and
their families. In September, at least 20
people were killed when suspected
herdsmen invaded Ancha village in the
Miango district of Jos, Plateau state, after a
misunderstanding between villagers and
herdsmen residing in the community. In
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October, 27 people were killed by suspected
herdsmen in a classroom where they were
sheltering after three days of attacks in the
Nkyie-Doghwro community of Bassa, Plateau
state. In December, herdsmen attacked at
least five villages in Demsa LGA in Adamawa
state to avenge the massacre of up to 57
people, mostly children, in November in
nearby Kikan community. Residents
described being attacked by a fighter jet and
a military helicopter as they attempted to flee.
At least 86 people were killed by the
herdsmen and air force bombing.
On 2 February, a High Court in Abuja
declared threats of forced evictions without
the service of statutory notices illegal. It urged
state authorities to take measures to confer
security of tenure on affected residents. The
judgment prevented the Abuja authorities
from forcibly evicting hundreds of thousands
of residents in Mpape community. On 21
June, a Lagos State High Court found that
forced evictions and their threat were
unconstitutional and amounted to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
Authorities in Lagos, Imo and Rivers states
continued to forcibly evict thousands of
residents, without adequate notice,
compensation, or the provision of alternative
accommodation and resettlement.
In Lagos state, at least 5,000 people were
forcibly evicted from Otodo-Gbame and
Ilubirin waterfront communities between
March and April, in violation of previous
Lagos State High Court orders. The orders
restrained state authorities from demolishing
the homes of affected communities
consisting of at least 300,000 residents, and
ordered them to consult with residents. In
March, the Lagos state government pulled
out of the consultations saying the
communities’ demand for resettlement was
unreasonable.
During the forced eviction of Otodo-Gbame
community on 9 April, at least two people
were shot, one fatally, as the police fired at
unarmed residents. There were no
investigations into the shootings. On 13 June,
Lagos state authorities forcibly evicted
hundreds of people from Ijora-Badia
community.
On 15 June, Rivers state authorities forcibly
evicted hundreds of people from Ayagologo
waterfront community in Port Harcourt.
On 15 November, police in Lagos arrested
and detained 158 residents, including six
women one of whom was pregnant, who were
protesting against forced evictions in the
state.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Nigeria’s federal Parliament and Adamawa
and Gombe states continued to debate the
Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill. In
October, ECOWAS Court held that Nigeria
violated the right to dignity of three women by
wrongly accusing them of being sex workers,
and unlawfully arresting and verbally abusing
them.
IDP women and girls reported gender-based
violence including rape and sexual
exploitation, often in exchange for food and
other necessities, by military officers and
members of the Civilian Joint Task Force in
the northeast. Households headed by women
reported discrimination in access to food
assistance and livelihood opportunities in
some locations.
A group of women who were previously
confined to Bama IDP camp campaigned for
the release of their husbands from military
detention, and for justice for rape and other
abuses they suffered while in the camp
between 2015 and 2016. The Chief of Army
Staff was reported to have ordered an
investigation in June into misconduct by
soldiers in the camp.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders continued to face
intimidation for their work. Parliament
debated a bill to regulate and restrict the
work of NGOs. If passed, it would establish
an NGO Regulatory Commission to keep a
register of all NGOs, co-ordinate their
activities, and monitor their budgets and
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funding. A public hearing on the bill took
place in December.
On 19 July, police arrested and detained
Maurice Fangnon for six days for calling for
investigations into alleged killings and
assaults of residents in Otodo-Gbame
community. He was rearrested on 12
 December with Bamidele Friday; they were
released on bail on 22 December. Raymond
Gold faced criminal charges carrying a
maximum three-year prison sentence for
demanding that an oil company conduct an
Environmental Impact Assessment on
activities which harmed the environment. On
6 June, police officers harassed, beat and
injured Justus Ijeoma at Onitsha Area
Command. In October, he received a written
apology from the Area Command.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
The security forces disrupted, in some cases
violently and with excessive force, peaceful
protests and assemblies.
The police continued to deny IMN, which
was banned by the Kaduna state government
in 2016, the right to peaceful protest. On 25
 January, the Abuja police arrested nine IMN
members in connection with a peaceful
protest demanding the release of Ibrahim El-
Zakzaky.
On 25 July, police in Kano city prevented a
group of women from protesting against the
persistent rape of women and children in the
state. On 8 August, police violently dispersed
peaceful protesters who demanded the
return of President Buhari who was in the UK
for medical treatment.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists were harassed, intimidated and
arrested. On 19 January, police raided the
offices of
Premium Times
and arrested
publisher Dapo Olorunyomi and
correspondent Evelyn Okakwu for several
hours, after the Chief of Army Staff accused
the newspaper of offensive publications.
On 19 April, Kaduna state police arrested
and detained Midat Joseph, a journalist with
Leadership
newspaper, for a WhatsApp
comment. He was taken to court the next day
on charges of criminal conspiracy, inciting
disturbance and injurious falsehood. On 31 
July, the court dismissed the case on
grounds of lack of diligent prosecution.
On 19 September, the Katsina state police
arrested three bloggers, Jamil Mabai, Bashir
Dauda and Umar Faruq, for criticizing the
Governor. Bashir Dauda and Umar Faruq
were released after one week and Jamil
Mabai was detained for 22 days.
On 27 October, Audu Maikori, who was
arrested for publishing false information
online, was awarded 40 million naira
(USD112,700) in compensation for unlawful
arrest and detention.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
In June, the widows of four men from the
Ogoni region in the Niger Delta who were
executed following an unfair trial in 1995,
filed a lawsuit in the Netherlands against
Shell, demanding compensation and a public
apology. They accused Shell of complicity in
the unlawful arrest and detention of their
husbands during a brutal crackdown by the
then military authorities on the Movement for
the Survival of the Ogoni People. International
organizations called for Shell to be
investigated for involvement in these crimes.
Environmental pollution linked to the oil
industry continued to undermine the
economic, social and cultural rights of the
Niger Delta communities.
The government took limited steps to
address pollution in the Ogoni region of the
Niger Delta, as recommended by the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2011.
However, local communities expressed
frustration at the slow progress of the
initiative and because operations on the
ground had not begun. Shell failed to comply
with some of UNEP’s key recommendations.
In September, operations to clean up the
pollution caused by two large oil spills in
2008 began in the Bodo community in the
Ogoni region.
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RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Arrest, public shaming, extortion of and
discrimination against individuals based on
their sexual orientation were reported in
several parts of the country. In April, the
Nigerian police arraigned 53 men in a
magistrate court in Zaria, Kaduna state, for
conspiracy and unlawful assembly and for
belonging to an unlawful society. They were
accused of attending a gay wedding and
granted bail.
In August, about 42 men and boys between
12 and 28 years old were arrested at a hotel
in Lagos while attending an HIV intervention
programme organized by an NGO. They were
charged with “engaging in gay activities”. The
police paraded the victims to the media.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
There was a dramatic decrease in the
number of people claiming asylum. By
November, only 3,378 people had claimed
asylum, compared to 31,145 in 2015,
according to government statistics.
The government continued to take initiatives
to restrict the rights of asylum-seekers and
refugees. The practice of “Dublin” returns –
requiring any asylum claim to be processed
by the country in which the applicant first
arrived – to Italy continued, and restarted to
Greece.
Afghan nationals represented the fifth
biggest group of people who claimed asylum
by the end of November. They continued to
face obstacles in accessing asylum and
forced return to Afghanistan. According to
Eurostat, there was a dramatic drop in
asylum recognition rates for Afghan nationals,
down to 24% by August; Norway had the
highest number of persons being forcibly
returned to Afghanistan.
DEATH PENALTY
Death sentences continued to be imposed;
no executions were recorded. In July, at the
National Economic Council, state governors
agreed to either sign execution warrants or
commute death sentences as a way of
addressing overcrowding in prisons. Death
row prisoners reported that execution gallows
were being prepared for executions in Benin
and Lagos prisons.
In August, the Ogun state government
announced that it would no longer maintain
an informal commitment to refrain from
authorizing executions.
In September, the Senate passed a bill
prescribing the death penalty for kidnapping.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Gender-based violence, including rape and
sexual violence, remained a serious concern.
The Norwegian Penal Code was still not in
accordance with international human rights
standards as the definition of rape was not
based on consent. The number of rape cases
reported to the police had been increasing
steadily over the years. In 2016, 1,663 cases
of rape were reported to the police, an
increase of nearly 21.9% since 2015.
Shortcomings in police investigations
contributed to the low level of rape
prosecutions. In April, the Director of Public
Prosecutions reviewed the quality of
investigations in 275 nationally reported rape
cases. The review concluded that there was
considerable room for improvement in the
quality of police investigations, and pointed
especially at weaknesses in the initial phase,
where the necessary steps to secure
evidence were not always taken.
Following the consideration of Norway’s
ninth periodic report, the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women
expressed concerns about the high level of
NORWAY
Kingdom of Norway
Head of state: King Harald V
Head of government: Erna Solberg
Serious concerns remained about the
prevalence of, and inadequate state
response to, rape and other violence against
women. The rights of refugees and asylum-
seekers continued to be restricted; Afghan
asylum-seekers faced forced returns to
Afghanistan.
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gender-based violence against women, and
recommended a number of measures
including the adoption of a legal definition of
rape in the Penal Code that places lack of
free consent at its centre. In addition, the
Committee expressed concern at the
consequences of the criminalization of the
purchase of sexual services from adults. The
committee recommended a white paper on
prostitution with a comprehensive framework
which ensured that women who engage in
sex work are not prosecuted for the selling of
sexual services, including for acts that
currently amount to criminal acts of
“promotion of prostitution”.
Women remained subject to discrimination
in law. Migrant workers were exposed to
exploitation and abuse. The death penalty
remained in force; no executions were
reported.
BACKGROUND
Oman maintained a neutral stance in the
regional crisis in which Saudi Arabia, the
UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations
with Qatar, as well as in relation to the Saudi
Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen since
2015.
There was a marked decline in coverage of
human rights issues in the country. Oman’s
economy continued to be impacted by: lower
oil prices, Oman’s main source of income; a
relatively high deficit; the removal of
subsidies, notably on petroleum; a rise in
fees for some government services; and a
temporary hiring freeze for public sector
positions.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Penal Code still did not classify violence
motivated by discriminatory attitudes towards
transgender people as a hate crime.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
On 1 March, a 44-year-old Rwandan national
accused of complicity in the 1994 genocide
in Rwanda was released after four years in
custody. The Ministry of Justice had
previously concluded that he could be
extradited to Rwanda. The investigation into
an allegation by his defence lawyer – that two
witnesses were pressured into giving false
testimonies to the prosecutors – led to the
conclusion that their testimonies were not
sufficiently credible.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The government continued to unduly restrict
freedom of expression. In January the
authorities ordered the dismissal of a
journalist who was reporting on sex trafficking
in the country, and revoked the licence of
another journalist who was covering reports
that Oman had sought financial support from
its neighbours. In February, the annual
Muscat International Book Fair suspended
the participation of two writers, apparently in
connection with their criticism of the
government. In April, the authorities arrested
at least two people in connection with
Facebook posts; they were subsequently
released. In May, the government blocked
the online publication of the
Mowaten
newspaper; it remained blocked at the end of
the year.
The chilling effect of the trials against
Azamn
newspaper and its journalists
continued to reverberate following
Azamn’s
publication in 2016 of two reports detailing
allegations of corruption in the government
and the judiciary. The government renewed a
rolling, temporary suspension of the
newspaper, despite a court ruling overturning
OMAN
Sultanate of Oman
Head of state and government: Sultan Qaboos bin Said
Al Said
The authorities curtailed the rights to
freedom of expression and association,
using flawed legal procedures to suspend
newspapers and to arrest, prosecute and
convict journalists on criminal and
administrative grounds. Family members of
human rights defenders faced harassment
and intimidation from the authorities.
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the suspension. In January the Public
Prosecutor appealed against the December
2016 acquittal of
Azamn
journalist Zaher
al-‘Abri. He was released on bail in August.
Editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Maamari and
deputy editor-in-chief Youssef al-Haj were
released in April and October respectively
after completing their prison sentences. In
June,
Azamn
staff members approached the
government for financial support following its
closure.
In January the High Court in the capital,
Muscat, overturned a three-year prison
sentence on journalist Hassan al-Basham,
partly because of his ill-health, and ordered
the case back to the Appeal Court. In
November the initial three-year prison
sentence was upheld. In June 2016 the
Court of Appeal in Sohar had upheld the
verdict, which was based on charges of
“insult” to God and the Sultan.
In January a Muscat Appeal Court
overturned the three-year prison sentence
and fine of 1,000 Omani Riyals (about
USD2,600) handed down in October 2016 to
writer Hamoud al-Shukaily, a member of the
Omani Society for Writers and Authors, on
charges of incitement to protest or disturbing
public order relating to a 2016 Facebook
post.
The Appeal Court verdict in the case of
writer and film critic Abdullah Habib was
postponed several times. In November 2016
he had been sentenced to three years’
imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 Omani
Riyals (about USD5,200).
On 23 May a lower instance court
sentenced writer and researcher Mansour al-
Mahrazi to three years’ imprisonment and a
fine on charges of “undermining the state”
and violating publication laws by writing and
publishing a book in Lebanon without
permission. He was appealing the case at the
end of the year.
custody, inheritance, and passing their
nationality on to their children.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
Migrant workers continued to face
exploitation and abuse. Domestic workers,
mainly women from Asia and Africa,
complained that employers to whom they
were tied under the official
kafala
sponsorship system confiscated their
passports, forced them to work excessive
hours without time off, and denied them their
full wages and adequate food and living
conditions. The
kafala
system did not provide
domestic workers with the protections
available under the Labour Law.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for a
range of crimes. No convictions or executions
were reported.
PAKISTAN
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Head of state: Mamnoon Hussain
Head of government: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (replaced
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in August)
The crackdown on freedom of expression
intensified. The Prevention of Electronic
Crimes Act, 2016 was used to intimidate,
harass and arbitrarily detain human rights
defenders for online comments. Enforced
disappearances were widespread; impunity
was prevalent. Blasphemy-related violence
claimed the life of a student, triggering rare
condemnation from the government. Large
demonstrations took place in support of
blasphemy laws, which were used to convict
people expressing opinions online.
Journalists were attacked by unidentified
assailants. Minorities continued to face
discrimination in the enjoyment of
economic and social rights. Attempts to
restrict child marriage were blocked
by Parliament. Killings of women continued
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women faced discrimination in criminal law
and in personal status or family law, in
relation to matters including divorce, child
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in so-called “honour” crimes, despite the
2016 law criminalizing the practice.
BACKGROUND
The Supreme Court disqualified Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif from office in July for
failing to disclose a source of foreign income.
Following his resignation, the government’s
authority progressively weakened as
members of the Sharif family and ministers in
the government became the subject of fresh
corruption probes. The Minister for Law and
Justice resigned in November after weeks of
protests in which he was accused of
blasphemy. The military took an increasing
lead on foreign policy, national security and
daily governance ahead of elections due by
August 2018.
Tensions endured between India and
Pakistan against the backdrop of firing from
both sides across the Line of Control that
divides the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Relations with Afghanistan deteriorated as
the two countries accused each other of
using their territory as a launching pad for
armed attacks. Under its new South Asia
policy, the USA singled out Pakistan as a
source of instability in Afghanistan, raising
the prospect of a rupture in relations. Turning
away from the West, Pakistan drew closer to
China with the expansion of the China-
Pakistan Economic Corridor, a multi-billion
dollar infrastructure project.
Pakistan was elected to the UN Human
Rights Council in October. Pakistan’s human
rights record was examined by UN bodies
during the year: the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, the Human Rights
Committee and under the UPR process.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Attacks on freedom of expression continued,
particularly against those posting comments
online. In January, five bloggers who made
anonymous online comments said to be
critical of the military were subject to
enforced disappearances. Four of the
bloggers were later released; two of them
later said they had been tortured while in
military intelligence custody; the fifth
remained disappeared. The
draconian Prevention of Electronic Crimes
Act of 2016 was used to carry out a number
of arrests throughout the year including, in
June, the arrest of journalist Zafarullah
Achakzai, a reporter for the newspaper
Daily
Qudrat.
Over subsequent weeks, supporters
of different political parties were arrested for
social media posts critical of the authorities.
No action was taken against social media
accounts belonging to armed groups that
incited discrimination and violence.
People were prosecuted after being
accused, particularly over social media, for
alleged breaches of vague and broad
blasphemy laws, which criminalized peaceful
expression if deemed to offend religious
sensibilities. In June, Taimoor Raza was
sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court
in Punjab, southern province, for allegedly
blasphemous posts on Facebook. In
September, Nadeem James, a Christian, was
sentenced to death by a court in Gujrat city
for sharing a “blasphemous” poem over
WhatsApp.
Accusations of committing blasphemy
triggered the execution-style killing of Mashal
Khan, a university student, in Mardan city. In
April, a mob of students stormed his hostel,
stripped him naked and beat him repeatedly
before shooting him. Then Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif vowed to take action against
those who “misuse” the blasphemy laws. Six
days later, a “faith healer” accused of
blasphemy was similarly killed by three
attackers inside his home in Sialkot city. Two
days after that, a mob in Chitral city attacked
a man accused of blasphemy, injuring police
officers trying to protect him. In May, a 10-
year-old boy was killed and five others were
injured as a mob in Hub town in Balochistan
tried to attack Prakash Kumar, a Hindu, for
allegedly posting an offensive image online.
Senior government officials exacerbated
tensions around blasphemy-related offences.
In March, then Interior Minister Nisar Ali
Khan deemed so-called blasphemers
“enemies of humanity”. In February and
March, the Islamabad High Court ordered the
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removal of allegedly blasphemous content
online and directed the government to initiate
proceedings against people responsible for
uploading them.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Bloggers, journalists, lawyers, activists and
other human rights defenders faced
harassment, intimidation, threats,
violence and enforced disappearance. The
five bloggers who were forcibly disappeared
and activists who campaigned for their
release were subject to a smear campaign
accusing them of being “blasphemers”,
“anti-Pakistan”, “anti-Army” and “anti-
Islam”. Human rights defenders criticized on
television and on social media faced death
threats, forcing some to self-censor and to
seek protection for their physical safety.
In May, Rana Tanveer, a journalist covering
abuses against religious minorities, found
death threats sprayed on his home in Lahore
city. A few weeks later, he was knocked off
his motorbike and severely injured after a car
deliberately crashed into him. In September,
Matiullah Jan, a journalist who had regularly
been critical of the military’s interference in
politics, was attacked by men on motorbikes
who hurled a large piece of concrete at the
car in which he was travelling with his
children, shattering the windscreen. In
October, Ahmad Noorani, an outspoken
political journalist, was attacked by men on
motorbikes who stopped his car and beat
him, including with iron rods. At the end of
the year no one was known to have been
held accountable for any of these attacks.
Defenders continued to be subjected to
enforced disappearances, but some also
reappeared. Raza Khan, a Lahore-based
peace activist, was subjected to an enforced
disappearance in December. Punhal Sario, a
campaigner against enforced disappearances
in Sindh province, went missing in August.
He returned home in October. Zeenat
Shahzadi, the first female journalist to be
forcibly disappeared, was found near the
Afghanistan border in October, 26 months
after she went missing in Lahore. She
disappeared again in November; her
whereabouts remained unknown at the end
of the year. In October and November,
dozens of Sindhi and Baloch defenders were
subjected to enforced disappearances by
Pakistani security forces. Some returned to
their homes days later, but others remained
missing at the end of the year.
Space for civil society continued to shrink as
the Interior Ministry used broad powers to
undermine the ability of human rights
defenders and NGOs to work
independently. In November, the Ministry of
the Interior ordered 29 international NGOs to
halt their operations and leave the country
within days. 
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Around 58% of households were food
insecure, according to the National Nutrition
Survey, and an estimated 44% of children
remained underdeveloped or short for their
age. The percentage was significantly higher
in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and
Balochistan.
The government failed to take action against
those who held people in bonded labour in
rural areas. The 1992 Bonded Labour
Abolition Act was still not
adequately enforced; reasons included a lack
of clarity regarding the law on the part of
lower court judges and lack of action
by police when complaints were filed. 
In its 2017 review, the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights noted
that more than 73% of workers, a majority of
them women, were in the informal economy
with no labour or social protection. The
Committee called on Pakistan to address the
gender pay gap, which rose from 34% in
2008 to 39% in 2015. The Committee also
noted an urgent need to increase spending in
the social sector, especially for health and
education. It further stated that adequate
steps must be taken to reduce the gap
between girls and boys in enrolment for
education.
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RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In an historic advance for LGBTI rights, the
government recognized those who wished to
register as a “third gender” on national
identity cards. Transgender people were
recognized for the first time in the national
census, on the orders of the Lahore High
Court.
Despite this symbolic victory, transgender
people continued to suffer harassment and
violent attacks. In August, a 25-year-old
transgender woman called Chanda was shot
dead in Karachi. In September, five men
broke into a house rented by a group of
transgender women in Karachi city and
subjected them to sexual violence, including
the gang rape of two of the women.
electric shocks. The couple had been
sentenced to death by a
jirga
(tribal council).
In September, a man in Peshawar city killed
his two daughters because he suspected they
had boyfriends.
The 2016 law, which brought the penalties
for so-called “honour” crimes in line with
murder, proved ineffective. The law, which
provides for the death penalty, allows the
judge to decide whether the crime was
“honour-based”. In some cases in 2017, the
accused successfully claimed another motive
and was pardoned by the victim’s family
under
qisas
and
diyat
laws, which allow for
“blood money” and forgiveness instead of
punishment.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The expulsion of Afghan refugees
continued, albeit at a far slower rate.
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, 59,020 registered Afghan refugees
were involuntarily returned to Afghanistan,
compared to more than 380,000 in
2016 (the mass deportations triggered by
escalating tensions between the Pakistani
and Afghan governments). More than 2
million Afghans remained at risk of being
forcibly returned as their legal residency
status was due to expire at the end of the
year.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Key legislation to protect women’s rights
failed to be passed and existing legislation
was not enforced. The draft Sindh Criminal
Law (Protection of Minorities) that
criminalized forced conversions of women
from religious minority groups remained
unratified. A bill that would have equalized
the age of consent to marriage for men and
women by raising the minimum age of
marriage for girls from 16 to 18 was blocked
by the upper house of Parliament.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Violence continued against women and girls,
including killings by relatives committed in
the name of so-called “honour”. In Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa northwest province, 94 women
were murdered by close family members. In
several cases, there was a failure to conduct
investigations and hold the perpetrators
accountable.
Parallel and informal justice systems
continued to undermine the rule of law and
to issue unjust “verdicts” that punished
women and girls. In July, a village council in
Multan district ordered and carried out the
rape of a teenage girl in “revenge” for a crime
allegedly committed by her brother. In
August, the bodies of a teenage couple in
Karachi were exhumed to reveal evidence of
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
The mandate of military courts to try civilian
“terrorism” suspects was extended for a
further two years. Reports continued that
security forces were involved in human rights
violations, including torture and other ill-
treatment, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial
executions and enforced disappearances.
Impunity remained in the absence of
independent, impartial mechanisms to
investigate and bring perpetrators to
justice. While the number of attacks by
armed groups fell in 2017, scores of people
died in bombings that targeted the security
forces, religious minorities and others. 
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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 escalated
their restrictions on freedom of expression.
In both areas, security forces tortured and
otherwise ill-treated detainees with
impunity. The authorities in the West Bank
took punitive actions against the Hamas
administration that further restricted the
civilian population’s access to vital services,
exacerbating the humanitarian crisis
resulting from Israel’s military blockade of
Gaza. Women in both areas continued to
face discrimination and violence. Courts in
Gaza handed down death sentences and
Hamas carried out public executions; no
executions were carried out in the West
Bank.
Hamas announced its readiness to dismantle
its committee administering Gaza, and called
for legislative and presidential elections to be
held in the West Bank and Gaza. Later that
month, the two rival political parties Hamas
and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement
in Cairo, Egypt, aimed at ending the decade-
long split between the West Bank and
Hamas-run Gaza. In November, the “national
consensus” government took over control of
the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt,
and checkpoints near crossings with Israel.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
As political in-fighting continued, authorities
in the West Bank and Gaza used threats and
intimidation against activists and journalists
to suppress peaceful expression, including
reporting and criticism. According to the
NGO Palestinian Centre for Development and
Media Freedoms, the Palestinian authorities
in the West Bank were responsible for 147
attacks on media freedom during the year.
These included arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment
during interrogations, confiscation of
equipment, physical assaults, bans on
reporting and the banning of 29 websites
critical of the West Bank authorities. Hamas
authorities in Gaza were responsible for 35
such attacks.
In January, security forces in Gaza violently
dispersed a protest in Jabalia refugee camp
against Hamas’ mismanagement of the
electricity crisis (see below). Activists and
organizers were detained, threatened and in
some cases tortured for organizing the
demonstrations. Activist Mohammad al-
Talowli was arrested on three occasions
throughout the year for his role in organizing
the protests, and received death threats.
Journalists working with media affiliated
with the West Bank authorities were barred
from working freely in Gaza. Palestine TV
correspondent Fouad Jaradeh was arrested
by Hamas Internal Security Forces on 6 June
and tried before a military court for
“collaborating with Ramallah”. He was
released in August.
BACKGROUND
Gaza remained under an Israeli air, sea and
land blockade, in force since June 2007.
Continuing restrictions on exports crippled
the economy and exacerbated widespread
impoverishment among Gaza’s 2 million
inhabitants. Egypt continued to enforce an
almost total closure of the Rafah border
crossing with Gaza, compounding the impact
of the Israeli blockade.
Divisions between the Ramallah-based
“national consensus” government and the
Hamas de facto administration in Gaza
persisted for much of the year. In an
apparent effort to regain control of the Gaza
Strip, the Palestinian authorities introduced a
series of punitive measures against Hamas,
which remained in place at the end of the
year.
In October, the “national consensus”
government held a cabinet meeting in Gaza,
mediated by the Egyptian authorities, after
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The Electronic Crimes Law (Law 16 of
2017) was adopted in July. It permitted the
arbitrary detention of journalists, whistle-
blowers and others who criticize the
authorities online. The law allowed for prison
sentences and up to 25 years’ hard labour for
anyone deemed to have disturbed “public
order”, “national unity” or “social peace”. An
amended draft proposed removing several
repressive provisions, but left in place others
that allowed arbitrary restrictions on the rights
to freedom of expression, privacy and
protection of data. The draft had not been
made public by the end of the year.
Six Palestinian journalists were charged
under the Electronic Crimes Law in August.
In June and July, at least 10 journalists were
summoned for interrogation by Preventative
Security Forces for publicly criticizing the law.
Human rights defenders were subjected to
interrogation, harassment and threats in
relation to their human rights work, including
criticism of the Electronic Crimes Law.
Prominent human rights defender Issa
Amro was detained for a week in September
and charged with several offences under the
Electronic Crimes Law and the 1960
Jordanian Penal code, which remained in
force in the West Bank.
mismanagement of the electricity crisis said
that Hamas’ internal security forces tortured
him in custody. He reported being beaten
with a plastic pipe, blindfolded, and forced to
sit in strenuous positions with his hands
cuffed for around four days. Others reported
ill-treatment.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Security forces used excessive force to
disperse protests in the West Bank and Gaza.
On 12 March, Palestinian security forces
used excessive force to violently suppress a
peaceful protest outside the Ramallah District
Court in the West Bank. At least 13 men and
eight women were injured; among them were
four journalists covering the protest.
Seventeen people were hospitalized. Those
injured suffered bruises from heavy beatings
with wooden batons or after being struck by
tear gas canisters. Farid al-Atrash, a lawyer,
human rights defender and the head of
ICHR’s Bethlehem office, reported being
beaten to the ground by police using wooden
batons.
A Fact-Finding Commission established by
Prime Minister Hamdallah to investigate the
incident found that the use of force to
disperse the protest violated government
regulations. It made a series of
recommendations, including reparation and
accountability measures. Despite the Prime
Minister’s stated commitment to uphold the
recommendations, these remained
unimplemented, and none of the officers
responsible for the violence were brought to
justice.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
remained common and was committed with
impunity by Palestinian police and security
forces in the West Bank, and by Hamas
police and security forces in Gaza. The
Independent Commission for Human Rights
(ICHR), Palestine’s national human rights
institution, received hundreds of allegations
of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
held in the West Bank and Gaza.  
In September, a 16-year-old boy and
another detainee died in unclear
circumstances in Hamas-controlled detention
centres in Gaza City. The Public Prosecution
in Gaza announced that it would carry out an
investigation; this had not been concluded by
the end of the year.
At least one activist detained in relation to
his role leading the protests against Hamas’
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice, and
were inadequately protected against sexual
and other gender-based violence, including
so-called “honour” killings. At least 28
women and girls were reported to have been
killed by male relatives in “honour” killings,
according to civil society.
Under provisions of the Jordanian Penal
Code, judges were able to use stereotypes of
women’s sexuality to justify minimizing the
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sentences of those convicted of “honour”
killings.
Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code,
which allows for those who commit rape or
sexual assault to escape punishment by
marrying the victim, remained in force.
More than three years after the State of
Palestine acceded to CEDAW, national
legislation had not been amended in line with
CEDAW. The applicable Jordanian Personal
Status law continued to discriminate against
women with regard to marriage, inheritance,
divorce, guardianship and property rights.
patients’ long-term health. Hamas authorities
reported a shortage of baby formula, blaming
West Bank authorities.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was applied in Gaza. Six
people were executed after civil and military
courts sentenced them to death after
convicting them of “collaboration with Israel”
or other offences.
In May, Hamas executed three men in Gaza
for allegedly assassinating a senior Hamas
commander. They were sentenced to death
in a trial that lasted one week and consisted
of four brief sessions only. The sentences
were carried out in a public square in Gaza
City; two men were hanged and one executed
by firing squad. The executions were shown
live on social media.
No one was sentenced to death or executed
in the West Bank.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
The Palestinian government based in
Ramallah imposed several punitive measures
against Gaza in a bid to pressure the Hamas
administration to give up control of Gaza.
These measures impeded the civilian
population’s access to medical care, essential
services including water and electricity, and
education. This contributed to violations of
the rights to health, an adequate standard of
living, and education.
In May, the West Bank authorities informed
Israel that they would cover only 70% of the
monthly cost of Israeli electricity supplies to
Gaza due to Hamas’ failure to reimburse
them. As a result, access to electricity in
Gaza was reduced from an average of eight
hours per day to between two to four hours
per day.
The West Bank authorities cut the salaries
of some 60,000 civil servants in Gaza by
30%, undermining their right to an adequate
standard of living and prompting mass
protests.
According to the UN Office for the Co-
ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in March
the West Bank authorities suspended the
payments for transfers of people in need of
medical treatment outside Gaza, delaying the
referrals of some 1,400 patients. NGOs
reported that procedural delays resulted in
the deaths of several patients, including
babies. The UN reported delays in the
transfer of essential medicines and medical
supplies to hospitals in Gaza, affecting
IMPUNITY
Impunity for human rights abuses including
unlawful killings and torture in the West Bank
and Gaza persisted. No criminal
investigations were launched into the
apparent extrajudicial executions of Fares
Halawa and Khaled al-Aghbar by Palestinian
security forces in Nablus in August 2016, nor
was anyone brought to justice for the death of
Ahmad Izzat Halawa under torture in Jneid
prison in the same month.
In Gaza, Hamas authorities took no steps to
prosecute members of its forces and Hamas’
military wing, the ‘Izz al-Din al-Qassam
Brigades, for extrajudicial executions they
carried out in 2014 and 2016.
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PAPUA NEW
GUINEA
Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by
Robert Dadae (replaced Michael Ogio in February)
Head of government:
Peter Charles Paire O’Neill
Violence by security forces remained
endemic; prisoners, refugees and women
were the most frequent victims. Disputes
about elections led to violent clashes and
deaths in some parts of the country. More
than 800 refugees and asylum-seekers
remained trapped in Papua New Guinea
after being forcibly sent there by the
Australian authorities. Two refugees with
serious mental health issues died, raising
concerns about inadequate health care.
Hillside Haus and West Lorengau Haus were
inadequate, with frequent water and power
cuts. Refugees were subject to threats and
attacks following the transfers.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In April, PNG navy officers fired shots at the
Manus Island refugee centre at Lombrum
after a dispute about use of a nearby football
field. Initial reports by PNG and Australia
suggested that only one shot was fired into
the air and was not a serious security breach.
However, after forensic evidence established
that multiple shots had been fired directly
into the centre, putting the lives of refugees,
immigration officials and private contractors
at risk, Australia confirmed that nine people
were injured, including three refugees. No
investigation had taken place by the end of
the year.
In May, PNG security forces shot and killed
17 detainees during an escape attempt from
a prison in Lae city. The prison had
previously been noted for poor conditions,
lack of sanitation and overcrowding. The
authorities stated that investigations would be
conducted into the incident but no further
information was received by the end of the
year. Around half of those detained at the
facility were being held on remand and many
had waited years for their trials.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Australia’s policy of detaining and processing
refugees on Manus Island, Papua New
Guinea (PNG), resulted in the systematic
violation of the rights of hundreds of
individuals. In February, Iranian refugee
Loghman Sawari was detained and charged
after he was forcibly returned to PNG from
Fiji, where he had fled to seek asylum. Papua
New Guinea claimed he had provided false
information to obtain a passport. However, by
September all charges against him had been
dismissed by the courts for lack of evidence.
Two refugees died (in August and October)
in suspected suicides. The circumstances of
the deaths were being investigated by the
PNG Coroner.
In September, around 25 refugees were
transferred to the USA. The vast majority of
refugees and asylum-seekers remained
trapped on Manus Island.
On 23 and 24 October, refugees were
forcibly removed from the Lombrum refugee
centre by PNG immigration and police
officers armed with metal poles and
transferred to Hillside Haus, West Lorengau
Haus or the East Lorengau Transit Centre;
some sustained minor injuries. Facilities at
ELECTION-RELATED VIOLENCE
National elections were held from late June to
August. Allegations of corruption,
mismanagement, widespread exclusion of
voters and a heavy-handed response by the
authorities led to a tense atmosphere, in
some cases involving violence or arrests.
By mid-August, violence over disputed seats
following the election resulted in the deaths
of at least 20 people and the burning down of
some 120 houses in Enga and Southern
Highlands provinces.
GENDER-RELATED VIOLENCE
Gender-related violence continued to be a
major issue. On 14 October, prominent
journalist Rosalyn Albaniel Evara died. Family
members and close friends claimed she was
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a victim of domestic violence. No charges
had been brought by the end of the year.
In November, a six-year-old girl was cut and
burned following accusations of sorcery in
Enga. Her mother, Kepari Leniata, had been
publicly burned to death in Mount Hagen in
2013; no perpetrators have been brought to
justice. Authorities often failed to adequately
investigate or prosecute cases of violence
following sorcery accusations because of the
deeply held customary beliefs of police
officers and the community.
In November, the PNG government
announced 25 million Kina (USD7.8m) in
funding to end violence against women, set
up child protection, and to address violence
following sorcery accusations.
of the government’s reaction to the protests
also reported being harassed by the
authorities.
On 1 April, opposition activist Rodrigo
Quintana was killed by police in the context
of the protests. Dozens of people were
injured, more than 200 were detained, and
local organizations reported allegations of
torture and other ill-treatment by security
forces.
In June, in response to allegations that 23
journalists had been attacked by police
during the protests in March, National Police
adopted a security protocol for journalists at
risk.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In September, the UN Committee against
Torture issued concluding observations and
recommendations on Paraguay, including to
ensure that all persons deprived of their
liberty enjoy all legal safeguards from the
beginning of the detention, including the
rights to access a lawyer of their choice, to be
promptly examined by a doctor respecting
their confidentiality and privacy, and to be
given access to an independent medical
practitioner if they so request.
The Committee also recommended prompt,
impartial and effective investigations into all
allegations of excessive use of force, arbitrary
detention and acts of torture and other ill-
treatment by law enforcement officials,
including those reported during the
demonstrations of 31 March and 1 April, and
to ensure that the perpetrators are
prosecuted and the victims receive adequate
reparation.
In addition, the Committee recommended
that an independent, effective, exhaustive
and impartial investigation be conducted into
allegations of disproportionate use of lethal
force, torture and other ill-treatment during
the confrontation in Curuguaty in 2012, as
well as alleged violations of due process
during the judicial proceedings against 11
campesinos
(peasant farmers) related to this
case.
On 16 August, Congress approved a law to
implement the Rome Statute of the
PARAGUAY
Republic of Paraguay
Head of state and government: Horacio Manuel Cartes
Jara
Indigenous Peoples continued to be denied
their rights to land and to free, prior and
informed consent on projects affecting
them. A bill to eliminate all forms of
discrimination was pending approval at the
end of the year. There were reports that
human rights defenders and journalists
were persecuted amid violations of the right
to freedom of expression, and that police
used excessive force to repress
demonstrations.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
In March, journalists Menchi Barriocanal and
Oscar Acosta reported on a secret attempt by
senators to amend the Constitution to allow
presidential re-elections. In response,
protests erupted on 31 March and 1 April,
with some protesters setting fire to the
Congress building.
President Cartes and ruling party
representatives publicly accused the two
journalists of inciting violence and threatened
them with arrest. Other media workers critical
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International Criminal Court (ICC) and ensure
co-operation with the ICC. On 23 August the
Executive sent to Congress for ratification the
Kampala Amendments on the crime of
aggression and on Article 8 of the Rome
Statute.
fire, and 12 others were injured. The National
Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture had
reported in 2016 the lack of fire protection
and evacuation protocols in the centre.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In July, President Cartes vetoed Bill No.
5833/2017, which aimed to establish a civil
registry record of “deaths of conceived
unborn children”. In August, the Chamber of
Deputies and the Senate rejected the veto
and approved the bill, which was
promulgated by the President at the end of
the year. The bill was denounced by human
rights organizations as introducing an almost
absolute protection of the foetus, which could
potentially take precedence over the rights to
life, physical integrity and health of women
and girls.
In October, the Ministry of Education and
Science passed a resolution banning public
education materials on “gender theory”,
which in practice restricted materials related
to gender equality, reproductive rights,
sexuality and non-discrimination.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
Negotiations began between the government
and representatives of the Ayoreo
Totobiegosode Indigenous Peoples living in
voluntary isolation, with a view to
implementing the precautionary measures
granted by the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights (IACHR) to protect these
communities from third parties seeking to
access their ancestral land, and to reach a
friendly settlement in a case pending before
the IACHR for the violation of their rights.
The Yakye Axa community remained
without access to their lands despite a ruling
from the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights ordering the government to construct
an access route. The case regarding the
ownership of land expropriated from the
Sawhoyamaxa community, which has a
similar ruling from the Inter-American Court
in their favour, had also not been resolved by
the government.
PERU
Republic of Peru
Head of state and government: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
Godard
Land and territory-related rights continued
to be threatened by the adoption of laws
weakening the protection framework for the
rights of Indigenous Peoples and
undermining the right to free, prior and
informed consent. Violence against women
and the rate of pregnancy among girls
continued to increase without an effective
response from the state. A
presidential
pardon and grace granted to former
Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori on
humanitarian grounds raised serious
concerns regarding impunity and the
respect of due process guarantees.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
In September, the Chamber of Deputies
upheld the Executive’s veto of a bill that
would have expropriated 900 hectares of
land from its current occupants to return it to
the Guahory
campesino
community, who
were forcibly evicted in 2016.
In October, human rights organizations
reported that one year after the forced
eviction of the Avá Guaraní de Sauce
community in connection with the Itaipu
hydroelectric dam, no progress had been
made regarding the restitution of their lands.
As a result, the community withdrew from
dialogue with the authorities.
DETENTION
In September, two boys held at a juvenile
detention centre in Ciudad del Este died in a
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HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Both state and non-state actors continued to
threaten and harass human rights defenders,
particularly those working on issues related to
land, territory and the environment, in the
absence of policies for their effective
protection or public recognition of the
importance of their work. Human rights
defenders were criminalized and harassed
through judicial proceedings with high
penalties, and they usually lacked financial
resources for adequate legal representation.
In May, the Supreme Court confirmed the
acquittal of Máxima Acuña, putting an end to
an unfounded criminal proceeding for land
seizure that had lasted for more than five
years. Máxima Acuña and her family
continued to report acts of intimidation, while
the ownership of the lands on which they
lived was still pending judicial resolution.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
The issuance of a series of regulations
lowering environmental standards and
procedures for access to land aimed at
promoting extractive or infrastructure projects
continued to conflict with the protection
framework for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Indigenous Peoples of the Cuninico
community in Loreto region and the
communities of Espinar in Cusco region were
still suffering a health crisis due to their only
water sources being contaminated with toxic
metals, while the government failed to
undertake necessary actions to provide them
with specialized medical attention or access
to clean and safe water.
No substantial progress was made in the
case of four Asháninka Indigenous leaders
who were killed in Ucayali region in 2014
after reporting death threats from illegal
loggers to the authorities.
2009, had been serving a 25-year sentence
for crimes against humanity. The decision
was seriously flawed by lack of transparency,
impartiality, respect for due process and
participation of the victims and their families,
notably given the severity of the crimes under
international law.
In June, the Supreme Court of Chile
confirmed the extension of Alberto Fujimori's
extradition request to include the killing of six
residents of Pativilca district in the
department of Lima in January 1992. In July,
the Third National Criminal Prosecutor's
Office of Peru accused Alberto Fujimori of
responsibility for this crime, committed by his
subordinates in complicity with others.
Nevertheless, the grace granted to him on 24
 December lifted any criminal proceedings
against him, therefore raising concerns of
impunity in the Pativilca case.
In August, military officers were sentenced
for the torture, enforced disappearance and
extrajudicial execution of 53 people in Los
Cabitos military barracks in Ayacucho in
1983.
In September, the trial began of former navy
personnel charged with killing more than 100
people during a riot in El Frontón prison in
1986, a charge which could amount to a
crime against humanity.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Between January and September the
Attorney General’s Office registered 17,182
complaints of “crimes against sexual
freedom”, which include rape and other
forms of sexual violence. Only 2,008 (11%)
of the complaints were followed up by the
judiciary. The registry of complaints did not
list the gender of complainants.
In the same period, the Ministry for Women
reported 94 cases of femicide.
There were no concrete advances in policy
or legislation to combat violence against
women and girls.
IMPUNITY
One year after its approval, the National Plan
for the Search for Disappeared Persons was
still not implemented.
On 24 December, President Kuczynski
granted a humanitarian pardon and grace to
former president Alberto Fujimori who, since
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Pregnancy rates among girls remained high.
Official records showed that at least 12 girls
aged 11 and under, and 6,516 girls aged
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between 12 and 17, gave birth between
January and March.
Abortion continued to be criminalized in all
circumstances except when the health or life
of the pregnant woman or girl is at risk. The
debate on a bill for decriminalization of
abortion in cases of rape was pending before
Congress.
More than 5,000 women had been included
in the Registry of Victims of Forced
Sterilization. Despite this, there was no
progress in obtaining justice and providing
reparation.
penalty stalled at the Senate after a bill was
passed by the House of Representatives.
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AND
SUMMARY KILLINGS
The deliberate, unlawful and widespread
killings of thousands of alleged drug
offenders appeared to be systematic,
planned, organized and encouraged by the
authorities, and may have constituted crimes
against humanity. Most of those killed were
from poor urban communities.
1
Despite
evidence that police and gunmen with links
to the police killed or paid others to kill
alleged drug offenders in a wave of
extrajudicial executions, authorities continued
to deny any unlawful deaths. In January, the
President suspended the violent anti-drugs
campaign for one month following the killing
in police custody of a Republic of Korea
national. In March, the unlawful killings of
suspected drug offenders in police operations
resumed, as did drug-related killings by other
armed individuals. The number of killings on
a single day in police anti-drug operations
reached 32 in August. Police continued to
rely on unverified lists of people allegedly
using or selling drugs. In September, the
killings of three teenagers within a few weeks
sparked a national outcry. CCTV footage and
witness statements contradicted police
accounts of the killing of one of the three, 17-
year-old Kian delos Santos, who according to
forensic experts and witnesses appeared to
have been extrajudicially executed.
2
In October, President Duterte announced
that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
would take over the anti-drugs campaign
from the Philippine National Police. However,
it was announced less than two months later
that police might rejoin anti-drug operations,
despite unresolved issues. Meaningful
investigations into killings of alleged drugs
offenders failed to take place; no police
officers were known to have been held to
account. Relatives of victims continued to be
fearful of reprisals if they filed complaints
against police.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Peru continued to lack specific legislation
recognizing and protecting the rights of
LGBTI people, who continued to face
discrimination and violence based on their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
In May, Congress partially repealed
Legislative Decree 1323, including the
section which established “sexual orientation
and gender identity” as aggravating grounds
for certain crimes and as elements of the
crime of discrimination.
Transgender people continued to lack social
and legal recognition of their gender identity,
and were deprived of their rights to freedom
of movement, health, work, housing and
education, among others.
PHILIPPINES
Republic of the Philippines
Head of state and government: Rodrigo Roa Duterte
Thousands of unlawful killings by police
and other armed individuals continued as
part of the government’s anti-drugs
campaign. Human rights defenders critical
of the campaign were singled out and
targeted by the President and his allies. A
state of martial law was declared and
extended twice on the island of Mindanao,
raising fears of further human rights
abuses. Attempts to reintroduce the death
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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Human rights defenders, in particular those
critical of the government, faced threats and
intimidation. Journalists worked in dangerous
and at times deadly environments. In August,
radio broadcaster Rudy Alicaway and
columnist Leodoro Diaz were shot dead in the
provinces of Zamboanga del Sur and Sultan
Kudarat respectively. Radio broadcaster
Christopher Iban Lozada was killed by
unidentified gunmen in Surigao del Sur in
October.
the Philippines’ international obligations and
in particular as a state party to the Second
Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the
abolition of the death penalty. A draft law to
reintroduce the punishment was adopted by
the House of Representatives in March but
stalled in the Senate after facing opposition.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
President Duterte declared martial law in the
island of Mindanao on 23 May. Fighting had
erupted in the city of Marawi between
government forces and an alliance of
militants, including the Maute group, which
pledged allegiance to the armed group
Islamic State (IS). The conflict ended in
October when the military killed several
militant leaders.
4
Militants allied with IS
targeted Christian civilians, committing at
least 25 extrajudicial killings and carrying out
mass hostage-taking and extensive looting of
civilian property, which may have amounted
to war crimes. Philippine armed forces
detained and ill-treated fleeing civilians, and
also engaged in looting. Their extensive
bombing of militant-held areas of Marawi city
wiped out entire neighbourhoods and killed
civilians, which highlighted the need for an
investigation into their compliance with
international humanitarian law. In response,
the Philippine armed forces said they would
probe allegations of war crimes. Martial law
was extended for a second time in
December, amid concerns that military rule
could allow for further human rights abuses.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Attacks against human rights defenders
increased, as the President encouraged
police to “shoot” human rights defenders
who were “obstructing justice”. In February,
Senator Leila de Lima, former justice
secretary and former chair of the Philippines
Commission on Human Rights, was arrested
on charges of drug trafficking. At the end of
the year she remained in detention at the
Philippine National Police headquarters in
the capital, Manila, and faced between 12
years’ and life imprisonment if convicted. It
was believed that the charges were politically
motivated and that she had been deliberately
targeted by the government since emerging
as the most prominent critic of the “war on
drugs”.
3
Attacks against the Commission on
Human Rights also intensified, as lawmakers
accused it of “siding with suspected
criminals” in the anti-drugs campaign and
caused uproar by approving a budget of just
USD20, before the decision was overturned
in the Senate. Human rights groups
expressed concern at reports of increased
numbers of arbitrary arrests and detention,
and extrajudicial executions of political
activists and individuals aligned with the left,
following a declaration of martial law in the
island of Mindanao, and as peace talks
between communist rebels, the New People’s
Army and the government broke down.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In April a secret detention cell was found in a
police station in Manila. The Philippines
Commission on Human Rights referred the
discovery, along with allegations of torture
and other ill-treatment, to the Office of the
Ombudsman for investigation.
Security forces were accused of torture and
extrajudicial executions of those rounded up
during five months of fighting between the
Philippine armed forces and the Maute group
in Marawi.
A bill to establish a National Preventative
Mechanism in accordance with the
DEATH PENALTY
International groups called on the
government to abandon its plan, proposed in
2016, to reintroduce the death penalty, citing
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Philippines’ obligations under the Optional
Protocol to the UN Convention against
Torture had not been adopted by the end of
the year.
POLAND
Republic of Poland
Head of state: Andrzej Duda
Head of government: Mateusz Morawiecki (replaced
Beata Szydło in December)
The government continued its efforts to
exert political control over the judiciary,
NGOs and the media. Hundreds of
protesters faced criminal sanctions for
participating in peaceful assemblies.
Women and girls continued to face systemic
barriers in accessing safe and legal
abortion.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
President Duterte pledged to lower the
minimum age of criminal responsibility,
generating wide condemnation from
children’s rights organizations and the UN. A
bill to amend the Juvenile Justice and
Welfare Act, which was adopted on 23 May
by the Sub-Committee on Correctional
Reforms, retained the minimum age of
criminal responsibility as 15, but introduced
provisions that placed children as young as
nine in crowded and often unsanitary short-
term institutions for rehabilitation or as they
awaited court disposition. An additional bill
by a lawmaker was filed later in the year,
seeking to lower the minimum age of criminal
responsibility to 12, but remained pending.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In July, the European Commission stated that
the independence of the Constitutional
Tribunal had been “seriously undermined”
and raised concerns that the constitutionality
of Polish laws “could not be effectively
guaranteed”. The government also attempted
to extend its influence over other branches of
the judiciary, including the Supreme Court,
the National Council of the Judiciary and
Common Courts.
Between May and July, Parliament adopted
four laws on the reform of the judiciary.
These provoked a strong response from the
public, intergovernmental organizations and
NGOs which expressed alarm over the
waning independence of the judiciary and
rule of law. The changes would have given
the Minister of Justice control over the
Supreme Court and would have also
undermined the independence of the
National Council of Judiciary, a self-regulating
body of judges. On 24 July, the President
vetoed two of the adopted laws, the
amendment of the Law on the National
Council of Judiciary and of the Law on the
Supreme Court.
The President did, however, sign the
amendment to the Law on Common Courts,
which entered into force in August. The
amendment empowered the Minister of
Justice to appoint and dismiss presidents
RIGHT TO HEALTH
The nationwide anti-drugs campaign
undermined people’s right to the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health. Many drug users were
forced into compulsory and inadequate
treatment and rehabilitation initiatives, which
prevented them from accessing essential
health services and harm reduction
programmes.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In January, President Duterte signed an
executive order to strengthen the
implementation of the Reproductive Health
Act of 2012 which promised to provide
greater access to family planning and birth
control services.
1.
‘If
you are poor, you are killed’: Extrajudicial executions in the
Philippines‘ war on drugs (ASA
35/5517/2017)
2. Philippines: State hearing highlights deadly consequences for
children in ‚ war on drugs‘ (News
story,
24 August)
3. Philippines: Impending arrest of Senator politically motivated (ASA
35/5772/2017)
4.
‘Battle of Marawi’: Death and destruction in the Philippines (ASA
35/7427/2017)
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and vice-presidents of courts. In response,
the European Commission started
infringement proceedings against Poland for
breaching EU law on the grounds that the
law, which introduced different retirement
ages for men and women judges, was
discriminatory. The proceedings were
pending at the end of the year. The
Commission stated that it would also trigger
proceedings under Article 7(1), which could
result in sanctions if any law giving the
Minister of Justice control over the Supreme
Court were adopted.
In October, the daily
Gazeta Wyborcza
reported that six prosecutors faced
disciplinary proceedings for criticizing a 2016
reform that merged the functions of the
national Prosecutor General and the Minister
of Justice, giving the Minister undue
influence over judicial proceedings.
In December, the Parliament adopted
amendments to the Law on the National
Council of Judiciary and of the Law on the
Supreme Court which subjected the judiciary
to the political control of the government. On
20 December, the European Commission, in
an unprecedented move, triggered Article 7.1
of the EU Treaty against Poland. The process
could lead to sanctions for undermining
human rights and the rule of law in Poland.
to provide identification; used threats of
sanctions; and, for some, the pursuit of
criminal charges and prosecutions. Dozens of
protesters faced proceedings in court under
the Code of Petty Offences and in some
cases also under the Criminal Code;
proceedings were still pending at the end of
the year. Hundreds of others were
summoned to police stations in relation to
their participation in protests.
In April, an amendment to the Law on
Assemblies that prioritized “cyclical”
assemblies in central Warsaw, entered into
force. The law had been used to ban
alternative or counter-demonstrations in
favour of monthly pro-government assemblies
and to grant a pro-government group regular
access to the public space near the
Presidential Palace.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
Using new powers conferred by the 2015
media law, the Minister of Treasury dismissed
a number of directors and supervisory
councils of public TV and radio stations. The
Minister appointed new directors without
consulting the independent National
Broadcasting Council, resulting in
government control over all public media
outlets. By October, over 234 journalists
working in public broadcasting, including
trade union leaders, had been demoted,
dismissed, or forced to resign.
Investigative journalist Tomasz Piątek was at
risk of criminal charges for his book
published in June that alleged a link between
the Minister of National Defence and the
Russian intelligence services. In late June,
the Minister filed a criminal complaint against
Tomasz Piątek, alleging a violation of the laws
on “using violence or unlawful threat [which]
affects a government authority performing its
duty” and “insulting a public official in the
course and in connection with the
performance of [their] duties”. On 26 June,
the complaint was forwarded to the Regional
Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. In October, the
Minister publicly accused the journalist of
aiming to prevent the reform of Poland’s army
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Public protests continued throughout 2017 in
opposition to government policies and
legislation on the judiciary, the right to
peaceful assembly, the functioning of NGOs,
media freedom, sexual and reproductive
rights, and the right to housing. The largest
demonstrations occurred in July, when
thousands of people in over 100 cities took to
the streets to protest against the reform of the
judiciary. Law enforcement officials
responded with heavy-handed security
measures in the area around Parliament and
at the Presidential Palace, inhibiting the
demonstrators’ ability to protest. The police
contained groups of peaceful protesters;
used constant and varied forms of monitoring
and surveillance at the protests by
surveillance teams that also asked protesters
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and that the allegations presented in the
book were “an integral part of the hybrid war
against Poland”. No charges against Tomasz
Piątek had been formally pressed by the end
of the year.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In October, the President expressed support
for a legislative proposal drafted by anti-
choice groups which would prohibit abortion
in cases of severe or fatal fetal impairment.
In June, Parliament adopted an amendment
to the Law on State Funded Health Services
under which emergency contraception
became accessible only on prescription,
contrary to international recommendations on
emergency contraception.
asylum application alleging that he
represented a “threat to national security”.
The evidence against him, collected by the
Internal Security Agency, was not made
available to his legal representatives. The
NGO Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
argued that the denial of access to the case
files had effectively prevented the applicant
from knowing the detailed grounds for the
rejection of his asylum claim. In August, the
Foundation appealed against the decision.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
There were ongoing reports of push-backs of
asylum-seekers at a border crossing with
Belarus. The European Court of Human
Rights requested information from Poland
regarding four cases in which the applicants
claimed that they were repeatedly denied
entry to seek international protection and that
this put them at risk of
refoulement
– forcible
return to a country where they were at real
risk of persecution. In late August, the NGO
Human Constanta, which is based in
Belarus, filed another case against Poland
with the UN Human Rights Committee for the
breach of the
non-refoulement
principle. The
cases remained pending at the end of the
year.
In June, the European Commission started
infringement procedures against Poland, as
well as the Czech Republic and Hungary, for
refusing to participate in the refugee
relocation scheme from EU member states
such as Greece and Italy. In December, the
European Commission decided to step up the
action against all three countries and referred
them to the Court of Justice of the European
Union.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
On 4 October, one day after a national protest
against restrictive policies on abortion, the
police simultaneously raided four offices of
women’s rights NGOs in different cities that
had supported the action. The police
confiscated hard drives and computer data,
including databases with information on
individuals and medical reports of victims of
domestic violence. The authorities claimed
that the action was part of an investigation of
former staff members of the Ministry of
Justice for alleged maladministration of
funds.
In October, Parliament adopted the Law on
the National Freedom Institute, a body that
will decide on state funding to NGOs. Civil
society groups raised serious concerns that
the law provided for the Institute to be under
the effective control of the government, which
would potentially undermine the ability of
organizations that were critical of the
government to access such funds.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights and NGOs raised concerns
over the lack of due process in cases of
deportations where national security grounds
were invoked.
In April, an Iraqi student was deported to
Iraq after the Refugee Board rejected his
PORTUGAL
Portuguese Republic
Head of state: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Head of government: António Costa
Housing conditions for Roma and people of
African descent remained inadequate.
Portugal relocated fewer asylum-seekers
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than it was required to under the EU
Relocation Programme. The government
proposed legislation to strengthen the
protection of transgender and intersex
people’s rights. Parliament extended
protection against hate speech and
discrimination.
DETENTION
The publication of the Council of Europe
Committee for the Prevention of Torture’s
report of its visit to Portugal in September-
October 2016 was pending at the end of the
year. The visit focused on the application of
safeguards against torture and other ill-
treatment of persons in custody; conditions of
detention in prison and on remand; and the
situation of patients in forensic psychiatric
units.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
In February, in her report of a December
2016 visit to Lisbon, the capital, and Porto,
the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to
adequate housing noted that many Roma
and people of African descent were living in
substandard conditions and often faced
discrimination in accessing adequate
housing. She urged the authorities, among
other things, to address inadequate housing
in informal settlements as a priority and to
ensure that evictions and demolitions did not
result in homelessness and were carried out
in compliance with international standards.
In March, the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights visited
Lisbon and Torres Vedras; he also expressed
concern about the substandard and often
segregated Roma settlements and called for
new social housing programmes for all
vulnerable groups to be developed.
Residents of the informal settlement of
Bairro 6 de Maio in the Amadora
municipality, near Lisbon, feared their houses
could be demolished and they could be
forcibly evicted without access to adequate
processes. Many of the residents were of
African and Roma descent.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Portugal relocated 1,518 asylum-seekers
from Greece and Italy, leaving over 1,400
places to fill according to the legal
commitment it had made under the EU
Relocation Programme. However, the
authorities reported that of those relocated,
over 720 persons had left the country by the
end of the year.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In April, a government-sponsored bill aiming
to bring the protection of LGBTI people’s
rights in line with international standards was
presented to Parliament. The bill was being
considered at the end of the year. The bill
proposed removing the requirement for
psychological assessments and introduced
the requirement for expressed consent to any
medical treatment aimed at determining the
gender for intersex people, including
children.
DISCRIMINATION
In August, Parliament approved legislation
strengthening protection against
discrimination. The criminal code was
amended to include descent and physical
and mental disability among the grounds for
criminal liability for discriminatory conduct. A
separate offence of incitement to hatred and
violence based on discriminatory motives was
also introduced.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In July, the Public Prosecutor of the Amadora
municipality charged 18 police officers for
the ill-treatment of six men of African descent
in February 2015 (the charges against one
officer were struck out in December). The
officers were accused of torture, unlawful
imprisonment, grave abuse of power and
other offences aggravated by racism. In
September, the investigating judge rejected
the Public Prosecutor’s request that the
officers be suspended pending trial.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
In October, the Porto Court of Appeal upheld
the suspended sentence of two men
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convicted in 2015 of assaulting a woman.
The woman’s former partner abducted her
and her former husband beat her with a nail-
spiked bat. The judges justified their decision
by referring to religious beliefs and gender
stereotypes, stating that “the adultery of the
woman was a very serious attack on the
honour and dignity of a man.” In December,
the Superior Council of the Judiciary opened
disciplinary proceedings, which were pending
at the end of the year, against the two judges
responsible for the ruling.
December, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights expressed concern over
the emergency and reconstruction efforts.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
In February, the Department of Education
eliminated the curriculum for gender
perspective in public schools, which was
established by the previous administration to
ensure equality between genders in
education and in all Department of Education
projects; the new curriculum would only have
a binary conception of gender. The
Department also removed guidelines allowing
public-school students to wear school
uniform according to their gender identity.
Protections for transgender people suffered
a further setback when the President of the
Senate signed an administrative order
eliminating protective measures that
previously allowed employees of the
legislative branch to dress and use
bathrooms according to their gender identity.
In July, Governor Rosselló signed an
executive order for the creation of an LGBTI
advisory council to promote and implement
initiatives for LGBTI people across
governmental departments and in
collaboration with civil society.
PUERTO RICO
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Head of state: Donald Trump (replaced Barack Obama
in January)
Head of government: Ricardo Rosselló Nevares
Hurricane Maria caused deaths and
widespread damage to infrastructure,
housing and essential services. Protections
for transgender people and of freedoms of
expression and association suffered
setbacks. Austerity measures put human
rights at risk. Police used excessive force to
quell protests on International Workers’ Day.
BACKGROUND
On 20 September, Hurricane Maria caused
the largest natural disaster on the island in
modern history. According to the authorities,
at least 64 people died, but due to
uncertainties regarding the actual number,
the Governor announced that a new
investigation would be carried out. The
hurricane destroyed infrastructure and
buildings, leaving many people without
housing and access to potable water, food,
and essential services including medical
treatment and education. The slow response
of the local and federal government resulted
in a deepening of the humanitarian crisis
caused by the hurricane. In October, UN
human rights experts noted that the lack of
an effective emergency response came in the
context of an “existing dire situation caused
by debt and austerity measures”. In
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
On 19 May, Governor Rosselló signed into
law several amendments to the Criminal
Code, making illegal certain conduct such as
blocking entry to construction sites or
educational institutions − tactics traditionally
used by peaceful protesters − thus potentially
undermining the rights to freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly. The
amendments were rushed through
Parliament with limited consultation with civil
society and entered into force immediately
after their approval, without the usual 90-day
waiting period. The amendments appeared to
be a direct attempt by the government to
discourage peaceful protests.
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ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Puerto Rico continued to face a serious
financial crisis as a result of crippling external
debt of more than USD70 billion, according
to figures from the authorities.
The Financial Oversight and Management
Board, established by US authorities in 2016,
implemented several austerity measures
during the year. These measures could have
negative consequences on human rights, in
particular access to health care, housing,
education and work. On 9 January, the UN
Independent Expert on foreign debt and
human rights publicly expressed concerns
over the adverse effects that further austerity
measures would have on the enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights. The
government of Puerto Rico continued to
refuse to conduct a thorough audit of its debt
despite calls from local civil society
organizations.
In December, the UN Special Rapporteur
on extreme poverty and human rights visited
Puerto Rico. He expressed concern regarding
the lack of consideration given to social
protections in the projected austerity
measures.
DEATH PENALTY
Although the death penalty was abolished in
Puerto Rico in 1929, it can still be imposed
for crimes under US federal law that are
punishable by death penalty. In February, the
Office of the US Attorney for the District of
Puerto Rico announced that it would again
seek the death penalty against Alexis
Candelario-Santana at his retrial, due to
begin on 1 August 2018. In 2013 he had
been sentenced to life imprisonment.
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
Severance of relations with Qatar by several
of its regional neighbours imposed arbitrary
restrictions on Qatar that resulted in human
rights violations. The government continued
to unduly restrict freedom of expression.
Steps were taken to improve access to
compensation for abused migrant workers.
The government committed to revise its
laws and reform the sponsorship system, as
part of an agreement with the ILO. After
years of delays, migrant domestic workers’
labour rights were protected for the first
time, though the new law contained flaws.
Discrimination against women remained
entrenched in both law and practice. The
courts imposed death sentences; no
executions were reported.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Excessive and unnecessary use of force by
police was reported during protests related to
the fiscal crisis. On 1 May, International
Workers’ Day, the American Civil Liberties
Union documented the indiscriminate use of
tear gas against protesters without prior
dispersal orders, contrary to international law
and standards. Observers collected canisters
which revealed that expired tear gas had
been used. Additionally, video evidence
showed the use of rubber bullets against
largely peaceful protesters. Other concerns
were raised concerning police officers not
being properly identifiable during the
protests, and undercover police infiltrating
protests and making arrests without
identifying themselves.
BACKGROUND
On 5 June, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and
Egypt severed relations with Qatar, accusing
it of financing and harbouring “terrorists” and
interfering in the domestic affairs of its
neighbours. Saudi Arabia closed Qatar’s only
land border while the four countries closed
their airspace to flights to Qatar. Saudi
Arabia, Bahrain and UAE arbitrarily banned
their nationals from visiting or living in Qatar,
and ordered Qataris to leave within 14 days,
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threatening fines or other unspecified
consequences for non-compliance. Despite
statements in response to international
outcry, it was unclear what practical steps the
three states had taken to mitigate negative
impacts on families and those in education or
undergoing medical treatment. As a result of
the dispute, Qatari forces were expelled from
the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen (see
Yemen entry) and a UN mission to Djibouti,
while the government accelerated efforts to
increase its military capacity, including
through military co-operation with Turkey and
other states. In July, the Emir issued a decree
amending some provisions of the 2004 Law
on Combating Terrorism, which included
redefining some terms and enabling
individuals and groups accused of “terrorist
activities” to appeal before the courts. In
November the Emir announced that the first
ever legislative elections would be held in
2018 and appointed four women to the
Consultative Council (Shura Council).
February 2017. On 24 May he was travelling
with his wife to Norway, where he had been
granted asylum, when Qatari officials
detained him at Doha airport.
Filipino national Ronaldo Lopez Ulep, whose
conviction on espionage charges was upheld
in 2016, continued to be detained despite an
unfair trial and allegations of torture.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
In January, the Emir signed an amendment
to Qatar’s new sponsorship law, which had
come into effect in December 2016. Law  No.
1 of 2017 confirmed that migrant workers
would continue to require the permission of
their employer to leave the country, by
requiring workers to “notify” their employer.
In October the cabinet reportedly approved a
new amendment to the exit permit; it was not
published during the year.
The ILO complaint against Qatar was closed
on 8 November after the government
committed to revising its laws in line with
international labour standards and the
guidance of ILO experts. If implemented in
full, the agreement would enhance the
protection of migrant workers’ rights.
On 18 August, the Emir approved the
establishment of a new, judge-led Labour
Dispute Resolution Committee (Law No.13 of
2017) to settle labour disputes within three
weeks of a worker filing a complaint. If
operated fairly and effectively, the new
committee could address some of the
barriers to migrant workers accessing justice.
At the end of the year the dispute resolution
courts had not yet begun operating.
A new law providing legal protections for
domestic workers’ labour rights was passed
for the first time. Law No.15 of 2017 included
a limit to working hours per day, at least 24
consecutive hours off every week and three
weeks’ paid leave per year. However, the law
failed to provide adequate safeguards to
restrict the abuse of a provision allowing
domestic workers to work beyond the legal
limit if they “agreed”.
Third-party auditors highlighted some
progress on projects for the football World
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The authorities maintained restrictions to the
rights to freedom of expression, association
and peaceful assembly that were not in
conformity with international law and
standards. The authorities did not permit the
existence of independent political parties,
and workers’ associations were only
permitted for Qatari citizens if they met strict
criteria. Laws criminalizing expression
deemed offensive to the Emir were
maintained.
In January, the government arbitrarily
imposed a travel ban on human rights lawyer
Najeeb al-Nuaimi, who was initially informed
by text message. The ban remained in place
at the end of the year, limiting the lawyer’s
right to free movement.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
On 25 May, although he was at risk of torture,
the government forcibly returned Saudi
Arabian human rights activist Mohammad al-
Otaibi to Saudi Arabia, where he faced trial.
Mohammad al-Otaibi had arrived in Qatar in
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Cup in 2022, but identified abuses of migrant
workers at all 10 of the contractors they
investigated.
The dispute with neighbouring countries
affected some migrant workers. Low-paid
workers were disproportionately impacted by
increases in food prices. Workers in the
hospitality and tourism sectors reported being
forced to take extended leave without pay.
Some foreign workers had annual leave
cancelled and exit permits revoked.
DEATH PENALTY
The courts reportedly imposed at least two
new death sentences that were upheld by the
Court of Cassation, Qatar’s highest court. No
executions were reported.
ROMANIA
Romania
Head of state: Klaus Iohannis
Head of government: Mihai Tudose (replaced Sorin
Grindeanu in June)
Laws extending pardons and amnesties for
corruption and official misconduct were put
forward, sparking protests across the
country. European and international
institutions criticized overcrowding in
prisons and inadequate detention
conditions. Amendments were proposed to
the law regulating civil society organizations
and foundations. Roma continued to face
discrimination.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women continued to face discrimination in
law and practice. Personal status laws
continued to discriminate against women in
relation to marriage, divorce, inheritance,
child custody, nationality and freedom of
movement.
In June, the UN Committee on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) urged the authorities to
investigate crimes related to gender-based
violence and to bring perpetrators to justice.
The Committee called on the authorities to
amend the Nationality Act in order to allow
women to confer nationality to their children
on an equal basis with Qatari men. Despite
the approval of a draft law providing
permanent residency rights for the children
of Qatari women married to non-Qataris,
discrimination persisted with women unable
to pass on nationality and citizenship to their
children.
BACKGROUND
In January, tens of thousands of people
protested against two emergency ordinances
adopted without substantial discussion by the
then recently formed government. The bills
extended a pardon of persons sentenced for
certain corruption offences and
decriminalized official misconduct. National
institutions, some foreign embassies and the
European Commission criticized the laws
which were then repealed in February. In
April, a new draft law – granting an amnesty
for sentences of less than five years,
including for corruption – was put forward,
sparking more protests throughout the
country during the year. The bill had not
been adopted by the end of the year.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In June, the CRC expressed concern over
gender discrimination of children, violence
against children in schools and at home, and
laws limiting the right to nationality of
children born in Qatar. The Committee called
for the enactment of measures to end these
practices. It also called for ending child
marriage and raising the age of criminal
responsibility, which remained at seven years
of age in contravention of international
standards. The Committee reiterated
concerns about discrimination against the
children of migrant workers and
recommended the abolition of the
kafala
sponsorship system “without delay”.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Amendments were proposed to the law
regulating NGOs and foundations introducing
additional administrative and financial
obligations. National NGOs criticized the new
measures as arbitrary, unnecessary and
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vague. The Conference of international NGOs
of the CoE highlighted in December
shortcomings regarding compliance with
international standards and best practices.
The proposals, adopted by the Senate in
November, remained pending before the
Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies at the end
of the year.
The proposal for a new National Strategy for
Housing remained pending.
In March, the Senate rejected a draft law
calling for the repeal of part of the Anti-
discrimination Law that instituted the national
equality body. The draft law was proposed by
a former MP who was fined by the body in
2016 for homophobic statements.
DETENTION
In April, the European Court for Human
Rights (ECtHR) advanced recommendations
aimed at reducing overcrowding in prisons in
a “pilot judgment” issued against Romania. It
imposed an obligation on the state to resolve
the highlighted structural dysfunctionalities or
risk sanctions.
2010 by local authorities. The legal case
brought by the community against the
municipality challenging the forced eviction
remained pending in national courts at the
end of the year.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
New legislation aiming to prevent, combat
and prohibit segregation in primary and
secondary education entered into force after
its adoption in December 2016 by the
Ministry of National Education and Scientific
Research. Two ministerial orders established
a public policy against segregation in schools
on a wide range of grounds, including ethnic
origin, disability and socio-economic status of
families, and a related action plan scheduled
to be implemented by October.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Senate’s decision on a national
referendum on the possible restriction of the
constitutional definition of “family” from
“marriage between spouses” to “marriage
between a man and a woman” remained
pending at the end of the year. The Coalition
for Family – a group of some 30 associations
and foundations – has been promoting such
restriction since 2016.
The case of the same-sex couple seeking
recognition of their marriage officiated in
Belgium remained under examination by the
Constitutional Court. The Court had sought a
preliminary ruling from the European Court of
Justice on the harmonic interpretation of EU
legislation on freedom of movement and
residence for same-sex couples.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
In February, the European Commission
stated that the risk of living in poverty was
almost three times higher for Roma than for
the rest of the population.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED EVICTIONS
In September, according to NGOs, around 30
Roma, half of them children, living in the
town of Eforie Sud in Constanta county, were
verbally threatened by local authorities with
eviction from a publicly owned property. They
had occupied the building since October
2013 when they had been repeatedly forcibly
evicted by local authorities from a long-
standing settlement and rendered homeless.
In May, around 35 of the Roma families
from the Pata Rat informal settlements –
located on the outskirts of Cluj-Napoca, near
a waste and chemical dump – received
new
homes across the city’s neighbourhoods and
nearby villages as part of a multi-stakeholder
desegregation project. This included around
20 families from the former Coastei Street
community, forcibly evicted in December
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The case of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi
Arabian national currently held in the US
detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba,
remained pending before the ECtHR. The
case was lodged against Romania in 2012 for
allegations of the enforced disappearance
and torture of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri at a
secret CIA detention facility in Bucharest, the
capital, between 2004 and 2006.
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DISCRIMINATION – PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES
Living conditions in social care and
psychiatric institutions for people with
disabilities remained extremely precarious.
The monitoring mechanism required by the
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, ratified by Romania in 2011, was
not fully operational at the end of the year.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In July, the UN Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women
recommended broadening existing legislation
to address all forms of gender-based
violence, strengthening women’s access to
justice and remedies, disaggregated data
collection, and improved access to sexual
and reproductive health and rights.
In May, the ECtHR noted that despite
existing legislation and a national strategy
there was insufficient commitment from the
government to take appropriate action to
prevent and combat domestic violence. The
ECtHR also criticized the limited number of
shelters for women victims of domestic
violence available across the country.
human rights violations continued in the
North Caucasus. Russia used its veto to
block UN Security Council resolutions on
Syria. Migrants and refugees were denied
protection of their rights. Some forms of
domestic violence were decriminalized.
LGBTI people continued to face
discrimination and violence; gay men in
Chechnya were targeted through a co-
ordinated campaign of abduction, torture
and killings by the Chechen authorities.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
On 10 February, the Constitutional Court
ruled that the mere fact of holding an
“unauthorized” peaceful gathering did not
constitute a criminal offence under Article
212.1 of the Criminal Code, which made
repeated violation of protest rules a crime.
1
On 22 February, activist Ildar Dadin, who had
received a prison sentence for his peaceful
protest, had his sentence under Article 212.1
reviewed; the Supreme Court ordered his
release.
In July, provisions were enacted allowing the
authorities to deprive of Russian citizenship
individuals who had acquired it while
“intending” to “threaten the foundations of
[Russia’s] constitutional order”. NGOs
criticized the language of the law, which they
said was open to arbitrary application.
RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
Russian Federation
Head of state: Vladimir Putin
Head of government: Dmitry Medvedev
There were further restrictions to the rights
to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly. Harassment and
intimidation of human rights defenders and
independent NGOs continued. Cultural
rights were reduced, including through
reprisals and self-censorship. Religious
minorities continued to face harassment
and persecution. The right to a fair trial was
frequently violated. Torture and other ill-
treatment persisted; the work of
independent monitoring bodies for places of
detention was further eroded. Serious
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In February, a law was enacted
decriminalizing domestic violence committed
by “close relatives” that caused pain but no
injury or loss of ability to work. This prompted
an increase in violent incidents mainly
targeting women in several regions.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Across the country, the biggest protests in
years took place. Hundreds of peaceful
protesters, bystanders and journalists were
arrested; many were subjected to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment, prolonged
arbitrary detention, and unfair trials resulting
in heavy fines and “administrative detention”
for several days.
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In March, anti-corruption rallies took place
in at least 97 cities and towns. In many
places, police dispersed peaceful protesters
using unnecessary and excessive force. More
than 1,600 people were arrested, including at
least 14 journalists covering the protests.
Many of those arrested faced unfair trials on
politically motivated charges and hundreds
were detained solely for peacefully exercising
their rights to freedom of expression and
assembly. Fourteen employees and
volunteers of the Anti-Corruption Foundation,
who had organized a widely watched live
internet broadcast of the protests, were
arbitrarily arrested at their office in Moscow,
the capital. On 27 and 28 March, 12 of them
were sentenced to “administrative
detention”.
2
Since 26 March, criminal convictions were
pressed against at least eight protesters for
violent offences allegedly committed while
trying to protect themselves or others from
police violence in Moscow, Petrozavodsk and
Volgograd. Criminal proceedings were
initiated against more protesters; some of
them faced further questionable charges.
Many who took part in the largest protests
were teenagers and young students. The
authorities put pressure on them through
schools and universities, using informal
warnings and expulsions, and in some cases
threatened to challenge custodial rights of
parents of under-age protesters.
On 7 February, the European Court of
Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in
Lashmankin
and Others v. Russia
− a case concerning 23
applicants from different regions. The ECtHR
found that the restrictions on location, time
and manner of conduct of street protests
violated their right to freedom of assembly,
without effective remedy being available to
them. The applications concerned events of
2009-2012 when restrictions on protests
were less strict than in 2017.
dozen organizations were removed from the
list following their closure or after their foreign
funding or their “political activity”, as defined
by the “foreign agents” law, ceased, bringing
the number of organizations that remained in
the list to 85 at the end of the year. However,
NGOs affected by the “foreign agents” law,
among them leading human rights groups,
did not perceive this as an improvement.
In March, the ECtHR combined and
communicated the complaints of 61 Russian
NGOs against the “foreign agents” law; and
Russian authorities filed their comments in
September. The case was pending before the
Court at the end of the year.
On 19 June, the charge of “malicious
evasion” of obligations arising from the
“foreign agents” law – in the first and only
such criminal case – against human rights
defender Valentina Cherevatenko was
dropped due to the absence of elements of a
crime.
Four more foreign organizations were
declared “undesirable”, making them and
working for or supporting them, illegal in
Russia. There were 11 “undesirable”
organizations at the end of the year.
Between September and November,
administrative proceedings were initiated
against the NGO SOVA Centre, Andrey Rylkov
Foundation for Health and Social Justice, the
Centre for Independent Social Research, and
the Centre for Social Partnership, for
allegedly distributing materials of
“undesirable” organizations. The NGOs did
not remove old mentions of “undesirable”
organizations and hyperlinks to their
websites. Administrative proceedings against
SOVA Centre were terminated because of the
expiration of the statute of limitations. Other
NGOs were fined 50,000 roubles (USD871)
each.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Most of the media remained under effective
state control and were used by the authorities
to smear human rights defenders, political
opponents and other dissenting voices.
Throughout the country, protest leaders and
political activists supporting critical voices
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
NGOs were affected by the law on “foreign
agents”. Thirteen NGOs receiving foreign
funding were added to the Ministry of
Justice’s list of “foreign agents”. Several
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faced harassment, administrative and
criminal proceedings and physical violence
by pro-government activists and
“unidentified” individuals, believed to be
security officials or others acting in collusion
with them.
In a further crackdown on freedom of
expression online, the authorities banned
anonymizers and virtual private networks,
among other new restrictive measures. In
May, the President approved the Strategy for
the Development of the Information Society
for 2017-2030 which stated “priority of
traditional Russian spiritual-ethical values” in
the use of information and communication
technologies.
Anti-extremism legislation was further
extended and used arbitrarily against
protected speech. In August, the UN CERD
Committee expressed concern over its use to
silence individuals belonging to groups
vulnerable to discrimination and reiterated its
recommendations that the legislation contain
a clear legal definition of extremism and
abandon the Federal List of Extremist
Materials.
Artistic expression was restricted on
occasions under pressure from conservative
groups that regarded specific artistic
productions as an offence to their religious
belief. Performances were cancelled and
individuals associated with them faced
harassment and violence. Criminal
proceedings were initiated against a number
of prominent theatre workers in Moscow and
were widely condemned by their devotees as
politically motivated.
In November, a law was enacted allowing
authorities to recognize as “foreign agents”
media outlets that were both registered
abroad and foreign-funded, which
stigmatized them and imposed restrictive
reporting requirements. At the end of the
year, nine mass media outlets were
recognized as “foreign agents”.
publications on the Federal List of Extremist
Materials.
On 20 April, the Supreme Court banned the
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ central organization and
all its affiliates in Russia, ruling that the group
comprising 395 local organizations and over
170,000 followers was “extremist”. Jehovah’s
Witnesses who continued to manifest their
beliefs risked being criminally prosecuted
and faced up to 12 years’ imprisonment.
Restrictions on missionary activities
introduced in 2016 were indiscriminately
applied, ranging from the attempted
prosecution of a yoga instructor in St
Petersburg in January for giving a public
lecture to the confiscation of copies of the
Salvation Army’s Bible in Vladivostok as they
did not feature the prescribed official marking
of the distributing organization.
On 11 May, a court in Yekaterinburg
imposed on blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky a
three-and-a-half-year conditional prison
sentence, reduced to two years and three
months on appeal, for “inciting hatred” and
“offending believers’ feelings” by posting a
video in which he played the reality game
Pokémon Go in a cathedral.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
State-sponsored discrimination and
persecution of LGBTI people continued
unabated, and the homophobic “propaganda
law” was actively enforced. On 18 October,
activist Evdokia Romanova was found guilty
of the administrative offence of “propaganda
of non-traditional sexual relationships among
minors using the Internet”. She was fined
50,000 roubles (USD871) by a court in
Samara, for the links to the international
Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive
Rights website she had shared on social
media in 2015 and 2016.
3
In April, independent
Novaya Gazeta
newspaper reported that over 100 men in
Chechnya who were believed to be gay were
abducted, tortured and otherwise ill-treated
in secret prisons, and that some were killed.
Escaped survivors reported a campaign of
violence co-ordinated by the authorities.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
Religious minority groups continued to be
harassed, including by banning, blocking of
their websites, and the inclusion of their
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Eyewitnesses stated that a number of
captives were killed, and some handed over
to their families for “honour killings” under
local “traditions”.
The federal investigative authorities were
slow to respond to these reports. They
refused to open a formal investigation after a
protracted pre-investigation failed to
recognize the allegations as well founded,
despite the efforts by the federal
Ombudsperson to establish and check the
relevant facts. No investigation was known to
have been initiated by the end of the year.
NORTH CAUCASUS
Reports continued of serious human rights
violations, including enforced disappearance,
unlawful detention, torture and other ill-
treatment of detainees, and extrajudicial
executions in the North Caucasus. The
situation in Chechnya was further
deteriorating. Impunity remained for past
violent incidents against human rights
defenders in Chechnya.
In January, Magomed Daudov, speaker of
the Chechen Parliament, issued personal
threats through his Instagram account
against Grigory Shvedov, editor-in-chief of the
independent online news project Caucasian
Knot.
4
In April,
Novaya Gazeta
journalists
received threats from Chechnya for their
coverage of the anti-gay campaign in
Chechnya. Radio Ekho Moskvy journalists
also received such threats for expressing
solidarity with
Novaya Gazeta
journalists.
5
Novaya Gazeta
reported the unlawful
detention of dozens of people, starting in
December 2016, and secret execution of at
least 27 captives by the security forces on
26  January. No one was known to have been
investigated or held accountable for these
incidents by the end of the year.
reports as sole evidence. The trials resulted
in lengthy detentions and hefty fines. Trails
were often swift; after the 26 March protest,
Tverskoi District Court in Moscow considered
476 cases in 17 working days.
On 22 August, Aleksandr Eivazov, former
Secretary of the October District Court in St
Petersburg and also a whistle-blower, was
arrested for purportedly “interfering in the
work of the court”, on account of his refusal
to sign and backdate records of a court
hearing that someone else compiled. He was
a witness to numerous violations of court
procedures, judicial ethics and workers’
rights in the court, and had sent complaints
about all violations to the authorities and
shared this information on social media.
Aleksandr Eivazov’s complaints were not
known to be addressed. He remained in
detention despite his asthma at the end of
the year.
6
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment in
prisons and detention centres across Russia
persisted. The conditions during prisoner
transports amounted to torture and other ill-
treatment, and in many instances, to
enforced disappearance.
7
Some prisoners
faced journeys lasting a month or more, while
being transferred in overcrowded train
carriages and vans, and spending weeks in
transit cells at various stages on their way to
remote prison colonies. Their families and
lawyers had no information about their fate
and whereabouts.
Prisoner of conscience Ildar Dadin was
forcibly disappeared for a month while being
transferred to another prison; his
whereabouts became known in January. He
made allegations of torture in Segezha prison
colony in October 2016 and as a
consequence the authorities transferred him
to another prison colony. During his transfer,
the authorities refused to provide any
information on his whereabouts to his family
and lawyers until after his arrival at the
colony.
In May, the ECtHR ruled on the cases of
eight applicants from Russia, that the
UNFAIR TRIALS
Independent trial monitors reported
systematic violations of the right to a fair trial
at criminal and administrative hearings,
including in the cases brought against
peaceful protesters. Most administrative trials
relied heavily on widely disputed police
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condition of their transport by the penitentiary
service amounted to inhuman and degrading
treatment. This included the cases of Anna
Lozinskaya and Valery Tokarev who were
repeatedly transported in single-person van
compartments measuring 0.3m
2
.
The role and effectiveness of Public
Oversight Commissions, an independent
monitoring mechanism for places of
detention, was further eroded, including
through continued under-funding. The rules
governing the nomination of their members
by Public Chambers − consultative bodies
consisting of state-appointed members of
civil society organizations − were changed.
This led to a reduction in the membership of
some of the Commissions, which in some
cases had an impact on their independence
by effectively precluding certain human rights
defenders from becoming members.
There were reports of independent
monitors, including members of Public
Oversight Commissions and of the
Presidential Human Rights Council, being
arbitrarily denied access to prison colonies by
prison administrations.
ARMED CONFLICT – SYRIA
Russia five times used its veto in the UN
Security Council to block resolutions that
would have imposed sanctions for the
production and use of chemical weapons in
Syria, condemned the reported chemical
weapons attack on the town Khan Shaykhun,
called on the Syrian government to grant
access to and the right to inspect any sites,
and renewed the mandate of the Joint
Investigative Mechanism, formed to
determine the perpetrators of chemical-
weapons attacks.
Khudoberdi Nurmatov fled Uzbekistan years
earlier to avoid persecution by security
services for refusing to act as a secret
informer. He would also be subject to
prosecution under Uzbekistani law which
criminalized homosexuality. Following the
ECtHR’s decision granting Khudoberdi
Nurmatov urgent interim measures, the
Moscow City Court on 8 August stayed his
deportation but remanded him in a detention
centre for foreign nationals, where he
remained at the end of the year. In
December, the ECtHR communicated his
complaint.
Registration with local police at the place of
residence remained a precondition for labour
and other migrants to access health care and
education. But the registration was routinely
refused by many landlords who were
required to consent to it.
In September, human rights defender
Tatiana Kotlyar was convicted of fictitiously
registering 167 migrants at her address to
enable them to comply with immigration
regulations and to be able to access essential
services. The court sentenced Tatiana Kotlyar
to a fine of 150,000 roubles (USD2,619). The
fine was waived on account of the expiration
of the statute of limitations for this crime.
1.
Russia: Court offers “chink of light” in case brought by jailed
protester Ildar Dadin (News
story,
10 February)
2. Russian Federation: Detained members of corruption watchdog are
prisoners of conscience and should be freed immediately (EUR
46/5998/2017)
3. Russia: Homophobic legislation used to persecute activist who
shared LGBTI articles on Facebook (News
story, 18
October)
4.
Russian Federation: Journalist threatened by Chechen official −
Grigory Shvedov (EUR
46/5442/2017)
5. Russian Federation: Newspaper threatened for reports on abductions
(EUR
46/6075/2017)
6.
Russian Federation: Whistle-blower detained on spurious charges −
Aleksandr Eivazov (EUR
46/7200/2017)
7.
Prison transportation in Russia − travelling into the unknown (EUR
46/6878/2017)
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Russia continued to return asylum-seekers
and refugees to countries where they were at
risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
On 1 August, a court in Moscow ruled that
Uzbekistani national and journalist
Khudoberdi Nurmatov (also known as Ali
Feruz) was violating Russia’s immigration
laws and should be deported to Uzbekistan.
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RWANDA
Republic of Rwanda
Head of state: Paul Kagame
Head of government: Edouard Ngirente (replaced
Anastase Murekezi in August)
The clampdown on political opponents
continued before and after presidential
elections, with cases of severe restrictions
on freedoms of expression and association,
as well as unlawful killings and unresolved
disappearance cases.
BACKGROUND
Presidential elections were held in August.
President Kagame was re-elected with
98.79% of the vote. The Democratic Green
Party of Rwanda won 0.48% of the vote and
the independent candidate 0.73%.
The National Electoral Commission (NEC)
decided that three aspiring independent
candidates did not fulfil the eligibility
requirements. One of them, Diane Rwigara,
was accused of submitting forged signatures.
On 14 July, she launched a new activist
group, the People Salvation Movement.
Several diplomatic missions and civil society
observers found that the electoral process
had been peaceful; however, they raised
concerns about irregularities including in the
counting of ballots and vote tabulation.
FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION
AND ASSEMBLY
Opposition political parties and independent
candidates faced challenges in the lead-up to
and following the August elections.
Shortly after Diane Rwigara announced her
candidacy in May, nude photos allegedly of
her appeared on social media. She
complained to the police and the NEC that
her representatives were intimidated as they
travelled the country collecting the signatures
needed to stand as an independent
candidate.
Police interrogated Diane Rwigara and her
relatives at their home in Kigali, the capital,
on 29 August and prevented them from
leaving their house. On 30 August, the police
confirmed that an investigation was
under way and that the family was not in
detention. For several weeks the family was
questioned by police and their movement
restricted; they were unable to communicate
freely. On 23 September, the police arrested
Diane Rwigara, her mother Adeline and sister
Anne. On 3 October, the Public Prosecutor
confirmed that they were being charged with
“inciting insurrection or trouble among the
population”, that Diane Rwigara would be
charged with using counterfeit documents
and her mother charged with discrimination
and sectarian practices. Anne Rwigara was
granted bail on 23 October; Diane and
Adeline Rwigara were remanded in custody
and remained in detention awaiting trial at
the end of the year.
On 26 September, eight leaders and
members of the unregistered United
Democratic Forces-Inkingi (FDU-Inkingi)
party were charged with forming an irregular
armed group and with offences against the
President. Théophile Ntirutwa, the party’s
Kigali representative, was detained on 6 
September and held incommunicado until
23  September. He was later charged with
supporting an armed group.
Those arrested in September included FDU-
Inkingi’s assistant treasurer Léonille
Gasengayire. She had been arrested in
March 2016 and remained in police
detention for several days; she was rearrested
in August 2016 and prosecuted on charges
of “inciting insurrection or trouble among the
population”. On 23 March 2017, she was
acquitted and released.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In April, the NEC issued election regulations
requiring presidential candidates to submit
campaign materials to be published on social
media networks for approval 48 hours in
advance, leading to considerable debate in
May. The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory
Authority announced on 31 May that the NEC
“has no mandate to regulate or interrupt the
use of social media by citizens”. The next
day, the NEC announced that it would adjust
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the regulations based on public feedback.
This requirement was not implemented.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Possible enforced disappearances were
reported. Several cases of disappearances
remained unresolved, and may potentially
have amounted to enforced disappearances.
There was no news on the fate or
whereabouts of FDU-Inkingi member
Illuminée Iragena, who went missing in
March 2016 in Kigali.
Violette Uwamahoro, a British national and
wife of a member of the outlawed Rwanda
National Congress (RNC) opposition group,
went missing as she arrived by bus in Kigali
on 14 February. She had travelled from the
UK to attend her father’s funeral in Rwanda.
The authorities initially denied knowledge of
her whereabouts. However, she was held in
incommunicado detention until 3 March
when the police announced that she was in
their custody. She and her cousin, Jean
Pierre Shumbusho, a police officer, were
charged with revelation of state secrets,
formation of an irregular armed group and
offences against the established government
or President. She denied all charges; she was
provisionally released on 27 March, after a
judge ruled that there was insufficient
evidence against her. She was allowed to
return to the UK on 12 April.
The genocide trial of Ladislas Ntaganzwa,
whose case was transferred from the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR), continued at the Rwandan High
Court’s Chamber of International Crimes. In
December, the Chamber found Emmanuel
Mbarushimana, extradited from Denmark in
2014, guilty on genocide charges and
sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Bernard Munyagishari, whose case was
transferred from the ICTR to Rwanda in
2013, was convicted in April and sentenced
to life imprisonment for genocide and crimes
against humanity.
Henri Jean-Claude Seyoboka, who was
deported from Canada in 2016 accused of
involvement in the genocide, was denied bail
by the Military High Court in February.
Enoch Ruhigira, who was arrested in
Germany in 2016 on genocide charges, was
released in March. The German General
Prosecutor's Office cancelled the arrest
warrant after a submission from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs stating that the Rwandan
prosecution of Enoch Ruhigira was likely to
be politically influenced.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Rwanda was reviewed by the CEDAW
Committee in February. The Committee
welcomed anti-discrimination legislation;
however, it was concerned that certain
discriminatory legal provisions remained. For
example, while rape convictions ordinarily
carry a prison sentence of at least five years,
the punishment for marital rape is only two to
six months’ imprisonment and a fine. The
Committee also expressed concern that
maternal mortality was exacerbated by
unsafe abortions. Abortion was allowed only
in exceptional cases, requiring a court order
in cases of rape, incest or forced marriage
and the authorization of two doctors, if the
health of the pregnant woman or the fetus is
in danger. Proposed amendments to the
Penal Code would end the requirement for a
court order.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Léopold Munyakazi, a university professor
deported from the USA to Rwanda in 2016,
was found guilty of genocide charges in July.
The Intermediate Court of Muhanga
sentenced him to life imprisonment in solitary
confinement − a detention practice
condemned by the UN Human Rights
Committee as a violation of the prohibition of
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment.
Jean Twagiramungu, a former teacher, was
extradited to Rwanda from Germany in
August to stand trial. He was accused of
planning and committing genocide in
Gikongoro Prefecture (now in Southern
Province).
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REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Rwanda continued to receive and host
refugees from Burundi, with numbers
reaching 89,146 at the end of the year.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture suspended its visit to Rwanda in
October citing obstructions by the authorities,
including limitations on access to places of
detention and confidentiality of some
interviews. The head of delegation reported
that many of those interviewed expressed
fear of reprisals. The Subcommittee
suspended visits to only three countries in
the past 10 years.
SAUDI ARABIA
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Head of state and government: King Salman bin Abdul
Aziz Al Saud
The authorities severely restricted freedoms
of expression, association and assembly.
Many human rights defenders and critics
were detained and some were sentenced to
lengthy prison terms after unfair trials.
Several Shi’a activists were executed, and
many more were sentenced to death
following grossly unfair trials before the
Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). Torture
and other ill-treatment of detainees
remained common. Despite limited reforms,
women faced systemic discrimination in law
and practice and were inadequately
protected against sexual and other violence.
The authorities used the death penalty
extensively, carrying out scores of
executions. The Saudi-led coalition
continued to commit serious violations of
international law in Yemen.
BACKGROUND
In June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and
the United Arab Emirates severed relations
with Qatar, negatively affecting thousands of
nationals and migrant workers.
The same month, King Salman reshuffled
the security and political landscape,
considerably reducing the Ministry of
Interior’s powers. On 17 June the King
stripped the Ministry of its powers to
investigate and prosecute crimes, transferring
these powers to the Public Prosecution,
which he placed under his direct authority. In
July, the Ministry’s mandate was further
reduced when a royal decree established the
Presidency of State Security, mandated to
address all state security matters including
“terrorism”, and reporting directly to the
King. A number of changes in senior
positions also took place during this time, but
the most significant change happened on 21 
June, when King Salman named his son
Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince,
unseating his nephew Mohammed bin Naif
Al Saud.
In May, the UN Special Rapporteur on
human rights and counter-terrorism
concluded that Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism
law did not comply with international
standards, and urged the government “to
end the prosecution of people including
human rights defenders, writers and bloggers
simply for expressing non-violent views”.
US President Donald Trump visited Saudi
Arabia in May to participate in the Riyadh
summit, attended by representatives of more
than 55 mostly Arab or Muslim-majority
states. A USD300 billion arms deal between
the USA and Saudi Arabia was announced
during the visit.
The Saudi Arabia-led military coalition
supporting the internationally recognized
government in Yemen continued to bomb
areas controlled or contested by Huthi forces
and their allies, killing and injuring civilians.
Some attacks amounted to war crimes. A UN
report, released in September, found that the
Saudi-led coalition continued to be the
leading cause of civilian casualties in the
conflict (see Yemen entry). In October, the
UN Secretary-General listed the Saudi
Arabia-led coalition in his annual Children
and Armed Conflict report, creating a new
category specifically designed to limit
condemnation of the coalition.
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DISCRIMINATION – SHI’A MINORITY
Members of the Shi’a Muslim minority
continued to face discrimination because of
their faith, limiting their right to express
religious beliefs and their access to justice,
and arbitrarily restricting other rights,
including the rights to work and to state
services. Shi’a activists continued to face
arrest, imprisonment and in some cases the
death penalty following unfair trials. Four
Shi’a men sentenced to death for protest-
related offences were executed in July.
Between May and August, security forces
began evacuating al-Masoura district, in the
town of al-Awamiyah in the Eastern Province
where Shi’a form the majority of the
population, in order to build development
projects. Armed clashes, marked by the use
of heavy artillery and shelling, erupted
between security forces and armed men who
refused to leave the area, leading to the
deaths and injury of scores of residents and
significant damage to the town. The
authorities accused the men of “terrorism
activities” and other criminal offences,
vowing to crack down on them. Residents
reported that the authorities banned
ambulances and medical aid from entering
the area, and many families who remained
lacked food, water, medical treatment and
other basic goods. Scores of people were
reportedly arrested and detained during this
operation, including activists.
For example, human rights defender Ali
Shaaban was arrested on 15 May following
Facebook posts expressing solidarity with al-
Awamiyah’s residents. He remained in
detention at the end of the year.
In July, families of 15 Shi’a men accused of
spying for Iran and sentenced to death after a
grossly unfair mass trial learned that the
SCC’s court of appeal had upheld their
sentences. In December, some relatives were
told that the sentences were upheld following
the Supreme Court’s review, leaving the men
at risk of imminent execution.
The SCC continued to try Shi’a activists for
their alleged participation in protests in 2011
and 2012. The death sentence continued to
be used against political dissenters. At least
38 Shi’a men remained at risk of execution,
including four who were sentenced to death
for participating in protests in 2012 when
they were under the age of 18.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
The authorities continued to repress peaceful
activists and dissidents, harassing writers,
online commentators and others who
exercised their right to freedom of expression
by expressing views against government
policies.
Following the announced decision to sever
ties with Qatar, the Saudi authorities warned
people against expressing sympathy towards
Qatar or criticizing government actions,
stating that this would be considered an
offence punishable under Article 6 of the
Anti-Cyber Crime Law. All public gatherings,
including peaceful demonstrations, remained
prohibited under a 2011 order by the
Ministry of the Interior.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Two years after the law on association was
passed, no new independent human rights
organizations had been established under its
provisions. Independent human rights
organizations that were forcibly shut down,
including the Saudi Civil and Political Rights
Association (ACPRA), the Union for Human
Rights, the Adala Center for Human Rights,
and the Monitor for Human Rights in Saudi
Arabia, remained inactive. Almost all their
members were convicted and sentenced, fled
the country, or were brought to trial before
the SCC.
In October, the authorities passed a new
Counter-Terrorism Law replacing the
February 2014 law, introducing specific
penalties for “terrorist” crimes, including the
death penalty. The law continued the use of a
vague and overly broad definition of acts of
terrorism, allowing it to be used as a tool to
further suppress freedom of expression and
human rights defenders.
The authorities continued to arrest,
prosecute and sentence human rights
defenders on vaguely worded charges that
extensively drew on the Counter-Terrorism
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Law of February 2014. For instance, all 11
founding members of ACPRA, which the
authorities closed down in 2013, were
sentenced to prison terms.
In September Abdulaziz al-Shubaily, a
human rights defender and founding
member ACPRA, was detained to begin
serving his sentence of eight years’
imprisonment to be followed by an eight-year
travel ban and a ban from writing on social
media, after his sentence was upheld by the
court of appeal. He was convicted of, among
other charges, “insulting the integrity of the
judicial system and the judges” and “violating
Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law” by
“inciting public opinion against the rulers of
this country and signing statements that were
published online that call on people to
demonstrate”.
In early January, computer engineer and
human rights activist Essam Koshak was
summoned for interrogation and repeatedly
questioned about his Twitter account. On 21
August his trial began before the SCC. He
faced several charges related to his online
activism.
On 21  August, human rights defender Issa
al-Nukheifi’s trial began before the SCC. He
faced several charges relating to his Twitter
posts. He had been arrested on 18
December 2016 and remained in detention
in Mecca General Prison at the end of 2017.
prosecuted and sentenced on the basis of
laws enacted two years after their arrest,
contrary to international law.
In September, the authorities carried out a
wave of arrests detaining more than 20
prominent religious figures, writers,
journalists and academics.
In November, the authorities detained
hundreds of current and former officials and
businessmen without disclosing details about
any charges that had been brought against
them. Some were later freed, reportedly after
making financial settlements.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees
remained common and widespread. Courts
continued to convict people and uphold
death sentences on the basis of contested
pre-trial “confessions”. Security officials
continued to torture and otherwise ill-treat
detainees with complete impunity.
In July, the families of 14 men sentenced to
death for protest-related charges learned by
telephone that their relatives’ sentences had
been upheld. Court documents showed that
the 14 men were subjected to prolonged pre-
trial detention and that they reported having
been tortured and ill-treated during
interrogation in order to extract “confessions”
from them. In sentencing, the SCC appeared
to have relied mostly on the “confessions” for
evidence against the men and failed to
investigate their allegations of torture.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Security authorities continued to carry out
arbitrary arrests and detentions without
charge or trial for prolonged periods without
referrals to a competent court, in breach of
the Code of Criminal Procedures. Detainees
were frequently held incommunicado during
interrogation and denied access to lawyers, in
violation of international fair trial standards. In
February, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention found that Ali al-Nimr, Abdullah al-
Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon, three young
men arrested on protest-related charges and
at risk of imminent execution, were detained
arbitrarily. The Working Group stated that the
men had been deprived of their liberty
without any legal basis, as they were
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women and girls continued to face
discrimination in law and practice, despite
the government’s promised reforms. Women
were required to have permission from a
male guardian – their father, husband,
brother or son – to enrol in higher education,
seek employment, travel or marry. They also
remained inadequately protected against
sexual and other forms of violence.
In April, King Salman issued a royal decree
calling on government entities to refrain from
requesting the authorization of a male
guardian for any services unless stipulated in
the regulations. The decree also ordered
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government entities to review their existing
regulations and to prepare a list of
procedures that would require a guardian’s
permission. The decree could improve
women’s freedom to control their own lives;
however, it had not been implemented by the
end of the year. The same month, Saudi
Arabia was elected as a member of the UN
Commission on the Status of Women.
In September, the King issued another royal
decree allowing women to drive, due to enter
into force after 23 June 2018. The decree
stated that it would be implemented
according to “established legal regulations”,
without providing clarification, which raised
questions about how it would be
implemented in practice. Following this
announcement, women’s rights activists who
had campaigned against the driving ban
reported receiving telephone calls warning
them against publicly commenting on the
development or risk facing interrogations.
Maryam al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old activist who
had actively participated in the campaign to
end the male guardianship system, was
arrested and detained in the capital, Riyadh,
on 19 April after fleeing an abusive home
environment in al-Qassim. She was
interrogated after her father – also her legal
guardian – filed a complaint against her for
leaving the family home. On 30 July, she was
released on bail. At the end of the year her
case was ongoing in court and she was at
risk of being detained again.
Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent human
rights defender who had been detained for
defying the driving ban, was rearrested and
detained on 4 June upon arrival at Dammam
airport. She was questioned about her
activism and released four days later. The
conditions of her release remained unclear.
regularize their status or leave the country
without penalties.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to impose death sentences
for a range of crimes, including drug offences
or for conduct that under international
standards should not be criminalized, such
as “sorcery” and “adultery”. Many
defendants were sentenced to death after
unfair trials by courts that convicted them
without adequately investigating allegations of
coerced “confessions”, including under
torture. The authorities routinely failed to
inform families of their relatives’ imminent
execution, or failed to inform them
immediately after executions had been
carried out.
On 11 July, father-of-two Yussuf Ali al-
Mushaikhass was executed along with three
other men for terror-related offences in
connection with anti-government protests in
the Eastern Province between 2011 and
2012. His family only found out about the
execution after it had happened when they
saw a government announcement on
television. The court appeared to have based
the conviction largely on “confessions” which
Yussuf al-Mushaikhass told the court had
been obtained under torture and other ill-
treatment.
Said al-Sai’ari was executed on
13  September. He had been sentenced to
death by the General Court in Najran in
2013, although the court concluded that
there was insufficient evidence to convict
him. In passing its verdict, the court relied on
the sworn statements of the victim’s father,
who believed that Said al-Sai’ari was
responsible for the murder of his son, even
though the victim’s father was not present at
the crime scene.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
The authorities continued to crack down on
migrant workers with irregular status,
arresting, detaining and deporting thousands.
In March, the Ministry of Interior launched a
campaign called “A Nation without
Violations”, giving migrant workers 90 days to
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SENEGAL
Republic of Senegal
Head of state: Macky Sall
Head of government: Mahammed Dionne
The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and of expression were restricted.
Conditions of detention remained harsh.
Children were forced into begging on the
street. Impunity for human rights violations
was not addressed.
“public disorder” after they held peaceful
demonstrations in Dakar calling for Khalifa
Sall’s release. All but one were released the
same day.
In July, the security forces used tear gas
and batons to repress a peaceful
demonstration organized by former President
and opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade. The
authorities stopped the protest under a 2011
decree banning all assemblies in city centre
areas.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists, artists, social media users and
others who expressed dissent were arbitrarily
arrested.
On 30 June, journalist Ouleye Mané and
three others were arrested for “publishing
pictures which offended morality” and
“criminal conspiracy” after sharing
photographs of the President on WhatsApp.
They were released on bail on 11 August.
Ami Collé Dieng, a singer, was arrested in
Dakar on 8 August and charged with
"offending the head of state” and "spreading
false news", after she sent an audio-recording
criticizing the President on WhatsApp. She
was released on bail on 14 August.
In August, the Public Prosecutor issued a
formal warning to anyone posting “offensive”
comments or images on the internet, as well
as to site administrators, that they faced
prosecution for cybercrimes under the
Criminal Code.
The new Press Code, adopted by the
National Assembly in June, was vaguely
worded and provided for custodial sentences
for press offences. It allowed the Ministers of
Interior and of Communication to ban foreign
newspapers and periodicals, and provided for
prison terms and fines for anyone defying the
ban. Article 192 empowered administrative
authorities to order the seizure of property
used to publish or broadcast information, to
suspend or stop a television or radio
programme, and to provisionally close a
media outlet on national security or territorial
integrity grounds, among other things. It
provided for prison sentences for offences
including “offending” the head of state,
UNFAIR TRIALS
Khalifa Sall, opposition leader and Mayor of
Dakar, the capital, was detained on 7 March,
on charges including criminal conspiracy,
forgery and falsification of records,
misappropriation of public funds, fraud and
money laundering. He was denied bail on
several occasions. In July, while in detention,
he was elected to Parliament. In November,
the National Assembly lifted his
parliamentary immunity at the Public
Prosecutor’s request. His lawyers and
opposition and civil society groups expressed
concerns that the judiciary showed a lack of
independence in his case. Seven others were
charged in the same case, five of whom
remained, along with Khalifa Sall, in
detention without trial in Rebeuss prison in
Dakar.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The authorities banned peaceful
demonstrations and arrested protesters,
particularly in the run-up to the July
elections.
In June, security forces shot and injured two
women, and beat several others, during a
protest in the city of Touba against the ill-
treatment of a 14-year-old boy by members
of a religious association, often described as
the “religious police”. The police denied
opening fire on the protesters but opened an
investigation into the incident.
About 20 members of the “collective of
1,000 youth for the release of Khalifa Sall”
were arrested in June and November for
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defamation, insults, the transmission or
distribution of images contrary to morality,
and spreading false news. It criminalized
various techniques used by whistleblowers,
for which prison terms would be imposed.
Article 227 allowed for restriction of access to
online content deemed to be “contrary to
morality”, to “degrade honour” or to be
“patently unlawful”, in certain cases.
IMPUNITY
In April the UN Committee on Enforced
Disappearances issued its concluding
observations on Senegal. It recommended
that criminal legislation and investigation
procedures be brought in line with the
International Convention for the Protection of
All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
and that the Senegalese Human Rights
Committee be strengthened in line with the
Principles relating to the Status of National
Institutions (Paris Principles).
DETENTION AND DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Prison conditions remained harsh and
overcrowded. At least four people died in
custody, including two who were believed to
have hanged themselves.
Dozens remained in prolonged pre-trial
detention on terrorism-related charges. Imam
Ndao had been detained for over two years
on charges including “acts of terrorism” and
“glorifying terrorism” before being brought to
trial on 27 December. He was denied
adequate medical treatment for his
deteriorating health.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
In April, the Extraordinary African Chambers
in Senegal upheld the conviction and
sentence of life imprisonment of former
Chadian President Hissène Habré for war
crimes, crimes against humanity and torture
committed in Chad between 1982 and 1990.
SERBIA
Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo
Head of state:
Aleksandar Vučić (replaced Tomislav
Nikolić in May)
Head of government:
Ana Brnabić (replaced
Aleksandar Vučić in June)
Impunity continued for crimes under
international law. Slurs by officials and
media close to the government created a
toxic environment for transitional justice
activists and independent media.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The Criminal Code continued to criminalize
consensual same-sex sexual relations
between adults. LGBTI people faced
discrimination, particularly in accessing
health services and justice.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In July, Human Rights Watch reported that
over 1,000 of the approximately 1,500
children taken off the streets between July
2016 and March 2017 had returned to their
traditional Qur’anic boarding schools. They
were taken out of the schools under a 2016
government initiative to protect them from
forced begging and other abuses by Qur’anic
schoolteachers. Official inspections were not
conducted in most of these schools, and
many children were forced to beg on the
streets again. Few investigations into or
prosecutions of those responsible for the
abuses were carried out.
BACKGROUND
Mass demonstrations, protesting against
electoral corruption and media bias, followed
the presidential elections won by the ruling
party in April. Former Serbian military leaders
released after serving sentences handed
down by the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) were
increasingly afforded influential positions. In
December, despite a UN Committee against
Torture ruling against his extradition, Serbia
returned a Kurdish activist, Cevdet Ayaz, to
certain imprisonment in Turkey.
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CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
In November, Ratko Mladić, former
Commander of the Republika Srpska Army,
was convicted and sentenced to life
imprisonment by the ICTY for genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In August,
the Appeal Court acquitted 10 people
indicted for concealing Ratko Mladić,
arrested in Serbia in 2011.
In May, Snežana Stanojković was elected
Chief War Crimes Prosecutor. Only three
prosecutions, all resulting in acquittals, were
concluded at the Special War Crimes
Chamber. The retrial continued of former
soldiers indicted for war crimes in Kosovo,
including the first indictment for rape.
In July, the trial of eight former Bosnian
Serb special police – accused of killing 1,313
Bosniak civilians near Srebrenica in July
1995 – was halted because the 2016
indictment had been filed in the absence of a
Chief Prosecutor. On appeal, the indictment
was reinstated; proceedings started afresh in
November. In October, the Appeals Court
similarly dismissed charges against five
former Bosnian Serb paramilitaries indicted
for the February 1993 abduction of 20
people from a train at Štrpci station in BiH
and their murder.
Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR)
office, and messages accusing the NGO of
being “foreign mercenaries”. Also in January,
YIHR activists were physically attacked at a
ruling party meeting where Veselin
Šljivančanin, convicted for war crimes in
Croatia, was speaking.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
Investigative journalists were subjected to
smear campaigns by ministers and media
close to the government. The ruling party’s
private security staff physically attacked six
journalists reporting on demonstrations held
during the presidential inauguration on 31 
May. In July, journalists working for the
Network for Investigating Crime and
Corruption (KRIK) received death threats,
and the flat of investigative reporter Dragana
Pećo was broken into. In September, the
Defence Minister’s political party accused
KRIK editor-in-chief, Stevan Dojčinović, of
being a drug addict and paid by foreigners.
This followed KRIK’s investigation into the
minister’s property.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The appointment of Ana Brnabić, a lesbian,
as Prime Minister, and her presence at the
Belgrade Pride in the capital in September
was welcomed by some as progress.
However, the authorities failed to protect
LGBTI individuals and organizations from
discrimination, threats and physical attacks.
In April, the UN Human Rights Committee
urged Serbia to implement hate crime
legislation effectively, and to introduce a
procedure for legal gender recognition
compatible with international standards.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Relatives of the disappeared were denied
recognition as civilian victims of war, if their
missing family member had died outside
Serbia.
In May, relatives of missing Kosovo Serbs
called on the government to make progress
in recovering their bodies. There was no
progress towards the prosecution of those
responsible for the transfer and subsequent
burial of bodies of Kosovo Albanians in Serbia
in 1999.
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
Roma families in Belgrade continued to live
in informal settlements. They were denied
access to social and economic rights,
including health, education, water and
sanitation, and were at risk of forced eviction.
Some 44 of over 100 Roma families forcibly
evicted in 2012 were still living in containers
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Transitional justice NGOs were attacked by
senior government officials, including
Aleksandar Vučić, by media supportive of the
government and on social media. In January,
intruders left bags of fake bank notes at the
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awaiting resettlement; planned apartments
for 22 families were not due to be completed
until February 2019; by November, two of the
remaining families due to be moved to
villages north of Belgrade had been
rehoused.
Roma continued to face ill-treatment by
police. In April, a Roma couple, who reported
that their car had been stolen, were detained
by the police for 13 hours, denied access to a
lawyer, severely ill-treated, and threatened
that their children would be taken to an
orphanage.
KOSOVO
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
Under 2014 legislation, the competencies of
the EU-led Police and Justice Mission
(EULEX) for the prosecution of crimes under
international law were limited, although some
prosecutions continued. The absence of any
agreement on mutual legal assistance
between Kosovo and Serbia hampered the
prosecution of Serbs suspected of crimes
under international law during the 1998-99
armed conflicts, including conflict-related
sexual violence (CRSV).
Hundreds of unresolved case files were due
to be transferred by June 2018 to Kosovo’s
Special Prosecution Office. Prosecutors,
NGOs and survivors of CRSV were concerned
that testimonies, known to have been
gathered after the armed conflict by the UN
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), had not been
promptly or adequately investigated. In June,
former president Atifete Jahjaga was denied
entry to Serbia, where she was due to present
a book of testimonies from survivors of CRSV.
REPARATION
Progress was made in implementing
legislation introduced in 2014, which
provided some reparation for survivors of
CRSV. A commission was appointed to
consider applications from survivors, who
were due to be able to apply for monthly
compensation payments from January 2018.
Other reparation measures did not meet
international standards, failing to provide
survivors with free health care or adequate
rehabilitation. Stigma associated with war-
time rape continued to overshadow survivors.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Little progress was made in locating people
still missing from the armed conflict and its
aftermath. Of the few remains recovered, the
body of a man buried by Albanian villagers,
who had found him in a river flowing from
Kosovo, was exhumed in September. Some
1,658 people were still missing.
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers opened in
The Hague on 28 June. It had been
established to investigate the alleged
abduction, torture and murder of Kosovo
Serbs and some Kosovo Albanians,
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Refugees and migrants were trapped in the
country; those trying to enter the EU via
Hungary and Croatia were repeatedly and
violently returned to Serbia.
In January, up to 1,800 refugees and
migrants were still living in abandoned
warehouses, often in sub-zero temperatures.
By May, they had all been evicted and
transferred to government-run centres, where
conditions were inadequate and
overcrowded. There were continued
obstacles and delays in registering,
interviewing and providing identification for
asylum-seekers. By August, out of 151
asylum applications that were received, two
were accepted and 28 rejected; 121 asylum
applications were being processed.
The EU negotiated an agreement with
Serbia, enabling the European Border and
Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) to operate
within Serbia.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In May, Serbia adopted 18 May as
Remembrance Day for women killed by their
husbands or partners. In July, women’s
organizations protested at the authorities’
failure to protect two women and one of their
children, who were killed by their former
husbands in two separate incidents at the
Belgrade Centre for Social Work. In
November, Serbia ratified the Istanbul
Convention on preventing and combating
violence against women.
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transferred to Albania by members of the
Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during and
after the war. In December, MPs failed to
revoke the law governing the Specialist
Chambers, which they considered
discriminated against the KLA.
DETENTION
In May, the Kosovo Rehabilitation Centre for
Torture Victims, authorized to monitor the
treatment of the people in detention, was
refused access to prison hospitals after these
had been transferred to the Ministry of
Health. Some detainees were held for long
periods before and during trial; one
defendant was detained for over 31 months,
in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The Ministry of Justice failed to provide an
explanation for the death in detention of Astrit
Dehari, a member of the Vetëvendosje
opposition party, in November 2016.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In October, the first Pride took place with
government support. Hate crimes
investigations were opened after a speaker on
transgender rights subsequently received
serious threats.
The Association of Kosovo Journalists
reported an increase in attacks, especially on
investigative journalists.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
In May, the UN Secretary-General agreed to
set up a voluntary trust fund, but refused to
pay compensation, apologize or accept
responsibility – as recommended in 2016 by
the UNMIK Human Rights Advisory Panel –
for the lead poisoning of 138 Roma,
Egyptians and Ashkali who were relocated by
UNMIK to an internally displaced persons
camps in northern Kosovo in 1999. The
Panel found that the right to life, health and
non-discrimination of the 138 internally
displaced people had been violated. They
had suffered from lead poisoning and other
health conditions, including seizures, kidney
disease, and memory loss, after they had
been placed in the camps on land known to
be contaminated.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In April, a National Strategy for Protection
from Domestic Violence was launched. In
May, the Law on Compensation for Crime
Victims was extended to victims of domestic
violence, trafficking, rape and child sexual
abuse. However, few received adequate
protection from the authorities.
SIERRA LEONE
Republic of Sierra Leone
Head of state and government: Ernest Bai Koroma
Restrictions were imposed on the rights to
freedom of expression, of peaceful
assembly and of association. Hundreds of
people died and thousands were left
homeless following a mudslide. Prison
conditions fell far below international
standards. Pregnant girls were excluded
from school.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Abdul Fatoma of the Campaign for Human
Rights and Development International was
arrested in the capital, Freetown, on 31 
January after he participated in a radio
discussion in which he criticized the
government and Anti-Corruption Commission
for their lack of accountability. He was
released on bail on 1 February but his
passport was withheld for 45 days.
1
Three journalists from the
Salone Times
and
New Age
newspapers were summoned to
court on 22 September to respond to various
charges of seditious libel under the Public
Order Act 1965, after they published stories
criticizing plans by the National
Telecommunications Commission to increase
telecommunications prices. Their preliminary
hearing was adjourned twice and they had
not been summoned to appear in court by
the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
On 23 March, security forces killed a teenage
boy of around 16 and seriously injured two
students when they opened fire on a Njala
University student protest in Bo, southern
region. The students were protesting against
a lecturers’ strike during which time the
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university was closed for several months.
Police said that the students did not obtain a
permit to protest, and that they burned tyres
and blocked roads. Seven students were
arrested but released without charge after
being detained for two days. The
Independent Police Complaints Board
launched an investigation into allegations that
police used excessive force.
On the same day, police fired tear gas to
disperse students protesting against the
strike in front of the President’s residence in
Freetown. Fourteen students were arrested
and charged with riotous conduct, and fined
and released by the Magistrate Court. Two
other students were arrested that day at State
House and charged with conspiracy and
possession of an offensive weapon. They
were released on bail and their case was
ongoing at the end of the year.
On 21 September, police prevented the
Malen Land Owners and Users Association
(MALOA) from holding a peaceful assembly
in Pujeheun town. The gathering had been
organized to coincide with a meeting between
MALOA members and the District Security
Committee on the International Day against
monoculture tree plantations. The police
blocked the road and prevented them from
joining the assembly, but allowed six
members to attend the meeting.
In October, the District Security Committee
denied MALOA permission to hold a meeting
in Pujeheun on the grounds that the
association was not registered in the
Chiefdom. The Paramount Chief had refused
to register the group since 2013, even though
they were registered with the Registrar
General in Freetown.
people dead and around 3,000 homeless.
Most of the victims had been living in
informal settlements. Poor planning, and a
failure to implement relevant legislation or
provide adequate housing exacerbated the
scale of the disaster.
2
The authorities
provided immediate support and temporary
shelter for survivors but closed these camps
in mid-November. Households were given
cash and other benefits to help them
relocate. No public enquiry had been
established into the incident by the end of
the year.
In August, the UN Special Rapporteur on
human rights and hazardous substances and
wastes visited Sierra Leone. He raised
concerns about the human rights impact of
hazardous substances and waste, and called
on the government to adopt and enforce laws
and policies related to waste reduction and
labour inspection requirements.
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
In October, civil society organizations
reiterated calls on the government to allow
pregnant girls to attend mainstream schools
and sit exams. Part-time education schemes
for pregnant girls, available three days a week
with a reduced curriculum, ended in July and
were due to resume in January 2018. Many
girls who had given birth were unable to
return to school due to costs such as child
care, school fees or other associated costs
like uniforms.
DETENTION
Prisons remained overcrowded, largely due to
prolonged pre-trial detention periods, and fell
far below international standards. Civil society
organizations raised concerns about delayed
access to health care for inmates; inadequate
food and basic items; poor conditions in
police cells, including inadequate sanitation;
and extended detention periods which
violated detainees’ constitutional rights.
In November, civil society organizations
called for the decriminalization of petty
offences, such as fraudulent conversion
(criminalization of debt), and loitering, which
were used disproportionately against women
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In February, the Human Rights Defenders
Network submitted a draft bill to protect
human rights defenders to the Attorney
General’s office.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS
On 14 August, a mudslide in the Regent
community of Freetown left more than 400
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and marginalized communities. They also
contributed to prison overcrowding.
Legislation on these offences was vaguely
worded and allowed for arbitrary arrests.
In May, new bail and sentencing guidelines
to reduce the use of pre-trial detention were
approved by the Rules of Court Committee
and became binding on the courts.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
On 1 June, Mohamed Kamaraimba
Manasary, leader of the Alliance Democratic
Party, was arrested on allegations that he was
in possession of a stun gun. He was charged
with possession of an offensive weapon and
released on bail on 7 June. On 21  June, the
charges were dropped and a new charge was
brought of unlawful possession of small arms
under the Arms and Ammunition Act 2012
which does not specifically cover stun guns.
His bail was revoked and he was detained for
another week before being released on 28 
June. His trial was ongoing at the end of the
year. He and his lawyers claimed that his
arrest was politically motivated.
SINGAPORE
Republic of Singapore
Head of state: Halimah Yacob (replaced Tony Tan Keng
Yam in September)
Head of government: Lee Hsien Loong
Amendments to Singapore’s Public Order
Act gave authorities greater powers to
restrict or ban public assemblies. Freedom
of expression and assembly suffered
another blow as charges were brought
against those who participated in peaceful
protests.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
In April, amendments to the Public Order Act
to impose more regulations on organizers of
public events passed into law. The amended
law stipulated that organizers must apply for
a permit at least 28 days in advance of an
event and inform the police of the estimated
size of the gathering. Punishments laid down
for breaches of the regulations included a
fine of up to S$20,000 (USD14,297),
imprisonment for up to a year, or both.
Permit applications could be rejected if the
gathering was for a political purpose or was
attended, organized or funded by foreign
nationals.
1
Human rights defenders were investigated
by police for participating in peaceful public
assemblies. In June, nine activists who held a
silent protest were investigated for assembly
without a permit under the Public Order Act.
In September, 10 activists were investigated
for holding a peaceful vigil for Prabagaran
Srivijayan on the eve of his execution in July.
2
In November, activist Jolovan Wham faced
seven charges for his role in several peaceful
assemblies over a one year period, including
the silent protest and vigil for
Prabagaran Srivijayan.
3
DEATH PENALTY
Death sentences continued to be handed
down. In September, six police officers were
sentenced to death by firing squad for
conspiracy and robbery with aggravation.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
On 10 November, the government issued a
White Paper in response to the Constitutional
Review Committee’s recommendations. It
rejected over 100 of the Committee’s 134
recommendations, including abolition of the
death penalty, and constitutional provisions to
protect economic, social and cultural rights
and equal rights for women.
3
1.
Sierra Leone: Anti-corruption activist’s detention an attempt to stifle
freedom of expression (News
story,
1 February)
2. Sierra Leone: Housing and environmental failures behind shocking
scale of mudslide deaths (News
story,
18 August)
3. Sierra Leone: Government rejection of important constitutional review
recommendations a missed opportunity to strengthen human rights
protection (News
story,
6 December)
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In August, lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam was
fined S$7,000 (USD5,122) for contempt of
court after posting a poem about the
execution of his client, Muhammed Ridzuan
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Mohd Ali. Contempt of court proceedings
were initiated against US-based academic Li
Shengwu for a Facebook post suggesting
Singapore’s courts were not independent. In
September, artist and activist Seelan Palay
was arrested under the Public Order Act for
performing a political art piece outside
Parliament.
SLOVAKIA
Slovak Republic
Head of state: Andrej Kiska
Head of government: Robert Fico
The Court of Justice of the European Union
(CJEU) rejected Slovakia’s complaint
against mandatory refugee relocation
quotas. The discrimination of Roma
remained widespread, and the European
Commission continued an infringement
procedure against Slovakia for
discrimination against Roma pupils in
schools.
DEATH PENALTY
Execution by hanging continued to be carried
out for murder and drug trafficking. On 14
 July, Malaysian national Prabagaran
Srivijayan was executed despite an appeal
pending on his case in Malaysia.
4
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people continued to suffer
discrimination. In July, organizers were
required by authorities to conduct identity
checks at the annual Pink Dot LGBTI event.
Foreigners were officially banned from taking
part.
5
DISCRIMINATION – ROMA
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In January, a new crime prevention strategy
was adopted aimed at strengthening policing
in Roma settlements; it triggered concern by
NGOs over ethnic profiling and
discrimination. In September, the European
Roma Rights Centre filed a civil complaint
against the Ministry of Interior for the breach
of anti-discrimination law for enhanced
policing in Roma settlements.
In March, four Roma who had alleged the
excessive use of force by police in April 2015
in the village of Vrbnica filed a complaint with
the Constitutional Court with the support of
the NGO Centre for Civil and Human Rights.
The Department of Control and Inspection
Service (SKIS) had pressed charges against
the chief of the police operation in December
2016, but failed to hold the individual police
officers who had participated in the action to
account. The complaint remained pending at
the end of the year.
In May, the European Roma Rights Centre
published a video of police officers beating
Roma residents with batons during a police
operation in the village of Zborov on 16 April.
The residents did not appear to resist or
engage in violence. In May, the police
president stated that a number of the
operation’s aspects seemed inappropriate. In
July, the Ministry of Interior opened an
investigation into the case.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
Housing conditions for foreign workers were
criticized by NGOs and at least one
construction firm was fined for housing
workers in unhygienic conditions.
COUNTER-TERRORISM AND SECURITY
Arrests continued under the Internal Security
Act, which allows detention without charge or
trial for indefinitely renewable two-year
periods.
1. Singapore: Authorities given broad new powers to police protests
(News
story,
4 April)
2. Singapore: Investigation into peaceful assembly is the latest effort to
intimidate human rights defenders (ASA
36/7076/2017)
3. Singapore: Activist faces seven charges for peaceful protest (ASA
36/7516/2017)
4. Singapore: Malaysian man hanged in hurried, secretive manner (ASA
36/6740/2017)
5. Singapore: Restrictions to LGBT gathering another attempt to
suppress activism (ASA
36/6386/2017)
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In May and August, the police opened
investigations targeting six victims of alleged
excessive use of force by the police in the
Roma settlement in the village of Moldava
nad Bodvou in June 2013. The police
accused the victims of having committed the
criminal offence of falsely accusing the police
of wrongdoing.
In May, the District Court in Košice again
acquitted the police officers accused of the
ill-treatment of six Roma boys at a police
station in 2009. The Court held that there
was insufficient evidence. The Prosecutor
appealed against the decision.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
The infringement proceeding launched in
2015 by the European Commission against
Slovakia for the systemic discrimination and
segregation of Roma children in education
remained open. In March, the Minister of
Education stated that complex reform plans
were under way, but it was unclear what
these consisted of. The 2016 amendments to
the School Act had limited impact since
entering into force.
1
They failed to address
the systemic over-representation of Roma
children in special schools and classes for
children with mild disabilities. Mainstream
primary schools lacked the human and
financial resources to tackle the segregation
of Roma pupils.
In February, the NGOs eduRoma and
European Roma Rights Centre criticized the
results of the Ministry of Education’s 2016
funding reforms for schools educating
students from socially disadvantaged
backgrounds. The responsibility for
classifying students as having a “social
disadvantage” was given to psychologists
rather than social services. There were cases
of misclassifications of students and
consequently insufficient resources were
allocated to schools. The Ministry temporarily
suspended the measure, and at the end of
the year, pupils were assessed on the basis of
their parents’ situation.
In September, following the 2016 closure of
the ethnically segregated Primary School
Hollého Street in the town of �½ilina, Roma
pupils were transferred to a number of other
schools. This potentially positive move was
undermined by the authorities failing to
provide sufficient support for Roma pupils,
notably transport costs. In March, some non-
Roma parents at one of the schools protested
against the transfer of Roma children to the
school.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In September, the CJEU rejected the
application submitted in 2015 by Slovakia
and Hungary against the mandatory
relocation scheme which aimed to relocate
refugees from EU member states such as
Greece and Italy. The CJEU held that the EU
institutions can adopt the provisional
measures necessary to respond effectively
and swiftly to an emergency situation
characterized by a sudden inflow of
displaced persons. By the end of 2017,
Slovakia had accepted only 16 asylum-
seekers of the 902 that it was assigned.
1.
Slovakia: A lesson in discrimination − segregation of Romani
children in primary education (EUR
72/5640/2017)
SLOVENIA
Republic of Slovenia
Head of state: Borut Pahor
Head of government: Miro Cerar
Amendments to the Aliens Act undermined
the rights of asylum-seekers. There was no
progress in addressing the long-standing
human rights violations against those known
as the “erased”. Roma continued facing
widespread discrimination and social
exclusion, particularly regarding the right to
housing.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
In January, the National Assembly adopted
amendments to the Aliens Act allowing
special measures to be triggered after threats
to public order and national security occur.
Under these measures, Slovenia would be
able to deny entry to people arriving at its
borders and automatically expel migrants and
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refugees who enter irregularly without
assessing their asylum claims. Such
measures had not been invoked by the end
of the year.
In July, the Court of Justice of the European
Union ruled that two Afghan families and a
Syrian national who had sought asylum could
be deported back from Austria and Slovenia
respectively to Croatia, the first EU country
they had entered. The ruling upheld the
requirement of the so-called 2013 Dublin
regulation which imposes that refugees seek
asylum in the first country they reach, even in
exceptional circumstances. Slovenia’s
Ministry of Interior stated its intention to
deport the Syrian asylum-seeker referred to
in the ruling; he had not been deported by
the end of the year. Refugees struggled to
support themselves as a consequence of the
2016 amendments to the International
Protection Act. The amendments ended the
short-term financial assistance designed to
help refugees bridge the gap before they
received social support, leaving many of
them without funds in the first month after
they were granted international protection.
Slovenia had committed to accept 567
asylum-seekers by September 2017 from
Greece and Italy under the EU relocation
scheme; by the end of the year it had
resettled only 232 people.
THE ‘ERASED’
Long-standing human rights violations
continued to persist against the “erased”, an
estimated 25,000 former permanent
residents of Slovenia mostly originating from
other former Yugoslav republics. They were
removed from the official registry following
the country’s independence. The authorities
failed to offer new options to the remaining
“erased” in terms of restoring their legal
status and related rights since the expiry of
the Legal Status Act in 2013. In September
and November, the European Court of
Human Rights ruled as inadmissible
complaints by some of those whose
applications for restoring legal status had
been rejected under the Legal Status Act
provisions.
ROMA
Roma continued to face widespread
discrimination and social exclusion. Many
were living in segregated settlements in
inadequate housing, lacking security of
tenure and access to water, electricity,
sanitation and public transport. The
government had yet to adopt a
comprehensive National Roma Strategy as
recommended by the parliamentary
commission for human rights in 2015. In
February, approximately three quarters of the
Roma political representation, led by the
Forum of Roma council members, adopted a
platform of political demands, including
immediate access to basic services and
infrastructure, and the strengthening of their
political participation. Other Roma
organizations followed suit. In October, they
held the first Roma-organized public
demonstrations echoing similar demands.
DISCRIMINATION
In September, the National Assembly
amended the Ombudsman Act to provide it
with a broad mandate to combat
discrimination, and to establish a National
Centre for Human Rights with capacity for
research and education under the
Ombudsman’s Office. Alongside the Advocate
for Equality, an independent anti-
discrimination body established in 2016,
these steps were welcomed by civil society.
However, human rights organizations warned
that the anti-discrimination framework as a
whole still lacked monitoring, policy-making
and executive powers as well as adequate
resources to be fully effective.
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SOMALIA
Federal Republic of Somalia
Head of state: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (replaced
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in February)
Head of government: Hassan Ali Khayre (replaced
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke in March)
Head of Somaliland Republic: Muse Bihi Abdi (replaced
Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud Silanyo in November)
Drought led to mass displacement and
emergency levels of food insecurity. Up to
three civilians were reported to have been
killed in US air and drone strikes. Kenya
continued its voluntary repatriation scheme
for Somalis from Dadaab refugee camp and
stopped registering new arrivals from
Somalia. The armed group al-Shabaab and
the authorities severely restricted journalists
in their work. While women made small
strides in the political sphere, sexual and
gender-based violence remained prevalent.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Soon after he took office, President
Mohamed declared that reform of the
security forces and the defeat of al-Shabaab
would be among his main priorities. Attacks
on civilians by al-Shabaab intensified over the
year; the most serious took place at a hotel in
Mogadishu, the capital, on 14 October in
which, according to the government, over
512 people were killed.
According to media reports, the US
government made secret changes to its rules
on the use of lethal force in counter-terror
operations, and included Somalia as one of
its designated areas for “active hostilities”.
This effectively meant that US forces could
target those thought to be al-Shabaab fighters
wherever they were located, regardless of
whether they posed an imminent threat to
life, and without obtaining high-level
authorization. According to the Bureau of
Investigative Journalism, a UK-based NGO,
up to three civilians were killed in 31 US
air strikes and strikes by remotely piloted
vehicles (drones) during the year.
BACKGROUND
The Somali Parliament, which represented all
regions of Somalia, including Somaliland and
Puntland, elected Mohamed Abdullahi
Mohamed (also known as Farmajo) President
in February. In February, President Mohamed
appointed Hassan Ali Khayre as Prime
Minister. Some presidential candidates were
accused of using millions of US dollars of
campaign finances to bribe MPs to vote for
them. MPs were elected according to a
system that allowed male elders belonging to
the four main clans one vote per person while
male elders from minority clans were allowed
half a vote. This effectively denied young
people, women and men from minority clans
equal voting rights. Elections also took place
in Somaliland territory, where Muse Bihi Abdi
was elected President.
The peacekeeping forces AMISOM (AU
Mission in Somalia) withdrew from key
locations in Somalia throughout the year,
after which al-Shabaab regained control over
towns in conflict areas, including in El Buur,
Bardere and Lego, located in southern and
central Somalia.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
On 9 February, the High Court in Kenya
declared that the Kenyan government’s 2016
directive to close Dadaab refugee camp in
Garissa County was unconstitutional and in
violation of Kenya’s obligations under
international and national law (see Kenya
entry). The majority of refugees housed at the
camp were from Somalia. From January to
November 2017, according to UNHCR, the
UN refugee agency, approximately 32,500
Somali refugees were voluntarily repatriated
from Kenya to Kismayo, Baidoa, Mogadishu,
Luuq, and Afmadow in south-  central
Somalia under the Tripartite Agreement
between Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR. By the
end of the year, there were 229,592 Somalis
registered as refugees in Dadaab refugee
camp. However, Kenya continued not to
register new arrivals from Somalia.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Al-Shabaab prohibited journalists from
operating in areas under its control. The
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group continued to detain, threaten and
harass media workers throughout the
country.
In July, the Somali Cabinet passed a
repressive law that established a statutory
regulatory body − whose members were
appointed by the Minister of Information and
which oversaw the content of print and
broadcast media. The law established a
blanket prohibition on news deemed to be
false and on the publication of “propaganda”
without providing a clear definition of those
terms. The legislation was vaguely worded
and included broad restrictions on
journalists; and gave the authorities wide
discretion to prosecute media workers.
The Somaliland Journalist Association said
that more than 30 journalists were arrested
and detained by authorities in Somaliland for
criticizing the government.
emergency levels in the southern and central
regions, primarily among displaced
populations, but also among those directly
affected by the protracted conflict. In August,
the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that
388,000 children were malnourished and
87,000 were in need of life-saving support.
SOUTH AFRICA
Republic of South Africa
Head of state and government : Jacob G. Zuma
Profound inequalities continued to
undermine economic, social and cultural
rights, including in access to sexual and
reproductive health services. Failures in the
criminal justice system obstructed access to
justice for victims of hate crimes and
gender-based violence. Investigations into
police conduct following excessive use of
force during protests were ongoing.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The Somali election quota system reserved
30% of seats for women. As a result, the level
of women’s representation improved and
amounted to 24% of the lower house and
22% of the upper house.
Sexual and gender-based violence
continued to be widespread although it was
under-reported. The Integrated Management
System of Somalia, a government agency,
documented at least 271 and 312 cases of
gender-based violence against displaced
women and girls in Somaliland and Puntland
respectively, and at least 400 cases in south-
central Somalia. The drought led to more
women being separated from their families,
which put them at greater risk of sexual and
gender-based violence, particularly because
they were perceived as lacking “male
protection”.
BACKGROUND
Protests against corruption were widespread.
Political tension was heightened after
President Zuma made substantial changes to
members of government in March, including
the dismissal of Finance Minister Pravin
Gordhan.
Despite increased public spending on
health, education and essential services, the
national statistical service reported that the
country was unable to reduce poverty and
inequality.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
The Independent Police Investigative
Directorate reported an increase in abuse of
power by the police, including 394 deaths as
a result of police action and 302 deaths in
police custody in 2016-2017, both figures
higher than for the previous year. It also
reported 173 cases of torture, 112 of rape by
police officers – including 35 cases
committed by officers on duty – and 3,827 of
assault by police. At the end of the year, it
concluded its investigation into the fatal
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
There was an unprecedented drought that
led to a significant increase in the numbers of
internally displaced people, estimated to be
943,000 by the end of the year. Over 3 
million people experienced emergency levels
of food insecurity. Malnutrition reached
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shooting by police officers of journalist
Godknows Nare in April in Johannesburg,
and handed the case to the Director of Public
Prosecution. Godknows Nare was reported to
have been shot at by the officers, who
thought he had stolen a car, after he exited
his car with his arms raised.
On 23 May, 17-year-old Leonaldo Peterson
was shot at his home by police officers with a
rubber bullet at close range in Gauteng
province, during a protest in the
neighbourhood. His wounded hand required
multiple surgeries.
On 27 May, Samuel Mabunda, a migrant
from Mozambique, died as a result of injuries
following beatings by the “Red Ants”, a
private security company hired by the police
to carry out evictions in Ivory Park,
Johannesburg. A police investigation into the
case was ongoing at the end of the year.
On 12 September, 14-year-old Ona Dubula
was shot at by police officers at close range
with rubber bullets in his face and ribs at an
informal settlement in Hout Bay town,
Western Cape province, during protests over
fishing licences; the injuries left him with
speaking difficulties. A Directorate
investigation into the incident was ongoing at
the end of the year.
2012 had resulted in convictions, citing a
lack of resources and training for police
officers, as well as failures to investigate the
crimes and gather forensic evidence.
In May, the Department of Justice published
the South African Law Reform Commission
report on adult prostitution. The Commission
recommended that the sale and purchase of
sex remain criminalized, contradicting the
testimonies and recommendations of sex
workers and activists, the South African
Commission for Gender Equality, as well as
human rights and public health experts. In
June, Zwelethu Mthethwa was sentenced to
18 years’ imprisonment for the murder of sex
worker Nokuphila Kumalo in 2013. The case
highlighted the delays faced by sex workers
in accessing justice.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Gross inequalities in women’s access to
sexual and reproductive health services
persisted, with less than 7% of the country’s
3,880 health facilities offering abortion
services. The government failed to address
health care professionals’ refusal to provide
abortion services as well as information on
the location of those services, contrary to
international human rights standards. Lack of
access to information on sexual and
reproductive health and rights – including
how and where to access legal abortion
services – and inequalities in access to those
services for marginalized groups of women
and girls exacerbated existing barriers to safe
abortion.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
The Department of Police said that killings of
local councillors persisted, as did murders
and attempted murders at Durban’s
Glebelands hostel complex – leading to
several arrests in relation to the crimes. A
Commission of Inquiry into the root causes of
political killings in KwaZulu-Natal province
commenced its hearings in March and was
extended until March 2018.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
Official statistics stated that almost one in
three boys and one in four girls suffered from
stunting.
Despite health policies aimed at reducing
the spread of HIV, incidence rates remained
particularly high among women and girls,
with an estimated 2,000 new HIV infections
occurring every week among young women
and girls aged 15 to 24.
Reporting to Parliament in September, the
Health Minster highlighted that the
politicization of provincial health departments
GENDER-RELATED VIOLENCE
Violence against women and girls, including
gender-related killings, remained widespread.
Over 39,000 cases of rape were reported to
the police between April 2016 and March
2017, although such cases were believed to
be grossly under-reported. In September, the
Medical Research Council stated that only
8.6% of rape cases opened by the police in
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and poor management had resulted in “a
shortage of medical staff, medicines,
equipment and other medical necessities” in
public health facilities. The chairperson of the
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and
Administration was reported to have received
death threats in March, following her
investigation into the poor performance of
health facilities in Mpumalanga province. In
June, the South African Human Rights
Commission (SAHRC) found that the
Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal
province had violated cancer patients’ rights
to life, health and human dignity, due to the
lack of oncologists and functional equipment
for screening and treating patients.
In October, an arbitration hearing began in
relation to the deaths of over 118 patients
with mental illnesses who died after the
Department of Health in Gauteng province
moved over 1,300 patients from the Life
Esidimeni health care facility to facilities
managed by NGOs, because of resource
constraints. However, the SAHRC
emphasized that “[all] of the 27 NGOs where
the patients were relocated were unlicensed,
under-resourced and had no capacity to take
on mentally ill people”. In February, the
Health Ombudsman found that the relocation
breached the rights of the patients and their
families, including their rights to life and to
human dignity.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 7 July, the South Gauteng High Court
granted the South African National Editors’
Forum (SANEF) and 11 journalists an
interdict against Black First Land First (BLF),
a political party, and Andile Mngxitama, its
leader, after journalists covering allegations of
corruption involving President Zuma and the
Indian-born Gupta family reported threats
and harassment. On 17 July, Micah Reddy, a
journalist at the amaBhungane Centre for
Investigative Journalism, said that he was
harassed by a group of BLF supporters and
members, following his participation in a
panel discussion with Andile Mngxitama at
the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
On 27 July, amaBhungane organized a
public event in Johannesburg to discuss the
“GuptaLeaks” emails, which exposed alleged
corruption by the political elite. The meeting
was disrupted by BLF members and a group
of about 20 people believed to be from the
MK Inkululeko Foundation, a veterans’
association. On 11 August, the South
Gauteng High Court found that BLF
and Andile Mngxitama were in contempt of
the 7 July court order, following an
application by journalists Sam Sole, Ferial
Haffajee and the SANEF. The Court also
ordered that the interdict be extended to
cover all journalists. On 29 September, BLF
and Andile Mngxitama launched an appeal,
which SANEF and the journalists opposed.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE
On 6 July, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber found
that South Africa should have executed the
arrest warrant against Sudanese President
Omar Al-Bashir when he visited the country
in June 2015. South Africa’s Supreme Court
of Appeal ruled in March 2016 that the
government’s failure to arrest President Al-
Bashir was unlawful.
1
Following the conclusion of South Africa’s
domestic legal processes, the Pre-Trial
Chamber convened a hearing in April 2017.
A draft bill to repeal the Rome Statute
Domestication Act was introduced to
Parliament in early December, signalling the
government’s intention to pursue its decision
to leave the ICC.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people continued to face harassment,
discrimination and violence.
On 4 April, the burned body of Matiisetso
Alleta Smous, a lesbian woman, was
discovered in Kroonstad, Free State province.
An eyewitness said she was raped, stabbed
in the chest, and then burned to death.
Three suspects were arrested on 5 April and
released later that month due to insufficient
evidence against them. An investigation into
the murder was ongoing at the end of the
year.
On 15 May, the body of Lerato Moloi, a
lesbian woman, was found in a field in
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Soweto, Gauteng province. The postmortem
examination showed that she had been raped
and stabbed in the neck. Two suspects were
arrested in May. The National Prosecuting
Authority referred the case to the
Johannesburg High Court.
On 11 August, the Potchefstroom High
Court sentenced David Shomolekae to life
imprisonment for strangling Lesley Makousa,
a 16-year-old gay student, to death in August
2016. David Shomolekae was found guilty of
murder, robbery and housebreaking.
The Prevention and Combating of Hate
Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, which included
homophobic hate crimes, that was
introduced in October 2016 had yet to be
approved by members of the government
before going to the National Assembly.
On 6 September, the Western Cape High
Court ruled that the refusal by the
Department of Home Affairs to allow
transgender people who had transitioned
after they got married to change the gender
markers on their official documents infringed
couples’ rights to equality and human dignity.
The Department of Home Affairs previously
required transgender couples to get divorced
before their gender markers could be
changed on their official documents.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Human rights violations and discrimination
against refugees, asylum-seekers and
migrants continued.
On 29 June, the Constitutional Court
declared section 34(1)(b) and (d) of the
Immigration Act 13 of 2002 – including the
provision to hold an “illegal foreigner” in
custody for up to 120 days without a court
hearing – inconsistent with sections 12(1)
and 35(2)(d) of the Constitution and
therefore invalid. The declaration was
however suspended for two years to enable
Parliament to pass corrective legislation.
In July, the Department of Home Affairs
published a white paper on international
migration intended to update migration
policy. The white paper proposed the creation
of detention facilities at South Africa’s
borders, which would house asylum-seekers
while their applications were processed,
and also limit their rights to work and
movement while awaiting a decision on their
application. It also proposed the
establishment of a Border Management
Authority – a centralized border control body
– which would include police and customs.
The related Border Management Authority
Bill was passed by the National Assembly on
8 June and was before the National Council
of Provinces for consideration.
In July, the SAHRC strongly condemned
comments made by the Deputy Police
Minister as “irresponsible” and
“xenophobic”, after he said that most foreign
nationals in Johannesburg were engaged in
various crimes.
On 29 September, the Supreme Court of
Appeal declared the 2012 decision by the
Department of Home Affairs to close the
Cape Town Refugee Reception Office
unlawful and ordered it to reopen the Office
by March 2018.
On 30 November, the Refugee Amendment
Bill was passed by the National Assembly. It
amended the Refugees Act 130 of 1998 and
restricts refugees’ right to seek and enjoy
asylum from persecution. In December,
President Zuma assented to the Refugee
Amendment Act (11 of 2017).
1. ICC rules against South Africa on shameful failure to arrest President
Al-Bashir (News
story,
6 July)
SOUTH SUDAN
Republic of South Sudan
Head of state and government: Salva Kiir Mayardit
The armed conflict expanded and new
armed opposition groups emerged. Parties
to the conflict continued to commit crimes
under international law and human rights
violations and abuses with impunity.
Fighting between government and
opposition forces had a devastating
humanitarian impact on the civilian
population. Conflict and hunger displaced
hundreds of thousands of people.
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BACKGROUND
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/
Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), the main
opposition group, remained split between
those loyal to Riek Machar and those loyal to
Taban Deng Gai. Taban Deng Gai had
replaced Riek Machar as first Vice-President
in July 2016 after fighting between
government and opposition forces in Juba,
the capital, forced Riek Machar to flee South
Sudan. New opposition groups emerged
including the National Salvation Front, led by
General Thomas Cirillo Swaka, former deputy
chief of general staff who resigned from
South Sudan military in February 2017.
During the year, the legitimacy and
relevance of the 2015 Agreement on the
Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of
South Sudan waned due its failure to improve
security. In June, the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development announced that it
would convene a high-level forum which
would work to restore a permanent ceasefire
and the implementation of the Agreement.
Between August and November, the
Authority consulted with parties to the
Agreement, other opposition groups, and key
stakeholders including civil society, on the
forum’s design and its expected outcomes. A
cessation of hostilities agreement was signed
in December but, soon afterwards, renewed
fighting broke out in different parts of the
country.
INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT
Hostilities between government and
opposition forces under Riek Machar, as well
as other armed opposition groups, affected
most of the country. Parties to the conflict
committed violations and abuses of
international human rights and humanitarian
law, including targeted killings of civilians
often based on ethnicity or perceived political
allegiance; systematic looting and destruction
of civilian property; abductions; and crimes of
sexual violence.
In Upper Nile, for example, government
forces, aided by ethnic Dinka Padang
militias, carried out repeated attacks on
territory held by opposition-aligned Shilluk
forces on the west bank of the White Nile,
throughout the year. They indiscriminately
attacked civilian towns and villages, including
Wau Shilluk, Lul, Fashoda, Kodok and
Aburoc, and were responsible for deliberate
killings of civilians, looting of property, and
the displacement of tens of thousands of
civilians.
1
Fighting throughout the year in the
Equatoria region also resulted in numerous
civilian deaths. Cases of deliberate killings of
civilians, sexual violence crimes, looting and
destruction of civilian property in Yei and Kajo
Keji counties, mostly by government forces,
were documented.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
Sexual violence continued to be a common
feature of the conflict. All sides subjected
women, girls, men and boys to rape, gang
rape, sexual slavery, sexual mutilation
including castration, and forced nudity during
attacks on villages, searches of residential
areas, on roads and at checkpoints, and
following abduction or during detention.
Government forces targeted women and girls
living in camps under the protection of the
UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
peacekeepers, when they went to buy or
search for basic necessities such as food and
firewood. Survivors of sexual violence had
little access to appropriate medical and
psychological treatment because of limited
availability or because they were unable to
reach services. Perpetrators of crimes of
sexual violence were rarely held
accountable.
2
LACK OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
The hostile environment in which
humanitarian workers operated significantly
undermined their ability to address food,
health care, education and emergency
shelter needs. Parties to the conflict regularly
obstructed humanitarian access by
threatening, harassing, detaining or
committing acts of violence against
humanitarian workers; at least 25 aid workers
were killed during the year, according to the
UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). On numerous
occasions fighting between armed groups
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forced humanitarian workers to relocate from
areas of operation and suspend services.
Humanitarian supplies were looted by parties
to the conflict, including, according to OCHA,
more than 670 tons of food from
humanitarian compounds in June and July.
Ethiopia, Uganda (see Uganda entry) and
Kenya (see Kenya entry), with approximately
1 million refugees in Uganda.
ARBITRARY DETENTIONS AND TORTURE
AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In March, President Kiir announced plans to
release all political detainees. At least 30
detainees were released during the year;
however, the National Security Service (NSS)
and the Military Intelligence Directorate
continued to conduct arbitrary arrests and
hold perceived government opponents in
prolonged detention without charge or trial.
Individuals were denied the right to have their
detention reviewed by a court and were often
subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.
Detention conditions were harsh; detainees
were regularly denied access to their family
members, adequate food and clean water.
The conditions, including inadequate medical
care, contributed to the deaths of some
detainees.
The NSS released 21 detainees without
charge from prolonged arbitrary detention in
a prison in the NSS headquarters compound
in the Jebel neighbourhood of Juba; one was
released in January, two in March, one in
April, two in May, and 15 in August. Most
had been detained for between two and three
years. At least five others remained in
detention in the compound, accused of
communicating with or supporting the
opposition. A sixth man, James Gatdet,
former SPLM/A-IO spokesperson, detained in
the same facility, was charged with inciting
violence, “treason” and “publishing or
communicating false statements prejudicial
to Southern Sudan”. He was detained after
he was forcibly returned from Kenya to South
Sudan in November 2016.
4
Mike Tyson, Alison Mogga Tadeo, Richard
Otti, and Andria Baambe, also held without
charge for alleged links with the opposition,
died in the same facility between February
and July as a result of harsh conditions of
detention and inadequate access to medical
care. They had been held since 2014.
The government failed to investigate the use
of arbitrary detention and related violations by
RIGHT TO FOOD
An estimated 4.8 million people, almost half
the population, were severely food insecure
as a result of obstructions to humanitarian
access, armed conflict, mass displacement,
and the economic crisis. In February,
localized famine was declared in the Leer
and Mayendit counties in Unity state. By
June, the situation had improved following a
large-scale humanitarian response.
In the Equatoria region, formerly rich in
food, government and opposition forces
imposed restrictions on civilian access to
food as a way to control their movement or
force them from their homes and land.
3
Those who remained faced acute food
shortages, and malnutrition levels increased.
Across the country, displacement and the
threat of violence hampered agriculture and
prevented civilians from tending livestock or
receiving sustained and adequate food aid.
The deteriorating economic situation also
exacerbated the food crisis. Government
revenues fell due to low oil prices and oil
production. The depreciation of local
currency and the shortage of imported
commodities caused food prices to soar. The
government repeatedly failed to pay
employees their salaries.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
More than 3.9 million people − approximately
one third of the population − had been
displaced since the beginning of the conflict
in December 2013; 1.9 million of them were
internally displaced, including over 200,000
who lived on UN bases under the protection
of UNMISS peacekeepers.
More than 640,000 fled the country during
the year, bringing the total number of
refugees from South Sudan to over 2 million.
Most of them were hosted by neighbouring
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government security agencies, or to hold
those suspected of criminal responsibility
accountable, or provide victims with
reparation, such as financial compensation
and rehabilitation.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
The NSS and the Military Intelligence
Directorate subjected people believed to be
opponents of the government to enforced
disappearance.
Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idri, both
vocal critics of the government, went missing
on 23 and 24 January respectively in Nairobi,
Kenya. They were forcibly returned to South
Sudan and taken to the prison facility at the
NSS headquarters in Juba. They were
reported to have been removed from this
facility on 27 January. Their fate and
whereabouts remain unknown.
5
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists, human rights defenders, political
opposition members and others who spoke
out about the conflict were subjected to
harassment, arbitrary arrests and detentions,
and torture and other ill-treatment. This led to
their self-censorship and a political
environment in which people could not work
or speak freely.
On 10 July, the NSS arrested Adil Faris
Mayat, director of the South Sudan
Broadcasting Corporation, after he failed to
broadcast President Kiir’s Independence Day
speech. He was held without charge in a
facility at the NSS headquarters in Juba for
nine days and subsequently dismissed from
his job. On 17 July, the South Sudan National
Communication Authority blocked the
websites of four news outlets. According to
the media, the Information Minister said that
the websites had published information that
was “hostile” to the government.
said that some crimes carried out by
government soldiers against civilians were
prosecuted before military courts. This
happened despite the provision under South
Sudan’s SPLA Act requiring that if military
personnel commit an offence against a
civilian, the civil court should assume
jurisdiction over the offence. In May, for
example, the trial of 12 government soldiers
accused of rape, murder and looting at the
Terrain hotel in Juba in 2016 commenced
before a special military tribunal.
Three transitional justice bodies, provided
for in the Agreement on the Resolution of the
Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan in
2015, had not been established by the end of
the year. In July, the AU Commission and the
government agreed on the content of a
statute and a memorandum of understanding
for the establishment of one of the bodies,
the Hybrid Court for South Sudan, although
they were not formally approved or adopted.
A technical committee for the Commission for
Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing began
consultations on the Commission’s design
and legislative framework.
South Sudan’s legislative framework failed to
define or criminalize torture, enforced
disappearance, or crimes against humanity.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
The General Assembly of Justices and
Judges went on strike in April, demanding
salary increases, improved working
conditions, and the Chief Justice’s resignation
following poor leadership. President Kiir
responded with a decree on 12 July removing
14 judges from office, and invoking a
constitutional provision that allowed for
judges to be removed for “misconduct”. On
11 September, the judges ended their strike
on grounds including a pledge from the
President that he would deal with their
demands and reinstate the dismissed judges.
The judges were not reinstated by the end of
the year. In November, a Supreme Court
judge resigned, citing lack of judicial
independence.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
There were no credible investigations into
crimes under international law and human
rights violations or abuses, or prosecutions of
those suspected of criminal responsibility in
fair trials before civilian courts. The military
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In October, the Transitional National
Legislative Assembly voted to ratify the
Protocol to the African Charter on Human
and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women
in Africa (Maputo Protocol).
1.
South Sudan: “It was as if my village was swept by a flood”: Mass
displacement of the Shilluk population from the West Bank of the
White Nile (AFR
65/6538/2017)
2.
“Do not remain silent”: Survivors of sexual violence in South Sudan
call for justice and reparations (AFR
65/6469/2017)
3.
South Sudan: “If men are caught, they are killed. If women are
caught, they are raped”: Atrocities in Equatoria Region turn country’s
breadbasket into a killing field (AFR
65/6612/2017)
4. South Sudan: Several men arbitrarily held in poor conditions (AFR
65/6747/2017);
South Sudan: Fifteen released, five still arbitrarily
detained (AFR
65/7144/2017)
5. South Sudan: Fate and whereabouts of two men unknown: Dong
Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idri (AFR
65/6298/2017)
SPAIN
Kingdom of Spain
Head of state: King Felipe VI de Borbón
Head of government: Mariano Rajoy
The rights to freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly of Catalan independence
supporters were disproportionally restricted.
Dozens of people were prosecuted for
“glorification of terrorism” and “humiliation
of victims” on social media. Law
enforcement officials used excessive force
against demonstrators peacefully resisting
the enforcement of the High Court of
Justice of Catalonia's ruling stopping the
Catalan independence referendum. Spain
relocated fewer asylum-seekers than it had
pledged to under the EU relocation scheme,
and resettled fewer refugees than it had
committed to. Thousands of people
continued to face forced evictions. The
authorities continued to close investigations
into crimes under international law
committed during the Civil War and the
Franco regime.
others wounded. The armed group Islamic
State (IS) claimed responsibility. Six people
believed to be responsible were killed by
security forces, and four others were arrested
and prosecuted for being implicated in the
attacks and as members of the group that
carried out the attacks.
On 1 October, the government of Catalonia,
an autonomous region in the northeast, held
a referendum on the region’s independence,
in defiance of several Constitutional Court
rulings. On 17 October, the Constitutional
Court declared unconstitutional the regional
law on which the referendum was based and
confirmed its precautionary measure which it
had adopted on 7 September, aimed at
preventing the referendum. On 27 October,
the pro-independence political groups in the
Catalonian regional parliament unilaterally
declared the independence of Catalonia. On
the same day, the Senate authorized the
Spanish government to adopt measures
pursuant to Article 155 of the Spanish
Constitution, effectively suspending the
region’s autonomy. On 21  December, new
regional elections in Catalonia took place.
The party which obtained more votes than
any other single party was a non-
independence party, but overall the elections
delivered the majority in the regional
parliament to the combined pro-
independence parties.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSEMBLY
Following the Constitutional Court decision of
7 September aimed at preventing the
referendum, some authorities
disproportionately restricted the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful
assembly. Courts in Madrid and Vitoria in the
Basque country prohibited two public
assemblies aimed at supporting the
referendum. The municipality of Castelldefels
in Catalonia adopted a blanket ban on the
use of public spaces for assemblies aimed at
supporting or protesting against the
referendum.
On 16 October, a High Court judge ordered
the pre-trial detention of Jordi Cuixart and
BACKGROUND
Two violent attacks took place in Catalonia in
August, leaving 16 people dead and several
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Jordi Sánchez, the presidents of two pro-
Catalan-independence organizations. They
were detained and charged with sedition, a
broadly defined offence, in connection with
protests they organized in Barcelona on 20 
and 21 September to, according to a judge,
oppose a lawful police operation. In
November, the Supreme Court took charge of
the proceedings against Jordi Sánchez and
Jordi Cuixart. The Supreme Court extended
the investigation against them to the offence
of rebellion.
Dozens of people were prosecuted for
“glorification of terrorism” and “humiliation of
victims” on social media networks. In many
instances, authorities pressed criminal
charges against people who had expressed
opinions that did not constitute incitement to
a terrorism-related offence and fell within the
permissible forms of expression under
international human rights law. Twenty people
were convicted in the course of the year. In
March, Cassandra Vera was convicted and
given a suspended sentence of one year`s
imprisonment for “humiliation of victims of
terrorism”. She had published jokes on
Twitter about ETA´s 1973 killing of Carrero
Blanco, a Prime Minister under the Franco
regime.
In January, the investigating judge
dismissed charges of incitement to hatred
against Alfonso Lázaro de la Fuente and Raúl
García Pérez, professional puppeteers who in
February 2016 were subjected to pre-trial
detention for five days on charges of
“glorifying terrorism” and incitement to
hatred. The charges of “glorifying terrorism”
were dismissed in 2016.
Administrative penalties continued to be
imposed on private individuals, human rights
activists and journalists on the basis of the
Law on Public Security, which could
constitute unlawful restrictions on the rights
to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly
and information.
Mercé Alcocer, a journalist at Catalunya
Radio, was fined EUR601 for disobeying a
police order. She crossed an unmarked
police line in her attempt to interview a
witness when she was covering a corruption
case which was being investigated by the
High Court. She appealed, arguing she had
stepped back when told to and that her
account could be substantiated by footage
from security cameras. The footage was not
admitted as evidence, and her appeal was
pending at the end of the year.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In September, the High Court dropped the
request for the extradition from Switzerland of
Nekane Txapartegi. The term for enforcing a
December 2009 conviction against her had
expired. In April, the Special Rapporteur on
torture had urged the Swiss authorities to
oppose the extradition. Nekane Txapartegi
said she was subjected to torture and other
ill-treatment when she was held
incommunicado for five days in a police
station in Madrid in 1999. She had been
arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related
offences and of being an ETA member.
Investigations into her torture allegations had
not been conducted thoroughly in the past.
In May, the Constitutional Court declared
admissible an appeal by the government
against a Basque Parliament law on the
recognition of and reparation for victims of
human rights violations in the Basque
Country.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Law enforcement officials policing protests on
1 October in Catalonia used excessive force
against peaceful protesters who were
opposing a police operation. The police fired
blank cartridges and rubber bullets, seriously
injuring one person and causing him to lose
the sight in one eye.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
Spain failed to meet its commitment to
relocate 15,888 asylum-seekers under the
EU emergency relocation scheme; 1,328
were relocated by the end of the year, of
which 592 were Syrian nationals. Spain also
failed to meet its commitment to resettle
1,449 refugees from the Middle East and
North Africa; 1,360 refugees were resettled,
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all Syrian nationals, except one refugee from
Palestine, by 31 December.
Between January and December, 25,853
asylum claims were submitted, and 34,655
applications were still pending at the end of
October. Asylum-seekers continued to face
delays in receiving decisions on their claims.
For many, the period during which they were
entitled to access government support
pending the outcome of their asylum
application expired long before the decision
was reached.
According to the EU border agency
FRONTEX, there were 21,663 irregular
border crossings via the Western
Mediterranean route up to September, more
than double the figure for the same period in
2016.
In October, the European Court of Human
Rights held that the immediate return to
Morocco of sub-Saharan migrants who were
attempting to enter Spanish territory in Melilla
in 2014 amounted to a collective expulsion of
foreign nationals.
RIGHT TO HOUSING
Thousands of people were forcibly evicted
without adequate judicial safeguards or
provision of alternative accommodation by
the state. These included 26,767 rental
evictions and 16,992 mortgage evictions.
Public spending on housing continued to
decrease, even though the demand for
affordable social housing remained high.
Single mothers and survivors of gender-based
violence were particularly affected by the lack
of affordable alternative housing. In July, the
UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights upheld a complaint against
Spain for not having provided an evicted
family with alternative housing.
IMPUNITY
Spanish authorities continued to close
investigations into crimes under international
law committed during the Civil War and the
Franco regime. They argued that it would not
be possible to investigate the crimes
reported, such as enforced disappearances
and torture, in view of, among other things,
the Amnesty Act and the statute of
limitations. The authorities continued to fail to
take measures to locate and identify the
remains of victims of enforced
disappearances and extrajudicial executions,
leaving families and organizations to
undertake exhumation projects without state
support.
In February, Mexico’s Attorney General’s
Office started an investigation into the so-
called “stolen babies” case, making Mexico
the second country to investigate crimes
under international law committed in Spain
during the Civil War and the Franco regime.
The investigation about  the case of a woman
born in Spain in 1968 and handed over to a
Mexican family, reportedly after having been
abducted from her family. In September, the
UN Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances stated that this
case constituted a new opportunity for Spain
to fully co-operate in the investigations
carried out by other states into enforced
disappearances which occurred in Spain.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Judicial authorities continued to use counter-
terrorism legislation disproportionately. Three
of the seven people detained and charged
with terrorism-related offences for their
alleged participation in an attack against two
off-duty civil guards and their partners in
Alsasua (Navarra) in a pub in October 2016,
were in pre-trial detention pending a hearing
due in April 2018.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
According to the Ministry of Health, Social
Services and Equality, 48 women (and eight
children) were killed by their partners or
former partners.
In September, Parliament approved a plan
to combat gender-based violence,
encompassing a review of legislation and
other measures to meet the obligations
enshrined in the Istanbul Convention on
violence against women.
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The 2014 amendments to universal
jurisdiction legislation were invoked by the
Spanish judiciary to not investigate crimes
under international law, such as enforced
disappearances and torture, committed in
Syria and Venezuela in 2017 against Spanish
nationals.
Constitution, and whether economic, social
and cultural rights would be included in the
Bill of Rights.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The authorities continued to detain Tamils
suspected of links to the LTTE under the PTA,
which permitted extended administrative
detention and shifted the burden of proof to a
detainee alleging torture or other ill-
treatment. During his visit to Sri Lanka in
July, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism stated that over 100 unconvicted
prisoners (pre- and post-indictment)
remained in detention under the PTA, some
of whom had been held for over a decade. Sri
Lanka failed to follow through on its 2015
commitment to repeal the PTA and replace it
with legislation that complied with
international standards.
SRI LANKA
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Head of state and government: Maithripala Sirisena
Sri Lanka continued to pursue its 2015
commitments to deliver justice, truth,
reparation and guarantees of non-
recurrence for alleged crimes under
international law, but progress slowed and
there was evidence of backsliding.
Parliament passed an amended Office on
Missing Persons Act, intended to assist
families of the disappeared seeking missing
relatives. The Prevention of Terrorism Act
(PTA) was not repealed; it was still used to
arrest and detain suspects. Torture and
other ill-treatment in police custody
continued. Threats against religious and
ethnic minorities and human rights
defenders were reported.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment in
detention continued. In March, Sri Lanka’s
human rights record was examined under the
UPR process; the Human Rights Commission
of Sri Lanka said that it had continued to
document widespread incidents of violence
against detainees, including torture and other
ill-treatment, which it described as “routine”
and practised throughout the country, mainly
by police. The Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism found that 80% of those arrested
under the PTA in late 2016 had complained
of torture and other ill-treatment.
BACKGROUND
Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial
executions, torture and other serious human
rights violations and abuses were committed
with impunity before, during and in the
aftermath of the armed conflict between
government forces and the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in 2009.
Commitments made by Sri Lanka in 2015 –
through its co-sponsorship of UN Human
Rights Council resolution 30/1 – to establish
truth, justice and reparation mechanisms and
reforms aimed at non-recurrence of these
crimes, had not been implemented by the
end of the year. Sri Lanka’s constitutional
reform process, initiated in 2016, also
faltered as lawmakers differed over issues
such as the fate of the executive presidency,
the place of Buddhism in the new
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
Impunity persisted for excessive use of force
against protesters. Killings by the army of
unarmed demonstrators demanding clean
water in August 2013 had yet to be
prosecuted. In August, a Criminal
Investigation Department investigator told the
Gampaha Chief Magistrate that all evidence
related to the shootings had been
“destroyed” by previous investigators.
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ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
By the end of the year Sri Lanka had not
passed legislation criminalizing enforced
disappearance in domestic law, despite
ratifying the International Convention against
Enforced Disappearance in 2016. A
parliamentary debate on a bill criminalizing
enforced disappearance scheduled for July
was postponed without explanation.
The amended Office on Missing Persons
Act was passed by Parliament in June; the
amendments limited the Office’s power to
seek outside assistance. It was signed by the
President on 20 July but had not come into
operation by the end of the year. The Office
was proposed to help many thousands of
families of the disappeared trace missing
relatives.
In June, President Sirisena promised
families of the disappeared that he would
order the release of lists of those who
surrendered to, or were detained by, the
armed forces during and after the armed
conflict that ended in 2009. The lists were
not made public by the end of the year.
the disappeared, continued to report
surveillance and harassment by law
enforcement officials. Women human rights
defenders in the north and east reported that
interactions with police were often degrading
and sexualized.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY
AND ASSOCIATION
Attempts by families to arrange stones as
memorials for lost relatives were stopped by
security forces. Catholic priest Elil Rajendram
was detained and other residents of
Mullaitivu were subjected to police
harassment following their efforts to hold
memorials for family members who died
during the armed conflict.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
An expected parliamentary debate on the
proposed draft Constitution aimed at
ensuring checks on executive power and
more equitable ethnic power sharing had not
taken place by the end of the year.
Despite repeated promises, Sri Lanka failed
to repeal the PTA and to pass legislation
criminalizing enforced disappearances.
In December, Sri Lanka ratified the Optional
Protocol to the Convention Against Torture
(OPCAT).
IMPUNITY
Impunity persisted for alleged crimes under
international law committed during the armed
conflict. Impunity also remained for many
other human rights violations. These included
the January 2006 extrajudicial executions of
five students in Trincomalee by security
personnel and the killing of 17 aid workers
with NGO Action Against Hunger in Muttur in
August 2006; the December 2011
disappearances of political activists Lalith
Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan; the
2010 disappearance of dissident cartoonist
Prageeth Eknaligoda; and the 2009 killing of
newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunge.
DISCRIMINATION
Law enforcement officials continued to
subject members of the Tamil minority,
particularly former members of the LTTE, to
ethnic profiling, surveillance and harassment.
Police failed to take action in response to
continued threats and physical violence
against Christians and Muslims by members
of the public and supporters of a hardline
Sinhala Buddhist political group.
In March, the UN CEDAW Committee asked
Sri Lanka to amend all personal laws to
remove discriminatory provisions. The
Committee expressed particular concern
about the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act
of 1951, which failed to specify a minimum
age for marriages and permited girls aged
under 12 to marry with the permission of a
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In June, the then Minister of Justice
threatened to have human rights lawyer
Lakshan Dias disbarred if he did not
apologize for speaking publicly about
reported attacks against Christians.
Tamil human rights defenders and activist
community members, including relatives of
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religious adjudicator (Qazi). The Act also
restricted women from serving on Qazi
Boards, and did not recognize marital rape
unless the couple was legally separated; this
included statutory rape of a girl under 16 by
an adult spouse.
widespread violations of international
humanitarian and human rights law.
BACKGROUND
In January, the US government partially lifted
economic sanctions imposed on Sudan since
1997, which included unfreezing assets and
banking, commercial and investment
transactions. The US government agreed to
lift all economic sanctions in October, stating
that Sudan’s government demonstrated its
commitment to achieving progress in five key
areas including: a marked reduction in
offensive military activity culminating in a
pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in
conflict areas in Sudan; and improved
humanitarian access throughout Sudan.
On 15 January, the Council of Ministers
extended the unilateral ceasefire in Darfur,
Blue Nile, and South Kordofan for a further
six months. The Sudanese Armed Forces and
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-
North (SPLM-N) exchanged accusations over
ceasefire violations in South Kordofan State
on 21 February. In March, the SPLM-N split
into two rival factions which threatened to
delay peace talks between the government
and the SPLM-N, trigger wider conflict and
cause additional displacement in SPLM-N-
controlled areas in Blue Nile. However, in
October the government extended the
unilateral ceasefire to 31 December which
held at the end of the year.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Impunity persisted for various forms of
violence against women and girls, including
child marriage, domestic violence, human
trafficking, rapes by military or law
enforcement officers or assaults by private
actors. In a rare exception, the trial began on
28 June in Jaffna’s High Court of nine men
accused of involvement in the May 2015
gang rape and murder of Sivaloganathan
Vidya, an 18-year-old school student, in
Punkuduthivu. The trial was still ongoing at
the end of the year. The nature of the crime
and police mishandling of the case sparked
widespread protests in 2015. In July 2017 a
serving Senior Deputy Inspector General of
Police was arrested for allegedly assisting one
of the suspects to evade arrest.
DEATH PENALTY
Death sentences were imposed for murder,
rape and drug trafficking. No executions have
been carried out since 1976. On 4 February,
Sri Lankan Independence Day, President
Sirisena commuted the sentences of 60
death row prisoners to life imprisonment.
SUDAN
Republic of the Sudan
Head of state and government: Omar Hassan Ahmed
al-Bashir
Security forces targeted opposition party
members, human rights defenders, students
and political activists for arbitrary arrest,
detention and other abuses. The rights to
freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly were arbitrarily
restricted. The security and humanitarian
situation in Darfur, Blue Nile and South
Kordofan states remained dire, with
FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION AND
ASSEMBLY
The activities of civil society organizations
and political opposition parties were
extensively restricted. The National
Intelligence Security Service (NISS)
prevented many civil society organizations
and opposition parties from holding events.
For example, on 17 February it banned a
meeting of the Teachers Central Committee at
the Umma National Party offices in
Omdurman city. It prohibited the Umma
National Party from holding a public meeting
in Wad Madani in Al Jazeera State on 18
 March. In April, it prevented the committee
for the Sudanese Dramatists from holding a
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public event to address the impact on
Sudanese society of an absence of dramatic
arts. Also in April, it stopped the opposition
Sudan Congress Party holding a memorial
service for one of its members; and an event
organized by the “No to women’s oppression”
initiative at Al-Ahfad University without
providing a reason. In May, the NISS
cancelled a symposium on Sufism entitled
“Current and Future Prospects” at the
Friendship Hall in the capital, Khartoum. In
June, the Humanitarian Aid Commission
(HAC) suspended the activities of Shari Al-
Hawadith, an organization providing medical
support in Kassala State.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In the second half of the year, authorities
confiscated print-runs belonging to six
newspapers on 26 occasions. Restrictions on
freedom of expression continued with
newspaper editors and journalists regularly
instructed not to cover any subjects
considered a security threat. Twelve
journalists were repeatedly summoned and
investigated by the NISS, and two others
were convicted for reporting on issues said to
be a threat to security. For example, in May,
the Press and Publications Court in
Khartoum convicted Madiha Abdala, former
Editor of Sudanese Communist Party
newspaper
Al-Midan,
of “dissemination of
false information” and fined her 10,000
Sudanese pounds (around USD1,497), for
publishing an article on the conflict in South
Kordofan in 2015.
In September, Hanadi Alsiddig, Editor-in-
Chief of
Akhbar Alwatan
newspaper, was
briefly arrested and beaten by NISS for
covering land dispute issues.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
NISS officials and other security forces
targeted opposition political party members,
human rights defenders, students and
political activists for arbitrary arrest, detention
and other abuses.
1
Three political opposition
activists were held in detention without
charge following their arrests in January and
February by the NISS in Khartoum, and were
released at the end of April. They were
arrested because they supported the civil
disobedience protests in November and
December 2016 against economic austerity
measures.
2
Dr Hassan Karar, former chairperson of the
Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors
(CCSD), was rearrested on 20 April and
detained for four days at the office of the
NISS Prosecutor of Crimes Against the State.
He was held for his role in supporting a
nationwide doctors’ strike to protest against
the deteriorating health service. Dr Mohamed
Yasin Abdalla, also a former chairperson of
the CCSD, was arrested and detained on 22 
April in Khartoum at the office of the
Prosecutor of Crimes Against the State. He
was released without charge on 28 April.
Both were accused of, but not formally
charged with, forming an illegal entity and
threatening the health system of the country.
In May, activists Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam
and his colleague Hafiz Idris Eldoma were
charged with six offences, two of which are
punishable by life imprisonment or death.
3
They were arrested by the NISS along with a
third activist in 2016 in connection with their
work for the Sudan Social Development
Organization-UK (SUDO-UK) which works on
humanitarian and development projects
across the country. They were subjected to
ill-treatment on arrest. Dr Mudawi Ibrahim
Adam and Hafiz Idris Eldoma were released
on 29 August after eight months of wrongful
imprisonment.
4
Nabil Mohamed El-Niwari, a Sudanese
political activist and member of the
opposition party Sudan Congress, was
arrested by the NISS in Khartoum on 5
 September in connection with his political
activities.
5
ARMED CONFLICT
DARFUR
There was a reduction in armed conflict
between the Sudanese Armed Forces and
opposition armed groups at the beginning of
the year. However, there were reports of
renewed fighting in North Darfur on 28 May
between, on one side, the Sudan Liberation
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Movement (SLM-MM), led by Minni Minawi,
and the SLM-Transitional Council against, on
the other side, the Sudanese Armed Forces
and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). There
was no clear progress in the peace process
or mechanisms to address the causes and
consequences of the Darfur conflict. There
were at least 87 incidents of unlawful killing
of civilians, including of internally displaced
persons (IDPs), mainly by pro-government
militia, and there were reports of widespread
looting, rape and arbitrary arrests across
Darfur. On 22 September, President al-Bashir
announced a visit to Kalma IDP camp in
South Darfur. Sudanese security forces used
live ammunition to break up protests by IDPs
against the visit. Five people were killed and
dozens wounded. In June, the UN Security
Council renewed the mandate of UNAMID
(UN Mission in Darfur) until 30 June 2018.
The mandate also included the restructuring
of the UNAMID presence into two six-month
phases, which had wider implications for the
protection of civilians in Darfur.
SOUTH KORDOFAN AND BLUE NILE
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network
(FEWS-NET) reported that the humanitarian
situation in SPLM-N-controlled areas in South
Kordofan was dire. The rate of chronic
malnutrition was estimated at 38.3% due to
long-term food deprivation and recurrent
illness. FEWS-NET estimated that 39% of
households in Blue Nile were severely food
insecure. Meanwhile, the simmering
leadership dispute within SPLM-N
heightened tension among Sudanese
refugees in Maban County in South Sudan
and triggered violent ethnic clashes between
the two rival SPLM-N factions in Blue Nile,
resulting in the displacement of thousands of
people from the SPLM-N-controlled area to
government-controlled areas in Sudan, and
to refugee camps in South Sudan and
Ethiopia.
1. Courageous and resilient: Activists in Sudan speak out (AFR
54/7124/2017)
2. Opposition activists arbitrarily held in Sudan (AFR
54/6000/2017)
3. Sudan: Human rights defender facing death penalty: Dr Mudawi
Ibrahim Adam (AFR
54/6300/2017)
4. Sudan: Dr Mudawi released after eight months of wrongful
imprisonment (Press
Release,
30 August)
5. Sudan: Detained opposition activist denied lawyer visits: Nabil
Mohamed El-Niwari (AFR
54/7101/2017)
SWAZILAND
Kingdom of Swaziland
Head of state: King Mswati III
Head of government: Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini
Forced evictions continued to be carried
out. The Public Order Act and the
Suppression of Terrorism Act (STA) severely
limited the rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly. A ban
on opposition parties continued. Gender-
related violence remained prevalent and
Parliament failed to enact the Sexual
Offences and Domestic Violence Bill.
BACKGROUND
Student protests continued throughout the
year following government cuts to state-
funded tertiary scholarships in 2016. Ten
students were arrested in September in
connection with the protests.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
Communities continued to be at risk of forced
evictions. Around 85 families in at least two
communities faced imminent evictions
without being provided with alternative
housing or adequate compensation. Although
the Constitution prohibited arbitrary
deprivation of property without
compensation, in practice the lack of legal
security of tenure left people vulnerable to
forced evictions. In a judgment in April, a
High Court ruled that the constitutional
provision of compensation to evicted
residents was limited to evictions carried out
by the state; residents affected by forced
evictions carried out by private actors were
excluded from access to certain remedies.
In Madonsa in the Manzini region, at least
58 families were at risk of imminent eviction
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after the Swazi National Provident Fund
(SNPF), a government parastatal, claimed
ownership of the land on which they resided.
After a protracted seven-year legal process,
the High Court ordered in 2011 that the
families be evicted without compensation or
alternative accommodation. They remained
on the land at the end of the year.
In Mbondzela, in the Shiselweni region, 27
families threatened with eviction began
proceedings against a private company which
sought to appropriate their land for the
development of a game park. On 19 October,
the Central Farm Dwellers Tribunal dismissed
their case and allowed the eviction, ruling
that the private company should provide the
residents with building material to construct
homes elsewhere.
of expression, association and assembly, was
due to be heard in October 2017. However,
the government failed to submit its
arguments on time and the Court withdrew
their appeal.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence
Bill, first introduced in Parliament in 2009,
was not passed, despite ongoing reports of
gender-related violence. In October, the
Deputy Prime Minister’s office introduced
proposed amendments, which included the
removal of clauses which criminalized incest,
unlawful stalking, abduction and indecent
exposure, on the grounds that these
provisions compromised Swazi cultural
practices.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
King Mswati approved the Public Order Act
on 8 August, which curtailed the rights to
freedom of assembly and association,
imposing far-reaching restrictions on
organizers of public gatherings. The Act also
failed to provide mechanisms to hold law
enforcement officials accountable for using
excessive force against protesters or public
gatherings.
The government continued to ban
opposition parties.
IMPUNITY
Under the Game Amendment Act of 1991,
game rangers continued to enjoy immunity
from prosecution related to carrying out their
duties, including in cases where they killed
alleged poachers. During the year police
investigated at least six such killings by
rangers; no one was known to have been
brought to justice.
More than two years after the death in
police custody of Luciano Reginaldo Zavale, a
Mozambican national, the authorities had still
not made public findings from an inquest into
his death.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In August, the King approved the STA, which
amended the 2008 Act. The amendments
limited the definitions of what constitutes a
terrorist act although the wording was overly
broad and vague in relation to terrorism-
related acts. The law also contained
provisions that undermined the rights to
freedom of expression, association and
assembly.
An appeal by the government against a
2016 High Court ruling that found that the
original STA, as well as the Sedition and
Subversive Activities Act, were invalid on the
grounds that they infringed the
constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom
SWEDEN
Kingdom of Sweden
Head of state: King Carl XVI Gustaf
Head of government: Stefan Löfven
The authorities failed to adopt effective
strategies to prevent racist and xenophobic
attacks. Rape and other forms of sexual
violence against women and girls remained
widespread but there were few convictions.
Roma people continued to face
discrimination. Courts convicted individuals
for serious crimes under international law
committed in Syria and Rwanda.
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REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Emergency temporary measures introduced
in 2016 prevented asylum-seekers who had
been granted subsidiary protection from
having the right to family reunification. During
his visit to Sweden in October, the Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
recommended that Sweden lift the measures.
CRIMES UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
In February, Svea Court of Appeal upheld the
sentence of life imprisonment of a Swedish
citizen of Rwandan origin, convicted in
Sweden of genocide and other crimes
committed in Rwanda in 1994.
In May, Svea Court of Appeal confirmed the
sentence of life imprisonment of a Syrian
citizen convicted in Sweden of war crimes for
the extrajudicial execution of seven Syrian
army soldiers.
In September a Syrian man who had served
in the Syrian army was convicted of war
crimes by the Södertörn District Court and
sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for
violating the dignity of five dead or severely
injured persons by posing for a photograph
with his foot on one victim’s chest.
Sweden had yet to make torture a crime
under national law.
widespread. In December, based on a
proposal by the 2014 Sexual Offences
Committee, the government presented draft
legislation to the legal council which included
a consent-based definition of rape and sexual
abuse.
Serious concerns remained about rape
attrition rates. The number of rapes reported
to the police increased by 14% during the
first half of the year compared with the same
period in 2016 (from 2,999 to 3,430).
Between January and June 2017, decisions
to prosecute were taken in just 111 cases,
according to preliminary official statistics.
SWITZERLAND
Swiss Confederation
Head of state and government: Doris Leuthard
(replaced Johann Schneider-Ammann in January)
Migrants and asylum-seekers with rejected
asylum claims were returned in violation of
the
non-refoulement
principle. Concerns
remained regarding the use
of disproportionate force during the
deportation of migrants. Government
proposals for the creation of a National
Human Rights Institution continued to be
criticized for failing to guarantee the
Institution’s independence.
DISCRIMINATION
Roma citizens from Romania and Bulgaria
supporting themselves through begging
continued to be subjected to harassment and
denial of basic services including shelter,
water and sanitation, education and
subsidized health care. In September,
Vellinge in southern Sweden became the first
Swedish municipality to ban begging, and
one of the main political parties declared its
intent to do the same nationally. The decision
in Vellinge was later declared non-conforming
with the Law on Public Order; the matter was
subject to appeal. Anti-Roma prejudice
towards Roma from other EU countries was
widespread.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In August, the UN Human Rights Committee
expressed concerns regarding the “Initiative
for auto-determination”, a referendum that
was likely to be scheduled for 2018 and
which would lead to supremacy of the
Federal Constitution over international
treaties. The Committee urged Switzerland to
introduce a control mechanism to ensure that
referendums comply with international
human rights law before being presented for
a popular vote.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights and the UN Human Rights
Committee urged Switzerland in May and
June respectively to establish a fully
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Rape and other forms of sexual violence
against women and girls remained
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independent National Human Rights
Institution with a sufficiently broad mandate
and adequate resources to comply with the
Principles relating to the Status of National
Institutions (Paris Principles). NGOs raised
concerns about the lack of full independence
of the Human Rights Institution proposed by
the Federal Council (government) in June.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
The authorities returned several asylum-
seekers to other Schengen Area Member
States by applying the Dublin III Regulation
(EU law that determines the EU member
state responsible to examine an application
for asylum) but without duly taking into
account their family ties in Switzerland.
In April, the Federal Court ruled that the
detention of two Afghan parents with their
infant, and the placement of their three other
children in an orphanage in 2016, with the
purpose of returning the whole family to
Norway, had disproportionately violated their
right to family life.
In October, the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights called on
Switzerland to improve the identification and
protection of the most vulnerable migrants
and asylum-seekers, and to apply a gender
and child-sensitive approach to all migration
and asylum-related decisions and measures.
Child asylum-seekers in federal reception
centres continued to be denied access to
education.
In several cases, the European Court of
Human Rights and the UN Committee
against Torture ruled that the return of people
with failed asylum claims or undocumented
migrants to Sri Lanka, Sudan and Turkey
violated the principle of
non-refoulement
(forcible return of individuals to a country
where they risked serious human rights
violations).
disaggregated data on the number of
complaints, investigations and convictions. It
also recommended the introduction of a
provision expressly prohibiting and
criminalizing torture as a separate offence in
the Criminal Code.
In July, while noting some improvements,
the National Commission for the Prevention
of Torture raised concerns about the
excessive use of force by police, in particular
in the context of deporting migrants.
DISCRIMINATION
In March, the Upper Chamber of the Federal
Parliament (Council of States) rejected a bill
to ban full-face veils at the national level.
In August, the Human Rights Committee
urged Switzerland to introduce
comprehensive legislation against
discrimination. It also recommended that
Switzerland not subject intersex children
without consent to medically unnecessary
interventions to determine their gender.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In August, the Human Rights Committee
recommended that Switzerland continue to
combat domestic violence, female genital
mutilation and forced marriages, to train
justice professionals to address cases of
domestic violence, and to facilitate the stay of
migrant women who had suffered domestic
violence. In December, Switzerland ratified
the Council of Europe Convention on
preventing and combating violence against
women and domestic violence (Istanbul
Convention).
SYRIA
Syrian Arab Republic
Head of state: Bashar al-Assad
Head of government: Imad Khamis
Parties to the armed conflict committed war
crimes and other grave violations of
international humanitarian law and human
rights abuses with impunity. Government
and allied forces, including Russia, carried
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
In August, the UN Human Rights Committee
urged Switzerland to introduce an
independent complaint mechanism to
examine allegations of unlawful use of force
by police and to collect comprehensive and
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out indiscriminate attacks and direct
attacks on civilians and civilian objects
using aerial and artillery bombing, including
with chemical and other internationally
banned weapons, killing and injuring
hundreds. Government forces maintained
lengthy sieges on densely populated areas,
restricting access to humanitarian and
medical aid to thousands of civilians.
Government forces and foreign governments
negotiated local agreements which led to
the forced displacement of thousands of
civilians following prolonged sieges and
unlawful attacks. Security forces arrested
and continued to detain tens of thousands
of people, including peaceful activists,
humanitarian workers, lawyers and
journalists, subjecting many to enforced
disappearances, torture or other ill-
treatment and causing deaths in detention.
Armed opposition groups indiscriminately
shelled civilian areas and subjected
predominantly civilian areas to prolonged
sieges, restricting access to humanitarian
and medical aid. The armed group Islamic
State (IS) unlawfully killed and shelled
civilians and used them as human shields.
US-led coalition forces carried out attacks
on IS in which civilians were killed and
injured, at times violating international
humanitarian law. By the end of the year,
the conflict had caused the deaths of more
than 400,000 people and displaced more
than 11 million people within and outside
Syria.
BACKGROUND
The armed conflict in Syria entered its
seventh year. Government forces and their
allies, including Iranian and Hezbollah
fighters, captured the majority of areas
previously held by IS and other armed groups
in Homs and Deir el-Zour governorates and
other areas. They were supported by Russian
armed forces, which carried out attacks on IS
and other armed groups fighting the
government, reportedly killing and injuring
civilians. The Syrian Democratic Forces,
consisting of Syrian-Kurdish and Arab armed
groups, captured Raqqa governorate from IS
in October. They were supported by a US-led
international coalition of states which carried
out air strikes against IS in northern and
eastern Syria, killing and injuring hundreds of
civilians. Other armed opposition groups
primarily fighting government forces, such as
Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement, Hay’at
Tahrir al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam, controlled
or contested areas in the governorates of
Damascus Countryside, Idleb and Aleppo,
sometimes fighting each other. Several
suspected attacks by Israel inside Syria
targeted Hezbollah, Syrian government
positions and other fighters.
Russia continued to block efforts by the UN
Security Council to pursue justice and
accountability. On 12 April, Russia vetoed a
resolution condemning the use of chemical
weapons in Syria and calling for those
responsible to be held accountable. On 17 
November, Russia vetoed a resolution to
extend the mandate of the Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN
Joint Investigative Mechanism established by
the UN Security Council in 2015 to
investigate chemical weapons attacks and
determine responsibility for the use of
chemical weapons in Syria.
Efforts by the UN to broker peace were
unsuccessful as parties to the conflict and
their allies shifted diplomatic discussions to
Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. The diplomatic
talks sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey
aimed to strengthen the nationwide ceasefire
agreement negotiated in December 2016 and
enforce the “road map to peace” outlined in
UN resolution 2254 of 2015. In May 2017
the Russian-brokered talks established four
de-escalation zones across Syria, including
the governorates of Idleb, Deraa, Homs and
Damascus Countryside.
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
parties to the conflict, although it remained
barred by the government from entering
Syria.
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In July, Catherine Marchi-Uhel was
appointed head of the International Impartial
and Independent Mechanism established in
December 2016 by the UN General
Assembly to assist in the investigation and
prosecution of the most serious crimes under
international law committed in Syria since
March 2011.
ARMED CONFLICT – VIOLATIONS BY
SYRIAN GOVERNMENT FORCES AND
ALLIES, INCLUDING IRAN AND RUSSIA
INDISCRIMINATE ATTACKS AND DIRECT ATTACKS ON
CIVILIANS AND CIVILIAN OBJECTS
The Syrian government and allied forces
continued to commit war crimes and other
serious violations of international
humanitarian law, including indiscriminate
attacks and direct attacks on civilians and
civilian objects including homes, hospitals
and medical facilities. Government forces
attacked areas controlled or contested by
armed opposition groups, unlawfully killing
and injuring civilians and damaging civilian
objects through aerial bombardment and
artillery shelling.
According to the NGO Physicians for
Human Rights, government forces carried
out air strikes on three hospitals in Idleb
governorate on 19 September, killing a staff
member, destroying ambulances and
damaging the facilities. On 13 November,
Syrian and Russian forces carried out air
strikes during the day on a large market in
Atareb, an opposition-held town in Aleppo
governorate, killing at least 50 people, mostly
civilians. On 18 November, government
forces carried out air strikes and artillery
attacks on civilians besieged in Eastern
Ghouta in Damascus Countryside, killing at
least 14.
On 4 April, government warplanes carried
out an attack using internationally banned
chemical weapons on Khan Sheikhoun in
Idleb countryside, killing more than 70
civilians and injuring hundreds. On 30 June,
the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons concluded that people in
Khan Sheikhoun were exposed to sarin, a
banned nerve agent, in the attack.
SIEGES AND DENIAL OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
The government continued to maintain
lengthy sieges of predominately civilian areas.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that,
out of a total of 419,920 people besieged in
Syria, almost 400,000 were besieged by
government forces in Eastern Ghouta.
Government forces deprived residents in
besieged areas of access to medical care,
other basic goods and services and
humanitarian assistance, while subjecting
them to repeated air strikes, artillery shelling
and other attacks. In October, UNICEF
announced that 232 children in Eastern
Ghouta suffered from severe acute
malnutrition.
FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF CIVILIANS
The government and armed opposition
groups negotiated four so-called
reconciliation agreements between August
2016 and March 2017 that led to the forced
displacement of thousands of residents from
five besieged areas: Daraya, eastern Aleppo
city, al-Waer neighbourhood in the city of
Homs, and the towns of Kefraya and Foua.
The government, and to a lesser extent
armed opposition groups, subjected these
densely populated areas to prolonged sieges
and unlawful bombardment, compelling the
armed opposition groups to surrender and
negotiate a deal resulting in the evacuation of
fighters and the mass displacement of
civilians. The unlawful sieges and
bombardment leading to the forced
displacement of civilians were part of a
systematic, widespread attack by the
government on civilians and amounted to
crimes against humanity.
ARMED CONFLICT – ABUSES BY ARMED
GROUPS
INDISCRIMINATE ATTACKS AND DIRECT ATTACKS ON
CIVILIANS
IS forces carried out direct attacks on
civilians as well as indiscriminate attacks,
killing and injuring civilians. During the
operation launched mid-year by the Syrian
Democratic Forces and the US-led coalition
to recapture Raqqa city, IS forces prevented
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residents from fleeing the city and used
civilians as human shields.
IS claimed responsibility for a series of
suicide and other bomb attacks that directly
targeted civilians, including one in February
in Aleppo city that killed 50 people and one
in October in the capital, Damascus, that
killed 17 civilians. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
claimed responsibility for two suicide
bombings near a Shi’a pilgrimage site in
Damascus on 11 March in which 44 civilians
were killed and 120 injured.
In May, in-fighting between armed
opposition groups erupted in Eastern Ghouta.
It lasted several days, killing more than 100
civilians and fighters. Armed opposition
groups in Eastern Ghouta also carried out
indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks on
government-controlled neighbourhoods,
killing and injuring several people during the
year. In November, armed opposition groups
fired imprecise rockets into the government-
held town of Nubul, Aleppo governorate,
killing three civilians.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
According to the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, IS summarily killed more than
100 civilians accused of collaborating with
the government in the town of al-Qaryatan,
Homs governorate, before government forces
recaptured the town.
SIEGES AND DENIALS OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Armed opposition groups maintained lengthy
sieges of predominantly civilian areas,
restricting access to humanitarian and
medical aid and other essential goods and
services. OCHA reported that Hay’at Tahrir al-
Sham and Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement
besieged 8,000 people in the towns of
Kefraya and Foua, Idleb governorate.
May, a series of US-coalition strikes on a farm
northwest of Raqqa killed 14 members of a
family – eight women, one man and five
children – and severely wounded two other
children. Also in May, an air strike that
targeted houses in the northern outskirts of
Raqqa killed 31 people. In July, a coalition
attack on a residential building 100m from an
IS target killed a family including three
children. The coalition forces also struck
boats crossing the Euphrates River, south of
Raqqa, killing dozens of civilians attempting
to flee the intense fighting in the city. The
coalition failed to adequately investigate
reports of civilian casualties and allegations of
violations of international humanitarian law.
ARMED CONFLICT – ABUSES BY THE
PYD-LED AUTONOMOUS
ADMINISTRATION
The Autonomous Administration, led by the
Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party
(PYD), continued to control most of the
predominantly Kurdish northern border
regions. It arbitrarily arrested and detained a
number of Syrian-Kurdish opposition
activists, including members of the Kurdish
National Council in Syria. Many were held in
prolonged pre-trial detention in poor
conditions.
REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY
DISPLACED PEOPLE
Between 2011 and 2017, 6.5 million people
were displaced within Syria and more than 5 
million people sought refuge outside Syria,
including 511,000 people who became
refugees during 2017, according to UNHCR,
the UN refugee agency, and OCHA. The
authorities in the neighbouring states of
Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, which hosted
nearly all of the refugees (including
Palestinians displaced from Syria), restricted
the entry of new refugees, exposing them to
further attacks, violations and deprivation in
Syria. The number of resettlement places and
other safe and legal routes for refugees
offered by European and other states fell far
below the needs identified by UNHCR.
ARMED CONFLICT – AIR STRIKES BY
US-LED FORCES
The US-led coalition continued its campaign
of air strikes against IS. The air strikes, some
of which violated international humanitarian
law, killed and injured civilians. In June,
coalition forces unlawfully used white
phosphorous munitions on civilian
neighbourhoods in the outskirts of Raqqa. In
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Some of the people displaced within Syria
were living in makeshift camps with limited
access to aid, other basic necessities, or
opportunities to make a living.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
The Syrian security forces held thousands of
detainees without trial, often in conditions
that amounted to enforced disappearance.
Tens of thousands of people remained
subject 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.
minimum international standards for a fair
trial.
In August, the family of software developer
Bassel Khartabil learned that he had been
killed in 2015 after being “tried” and
“sentenced to death” by the Military Field
Court in al-Qaboun. Bassel Khartabil had
been arrested on 15 March 2012 by Syrian
Military Intelligence and held in
incommunicado detention for eight months
before being moved to ‘Adra prison in
Damascus in December 2012. He remained
at ‘Adra until 3 October 2015, when he was
transferred to an undisclosed location prior to
his execution.
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. For example,
large numbers of detainees at Saydnaya
Military Prison died after being repeatedly
tortured and systematically deprived of food,
water, ventilation, medicine and medical
care. Their bodies were buried in mass
graves.
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
many offences. The authorities disclosed little
information about death sentences passed,
and no information on executions.
TAIWAN
Taiwan
Head of state: Tsai Ing-wen
Head of government: William Lai Ching-te (replaced
Lin Chuan in September)
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that the
current marriage law is unconstitutional as
it discriminates against same-sex couples.
The government held its second review of
the implementation of the ICCPR and the
ICESCR and its first review regarding the
Convention on the Rights of People with
Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Supreme
Court rejected the Prosecutor-General’s
extraordinary appeal for Chiou Ho-shun who
remained on death row. From mid-February
to early June when they were dispersed,
Indigenous people and supporters staged a
100-day sit-in near the Presidential Office
protesting against government guidelines,
proposed by the cabinet-level Council of
Indigenous Peoples, on changing the
designation of traditional Indigenous
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS
Government forces carried out unlawful
killings of detainees held in their custody in
Saydnaya Military Prison near Damascus. As
many as 13,000 prisoners from Saydnaya
Military Prison were extrajudicially executed
in night-time mass hangings between 2011
and 2015. The victims were overwhelmingly
civilians perceived to oppose the government
and were executed after being held in
conditions amounting to enforced
disappearance. Before they were hanged, the
victims were condemned to death at the
Military Field Court in the al-Qaboun
neighbourhood of Damascus, in “trials”
which lasted between one and three minutes.
The Court was notorious for conducting
closed proceedings that fell far short of the
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territory. Media reported that migrant
workers were sexually harassed at work.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 24 May, the Grand Council of Judges
(Constitutional Court) ruled that sections on
marriage in the current Civil Code were
unconstitutional as they discriminated against
same-sex couples. It gave the authorities two
years to revise the law in order to achieve
equal protection of freedom of marriage for
same-sex couples. In late 2016, the
Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s Parliament,
had started discussion of a draft bill on
revising the Civil Code to allow same-sex
marriage but the bill had not progressed by
the end of 2017. If passed, Taiwan would
become the first jurisdiction in Asia to legalize
same-sex marriage.
to omit evidence from a coerced
“confession”. Chiou Ho-shun claims he was
tortured in custody and forced to “confess”
during police interrogations before being
found guilty of robbery, kidnapping and
murder in 1989.
The Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High
Court held a retrial of the case of Cheng
Hsing-tse, who was released on bail in 2016.
The court cleared his name in October,
overturning his convictions. He had served
14 years in prison after he was convicted of
the murder of a police officer during an
exchange of gunfire at a karaoke parlour in
Taichung in 2002.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
By the end of the year there had been no
progress on the refugee bill since its second
reading in July 2016. This was despite
international experts concluding
recommendations in January, which urged
the speedy adoption of a refugee law to
include the principle of
non-refoulement.
1. Taiwan: Government must act on human rights review (ASA
38/5531/2017)
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In January, the government convened
independent international human rights
experts to conduct its second review of the
implementation of the ICCPR and the
ICESCR.
1
The government initiated this
parallel review process as Taiwan is not a
member of the UN. The second review was
to examine progress since the last one in
2013.
During the second review, the Taiwan
government announced that it will establish a
national human rights institution meeting the
standards set out in the Paris Principles.
In late October and November, the
government also convened international
experts to conduct its first reviews of the
implementation of the CPRD and CRC
respectively.
TAJIKISTAN
Republic of Tajikistan
Head of state: Emomali Rahmon
Head of government: Qokhir Rasulzoda
The authorities continued to impose
sweeping restrictions on the rights to
freedom of expression and of peaceful
assembly to silence critical voices. Police
and security services continued to
persecute human rights lawyers and their
families. A human rights lawyer was
tortured in detention and had his sentence
extended to 28 years’ imprisonment
following three unfair trials. Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people were subjected to violence, arbitrary
arrest and discrimination. The authorities
forced thousands of women to remove their
hijabs to comply with the law on traditions.
DEATH PENALTY
The Supreme Court rejected the Prosecutor-
General’s extraordinary appeal for Chiou Ho-
shun in July, a year after the application.
Chiou Ho-shun, who has been on death row
since 1989, is the longest-serving death row
inmate in modern Taiwan history. The appeal
application cited the failure of previous courts
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BACKGROUND
Public order and counter-terrorism concerns,
real and perceived, dominated the political
agenda. The authorities relentlessly invoked
national security issues to justify ever harsher
restrictions on perceived dissent, on the
grounds that these measures ensured
stability and preserved cultural traditions.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to
freedom of opinion and expression noted in
his June report that since his 2016 visit to
Tajikistan the “draconian restrictions on
opposition voices and the squeezing of civil
society” had continued to worsen. He
concluded that “the Government is obligated
under human rights law to reconsider its
entire approach to restricting the opposition,
the media, the Internet, and civil society as a
whole.”
JUSTICE SYSTEM
By December, less than half of the 2,000
lawyers registered nationwide had managed
to requalify and were licensed to practise.
Amendments introduced in 2015 to the law
on the legal profession increased government
control over the licensing of lawyers and
significantly cut the total number of lawyers
licensed to practise, drastically reducing
citizens‘ access to justice.
PERSECUTION OF DEFENCE LAWYERS
Defence lawyers who took up politically
sensitive cases, or cases related to national
security and counter-terrorism, faced
increasing harassment, intimidation and
undue pressure in connection with their
legitimate professional activities. Human
rights lawyers faced arbitrary arrests,
prosecutions on politically motivated charges,
harsh prison sentences and the harassment
of their families and colleagues. Many human
rights lawyers fled the country for safety.
1
THE CASE OF BUZURGMEKHR YOROV
In February, the Supreme Court in
Dushanbe, the capital, turned down the
appeals against the prison sentences of
human rights lawyers Buzurgmekhr Yorov
and Nuriddin Makhkamov who had
represented several members of the banned
Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan.
Dushanbe City Court had sentenced them to
23 and 21 years’ imprisonment respectively
in October 2016, following a blatantly unfair
trial. Both lawyers were found guilty of
“arousing national, racial, local or religious
hostility” and “public calls for violent change
of the constitutional order of the Republic of
Tajikistan”, charges they consistently denied.
The state media portrayed Buzurgmekhr
Yorov as a “terrorist sympathizer” and
therefore a “terrorist” himself.
In February, Firdavs District Court in
Dushanbe started hearings into a third
criminal case brought by the authorities
against Buzurgmekhr Yorov on new fraud
charges, allegedly in response to complaints
made against him by members of the public.
In March, in the second trial of
Buzurgmekhr Yorov, the Supreme Court
found him guilty of disrespecting the Court
and insulting government officials in his final
statement to Dushanbe City Court in October
2016. He was sentenced to an additional two
years’ imprisonment. The trial was opened in
December 2016 when he was in the pre-trial
detention centre number 1 (SIZO) in
Dushanbe.
In April, Buzurgmekhr Yorov’s wife was
informed of a fourth criminal case brought
against her husband for allegedly insulting
“the leader of the Nation”. In August, he was
sentenced to an additional three years’
imprisonment on charges of fraud and of
insulting “the leader of the Nation” in
statements he made in court during his
original trial in response to the fraud charges
brought against him. The total length of his
sentence was 28 years. The family could not
find any lawyers willing to represent
Buzurgmekhr Yorov as they feared reprisals
from the authorities after human rights lawyer
Muazzamakhon Kadirova, who represented
him in 2016, had to seek protection abroad.
In September, the authorities allowed
Buzurgmekhr Yorov’s mother to visit him in
SIZO 1. He told her that the guards subjected
him and other cellmates to regular beatings,
including to the head, using their legs, arms
and batons while insulting, humiliating and
threatening them. He spent several days in
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the SIZO medical centre following one of the
beatings. Buzurgmekhr Yorov was put in
solitary confinement at least four times as
punishment for what the SIZO Director
explained to the media were “violations of the
detention regime”. The SIZO Director denied
all allegations of torture and other ill-
treatment of Buzurgmekhr Yorov.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex sexual relations were
not criminalized but continued to be highly
stigmatized. Since 2014, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MIA) included
“homosexuality and lesbianism” in its list of
“amoral crimes, prostitution and
procurement”. LGBTI people were targeted in
two public campaigns to prevent and combat
“amoral behaviour” and crimes against
“morality” launched in 2015 by the Office of
the Prosecutor General, MIA and the State
Committee on Women’s Affairs and Family.
LGBTI individuals were subjected to violence,
arbitrary arrests, detention and
discrimination, including being forcibly
registered on MIA lists. In October, the
Minister of Internal Affairs announced that
the names and personal details of 367
individuals suspected of being LGBTI had
been entered on an MIA register ostensibly to
protect them and to “prevent the
transmission of sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV/AIDS”. The authorities accused
NGOs working with LGBTI people in the
context of sexual health of undermining
traditional cultural values.
wearing the Islamic headscarf (hijab) in
public places, ordered them to remove it
because it was against the law and asked
them instead to wear a headscarf tied behind
the head in the “traditional Tajik way”.
Dozens of women were briefly detained,
many had their hijabs forcibly removed.
Women wearing western-style dress were not
targeted. Government officials claimed that
the hijab was a form of “alien culture and
tradition” and a sign of “extremism”. Shops
selling Islamic clothing were raided by
security forces and many were forced to
close.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
Dozens of members and associates of
banned opposition groups, such as Islamic
Renaissance Party of Tajikistan and Group
24, and their families sought protection
abroad. Party and Group 24 activists in exile
reported that in retaliation for their actions
abroad, such as conducting peaceful protests
at international meetings and conferences,
police and security services threatened,
detained, questioned and in some cases beat
family members, including elderly relatives
and children, in Tajikistan. Local authorities
publicly shamed relatives branding them as
“traitors” and “enemies of the state”.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to impose
sweeping restrictions on freedom of
expression and the media and controlled
virtually all forms of access to information.
Journalists continued to be subjected to
intimidation and harassment by police and
security services. Tens of journalists were
forced to flee the country fearing reprisals for
their critical reporting.
In May, the authorities unblocked access to
some social media sites and search
platforms, such as Facebook, Vkontakte and
YouTube. However, access to media
platforms considered to be promoting
“extremism”, such as BBC, CNN and
Ferghana.ru, continued to be blocked.
In July, Parliament adopted new legislation
granting the police and security services new
DISCRIMINATION
In August, President Rahmon signed into law
amendments to the Law on Traditions
regulating the practice of cultural traditions
and celebrations. The amendments
compelled citizens to wear traditional dress at
cultural celebrations or ceremonies, such as
weddings and funerals. Women in particular
were prohibited from wearing black at
funerals.
In the same month, police and local officials
approached over 8,000 women who were
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powers to obtain information about internet
sites visited by individuals. The law was
proposed following claims, which were not
substantiated, by some officials that over
80% of internet users accessed sites with
“extremist” content.
1. In the line of duty: Harassment, prosecution and imprisonment of
lawyers in Tajikistan (EUR
60/6266/2017)
decision to limit provision of certain health
services for LGBTI people. The activists were
released without charge on 27 October, after
a court found that there was insufficient
evidence for the prosecutor to sustain the
case.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Opposition MPs who were perceived as
critical of the government faced harassment,
intimidation and arrest. On 21 September,
Zitto Kabwe, leader of the Alliance for Change
and Transparency party, was arrested
following comments he made on social
media. These concerned the House
Speaker’s handling of reports by two
parliamentary committees formed to
investigate tanzanite and diamond mining
before they were debated in Parliament. He
appeared before the Parliamentary Privileges,
Ethics and Powers Committee on 22 
September and was subsequently released.
The Committee had not sent their report to
the Speaker by the end of the year.
On 31 October, Zitto Kabwe was again
detained by police for allegedly issuing false
statistics on the national economic growth
figures. According to Section 37(5) of the
Statistics Act of 2017, any agency or person
who publishes or communicates official
statistical information which may result in the
distortion of facts, commits an offence. This
can be punishable by a fine or imprisonment
of not less than three years, or both. Zitto
Kabwe was released on 31 October without
charge.
Tundu Lissu, President of Tanganyika Law
Society and an MP for the opposition
Chadema party, was arrested on 21 October
and charged with “hate speech” after he
criticized President Magufuli. In a public
speech on 17 July, he said that the
government was discriminating along family,
tribal and regional lines when employing
government officials, and issuing work
permits along religious lines. He also referred
to the President as a dictator. He was
released the same day after interrogation by
the police.
TANZANIA
United Republic of Tanzania
Head of state: John Magufuli
Head of government: Kassim Majaliwa
Head of Zanzibar government: Ali Mohamed Shein
The authorities restricted the rights to
freedom of expression and association, and
failed to address discrimination on grounds
of gender and sexual orientation. Refugees
and asylum-seekers faced overcrowding,
insufficient rations, and bureaucratic
obstacles put in place by the state
authorities.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The government continued its crackdown
against LGBTI people, closing down health
centres and threatening to deregister
organizations that provided services and
support to them. On 17 February, the Health
Minister closed down 40 private health
centres, accusing them of promoting same-
sex relations which is punishable by up to 30
years’ imprisonment. On 25 June, the Home
Affairs Minister threatened to deport any
foreign national, or prosecute anyone,
working to protect LGBTI rights.
In Zanzibar 12 women and eight men
–
were detained on 18 September while
receiving HIV/AIDS training at a hotel. The
government accused them of promoting
LGBTI rights. On 17 October the authorities
arrested 13 health and human rights
activists, including two South Africans and
one Ugandan, during a consultative meeting
to discuss the Tanzanian government’s
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Media freedom deteriorated significantly.
President Magufuli stated in January that the
days of newspapers viewed as “unethical"
were numbered. From June to September,
three newspapers
–
MwanaHalisi, Mawio
and
Raia Mwema
– were either closed or
temporarily banned from publishing because
of “unethical” reporting and inciting violence.
On 15 June the Information, Sports and
Culture Minister banned
Mawio
for two years
over articles it published linking two former
presidents with alleged improprieties in
mining deals signed in the 1990s and early
2000s. On 19 September, the Information
Service Directorate issued a two-year ban on
MwanaHalisi,
after accusing it of insulting the
President and publishing unethical stories.
This was the second time the newspaper had
been suspended in three months.
On 17 March, Dar es Salaam’s Regional
Commissioner led a raid on Clouds Media
Group, allegedly for their decision not to
broadcast a video aimed at undermining a
popular local pastor.
The Electronic and Postal Communications
(Online Content) Regulations, 2017, passed
in September, curtailed online freedom.
According to the regulations, social media
users and online content producers are held
liable for materials deemed “indecent,
obscene, hate speech, extreme violence or
material that will offend or incite others,
cause annoyance, threaten harm or evil,
encourage or incite crime, or lead to public
disorder". Those found guilty face a fine of 5 
million Tanzanian shillings (USD2,300), a
minimum of 12 months in jail, or both.
challenged the President’s ban on schooling
for pregnant girls and teenage mothers.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
According to UNHCR, the UN refugee
agency, by the end of October, 359,494
Burundian refugees resided in Tanzania (see
Burundi entry). On 20 January, the Home
Affairs Ministry revoked prima facie refugee
status recognition of Burundian asylum-
seekers, and new arrivals had to undergo
individual refugee status determination
processes. UNHCR warned that the situation
in Nduta camp in Tanzania, in particular, was
“alarming”. Originally designed to hold
50,000 people, at the end of 2017 it was
home to over 127,000. UNHCR and its
partners also lacked sufficient capacity to
prevent, or respond adequately to, sexual
and gender-based violence. UNHCR raised
concerns about risks to health and safety
caused by overcrowding. On 27 August, the
World Food Programme warned that the
already insufficient food rations for refugees
in Tanzania would have to be further reduced
unless there was urgent funding from donors.
Regular food and water shortages in the
camps in Tanzania were seen by some
refugees as an attempt to force them to
return home. This was particularly in the light
of comments made in July by President
Magufuli during a visit by Burundian
President Pierre Nkurunziza, encouraging
refugees to return to Burundi.
Tanzania operated a de facto encampment
policy by which refugees who left the camps
without permission faced fines or arrest.
RIGHT TO EDUCATION
On 22 June, President Magufuli issued a
statement banning pregnant girls from
returning to public-funded schools. He
stated: “As long as I’m President, no
pregnant students will be allowed to return to
school.” He said that young mothers could
opt for vocational training or become
entrepreneurs, but should not be permitted
to pursue formal education in public schools.
On 25 June, the Home Affairs Minister
threatened to deregister organizations that
THAILAND
Kingdom of Thailand
Head of state: King Maha Vajiralongkorn
Bodindradebayavarangkun
Head of government: Prayut Chan-o-Cha
Activists, journalists, politicians, human
rights lawyers and human rights defenders
were arrested, detained and prosecuted for
peacefully expressing opinions about the
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government and monarchy. The government
maintained systematic and arbitrary
restrictions on human rights, including the
rights to freedom of expression, peaceful
assembly and association. It failed to fulfil
its promise to pass a law prohibiting torture
and enforced disappearances. Refugees and
asylum-seekers continued to be denied
formal legal status; they were vulnerable to
arrest, detention and deportation.
BACKGROUND
The country remained under the authority of
the military National Council for Peace and
Order (NCPO). A new Constitution, drafted by
a military-appointed body and approved in an
August 2016 national referendum, came into
effect in April. Authorities prosecuted former
government officials for a rice subsidy
scheme. Former Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra secretly left the country in
August; she was subsequently tried in her
absence on charges of negligence and
sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. King
Maha Vajiralongkorn
Bodindradebayavarangkun was crowned in
December.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
Throughout the year, the Head of the NCPO
continued to use extraordinary powers under
Article 44 of the interim Constitution to
arbitrarily restrict peaceful political activities
and the exercise of other human rights.
Military officials exercised sweeping law
enforcement powers, including to detain
individuals in unofficial places of detention
without charge for a broad range of activities.
A number were held incommunicado.
Hundreds of civilians continued to face
lengthy and unfair trials before military courts
for violations of NCPO orders, offences
against “national security” and allegedly
insulting the monarchy.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION, ASSEMBLY
AND ASSOCIATION
The government continued to systematically
and arbitrarily restrict the rights to freedom of
expression, peaceful assembly and
association. Student activists, media
workers, human rights lawyers, politicians
and others were prosecuted for peacefully
exercising these rights, including in unfair
trials in military courts.
Authorities initiated criminal proceedings
against participants in peaceful public
protests, academic seminars and civil society
activities under a 2015 decree providing for
criminal penalties for “political gatherings” of
five or more people. In November authorities
initiated criminal proceedings against
protesters seeking to petition about the
construction of a coal-fired power plant in
Songkhla, southern Thailand.
Three opposition politicians and a journalist
were among several individuals charged with
sedition under Article 116 of the Penal Code
for criticizing the government or voicing
support for opposition politicians, including in
comments made on social media.
Activists, journalists and workers faced
criminal defamation charges initiated by
government officials and private companies
for publicizing information about rights
violations, environmental concerns and
official misconduct. In October, charges filed
in 2016 against three human rights
defenders − Pornpen Khongkachonkiet,
Somchai Homla-or and Anchana Heemmina
− in relation to their reporting on torture by
military officers were formally withdrawn. The
Supreme Court, overturning rulings by lower
courts, sentenced two opposition politicians
to one year’s imprisonment for the criminal
defamation of former Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva in two separate cases in April and
July.
Authorities continued to vigorously
prosecute cases under Article 112 of the
Penal Code – lèse-majesté provision – which
penalized criticism of the monarchy.
Individuals were charged or prosecuted
under Article 112 during the year, including
some alleged to have offended past
monarchs. Trials for lèse-majesté were held
behind closed doors. In June, the Bangkok
Military Court sentenced a man to a record
35 years’ imprisonment − halved from 70
years after he pleaded guilty − for a series of
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Facebook posts allegedly concerning the
monarchy.
1
In August, student activist and
human rights defender Jatupat “Pai”
Boonpattararaksa was sentenced to two and
a half years’ imprisonment after being
convicted in a case concerning his sharing a
BBC profile of Thailand’s King on Facebook.
Authorities brought lèse-majesté charges
against a prominent academic for comments
he made about a battle fought by a 16th
century Thai king.
Authorities pressured Facebook, Google and
YouTube to remove online content, including
material deemed critical of the monarchy.
The authorities also threatened to prosecute
internet service providers that did not remove
content, as well as individuals
communicating with or sharing posts from
exiled government critics. Six people were
subsequently arrested for sharing Facebook
posts concerning the removal of a plaque
commemorating events in 1932 that brought
an end to absolute monarchy. At the end of
the year they remained imprisoned, facing
charges on multiple counts of violation of
Article 112.
Authorities proposed cybersecurity
legislation and other measures that would
allow for increased online surveillance and
censorship without prior judicial
authorization.
deportation.
2
In May, Thai authorities assisted
in the extradition of Turkish national
Muhammet Furkan Sökmen from Myanmar
to Turkey via Bangkok, despite warnings from
UN agencies that he was at risk of human
rights violations if returned. At the end of the
year, hundreds of refugees and asylum-
seekers remained in immigration detention
centres, where many had been held for
years.
In January, the Cabinet authorized the
development of a system for screening
refugees and irregular migrants which, if
implemented in a fair and non-discriminatory
manner, could represent a major step
towards advancing refugee rights. The
system had not been finalized by the end of
the year. 
EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AND
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
In March, Chaiyaphum Pasae, a 17-year-old
Indigenous Lahu youth activist, was shot
dead at a checkpoint staffed by soldiers and
anti-narcotics officers, who claimed to have
acted in self-defence. By the end of the year,
an official investigation into his death had
made little progress; the authorities failed to
produce CCTV footage from cameras known
to have been present at the time of the
incident.
3
The government failed to make progress in
resolving open cases of enforced
disappearance. A Thai delegation told the UN
Human Rights Committee in March that it
was considering forwarding the cases of the
enforced disappearances of Somchai
Neelapaijit and Porlajee “Billy”
Rakchongcharoen to the Department of
Special Investigation, but had not done so by
the end of the year.
4
In March, the National Legislative Assembly
approved proceeding with the ratification of
the International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance, which Thailand signed in
2012. However, by the end of the year
Thailand had neither ratified the treaty nor
provided a timeframe for doing so.
IMPUNITY
In August, the Supreme Court dismissed
murder charges against former Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Deputy Prime
Minister Suthep Thaugsuban. The charges
related to the deaths of at least 90 people in
2010 during clashes between protesters and
security forces.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Thailand continued to host more than
100,000 refugees and asylum-seekers; they
included Myanmar nationals in camps along
the Thailand-Myanmar border, and refugees
in the capital, Bangkok, and other cities.
Refugees and asylum-seekers had no formal
legal status in Thailand, leaving them
vulnerable to arrest, detention and
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ARMED CONFLICT
There was little progress in government
negotiations to resolve armed conflict with
ethnic Malay separatists in southern
Thailand. Insurgents carried out numerous
attacks on military and civilian targets,
including execution-style killings and the use
of improvised explosive devices.
Martial law and a 2005 Emergency Decree
remained in place in far south provinces.
Individuals were arrested and detained in
unofficial places of detention without judicial
oversight.
2.
Between a rock and a hard place: Thailand’s refugee policies and
violations of the principle of non-refoulement (ASA
39/7031/2017)
3. Thailand: Ensure accountability for killing of 17-year-old Lahu
activist (ASA
39/5915/2017)
4. Thailand: Joint statement on the International Day of the Victims of
Enforced Disappearances (ASA
39/7015/2017)
5. Thailand: Prioritize the amendment and passage of legislation on
torture and enforced disappearances (ASA
39/5846/2017)
6. Thailand must follow through on commitments to prevent torture and
ill-treatment (ASA
39/6589/2017)
TIMOR-LESTE
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Head of state: Francisco Guterres (replaced Taur Matan
Ruak in May)
Head of government: Mari Alkatiri (replaced Rui Maria
de Araújo in September)
Victims of serious human rights violations
committed during the Indonesian
occupation (1975-1999) continued to
demand justice and reparations. Security
forces were accused of ill-treatment.
Journalists faced defamation charges for
carrying out their work.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Local organizations and community members
reported that the military arbitrarily arrested,
tortured and otherwise ill-treated Muslim men
following attacks by militants in southern
Thailand. Human rights defenders working
with victims of torture were harassed by
military authorities and threatened on social
media.
In February, the National Legislative
Assembly returned a draft Prevention and
Suppression of Torture and Enforced
Disappearance Act to the Cabinet for “more
consultations”.
5
The latest draft addressed
gaps in the current legal framework relating
to torture and enforced disappearances.
Further amendments were needed to bring
the bill into line with Thailand’s obligations
under international law.
6
BACKGROUND
Presidential and parliamentary elections, held
respectively in March and July, took place
without incident. In June, Timor-Leste
accepted fully 146 out of 154
recommendations made under the UPR
process and noted the eight remaining
recommendations. Those that were accepted
included recommendations to address past
human rights violations and ensure the
delivery of reparations to victims.
TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS
In July, a criminal court convicted 62
individuals, including senior military, police
and other government officials, for their
involvement in human trafficking operations.
They were sentenced to between four and 94
years’ imprisonment. Human rights groups
raised concerns that witnesses, translators
and police investigators were threatened
during the investigation and trial, and that the
investigation had been terminated
prematurely.
1. Thailand: Continuing crackdown on free online expression (ASA
39/6480/2017)
IMPUNITY
A new government body, the Chega! National
Centre – From Memory to Hope (CNC), was
established through Decree Law No.
48/2016. The CNC’s purpose was to facilitate
the implementation of recommendations
made by Timor-Leste’s truth commission
(CAVR) in 2005 and the bilateral Timor-Leste
and Indonesia Commission of Truth and
Friendship in 2008. The main planned
activities of the CNC included
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memorialization, education, solidarity with
victims of past human rights violations, and
outreach. However, the CNC did not have a
mandate to address the CAVR’s
recommendations on justice and reparations
for victims of serious human rights violations.
forces used excessive force against
demonstrators with at least 11 people killed
during protests. Arbitrary arrests and
detentions, torture and other ill-treatment,
and impunity for human rights violations
persisted.
POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES
Timorese human rights groups continued to
express concern over allegations of
unnecessary or excessive use of force and
torture and other ill-treatment by security
forces, and a lack of accountability. On 22 
April, it was reported that members of the
Public Order Battalion (BOP) Unit of the
National Police beat and kicked a man in
Bobonaro District causing bleeding from the
nose, ear and mouth. At the end of the year,
the alleged abuse was under investigation by
the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Suai
District.
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
Togo accepted various recommendations that
arose from the examination of its human
rights record under the UPR process,
including to take steps to prevent torture and
other human rights violations by the security
forces, and to ensure adequate investigation
and prosecution of anyone suspected of
being responsible. It rejected
recommendations including to amend or
repeal laws used to crack down on journalists
and human rights defenders, including laws
criminalizing defamation; and to ensure the
protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex people.
1
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION –
JOURNALISTS
On 1 June, a court in the capital, Dili, cleared
journalists Raimundos Oki and Lourenco
Vicente Martins of all charges against them.
The charges had been filed by the Public
Prosecutor on 17 May in a defamation
lawsuit, following assertions made in January
2016 by the then Prime Minister Araújo that
the journalists had made false accusations or
a “slanderous denunciation” under Article
285(1) of the Criminal Code. The charges
were in relation to an article in the
Timor Post
newspaper alleging official interference
during the tendering process for a
government IT project.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
The security forces, including the army,
continued to suppress and disperse peaceful
protests using excessive and lethal force.
They violently dispersed protests, beat
opposition members and subjected
journalists to ill-treatment.
On 28 February, security forces used live
ammunition to disperse a spontaneous
protest against oil price rises in the capital,
Lomé, killing one person and wounding
several others.
2
In June, the security forces repressed
demonstrations organized by a University of
Lomé student union which called for
improved living conditions. Internet videos
showed security force members, armed with
shotguns, battering students on the ground
with batons. Some students threw rocks at
security forces. At least 19 students were
arrested, 10 of whom were released shortly
after being brought before the prosecutor. On
19 June, seven were released after the
Tribunal of Lomé acquitted them of acts of
rebellion and destruction of property. On 26 
June, Foly Satchivi, President of the Togolese
League of Student Rights, and Marius
TOGO
Togolese Republic
Head of state: Faure Gnassingbé
Head of government: Komi Sélom Klassou
The authorities continued to curtail the
rights to freedom of expression and of
assembly during mass demonstrations
organized by opposition groups. Security
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Amagbégnon, received a 12-month
suspended prison sentence for aggravated
disturbance of public order as the court
considered them to be the organizers of the
demonstration. After their release on 27
June, they appealed against their convictions.
Several students told the court that they were
beaten by security forces during arrest and
transfer.
Between August and December, the
political opposition held mass demonstrations
in major cities. The security forces dispersed
them with tear gas, batons, water cannons
and live ammunition and there were sporadic
violent clashes between opposition groups
and supporters of the ruling party. The
security forces raided houses and places of
prayer, beating people, including those who
had not participated in demonstrations. At
least 10 people were killed, including two
members of the armed forces and three
children aged between 11 and 14. Hundreds
were injured, including members of the
security forces. More than 200 people were
arrested, including the Secretary General of
the opposition Pan African National Party
(PNP). At least 60 people were sentenced to
prison terms of up to 60 months on charges
including rebellion, wilful destruction, assault,
violence against state officials, aggravated
disruption of the public order and aggravated
theft.
3
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The authorities continued to curtail the right
to freedom of expression. They arbitrarily
closed media outlets and arrested community
and opposition leaders for expressing dissent.
They cut off the internet to prevent activists
and journalists from reporting violations.
On 6 February, the High Authority for
Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC)
withdrew the frequencies of radio station
CityFM and TV station La Chaîne du Futur for
breaching licensing rules. The HAAC statute
did not provide any mechanism to appeal
against the decision.
4
On 7 February, journalist Robert Kossi
Avotor was beaten with batons and
handcuffed by gendarmes to prevent him
from photographing an eviction in Lomé. He
was detained and his photographs deleted,
before being released on the same day
without charge. He filed a complaint with the
prosecution services in Lomé to which
he said he had received no response by the
end of the year. On 22 February, the General
Prosecutor issued a warning that anyone who
reported on the attack on Robert Kossi Avotor
would risk criminal prosecution for
“disseminating false news”.
Kombate Garimbité, a member of the
opposition Alliance of Democrats for Integral
Development (ADDI), was arrested on 4 April
after he criticized a call made by the chief of
the Yembour locality for students’ relatives to
pay for damages caused during a protest in
March. The authorities accused him of
organizing the March protest and he was
charged with aggravated disturbance of
public order. He claimed that he was not
involved in the protests and was in Lomé,
630km away from Yembour, at the time. By
the end of the year, he remained in detention
without trial.
5
Salomée T. Abalodo was arrested by
gendarmes in Pagouda, a town in the Kara
region, on 13 April after she took pictures of
wounded protesters and asked local
authorities to stop security forces using
excessive force against peaceful
demonstrators. She was charged with
“rebellion” and “participation in an
unauthorized protest”. She was released on
12 May when the Tribunal of Pagouda
dropped the charges.
6
The authorities shut down the internet for
nine days in September amid opposition-led
protests, disrupting the organization of the
protest and impeding the work of human
rights defenders and journalists who were
monitoring the protests.
IMPUNITY
The authorities continued to fail to take steps
to identify those suspected of responsibility
for human rights violations, including the
deaths of nearly 500 people, during the
violence surrounding the presidential election
in 2005. Of the 72 complaints filed by the
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victims’ families with the Atakpamé, Amlamé
and Lomé courts, none are known to have
been fully investigated.
1. Amnesty International urges Togo to expressly commit to protecting
the rights to freedom of association, freedom of expression and
peaceful assembly (AFR
57/5884/2017)
2.
Togo. Un mort par balle et plusieurs blessés lors d’une manifestation
dispersée par l’armée (Press
release,
1 March)
3.
Togo. Les autorités doivent s’abstenir de tout recours injustifié ou
excessif à la force lors des manifestations de l’opposition (Press
release,
6 September); Togo. Un enfant de neuf ans tué par balle lors
des manifestations (Press release, 20 September)
4. Togo. Le retrait des fréquences de deux médias est une attaque
contre la liberté d’expression (Press
release,
6 February)
5. Togo. Un militant politique détenu pour ses opinions doit être libéré
(Press
release,
12 April)
6. Togo: Detained community leader wrongly charged: Salomée T.
Abalodo (AFR
57/6193/2017)
In May, Parliament adopted an amendment
to the Passport Law introducing positive
provisions requiring that people affected by a
travel ban be informed of the decision
promptly, and guaranteeing that they have
the right to challenge the decision.
1
In May, Tunisia’s human rights record was
examined for the third time under the UN
UPR process. Recommendations to Tunisia
were adopted by the UN Human Rights
Council in September.
Local municipal elections scheduled to take
place in December were postponed to May
2018 because of delays in making
appointments to the National Independent
Elections Commission. Parliament failed to
elect its allotted quota of Constitutional Court
members as required by law, thereby
impeding the establishment of the Court.
TUNISIA
Republic of Tunisia
Head of state: Béji Caïd Essebsi
Head of government: Youssef Chahed
The authorities continued to renew the state
of emergency and used it to justify
imposing arbitrary restrictions on freedom
of movement. Torture and other ill-
treatment of detainees continued in an
environment of impunity. Police carried out
arbitrary arrests and house raids without
judicial warrants. Lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex people were
arrested and prosecuted for consensual
same-sex sexual relations. Prosecutions of
peaceful protesters increased in several
regions.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Emergency measures in place since
November 2015 continued to give the
Minister of the Interior broad additional
powers, including the ability to conduct
house raids without judicial warrants and
impose restrictions on freedom of movement.
The Ministry of the Interior continued to
restrict freedom of movement through
arbitrary and indefinite S17 orders that
confined hundreds to their governorate of
residence, justifying this as a measure to
prevent Tunisians from travelling to join
armed groups. Human rights lawyers
reported instances of arbitrary arrest and
short-term detention of people subjected to
S17 border control measures. The Minister of
the Interior told Parliament in April that 134
individuals had filed complaints with the
Administrative Court challenging S17 orders.
In April, the Minister announced that 537
individuals were facing trial for “terrorism-
related” activities.
Family members of individuals suspected of
joining or supporting armed groups faced
harassment and intimidation by the police.
The Malik family’s home in Tozeur was
regularly raided by police because they
suspected one member of the family of
affiliation to armed groups abroad. In May,
BACKGROUND
The authorities renewed the nationwide state
of emergency five times during the year for
periods of one to three months. A major
cabinet reshuffle in September brought 13
new ministers into government.
Protests against unemployment, poor living
conditions and marginalizing development
policies continued, particularly in
underdeveloped regions.
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two members of the family, journalists Salam
and Salwa Malik, were prosecuted and
sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, later
reduced to a fine, after they criticized the
conduct of police during a particularly violent
raid on their home.
2
Police harassed individuals on account of
their appearance, arresting and interrogating
men with beards and men and women
dressed in what officials deemed to be
conservative religious clothing.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Human rights lawyers continued to report
cases of torture and other ill-treatment of
detainees, mostly during arrest and in pre-
charge detention in regular criminal cases
and national security cases. In March and
April, the Parliamentary Committee on
Rights, Liberties and External Relations
invited Amnesty International to brief them
after the Prime Minister said that the
government would investigate claims made
by Amnesty International regarding abuses
by security forces, including torture.
3
It
subsequently held four further sessions on
torture: one session each with Amnesty
International, two Tunisian NGOs, and the
Minister of the Interior.
The work of Tunisia’s National Preventive
Mechanism (NPM) – the National Body for
the Prevention of Torture, which was
established in 2013 as part of Tunisia’s
obligations as a party to the Optional Protocol
to the UN Convention against Torture –
continued to be hampered by a lack of co-
operation from the Ministry of the Interior and
inadequate financial support from the
government. In April, police at Tunis Carthage
International Airport denied members of the
NPM access to monitor the handover of a
“terrorism” suspect deported from Germany.
prosecuted under Article 230. In June, a
judge in Sousse sentenced a 16-year-old boy
in his absence to four months’ imprisonment
under Article 230.
LGBTI people also faced violence,
exploitation and sexual and other abuse by
police, including when they tried to seek a
remedy for violations of their rights. In July,
police officers in Sousse arbitrarily arrested
and beat two men because of their perceived
sexual orientation. In August, police officers
in Sidi Bousaid, near the capital, Tunis,
assaulted a transgender resident of Tunis
when he went to the police station to file a
complaint for harassment on the grounds of
his gender.
The police continued to subject men
accused of same-sex sexual relations to
forced anal examinations, in violation of the
prohibition of torture. In September, Tunisia
accepted a recommendation under the
UN UPR process to end the use of anal
examinations.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION,
ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY
On 10 May, President Essebsi announced the
deployment of the army to protect key
economic installations from disruption by
social and labour protests. In the following
days, police forces used excessive force
including tear gas against peaceful protesters
in the southern city of Tataouine. A young
protester was killed when a National Guard
vehicle ran him over in what the Ministry of
Health said was an accident. On 18
 September, a group of officers beat journalist
Hamdi Souissi with batons while he was
covering a sit-in in Sfax. Throughout the year,
courts increasingly prosecuted peaceful
protesters. In Gafsa alone, courts tried
hundreds of individuals, at least 80 of them
in their absence, on charges of “disrupting
the freedom of work” following social protests
related to unemployment.
Courts continued to use arbitrary Penal
Code provisions to prosecute people for
conduct protected by the right to freedom of
expression. In May, the Court of First
Instance in Sousse sentenced two young
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
LGBTI people continued to be at risk of arrest
under Article 230 of the Penal Code, which
criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual
relations. Police arrested at least 44
individuals who were later charged and
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men to two months’ imprisonment for “public
indecency” for designing and wearing a T-
shirt with a slogan suggesting that police
officers are morally corrupt. In July, rap
singer Ahmed Ben Ahmed was assaulted by
a group of police officers who were supposed
to be providing security for his concert,
because they were offended that his songs
were insulting to the police. A police union
later filed a complaint before the Court of
First Instance in Mahdia against Ahmed Ben
Ahmed for the Penal Code crime of “insulting
state officials”.
In June, the Court of First Instance in Bizert
convicted at least five people of “public
indecency” for publicly smoking during the
day during Ramadan.
4
On 8 September, the authorities arbitrarily
expelled Prince Hicham Al Alaoui, a cousin
and vocal critic of Morocco’s King Mohamed
VI, from Tunisia as he arrived to attend a
conference on democratic transitions.
TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
The Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD),
created in 2013 to address human rights
violations committed between July 1955 and
December 2013, held 11 public sessions
during the year. During these sessions,
victims and perpetrators testified on a range
of violations including election fraud,
enforced disappearance and torture. There
was no progress on the adoption of a
memorandum of understanding between the
IVD and the Ministry of Justice to allow for
the referral of cases to specialized judicial
chambers. Government institutions including
the Ministries of the Interior, Defence, and
Justice continued to fail to provide the IVD
with the information it requested for its
investigations. The Military Justice system
refused to hand over to the IVD the case files
of the trials of those accused of killing
protesters during the 2011 uprising and of
victims of police repression during Siliana
protests in 2012.
In September, Parliament passed a
controversial Administrative Reconciliation
Law, first proposed by President Essebsi in
2015. The law had been long opposed by
opposition political parties, civil society
groups and the campaign group Manich
Msameh (“I will not forgive”) because it offers
immunity to public servants involved in
corruption and misappropriation of public
funds if they were obeying orders and had
derived no personal benefit. A group of MPs
filed a challenge before the Provisional
Authority for the Examination of the
Constitutionality of Draft Laws, arguing that
the law was unconstitutional; the Provisional
Authority’s inability to reach a majority
decision resulted in the law being enacted.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In July, Parliament adopted the Law on
Eliminating Violence against Women which
brought several guarantees for the protection
of women and girls from gender-based
violence. It repealed Penal Code Article
227 bis that had allowed men accused of
raping a woman or girl under the age of 20 to
escape prosecution by marrying her.
In August, President Essebsi called on
Parliament to reform the discriminatory
inheritance law and created a commission
mandated to propose legal reforms to ensure
gender equality. The commission had not
delivered its report by the end of the year. In
September, the Ministry of Justice repealed
the 1973 directive prohibiting marriage
between a Tunisian woman and a non-
Muslim man.
In a cabinet reshuffle in September the
number of women ministers was decreased
from four to three out of 28 ministerial posts,
leaving women severely under-represented in
government.
RIGHT TO WATER
The water shortage in Tunisia became more
acute with water supplies to dams falling
42% below the annual average. In August,
the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources
and Fisheries stated that the government did
not have a national strategy for water
distribution, thereby making it impossible to
ensure equitable access.
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1859188_0367.png
Water shortages in recent years
disproportionately affected the distribution of
water and resulted in repeated water cuts in
marginalized regions leading to local protests
throughout 2017. In September, residents of
the small town of Deguech in Tozeur region
organized a protest in front of the local
authority’s office demanding a solution to the
regular cuts in running water that the region
had suffered throughout the summer. In July,
some neighbourhoods of Redeyef in the
region of Gafsa suffered more than one
month without running water, and towns
including Moulares had running water for
only a few hours per day. In March, the NGO
Tunisian Water Observatory announced that it
had registered 615 water cuts and 250
protests related to access to water.
2016. Any effective investigation of human
rights violations by state officials was
prevented by pervasive impunity. Abuses by
armed groups continued, including two
attacks in January. However, there were no
further bombing attacks targeting members
of the general population that had been
such a regular occurrence in previous years.
No resolution was found for the situation of
people displaced within the southeast of
the country. Turkey continued to host one of
the largest refugee populations in the world,
with more than 3 million registered Syrian
refugees alone, but risks of forcible return
persisted.
BACKGROUND
The state of emergency, imposed following an
attempted coup in July 2016, remained in
force throughout the year. It paved the way
for unlawful restrictions on human rights and
allowed the government to pass laws beyond
the effective scrutiny of Parliament and the
courts.
After having been remanded in prison
detention in 2016, nine parliamentarians
from the Kurdish-rooted leftist Peoples’
Democracy Party (HDP), including the party’s
two leaders, remained in prison during the
whole year. Sixty elected mayors of the
Democratic Regions Party, the sister party of
the HDP, representing constituencies in the
predominantly Kurdish east and southeast of
Turkey, also remained in prison. The
unelected officials who replaced them
continued in office throughout 2017. In
October, six elected mayors, including those
representing the capital, Ankara, and
Istanbul, were left with no option but to resign
after being requested to do so by the
President. As a result, a third of Turkey’s
population was not being represented by the
people they had elected at the 2016 local
elections.
Over 50,000 people were in pre-trial
detention on charges linked to membership
of the “Fethullahist Terrorist
Organization” (FETÖ), which the authorities
blamed for the 2016 coup attempt. A similar
number were released on bail and were
DEATH PENALTY
Courts handed down at least 25 death
sentences following trials related to national
security. Defence lawyers appealed against
the sentences. No executions have been
carried out since 1991.
1. Tunisia: Changes to passport law will ease arbitrary restrictions on
travel (News
story,
26 May)
2. Tunisia: Journalists prosecuted for criticizing conduct of security
forces (News
story,
15 May)
3.
"We want an end to the fear": Abuses under Tunisia’s state of
emergency (MDE
30/4911/2017)
4. Tunisia: Fifth man facing jail term for breaking fast during Ramadan
(News
story,
13 June)
TURKEY
Republic of Turkey
Head of state:
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Head of government: Binali
Yıldırım
An ongoing state of emergency set a
backdrop for violations of human rights.
Dissent was ruthlessly suppressed, with
journalists, political activists and human
rights defenders among those targeted.
Instances of torture continued to be
reported, but in lower numbers than in the
weeks following the coup attempt of July
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subjected to reporting requirements. Only a
tiny minority of them were accused of taking
part in the actual events of the attempted
coup. The judiciary, itself decimated by the
dismissal or detention of up to a third of
Turkey’s judges and prosecutors, remained
under extreme political pressure. Arbitrary,
lengthy and punitive pre-trial detention and
fair trial violations continued routinely.
Armed clashes continued between the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and state
security forces. Turkish armed forces also
carried out military operations against armed
groups within Syria and Iraq; in September,
the mandate to do so for another year was
approved by Parliament.
In April, constitutional amendments
granting extensive powers to the office of
President were passed by referendum.
Opponents of the proposed amendments had
complained that they had vastly less access
to state media and were prevented from
demonstrating their opposition in public. The
authorities dismissed allegations of
irregularities in the counting of votes.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Civil society representatives, as well as the
general population, widely practised self-
censorship, deleting social media posts and
refraining from making public comments for
fear of dismissal from their jobs, closure of
their organizations or criminal prosecution.
Thousands of criminal prosecutions were
brought, including under laws prohibiting
defamation and on trumped-up terrorism-
related charges, based on peoples’ peaceful
exercise of their right to freedom of
expression. Arbitrary and punitive lengthy
pre-trial detention was routinely imposed.
Confidential details of investigations were
frequently leaked to government-linked
media and splashed across the front pages of
newspapers, while government spokespeople
made prejudicial statements regarding cases
under investigation. Prosecutions of
journalists and political activists continued,
and prosecutions of human rights defenders
sharply increased. International journalists
and media were also targeted.
Criticism of the government in the broadcast
and print media largely disappeared, with
dissent mainly confined to internet-based
media. The government continued to use
administrative blocking orders, against which
there was no effective appeal, routinely, to
censor internet content. In April, the Turkish
authorities blocked all access to the online
encyclopedia Wikipedia due to a page that
cited news reports alleging links between the
Turkish government and several armed
groups in Syria. Wikipedia refused to edit the
page. The website remained blocked at the
end of the year.
JOURNALISTS
Among the more than 100 journalists and
media workers in pre-trial detention at the
end of the year, three were from the secular
opposition newspaper
Cumhuriyet;
during the
course of the year eight of their colleagues
who had been in pre-trial detention were
released pending the outcome of their trial.
Journalists from media outlets closed by state
of emergency decrees continued to face
prosecution, conviction and imprisonment.
Former
Taraf
editor Ahmet Altan and his
brother Mehmet Altan remained in pre-trial
detention following their detention in July
2016 on grounds of membership of the
Gülen movement, as did 34 media workers
who worked for Zaman group newspapers.
Zehra Doğan, a journalist for the Kurdish
women’s Jinha news agency, was imprisoned
in June following her conviction and
sentencing to two years, nine months and 22
days for terrorist propaganda. İnan Kızılkaya,
editor of the Kurdish
Özgür Gündem
newspaper, was released in October after
440 days in pre-trial detention pending the
outcome of his trial for membership of the
PKK.
Deniz Yücel, correspondent for the German
Die Welt
newspaper, was arrested in February
and at the end of the year was still in
detention without being indicted, much of it
in solitary confinement.
Wall Street Journal
journalist Ayla Albayrak was convicted of
terrorist propaganda and in October was
given a prison sentence of two years and one
month for a 2015 article about armed
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clashes between state forces and PKK-
affiliated youths.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
In July, police raided a human rights
workshop on Büyükada Island near Istanbul,
detaining all 10 human rights defenders
present, including two foreign nationals.
Eight, including Amnesty International Turkey
Director İdil Eser, were held in pre-trial
detention until a trial under trumped-up
charges for “membership of a terrorist
organization” based on their work as human
rights defenders began in October. The court
also decided to join the prosecution of Taner
Kılıç, Chair of Amnesty International Turkey.
Detained in June, Taner Kılıç stood accused
of “membership of FETÖ” on the grounds
that he had downloaded onto his phone the
ByLock messaging application, said by the
authorities to be used for the group’s
communications. Despite two independent
forensic reports showing that he had not
downloaded the application, and without
credible evidence being presented by the
prosecution, he remained in pre-trial
detention at the end of the year.
In August, veteran human rights defender
Murat Çelikkan was imprisoned following his
conviction for terrorist propaganda; this
related to the 2016 solidarity action with the
now closed
Özgür Gündem
newspaper. He
was released on parole in October after
serving two months of an 18-month prison
sentence. A further 16 activists received
suspended sentences for taking part in the
action, while prosecutions were continuing
against 18.
In October, civil society leader Osman
Kavala was detained and accused of
“attempting to overthrow the constitutional
order” in connection with the 2016 coup
attempt. At the end of the year, he was still in
pre-trial detention without being indicted.
In November, Raci Bilici, Deputy Chair of
the national Human Rights Association (İHD)
and Chair of its Diyarbakır branch, went on
trial accused of membership of a terrorist
organization. More than 20 other İHD officials
were being prosecuted for alleged terrorism-
related offences.
Five representatives of the Progressive
Lawyers Association (ÇHD), which took on
human rights cases and was closed by
emergency decree in 2016, were remanded
in pre-trial detention following police
operations across the country. They had been
accused of offences linked to the PKK or the
Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party–Front
(DHKP-C), an armed group. In November,
Selçuk Kozağaçlı, ÇHD’s national Chair, was
detained. He remained in pre-trial detention
at the end of the year.
ACTIVISTS
Activists were targeted for their criticism of
the authorities. Nuriye Gülmen and Semih
Özakça were detained in May and remanded
in custody on the basis of court orders citing
their peaceful protests; they had been on
hunger strike since March in protest against
their arbitrary dismissal by a state of
emergency decree. Semih Özakça was
released in October, but Nuriye Gülmen
remained in detention until December when
she was convicted of membership of the
DHKP-C, pending the outcome of an appeal.
Semih Özakça was acquitted of the same
charge. Police routinely detained protesters
demanding their release.
Over 70 Academics for Peace were indicted
for making PKK propaganda following their
January 2016 petition calling for an end to
military operations in the southeast of Turkey.
The first trials began in December.
Activist Barbaros Şansal was remanded in
custody in January following posts he had
made on social media criticizing the
government. He was convicted in June of
“denigrating the Turkish Nation” under
Article 301 of the Penal Code and given a
suspended sentence of six months and 20
days.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Public demonstrations dwindled as provincial
governors imposed arbitrary and blanket
bans, citing powers under the state of
emergency, and police used excessive force
against the small number of individuals who
demonstrated despite the risks. The “Justice
March” led by the main opposition
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Republican People’s Party (CHP), which went
ahead peacefully, provided a notable
exception to this trend. Traditional May Day
demonstrations in Istanbul were held outside
the centre of the city, with the agreement of
the major trade unions.
The annual Istanbul Pride march was
banned for a third successive year on
spurious security grounds. Police used
unnecessary and excessive force, firing
rubber bullets, and made arbitrary arrests,
targeting small groups of people attempting
to celebrate Pride. In November, the
authorities in Ankara imposed an indefinite
ban on events organized by lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
solidarity organizations ahead of a planned
LGBTI-themed film festival which was due to
take place in the city. Again, the authorities
cited spurious security reasons.
In June and July, more than 200,000
people took part in a 400km “Justice March”
between Ankara and Istanbul. The march
was announced following the conviction and
sentencing to 25 years’ imprisonment of CHP
parliamentarian Enis Berberoğlu; he had
been charged with espionage after passing
on to journalists a video that purportedly
showed the transfer of weapons to Syria in
National Intelligence Organization trucks. In
October, his conviction was overturned on
appeal and a retrial ordered.
In August, NGOs reported that soldiers and
police officers beat at least 30 people in the
village of Altınsu/Şapatan in Şırnak province
in southeast Turkey following a clash with the
PKK in which two members of the security
forces died. Witnesses reported that villagers
were taken out of their homes, arbitrarily
detained and beaten in the village square,
and that 10 of them were taken into police
custody. Images of the villagers’ injuries
resulting from their beatings were shared on
social media. A statement from the
Governor’s office denied the allegations of
torture, and maintained that news reports
supporting the allegations were “terrorist
propaganda”.
IMPUNITY
In the face of extreme political pressure,
prosecutors and judges were even less
inclined than in previous years to investigate
alleged human rights violations by law
enforcement officials or bring to justice those
responsible. Intimidation of lawyers, including
detentions and the bringing of criminal cases
against them, further deterred lawyers from
bringing criminal complaints. No progress
was made to investigate pervasive allegations
of human rights violations during round-the-
clock curfews in the southeast of Turkey
during 2015 and 2016. More than five years
after Turkey’s ratification of the Istanbul
Convention to Combat Violence against
Women, its implementation remained flawed,
and reports of violence against women
continued to rise.
In April, the trial of a police officer accused
of killing Berkin Elvan began in Istanbul.
Berkin Elvan died of his injuries after being
hit by a tear gas canister at the scene of a
Gezi Park protest in June 2013. The
investigation had been severely delayed by
the failure to obtain CCTV footage from the
scene.
More than two years after the fatal shooting
on 28 November 2015 of Tahir Elçi, human
rights lawyer and Chair of the
Diyarbakır
Bar
Association, no suspects had been identified.
Delays or failure to obtain CCTV footage
continued to hamper the investigation.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Instances of torture and other ill-treatment,
especially in police custody, continued to be
reported, although at a markedly lower level
than in the weeks following the July 2016
coup attempt. The Turkish authorities
continued to deny permission for the
European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture to publish its report on torture
allegations following the coup attempt. There
was no effective national preventive
mechanism with a mandate for monitoring
places of detention. There were no available
statistics regarding investigations into
allegations of torture. There was no evidence
that allegations of torture were being
effectively investigated.
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In July, the government submitted
information in regard to 34 cases brought to
the European Court of Human Rights; these
cases involved alleged violations of the right
to life, prohibition of torture and the right to
liberty and security in the southeast of Turkey
during the curfews in 2015 and 2016.
The organization We Will Stop Femicide
reported that murders of women were
increasing, while media attention to such
cases declined. It reported that 392 women
had been killed in the year up to 25
November.
than 100 of the reported 100,000 appeals
submitted to it. There was widespread
criticism that the Commission lacked the
necessary independence and capacity to
carry out the task. In June, rejecting the
Köksal v. Turkey
application as inadmissible,
the European Court of Human Rights ruled
that there was no reason to believe that the
Commission would not be an effective
remedy. The decision of the Court left the
door open to a future reassessment by the
Court of the effectiveness of the Commission.
ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS
Abuses by armed groups continued, although
the number of indiscriminate attacks, and
attacks targeting the general population, was
lower than in recent years.
In January, 39 people were killed and over
70 injured after a gunman opened fire in a
popular nightclub in Istanbul. The armed
group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility
for the attack.
Also in January, two people were killed and
10 injured by attackers targeting the İzmir
Courthouse. The Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons (TAK), an offshoot of the PKK,
claimed responsibility for the attack.
In June, the PKK claimed responsibility for
the killing of Necmettin Yılmaz, a teacher,
after his kidnapping from the province of
Tunceli/Dersim in southeast Turkey.
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
Many of the estimated 500,000 people
displaced from their homes in areas under
the curfews across the southeast of Turkey in
2015 and 2016 lacked access to adequate
housing and livelihoods. Many were unable to
return to their homes that had been
destroyed during or after military operations
during which state security forces clashed
with armed individuals affiliated to the PKK.
The authorities lacked a comprehensive plan
as to how the residents would be able to
return to their homes.
In the Sur district of
Diyarbakır,
residents
who had already been displaced from their
homes during the curfew lost their homes a
second time when they were forcibly evicted
as part of a redevelopment scheme affecting
the whole district. In May, hundreds of
residents had their water and electricity
supplies cut off in an apparent attempt to
force them out.
SUMMARY DISMISSALS
Under emergency decrees, public sector
workers continued to face summary dismissal
for alleged unspecified links to terrorist
groups. Nearly 20,000 workers were
dismissed during the course of the year,
bringing the total number since July 2016 to
107,000. Many workers were effectively
prevented from continuing their professions,
and struggled to find other jobs after being
branded
“terrorists” as a result of their
dismissal. In January, the authorities
announced a seven-person appeal
Commission to assess the dismissals. The
Commission was not established until July,
and at the end of the year had ruled on fewer
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
Turkey continued to host one of the world’s
largest refugee populations, with over
3,300,000 registered Syrian refugees alone.
Despite new initiatives to improve the
situation of refugees, many faced insufficient
access to livelihoods, housing, health care,
and education for their children. Except for
Syrians, refugees did not have access to fair
and efficient procedures for the
determination of their status. There were
continued reports of forced returns of
refugees and asylum-seekers, including to
Syria. International humanitarian NGOs
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working with refugees found their work in
Turkey was increasingly impeded as the
authorities placed restrictions on, and in
some cases withdrew, permission for them to
work in the country.
Collective forced expulsions of Syrian and
Iraqi refugees and asylum-seekers to their
respective countries of origin from the
Removal Centre in Van, eastern Turkey, were
reported to have taken place during the final
days of May and early June. According to
reports, around 200 Iraqis and around 300
Syrians were forcibly returned after officials
forced individuals to sign forms agreeing to
“voluntary return”.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In March, the Parliament elected the first
Human Rights Commissioner
(Ombudsperson) from a list provided by the
President, calling into question the
independence of the institution and its
compliance with the UN Principles relating to
the Status of National Institutions.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
There was no independent media and the
few independent journalists – typically
working in secret for outlets based abroad –
faced harassment and arrest.
On 15 February, independent journalist
Khudayberdy Allashov and his mother
Kurbantach Arazmedova were released, after
being given three-year conditional sentences
for possessing chewing tobacco. They had
been in detention since 3 December 2016;
there were allegations that they had been
subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.
In March, the EU and the OSCE called for
the immediate release of freelance journalist
Saparmamed Nepeskuliev who was
sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in
2015 on drug charges. He was believed to be
suffering from life-threatening health
conditions.
In April, the UN Human Rights Committee
expressed concern over, among other things,
the absence of an independent media,
undue restrictions on access to the internet,
and the use of politically motivated charges
against journalists and others expressing
criticism of the government.
TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan
Head of state and government: Gurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov
The right to freedom of expression remained
severely restricted. Torture and other ill-
treatment was committed in pre-trial
detention and prisons, sometimes resulting
in death. There was no attempt to address
enforced disappearances and
incommunicado detention. The right to
housing was widely violated. Consensual
same-sex relations between men remained a
criminal offence.
BACKGROUND
In February, President Berdymukhamedov
was re-elected for a further seven-year term
with 98% of the vote; the OSCE Election
Assessment Mission found “serious
irregularities”. The economic crisis in the
country deepened, and in June the President
asked the Parliament to prepare an austerity
proposal to cut benefits, including free gas
and electricity supplies. There were reports
that employees in state-run enterprises were
not receiving their salaries; and there were
shortages of cash.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In January, the UN Committee against
Torture noted its concern at “consistent
allegations of widespread torture and ill-
treatment, including severe beatings, of
persons deprived of their liberty, especially at
the moment of apprehension and during pre-
trial detention, mainly in order to extract
confessions”.
In February, 18 men were convicted under
various articles of the Criminal Code and
sentenced to between five and 12 years’
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imprisonment for their suspected links to
Turkmen-Turkish schools understood to have
been previously affiliated to Fethullah Gülen.
The men were allegedly tortured and held in
inhumane conditions in pre-trial detention. A
19th man detained at the same time was
thought to have died as a result of torture.
The trial held at the pre-trial detention centre
in the town of Yashlyk, Ahal Province,
reportedly fell far short of international
standards of fairness.
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
Reports continued of mass house demolitions
and forced evictions in connection with
construction and development projects,
including those implemented in preparation
for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
that were held in September. On 21 February,
a group of women gathered in Ashgabat to
demand the alternative housing that they had
been denied due to the lack of
documentation confirming ownership of their
demolished homes. The authorities had not
issued them with such documents because
many of the women were not registered in
Ashgabat.
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Alternative Turkmenistan News reported that
on 24 June the body of Aziz Gafurov was
delivered to his family in the village of
Urgendzhi, near Turkmenabat. An eyewitness
described the body as emaciated and
covered in bruises. Aziz Gafurov was one of
dozens of practising Muslims who were
sentenced in recent years for conspiracy to
overthrow the state, violent calls to overthrow
the constitutional order, and incitement of
social, national and religious enmity.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Consensual same-sex relations between men
remained a criminal offence punishable by
up to two years’ imprisonment. LGBTI people
were subjected to discrimination including
violence, arbitrary arrests and detention.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
The fate and whereabouts of at least 80
prisoners subjected to enforced
disappearance after an alleged assassination
attempt on then President Saparmurat
Niyazov in November 2002 remained
unclarified.
The bodies of three former senior state
officials, who were forcibly disappeared
following their arrest and criminal prosecution
in connection with the assassination attempt,
were delivered to their relatives in the course
of the year. Tirkish Tyrmyev reportedly died
on 13 January; Bairam Khasanov died in
May; and on 18 August, the Russian NGO
Human Rights Centre Memorial reported that
Akmurad Redzhepov had died on 10 August.
On 26 January, the EU Delegation to the
International Organizations in Vienna
published a statement expressing concern
about Tirkish Tyrmyev’s death and called on
Turkmenistan to immediately and effectively
address and eradicate enforced
disappearances.
UGANDA
Republic of Uganda
Head of state and government: Yoweri Kaguta
Museveni
The rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly were restricted.
Journalists and others who criticized the
President or his family were arrested,
detained and harassed. There was a sharp
rise in the number of women killed, some of
whom were subjected to sexual violence.
The government said it would investigate
and prosecute those responsible. Draft
constitutional amendments to the land laws
gave the government authority to
expropriate private land. Uganda hosted the
largest number of refugees in the region,
including over 1 million from South Sudan.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
On 19 March, immigration officials at
Entebbe International Airport prevented
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academic Stella Nyanzi from boarding a flight
to the Netherlands to attend a conference.
This followed her criticism of the President
and his wife, the Education Minister, for the
government’s failure to fulfil a 2015
commitment to provide sanitary towels in
girls’ schools.
On 8 April, police arrested Stella Nyanzi for
insulting President Museveni on social
media. She was charged under the Computer
Misuse Act of 2011 and detained for 33 days
in Luzira Maximum Security Prison in the
capital, Kampala, before being released on
bail. The charges against her were later
dropped.
On 8 April, Nation TV journalist Gertrude
Tumusiime Uwitware was abducted,
blindfolded and interrogated by unknown
assailants for several hours, after she had
posted her support for Stella Nyanzi on social
media. The spokesperson for the Kampala
Metropolitan Police promised to investigate
the incident but there was no further
information on its progress by the end of the
year.
On 27 September, the Ugandan
Communications Commission threatened to
revoke or suspend licences of media outlets
which broadcast live parliamentary debates
on a proposed constitutional amendment to
remove the presidential age limit of 75 which
was passed by Parliament in December and,
according to the government, became law in
the same month. The Commission said that
such broadcasts promoted a “culture of
violence”. The opposition viewed the
amendment as a means to enable President
Museveni to stand for re-election in 2021. He
had already been in power for 31 years.
On 10 October, the police summoned
editors Arinaitwe Rugyendo of the
Red
Pepper
newspaper and the online Daily
Monitor, and Charles Bichachi of the Nation
Media Group which owns the Daily Monitor,
about stories they published on the age limit
debate. Police questioned them after an MP,
who was leading on moves to remove the age
limit, filed a complaint claiming that the
stories tarnished his reputation. They were
charged in connection with these allegations
under Section 27A of the Police Act.
On 24 November, after
Red Pepper
published an article alleging that the
President was involved in a plot to overthrow
Rwanda’s President, the police searched the
newspaper’s
office including computers and
mobile phones, and closed it down. At the
same time, they arrested Arinaitwe Rugyendo
and other members of staff Richard Kintu,
James Mujuni, Patrick Mugumya, Richard
Tusiime, Johnson Musinguzi, Ben Byarabaha
and Francis Tumusiime. They remained in
detention at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
On 2 and 20 September, approximately 20
police officers and security officials raided
ActionAid Uganda’s offices in Kansanga, an
area of Kampala, preventing staff from
leaving the premises for several hours. The
police warrant stated that ActionAid was
being investigated for “illicit transfers of funds
to support unlawful activities”. The police
removed documents and confiscated the
organization’s laptops and mobile phones
belonging to staff members. On 9 October,
the Bank of Uganda froze ActionAid’s bank
accounts. On 13 October, the NGO Bureau,
under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, sent a
letter to 25 development NGOs demanding
their bank account details.
On 20 September, police raided the Great
Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies offices
with a warrant to search computers and
mobile phones as well as financial and
banking documents. The raid came after the
organization’s executive director, Godber
Tumushabe, spoke against the proposal to lift
the presidential age limit.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
According to the police, 28 women were
killed in Entebbe town in Wakiso District. The
media reported that a man had confessed to
killing eight of the women on the orders of a
local businessman. In a public statement on
3 September the police spokesperson said
that four categories of murder had been
identified and that 13 people had been
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arrested and charged in connection with the
28 killings. Twelve of the victims had been
raped or sexually assaulted before they were
killed; four of them were killed by their
husbands or partners; one woman was killed
by her two brothers in what the police
classified as a revenge killing; the other cases
were described as “ritual murders”.
The body of one of the victims, Rose
Nakimuli, was discovered on 24 July in a
banana plantation in Wakiso District.
government said it would increase doctors’
salaries only after the outcome of a salary
review conducted by a commission set up by
the President to review salaries of all civil
servants.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
As of 10 November, Uganda hosted around
1,379,768 refugees and asylum-seekers.
Some 1,037,359 were from South Sudan,
348,782 having arrived between January and
September; 61% of them were children,
mostly unaccompanied or separated from
their parents. Around 236,572 of the
refugees were from the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC); 39,041 were from
Burundi (see Burundi entry); 35,373 were
from Somalia; and the rest were from various
other countries.
Asylum-seekers from South Sudan and the
DRC were granted prima facie refugee status,
and those of other nationalities underwent an
individual refugee status determination
process conducted by the Refugee Eligibility
Committee. The government had revoked the
automatic refugee status for Burundian
asylum-seekers in June.
Under the 2006 Refugee Act and the 2010
Refugee Regulations, refugees were allowed
relative freedom of movement, equal access
to basic services, such as primary education
and health care, and the right to work and
establish a business.
In May, the World Food Programme was
forced to cut cereal rations by half for over
800,000 South Sudanese refugees.
Appeals for funding from international
donors to address the regional refugee crisis
failed to secure adequate funds. This proved
to be the most significant challenge to
Uganda’s refugee response. In June, the
Uganda Solidarity Summit on Refugees had
rallied for international support, but as of
November 2017, the South Sudan Refugee
Response Plan (a joint government/UNHCR
initiative) secured only 68% of the funds
needed; and the Burundi Refugee Response
Plan secured only 20%.
In October, there was a temporary 50%
reduction in food assistance to refugees due
RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED
EVICTIONS
In July, the government tabled a bill to
amend Article 26(2) of the Constitution. This
would allow compulsory acquisition by the
government of private land for infrastructure
projects without providing prompt, prior and
fair compensation to the owners, and
potentially while negotiations on
compensation were pending.
Under existing law, the government can
acquire private land only after the payment of
“fair and adequate” compensation has been
made. If the owner disputes the
compensation amount, a High Court can
block the government from acquiring the
land until a resolution is reached. If passed,
the new law would increase the risk of forced
evictions and undermine the ability of those
facing eviction to participate in consultations
over acquisitions. It would also frustrate
transparent and fair negotiations on
compensation, and the possibility of appeal.
Marginalized groups, including people living
in poverty, and in rural areas, would be
particularly affected.
RIGHT TO HEALTH
On 10 October, the doctors’ union Uganda
Medical Association (UMA) declared an
indefinite strike protesting against low salaries
and shortages of essential supplies. However,
they continued to provide services to
children, pregnant women and emergency
accident victims.
President Museveni said the strike was
illegal and ordered the doctors to return to
work or face disciplinary action. The
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to donors’ payment delays. The cuts led to
riots and protests by refugees in Nyumanzi
settlement in Adjumani district.
UKRAINE
Ukraine
Head of state: Petro Poroshenko
Head of government: Volodymyr Hroysman
The investigation into the Security Service
of Ukraine (SBU) for its alleged secret
prisons failed to make any progress. Law
enforcement officials continued to use
torture and other ill-treatment.
The Ukrainian authorities increased
pressure on their critics and independent
NGOs, including journalists and anti-
corruption activists. The authorities
launched criminal investigations and
passed laws aimed at restricting the rights
to freedom of expression and freedom of
association, among other things.
The de facto authorities in the separatist-
controlled territories continued to
unlawfully detain and imprison their critics.
In November, the de facto Supreme Court
in Donetsk ordered a man to be put to
death. In Russian-occupied Crimea, critics
of the authorities faced intimidation,
harassment and criminal prosecution.
The LGBTI Pride march was held in the
capital Kyiv, under effective police
protection. The number of attacks on LGBTI
events rose across the country. The
government failed to adequately address
sexual and domestic violence. The
authorities announced that Ukraine was
freezing all arms supplies to South Sudan.
a 2% growth for 2017, and urged further
reforms. On 14 June, the EU lifted its visa
requirements for Ukrainian citizens. The
government adopted wide-ranging medical
and educational reforms, which for the first
time included human rights as part of the
future school curriculum.
In eastern Ukraine, the separatist and
government forces continued fighting, in
violation of the 2015 ceasefire agreement.
Casualties among the forces and civilians
continued to grow, and according to the UN
had reached 10,225 dead by 15 August,
including 2,505 civilians. On 27 December,
the two sides exchanged prisoners, releasing
a total of 380 people.
According to the September report of the
UN Monitoring Mission in Ukraine,
“increased levels of poverty and
unemployment coupled with record-high food
prices have affected the lives of 3.8 million
people in the conflict-affected zones, in
addition to daily hardships caused by the
armed hostilities and related policies imposed
by all sides.” Laws introduced in previous
years further impeded access to social rights
and pensions for people living in the conflict-
affected areas.
Crimea remained under Russian
occupation. Russia continued to deny
international human rights mechanisms
access to the peninsula.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Members of law enforcement agencies
continued to use torture and other ill-
treatment, and committed other human
rights violations; there was continued
impunity for past and ongoing violations of
international humanitarian law.
On 15 August, the SBU apprehended Daria
Mastikasheva, a Ukrainian citizen resident in
Russia who was visiting her mother in
Ukraine, and held her incommunicado for
two days. She was accused of treason and
illegal weapons possession. Photos taken by
her lawyer of her outside the court showed
signs of beatings and possible torture by SBU
officers. Her lawyer also reported that she
was issued with threats targeting her mother
BACKGROUND
Social discontent continued to grow.
Mounting economic problems, the slow pace
of reforms and pervasive corruption sparked
regular protests in Kyiv that occasionally
turned violent. Some of the protests brought
together several hundred people. In April, the
World Bank reported that the Ukrainian
economy had stopped contracting, projected
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and son, until she agreed to read out a self-
incriminating statement on camera. At the
end of the year she was still in detention
awaiting trial.
On 16 November, the head of the State
Investigation Bureau (SIB), a stand-alone
agency created to undertake investigations
independently of other law enforcement
agencies, was finally appointed. However, the
SIB was still not fully staffed and unable to
begin its work by the end of the year.
CONFLICT-RELATED SEXUAL VIOLENCE
In a report published in February, the UN
Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
documented cases of conflict-related sexual
violence, and criticized Ukraine’s justice
system for failing its survivors and highlighted
a lack of adequate care and counselling. The
majority of the documented cases concerned
sexual violence against men and women who
had been detained by government forces or
armed groups.
DETENTION
The Chief Military Prosecutor’s investigation
into the allegations of secret detention by the
SBU in eastern Ukraine was ineffective.
Evidence published in 2016 by international
NGOs showing the existence of this practice
was largely ignored by the authorities.
DETENTIONS OF CIVILIANS IN THE CONFLICT ZONE
On 27 April, the UN Subcommittee on
Prevention of Torture (SPT) published its
report on its 2016 visit to Ukraine. The report
noted that the SBU had obstructed the SPT’s
mandate by denying it access to some
facilities, forcing it to suspend a visit in May
2016. When the SPT resumed the visit in
September, it “was left with the clear
impression that some rooms and spaces had
been cleared in order to suggest that they
had not been used for detention”. The
facilities in question, particularly in the city
Kharkiv, had allegedly been used as secret
prisons, and their inmates moved to another
unofficial facility before it was opened to
visitors.
1
The SPT was denied any access to
detention facilities in the territories controlled
by the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed
Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and
Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) in eastern
Ukraine.
The de facto authorities in the DNR and
LNR continued to detain and imprison critics
and individuals suspected of supporting
Ukraine. On 4 May, a de facto court in
Donetsk sentenced well-known academic
Ihor Kozlovsky to two years and eight months
in prison under trumped-up charges of
weapons possession. Ihor Kozlovsky had
been in detention since January 2016 and
was released on 27 December 2017 in a
prisoner exchange.
On 31 January, Russian activists and
performance artists Seroe Fioletovoe and
Viktoriya Miroshnichenko were held in
incommunicado detention for two weeks after
crossing into the DNR-controlled territory.
Following an international campaign for their
release on 14 February, the de facto Ministry
of State Security (MGB) escorted them to the
Russian border and released them.
On 2 June, freelance journalist Stanislav
Aseev, who had been reporting anonymously
from the DNR, was subjected to enforced
disappearance in Donetsk. For weeks, the de
facto authorities denied that they were
holding him; on 16 July, a member of the
MGB told his mother that her son was in their
custody and accused of espionage. Stanislav
Aseev remained in detention and under
investigation at the end of the year.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
Civil society activists and members of NGOs,
particularly those working on corruption, were
regularly harassed and subjected to violence.
These incidents were often not effectively
investigated, and members of the authorities,
including security services in some instances,
were widely suspected to have instigated
them.
A law adopted in March obliged anti-
corruption activists, including members of
NGOs and journalists, to file annual income
declarations – something that state officials
have to do – or face criminal charges and
imprisonment.
In July, the Presidential Administration
proposed two draft laws that sought to
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impose onerous and intrusive public financial
reporting on NGOs whose annual budget
exceeded 300 times the so-called “living
minimum” – defined in law and regularly
reviewed, as UAH1,700 (USD63) at the end
of the year. NGOs were also required to
publicly report on all payments made to
members of staff or consultants. Non-
compliance carried severe penalties,
including the loss of the non-profit status and
freezing of accounts. The two draft laws were
under consideration in the Ukrainian
Parliament at the end of the year.
On 11 October, tax police raided the offices
of Patients of Ukraine, and the All-Ukrainian
Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS
(PLWH), two NGOs known for exposing
questionable schemes in the state medical
procurement system. The authorities alleged
that the NGOs had misused their
international funding – despite their having
passed independent financial audit – and,
according to court documents, accused them
of “supporting terrorism” by funding partner
patient organizations in Crimea.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The investigations into the killings of
journalists Oles Buzina in 2015, and Pavel
Sheremet in 2016, had yielded no results.
The authorities continued their attempts to
limit the right to freedom of expression by
instigating trumped-up criminal cases against
journalists who criticized the government over
its failure to implement reforms and its
policies in eastern Ukraine. On 7 June, the
Supreme Special Court of Ukraine overturned
the July 2016 decision by a court of appeal to
acquit prisoner of conscience Ruslan
Kotsaba, a journalist who had been
prosecuted for treason and harming
Ukraine’s armed forces after he had criticized
the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
In June, the office of the online newspaper
Strana.ua
was searched as part of an
investigation into an alleged disclosure of
state secrets, followed in August by searches
at the homes of its editor-in-chief Ihor Guzhva
and another journalist. In July, the office of
the media holding company Vesti was
searched in a fraud investigation. Both news
outlets were known for their critical reporting
on the Ukrainian authorities and their policies
in the conflict-affected Donbass region.
In three separate instances in August, the
SBU expelled four international journalists,
two Spanish and two Russian, for “harming
Ukraine’s national interests“ and barred them
from returning to Ukraine for three years. The
SBU spokesperson Olena Gitlyanska accused
the Russian journalist Anna Kurbatova,
expelled on 30 August, of producing material
“harmful to Ukraine’s national interest” and
warned that this would happen to everyone
“who dares to disgrace Ukraine”. In October,
the SBU lifted the ban on the Spanish
journalists entering Ukraine.
Also in August, the SBU arrested freelance
journalist Vasily Muravitsky from the city of
Zhytomyr. He had contributed to a number of
Russian media. The SBU accused him of
preparing and distributing “anti-Ukrainian”
materials on orders from Moscow. If
convicted, he could face up to 15 years in
jail. Vasily Muravitsky was in pre-trial
detention at the end of the year.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
On 18 June, thousands joined the biggest
march yet of Equality, the annual LGBTI
Pride demonstration, in Kyiv, as well as
several dozen counter-protests. Police
provided effective protection from those
protesting against the march and no
incidents were reported during the rally. After
the march, members of far-right groups
attacked and beat several participants.
Overall, the number of violent attacks against
LGBTI people rose in 2017. In September, a
group of right-wing protesters severely beat a
number of participants of an LGBTI festival in
the city of Zapporizhhya.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
Parliament had still not ratified the Council of
Europe Convention on preventing and
combating violence against women and
domestic violence (Istanbul Convention),
which it signed in 2011.
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CRIMEA
The clampdown on the rights to freedom of
expression, association and assembly
continued in Crimea. The authorities
continued to predominantly target ethnic
Crimean Tatars. The arbitrary ban on the
Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, a self-
governing body representing the ethnic
Crimean Tatars, continued. The Russian
Security Services raided dozens of Crimean
Tatar homes, purportedly looking for illegal
weapons, drugs or “extremist” literature, as
part of their campaign to intimidate critics of
the peninsula’s occupation. The few lawyers
willing to take up cases in defence of critical
voices in Crimea faced harassment by the
Russian authorities.
On 26 January, lawyer Emil Kurbedinov was
arrested and sentenced by a de facto court in
the Crimean capital, Simferopol, to 10 days of
administrative detention. He was accused of
violating Russian anti-extremist legislation
with a social media post predating the
Russian occupation of Crimea. In the post,
he had shared a video about a protest held
by the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir,
which is banned in Russia but not in
Ukraine. On 8 August, police in Simferopol
used excessive force and arrested Server
Karametov for holding a placard outside the
Crimean Supreme Court to protest at
reprisals against Crimean Tatars. He was
sentenced to 10 days in prison. On 22
September, Ukrainian journalist Mykola
Semena was convicted for “threatening [the]
territorial integrity of the Russian Federation”
in his publications and given a two-and-a-
half-year conditional sentence and a three-
year ban on participating in “public
activities”. In September, Crimean Tatar
leaders Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov
were given jail terms for their peaceful
activism. On 25 October, both were flown to
Turkey and released, without an official
explanation. Akhtem Chiygoz had spent 34
months in detention, and Ilmi Umerov had
been forcibly held in a psychiatric institution
since August or September 2016. Both were
prisoners of conscience.
ARMS TRADE
On 28 September, the Secretary of the
National Security and Defence Council,
Oleksandr Turchinov, announced that
Ukrainian state companies had decided to
freeze arms transfers to South Sudan. The
announcement came days after Amnesty
International published a report which
included contract documents and end-user
certificates listing the Ukrainian state-owned
arms exporter Ukrinmash as the prospective
supplier of USD169 million worth of small
arms and light weapons to the South
Sudanese Ministry of Defence.
2
In response
to the report, the State Service of Export
Control issued a statement saying that the
contract in question had not been executed,
and that no weapons had been shipped from
Ukraine to South Sudan. In previous years,
Ukraine had consistently reported exports of
small arms, light weapons and major
weapons to the government of South Sudan.
Ukraine had not yet ratified the Arms Trade
Treaty, which it signed in September 2014.
1. Put an end to impunity for detention-related abuses in the context of
the armed conflict in Ukraine (EUR
50/5558/2017)
2.
From London to Juba, a UK-registered company’s role in one of the
largest arms deals to South Sudan (ACT
30/7115/2017)
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 continued to arbitrarily
restrict freedoms of expression and
association, using criminal defamation and
anti-terrorism laws to detain, prosecute,
convict and imprison government critics
and a prominent human rights defender.
Scores of people, including prisoners of
conscience, who were sentenced following
unfair trials remained in prison. Authorities
held detainees in conditions that could
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amount to torture and failed to investigate
allegations of torture made in previous
years. Women continued to face
discrimination in law and in practice.
Migrant workers remained vulnerable to
exploitation and abuse. Courts continued to
hand down death sentences; there was one
execution.
BACKGROUND
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained
part of the Saudi Arabia-led international
coalition engaged in armed conflict in Yemen.
Along with Saudi Arabia, the UAE trained,
funded and supported forces in Yemen,
some of which were under its direct report.
These forces engaged in arbitrary and illegal
detention practices, including in Aden where
they perpetrated a campaign of arbitrary
detention and enforced disappearances (see
Yemen entry). The UAE joined Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and Egypt in severing ties with Qatar
(see Qatar entry).
In September, the UN CERD Committee
reiterated its call on the UAE to establish a
national human rights institution, in line with
the Paris Principles. The authorities rejected
or took no action on statements and
recommendations from UN human rights
bodies, including those issued jointly by
special procedures, the High Commissioner
for Human Rights and the Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention.
In June, a Belgian court convicted in their
absence eight women from Abu Dhabi’s
ruling Al Nahyan family of trafficking in
persons and of the degrading treatment of up
to 23 women domestic workers.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
Authorities continued to arbitrarily restrict
freedoms of expression and association,
using the Penal Code and anti-terrorism and
cybercrime laws that criminalized peaceful
criticism of state policies or officials. At least
13 people were arrested or tried on such
grounds. In Dubai, two men were arrested for
“dressing in a feminine way”, in violation of
their right to freedom of expression.
In March, the government announced the
creation of the Federal Public Prosecution for
Information Technology Crimes, whose
mandate to investigate and prosecute crimes
included peaceful expression. In August,
authorities in Dubai imposed a one-month
suspension of the news website Arabian
Business for publication of “false
information” regarding unsuccessful real
estate projects.
Also in March, leading human rights
defender Ahmed Mansoor was arrested. He
had had no access to a lawyer by the end of
the year. He was held in solitary confinement
and, except for two family visits, in
incommunicado detention, in violation of the
prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.
Also in March, the Federal Appeal Court in
the capital, Abu Dhabi, upheld the 10-year
prison sentence of Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith, a
prisoner of conscience. He was arbitrarily
detained in 2015 and stated during his trial
that he had been tortured. In April, he went
on hunger strike to protest against not being
permitted to see the verdict of the appeal
court or meet with his lawyer.
In June, UAE’s Attorney General announced
that anyone expressing sympathy with Qatar
could face up to 15 years’ imprisonment and
fines. In July, Ghanim Abdallah Matar was
detained for a video he posted online in
which he expressed sympathy towards the
people of Qatar.
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the
three years’ imprisonment, a fine of
Dh500,000 (USD136,135) and deportation
sentence against Jordanian journalist and
prisoner of conscience Tayseer al-Najjar. He
had been detained since December 2015 for
Facebook posts deemed “damaging [to] the
reputation and prestige of the Emirati state”.
Human rights defender and prisoner of
conscience Dr Mohammad al-Roken
remained in prison, serving a 10-year
sentence imposed after an unfair mass trial
in 2013 (known as the “UAE 94” trial). In
May, he was awarded the Ludovic Trarieux
International Human Rights Prize.
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TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reports of torture and other ill-treatment,
including denial of medical care to detainees,
remained common. No independent
investigations were carried out into detainees’
allegations of torture.
In May, detainees in al-Razeen Prison in
Abu Dhabi, including Imran al-Radwan,
undertook a hunger strike to protest against
enforced strip searches, alleged sexual
harassment and other ill-treatment by prison
guards.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The authorities refused to release at least five
prisoners on completion of their sentence,
including Osama al-Najjar, a prisoner of
conscience arrested in 2014. Prison
authorities at al-Razeen Prison, where those
convicted in the UAE 94 case were detained,
routinely harassed family members and
prevented them from visiting their imprisoned
relatives.
its terms, and stipulated that disputes would
be adjudicated by specialized tribunals as
well as by courts. However, workers remained
vulnerable to employers accusing them of
overly broad and vague crimes such as
“failing to protect their employer’s secrets”,
which carry fines of up to Dh100,000
(USD27,225) or a six-month prison sentence.
In September the UN CERD Committee
expressed concern over the lack of
monitoring and enforcement of measures to
protect migrant workers, and over barriers
faced by migrant workers in accessing
justice, such as their unwillingness to submit
complaints for fear of adverse repercussions.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts handed down death sentences; one
execution was carried out on 23 November.
UNITED KINGDOM
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II
Head of government: Theresa May
Women in Northern Ireland continued to
face significant restrictions on access to
abortion. Counter-terrorism laws continued
to restrict rights. Full accountability for
torture allegations against UK intelligence
agencies and armed forces remained
unrealized.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women remained subject to discrimination in
law and in practice, notably in matters of
marriage and divorce, inheritance and child
custody. They were inadequately protected
against sexual violence and violence within
the family.
WORKER’S RIGHTS – MIGRANT
WORKERS
Migrant workers, who comprised the vast
majority of the private workforce, continued
to face exploitation and abuse. They
remained tied to employers under the
kafala
sponsorship system and were denied
collective bargaining rights. Trade unions
remained banned and migrant workers who
engaged in strike action faced deportation
and a one-year ban on returning to the UAE.
In September, Federal Law No.10 of 2017
came into effect, limiting working hours and
providing for weekly leave and 30 days’ paid
annual leave as well as the right to retain
personal documents. The law appeared to
enable employees to end their contract of
employment if the employer violated any of
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In March, the Prime Minister triggered Article
50 of the Treaty on the European Union,
officially starting the withdrawal by the UK
from the EU (Brexit). In July, the EU
(Withdrawal) Bill received its first reading in
the House of Commons. The Bill threatened
to significantly reduce existing human rights
protections. It excluded both the EU Charter
of Fundamental Rights (in its entirety) and
the right of action for violations of EU General
Principles from domestic law after the UK’s
withdrawal. It also handed sweeping powers
to ministers to alter legislation without
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appropriate parliamentary scrutiny, placing
current rights and equality laws at risk.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
In January, the government committed itself
to completing the post-implementation review
of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment
of Offenders Act 2012, by April 2018. Legal
aid in civil cases had dropped drastically
since the Act was introduced. In October, an
internal post-legislative review memorandum
was published and plans for completion of
the review proper were announced for
mid-2018.
In July, Lady Hale was appointed the first
woman president of the Supreme Court.
There was only one other woman Justice at
the Court, and just 28% of all court judges
were women. Representation of ethnic
minorities among judges also remained a
concern; only 7% declared to be a member
of an ethnic minority.
imprisonment. Similar uplifts to discretionary
sentences were also proposed to the offence
of eliciting information about the armed
forces.
In September, Muhammed Rabbani,
Director of the advocacy group CAGE, was
convicted of “wilfully obstructing or seeking
to frustrate an examination or search” under
Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He
had refused to disclose the passwords for his
laptop and phone to police at Heathrow
Airport in London. By June, police had
stopped 17,501 people under Schedule 7
powers, which did not require any suspicion
of wrongdoing.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
TORTURE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
The 2014 request by the Irish government to
review the 1978 judgment in
Ireland v. UK,
on torture techniques used in internment in
Northern Ireland in 1971-1972, remained
pending before the European Court of
Human Rights (ECtHR). In October, the High
Court in Northern Ireland quashed a decision
by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to
end preliminary inquiries into torture of the
14 “Hooded Men”, who were abused while in
detention in Northern Ireland by the British
army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in
1971.
RENDITION
In January, the Supreme Court issued a
judgment in the joined appeals in Belhaj
and
Others v. Jack Straw and
Others and Rahmatullah
v. Ministry of
Defence and Another. It
ruled that the
government could not rely on the legal
doctrines of “sovereign immunity” and
“foreign act of state” to escape civil claims in
the two cases alleging UK involvement in
human rights violations by foreign
governments. The first case concerned
allegations by former Libyan opposition
leader Abdul-Hakim Belhaj and his wife
Fatima Boudchar that they had been
subjected to rendition, torture and other ill-
treatment in 2004 by the US and Libyan
governments, with the knowledge and co-
operation of UK officials. The second case
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
Between March and June, 41 people were
killed, including the attackers, and many
others injured in attacks in London, the
capital, and Manchester. In June, the
government announced that it would review
its counter-terrorism strategy and commission
an independent “assurance” of the internal
reviews conducted by the Security Service
(MI5) and the police around the attacks. In
June, plans for a “Commission for Countering
Extremism” were announced.
In May, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of
association issued a report warning that the
government’s approach to “non-violent
extremism” risked violating both freedoms.
In October, the government announced its
intention to propose amendments to Section
58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 regarding the
collection, recording or possession of
information likely to be useful to a person
committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
The proposals sought to expand the scope of
the offence to include repeated viewing or
streaming of online material, and making
such viewing punishable by up to 15 years’
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was brought by Yunus Rahmatullah, detained
by UK forces in Iraq in 2004 before being
handed over to US forces and allegedly
tortured and imprisoned without charge for
over 10 years.
ARMED FORCES
Allegations of war crimes committed by UK
armed forces in Iraq between 2003 and 2008
remained under preliminary examination by
the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC. On 3
December, the Office declared that there was
a reasonable basis to believe that members
of the UK armed forces committed war
crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court
against persons in their custody. An
admissibility assessment was ongoing.
In April, the House of Commons Defence
Select Committee issued a report in which it
proposed to introduce a Statute of Limitations
with regard to alleged crimes committed by
British soldiers and other security forces
personnel in Northern Ireland before 1998.
having acknowledged previously that there
had been “collusion” in the case.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Abortion remained criminalized in Northern
Ireland in almost every circumstance.
Abortion was permitted only where the life or
health of the woman or girl was at risk.
Women faced criminal prosecution for taking
WHO-approved medication to induce
abortions. To access abortions, 724 women
from Northern Ireland travelled to England
and Wales in 2016.
In June, in the case of a 15-year-old girl
who travelled to England for an abortion, and
her mother, the Supreme Court ruled that
women resident in Northern Ireland were not
entitled to free abortions on the National
Health Service. In September, the threat of
prosecution against medical professionals in
Northern Ireland who made abortion referrals
to Great Britain was lifted.
The UK Supreme Court case challenging
Northern Ireland’s abortion law was ongoing.
The case considered whether the law
breached women’s rights by prohibiting
abortions in cases of rape or incest and
serious/fatal foetal impairment. A ruling was
expected in early 2018.
Arrangements for women resident in
Northern Ireland to access free abortion
services in England and Scotland were
confirmed in October and November
respectively.
SURVEILLANCE
Proceedings brought by Amnesty
International and other applicants were
pending before the ECtHR regarding the
legality of the pre-Investigatory Powers Act,
mass surveillance regime and intelligence
sharing practices. The judgment was pending
at the end of the year.
NORTHERN IRELAND – LEGACY ISSUES
In January, the Historic Institutional Abuse
Inquiry published findings from the
investigation into 22 residential children’s
institutions in Northern Ireland, covering the
period from 1922 to 1995. It found
widespread and systemic failings by the UK
and institutions in their duties towards the
children in their care. The government had
not implemented any of the
recommendations at the end of the year.
The government continued to refuse
funding to implement plans by the Lord Chief
Justice of Northern Ireland to address the
backlog of “legacy” coroners’
inquests.
The government continued to refuse to
establish an independent public inquiry into
the 1989 killing of Patrick Finucane, despite
DISCRIMINATION
In January, the Scottish government set up
an independent review into hate crime laws
in Scotland.
Northern Ireland remained the only part of
the UK to deny same-sex couples the right to
marriage. In July, thousands of people took
part in a march in the city of Belfast calling
for marriage equality.
In September, an independent review into
ethnic minority individuals in the criminal
justice system in England and Wales was
published. It found that ethnic minorities
were disproportionately represented in
prisons, with 25% of prisoners (despite
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making up 14% of the population in the
counties reviewed), and that 40% of young
people in custody were from ethnic minority
backgrounds.
In August, the UN Committee on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities severely criticized
the UK for failing to ensure the rights of
people with disabilities with respect to,
among other things, education, employment,
and an adequate standard of living and social
protection.
to exclude basic safeguards on taking,
holding and using personal data for the
purpose of “effective immigration control”.
In October, the High Court ruled that the
Home Office’s “Adults at Risk” policy on the
detention of victims of torture was unlawful.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
In June, the Prime Minister announced plans
for adopting a new Domestic Violence and
Abuse Bill and appointing a Domestic
Violence and Abuse Commissioner. The
government was yet to ratify the Council of
Europe Convention on Violence against
Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul
Convention), which it signed in 2012.
Concerns remained about the impact of
austerity-led cuts on funding for specialist
services for women who had experienced
domestic violence or abuse.
RIGHT TO LIFE
During the night of 13-14 June, at least 71
people died and dozens were injured in a fire
at the Grenfell Tower social housing block in
London. In September, a public inquiry into
the cause of the fire, the emergency services’
and authorities’ responses, the building’s
construction and modifications, as well as the
adequacy of the regulatory framework began.
The fire raised questions concerning the
authorities’ and private actors’ compliance
with their human rights obligations and
responsibilities including protection of the
right to life and guaranteeing an adequate
standard of living, including the right to
adequate housing.
ARMS TRADE
The UK continued to supply arms to Saudi
Arabia despite ongoing serious violations of
international humanitarian law by the Saudi
Arabia-led coalition in Yemen.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
The government continued to extend
immigration-related controls across public
and private life, collecting children’s
nationality and country of birth data from
schools and widening nationality and
immigration checks on access to free health
care.
In July, the government ended its so-called
“Dubs Amendment” scheme under which
480 unaccompanied refugee children who
were already in Europe were to be resettled in
the UK. No children were resettled in 2017,
despite 280 local authority places available
for them. A legal challenge to the
government’s limited implementation of the
scheme, brought by the NGO Help Refugees,
was unsuccessful before the High Court and
an appeal was lodged.
In September, the government introduced a
Data Protection Bill that included a provision
UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
United States of America
Head of state and government: Donald Trump
(replaced Barack Obama in January)
Executive orders to suspend travel to the
USA from several Muslim-majority countries
sparked legal challenges, which continued
through the year. There were major attacks
on the rights of women and girls. Eighteen
detainees were transferred from the US
naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; 41
detainees remained at the base and pre-
trial military commission proceedings
continued. Gun violence remained high.
Death sentences were handed down and
executions were carried out.
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BACKGROUND
On 20 January, Donald Trump was sworn in
as President, following an election campaign
in which he made comments and promised
policies that were discriminatory or otherwise
contradicted international human rights
principles.
REFUGEES’ AND MIGRANTS’ RIGHTS
A number of executive orders affecting
migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees were
signed by President Trump during the year.
Two orders dated 25 January called for a wall
to be built along the USA-Mexico border,
allowed for
refoulement
(forcible return) and
the increased detention of asylum-seekers
and their families, increased the functions
and number of immigration and customs
enforcement agents, prioritized deportation of
migrants, especially those suspected of
crimes, and cancelled funding for “sanctuary
cities” that did not co-operate with federal
authorities in apprehending irregular
migrants.
A third executive order signed on 27
January banned entry of foreign nationals
from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria
and Yemen for 90 days, suspended the US
Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for
120 days, reduced the number of refugees
eligible for entry during the 2017 fiscal year
from 110,000 to 50,000, and imposed an
indefinite ban on the resettlement of refugees
from Syria. The order immediately led to
chaos, protests and legal challenges on the
basis of discrimination towards Muslims. A
week later a federal judge issued a
nationwide temporary injunction, which was
upheld on appeal. The government issued a
revised version of the order on 6 March,
again suspending USRAP for 120 days,
repeating the limit of 50,000 refugees, and
imposing a 90-day ban on entry into the USA
of nationals of six countries (the original
seven minus Iraq). Federal judges in the
states of Maryland and Hawaii issued
nationwide injunctions temporarily blocking
its implementation. On 26 June, the Supreme
Court allowed a limited version of the order to
take effect. The Court also ruled that the ban
could be applied to refugees being supported
by resettlement agencies.
A second revision of the order, signed on 24
September, indefinitely banned immigration
into the USA by nationals of seven countries:
Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia,
Syria and Yemen. It also banned the issuance
of certain types of non-immigrant visas to
nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea,
Syria and Yemen, and specifically barred
visas for Venezuelan officials from certain
government agencies and their families. On
17 October, federal judges in Hawaii and
Maryland again ruled against the measure,
blocking the government from enforcing it on
nationals from six of the countries. On 13
November, a federal appeals court panel
allowed the third ban to take effect for people
with no legitimate ties to the USA.
On 24 October, President Trump issued an
executive order to resume USRAP “with
enhanced vetting procedures”. On 4
December the Supreme Court granted the
administration’s request to temporarily allow
the latest so-called “Muslim ban” to take full
effect as the case continued to be litigated.
On 16 August, the federal Department of
Homeland Security terminated the Central
American Minors programme. The
programme had allowed those under 21
years of age fleeing violence in El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras, whose parents
had regular status in the USA, to apply for
refugee resettlement interviews before
travelling to the USA. Children from those
three countries who did not qualify for
refugee status and had no other means of
reuniting with their parents had also been
able to apply for entry under the programme.
On 5 September, the government
announced that it would end the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
programme in six months if Congress did not
find a legislative solution regarding the
immigration status of those protected by the
programme, placing more than 800,000
individuals at risk of deportation. DACA’s aim
was to protect from deportation migrant youth
who came to the USA as children and met
certain eligibility criteria. Congress introduced
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the DREAM Act to provide DACA
beneficiaries with a means to obtain regular
migration status; it had not been passed into
law at the end of the year.
More than 17,000 unaccompanied children
and 26,000 people travelling as families were
apprehended after irregularly crossing the
border with Mexico between January and
August. Families were detained for months,
many without proper access to medical care
and legal counsel, while pursuing claims to
remain in the USA.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Attacks on the rights of women and girls were
broad and multi-faceted. President Trump’s
administration overturned policies that
required universities to investigate sexual
violence as gender discrimination and
suspended equal pay initiatives that had
helped women to identify whether they were
being paid less than male colleagues. Attacks
on women’s reproductive health and rights
were particularly virulent. There were
repeated efforts by the government and
Congress to withdraw funding from Planned
Parenthood − a health organization providing
vital reproductive and other health services,
particularly to women on low incomes. The
government issued rules exempting
employers from providing health insurance
coverage for contraception if it conflicted with
their religious or moral beliefs, putting
millions of women at risk of losing access to
contraception. Gross inequalities remained
for Indigenous women in accessing care
following rape, including access to
examinations, forensic evidence kits for use
by medical staff, and other essential health
care services. The government also
introduced the so-called “global gag rule”,
prohibiting any US financial assistance to any
hospitals or organizations that provide
information about, or access to, safe and
legal abortion care.
discrimination against LGBTI people in state
and federal law. Further discriminatory
measures by the government against LGBTI
people increased. The USA continued to lack
federal protections banning discrimination on
the grounds of sexual orientation and gender
identity in the workplace, housing or health
care. Transgender people continued to be
particularly marginalized. President Trump’s
administration overturned guidelines that
protected transgender students in public
schools who used facilities that corresponded
with their gender identity. In August,
President Trump ordered a reversal in the
policy announced in 2016 to allow openly
transgender individuals to enlist in the
military, which had been due to take effect on
1 January 2018. On 30 October, a federal
judge issued a preliminary injunction
blocking implementation of the directive. In
December, a judge ruled that transgender
people would be allowed to enlist in the
military from 1 January 2018, as legal cases
proceeded.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
On 28 November, a federal jury in
Washington DC convicted Libyan national
Ahmed Abu Khatallah on terrorism charges
relating to an attack on a US diplomatic
compound in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 in
which four US nationals were killed. The jury
acquitted him of murder. In August, the
judge had ruled that any statements made by
Ahmed Abu Khatallah while held
incommunicado for nearly two weeks on
board a US naval vessel after being seized by
US forces in Libya could be admitted as
evidence. On 29 October, US forces seized
another Libyan national, Mustafa al-Imam, in
Libya. He was flown to the USA and
appeared in federal court on 3 November
after five days’ incommunicado detention. At
the end of the year he was facing trial for
terrorism offences in relation to the Benghazi
attack.
After an attack in New York on 31 October
in which eight people died and 12 were
injured, Uzbek national Sayfullo
Habibullaevic Saipov was charged and due to
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
Murders of LGBTI people increased during
the year, against a background of continuing
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be tried in federal court, despite calls from
two senior Senators for his transfer to military
custody as an “enemy combatant” and
comments from President Trump that he
would consider sending him to Guantánamo
Bay. President Trump flouted the
presumption of innocence in a series of posts
on Twitter in which he called for the death
penalty for Sayfullo Saipov.
In January, under the administration of
President Barack Obama, 18 detainees were
transferred from Guantánamo Bay detention
centre to Oman, Saudi Arabia and United
Arab Emirates. Most of the remaining 41
Guantánamo Bay detainees were held
without charge or trial. President Trump had
made a pre-election pledge to keep the
detention facility open and increase the
numbers of detainees held there; no further
detainee transfers were made into or out of
Guantánamo Bay during the year.
Refusal in October by the Supreme Court to
consider two jurisdictional challenges allowed
military commission proceedings to continue
at Guantánamo Bay, in contravention of
international fair trial standards.
In October, Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed
Haza al-Darbi, a Saudi Arabian national, was
sentenced by military commission to 13
years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty in
2014 to conspiracy, terrorism and other
offences. He had been arrested in Azerbaijan
in June 2002 and handed over to US agents
two months later.
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
In an interview on 25 January, President
Trump expressed his support for torture while
stating that he would “rely” upon the
Secretary of Defense, the CIA Director and
others in deciding whether the USA should
use it. No action was taken to end impunity
for the systematic human rights violations,
including torture and enforced
disappearance, committed in a secret
detention programme operated by the CIA
after the attacks on 11 September 2001.
At least three people alleged to have been
involved in the secret detention programme
were nominated by President Trump for
senior government roles: Gina Haspel,
selected in February for the role of Deputy
Director of the CIA; Steven Bradbury,
nominated for General Counsel at the
Department of Transportation; and Steven
Engel, nominated to head the Office of Legal
Counsel (OLC) at the Department of Justice.
Gina Haspel was believed to have been CIA
Chief of Staff in Thailand in 2002 when the
CIA ran a so-called “black site” in which at
least two detainees were subjected to torture
and enforced disappearance. She was later
Chief of Staff to the Director of the
Counterterrorism Center, the branch of the
CIA that ran the secret detention programme.
As Acting Assistant Attorney General at the
OLC between 2005 and 2009, Steven
Bradbury authored a number of
memorandums to the CIA giving legal
approval to methods of interrogation and
conditions of detention that violated the
international prohibition of torture and other
ill-treatment. As Deputy Assistant Attorney
General at the OLC in 2007, Steven Engel
was also involved in the writing of one of
those memorandums. On 7 November, the
Senate confirmed his appointment by 51
votes to 47. On 14 November, by 50 votes to
47, the Senate confirmed the appointment of
Steven Bradbury. Gina Haspel’s appointment
did not require Senate confirmation.
A civil jury trial of James Mitchell and John
“Bruce” Jessen, two CIA-contracted
psychologists who had leading involvement in
its detention programme, was due to begin
on 5 September. However, in August an out-
of-court settlement was reached.
On 19 June, the Supreme Court ruled in a
case brought against former US officials by
individuals of Arab or South Asian descent
who were among the hundreds of foreign
nationals taken into custody in the USA in the
wake of the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Following the attacks, detainees were held for
months in harsh conditions and reported a
range of abuses. The Supreme Court stated
that if the allegations were true, then what
happened to the detainees “was tragic”, and
“nothing in this opinion should be read to
condone the treatment to which they contend
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they were subjected”. However, it ruled that
the case largely could not proceed, thus
continuing a pattern of judicial remedies
being blocked in cases involving human
rights violations in the counter-terrorism
context since the 2001 attacks.
military-grade equipment to law enforcement
agencies.
GUN VIOLENCE
In October a gunman used “bump stocks” –
accessories that modify firearms to allow
rapid firing similar to that of fully automatic
firearms – against a crowd of concert-goers in
Las Vegas, Nevada, killing 58 people. In
response to the massacre, Congress
considered legislation and regulations
banning such devices, but the measures
were not enacted. In November, Congress
introduced but failed to pass a separate piece
of legislation aimed at preventing gun
violence.
Two pieces of federal legislation were
pending at the end of the year that would
make it easier for people to obtain firearm
silencers and carry concealed weapons.
Legislation in place since 1996 continued to
deny funding to the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention to conduct or sponsor
research into the causes of gun violence and
ways to prevent it.
President Trump’s administration
considered relaxing restrictions on the export
of small arms, including assault rifles and
ammunition, by shifting the responsibility for
processing international non-military firearms
sales from the Department of State to the
Department of Commerce. The move would
severely weaken oversight of arms sales and
risked increasing the flow of firearms to
countries suffering high levels of armed
violence.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
The authorities continued to fail to track the
exact number of people killed by law
enforcement officials across the USA. Data
collected by
The Washington Post
newspaper
put the total at 987 individuals killed during
the year by law enforcement agents using
firearms. According to the data, African
Americans – who comprised 13% of the
population – represented nearly 23% of the
victims in 2017. Of those killed, 24% were
known to have mental health problems. A
proposal by the Department of Justice to
create a system to track these deaths under
the Deaths in Custody Reporting Act was not
compulsory for law enforcement agencies
and therefore risked leading to under-
reporting. No information was released on
whether the reporting process had been
initiated during the year.
At least 40 people across 25 states died
after police used projectile electro-shock
weapons on them, bringing the total number
of such deaths since 2001 to at least 802.
Most of the victims were not armed and did
not appear to pose a threat of death or
serious injury when the electro-shock weapon
was deployed.
In September, the acquittal of a former
police officer for shooting dead Anthony
Lamar Smith in 2011 sparked weeks of
protests across the city of St Louis, Missouri,
and hundreds of arrests. There were
allegations by local civil rights organizations
that police unlawfully detained people and
that their use of chemical irritants against
protesters amounted to excessive use of
force. St Louis police used heavy-duty riot
gear and military-grade weapons and
equipment to police the demonstrations. In
August, President Trump annulled
restrictions put in place by the previous
government that limited the transfer of some
DEATH PENALTY
Twenty-three men were executed in eight
states, bringing to 1,465 the total number of
executions since the US Supreme Court
approved new capital laws in 1976.
Approximately 39 new death sentences were
passed. Around 2,800 people remained on
death row at the end of the year.
Arkansas conducted its first executions
since 2005. Ohio resumed executions after a
hiatus of more than three years. Florida
conducted its first executions since January
2016, when the US Supreme Court ruled its
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capital sentencing statute unconstitutional.
The Florida Supreme Court’s decision that
the ruling applied only retroactively to about
half of those on death row allowed the state
to begin executing those deemed not to
benefit. During the year, the first death
sentences were handed down under a new
sentencing statute.
During the year, four inmates were
exonerated of the crimes for which they were
originally sentenced to death in the states of
Delaware, Florida, Arkansas and Louisiana,
bringing to 160 the number of such cases
since 1973.
overcrowding and access to health services
and education.
Pre-trial detention continued to be imposed
in the majority of cases and conditional
releases pending trial were often denied.
A proposed amendment to the Code on
Children and Adolescents threatened to
increase the proportion of cases subject to
mandatory pre-trial detention and eliminate
time limits for such detentions, endangering
the rights of young people in the juvenile
penal system.
People with psychosocial disabilities
continued to be held against their will and in
isolation in psychiatric institutions.
URUGUAY
Eastern Republic of Uruguay
Head of state and government: Tabaré Vázquez
Pre-trial detention continued to be imposed
widely. Impunity persisted for past crimes;
human rights defenders investigating such
crimes received death threats. Sexual and
reproductive health services were difficult
to access in rural areas and objectors to
providing abortion continued to obstruct
access to legal abortions.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights made several
recommendations to Uruguay including
increasing the direct applicability of these
rights in the judicial system; strengthening
legislation against discrimination; adopting a
law on mental health in line with international
standards; approving the comprehensive bill
against gender-based violence; and ensuring
the right to work for persons with disabilities.
BACKGROUND
The Monitoring System for
Recommendations (SIMORE), which since
December 2016 has collected information on
Uruguay’s implementation of
recommendations by international bodies,
still had no effective mechanism for civil
society participation. There had yet to be full
implementation of the Inter-institutional
Network for the Elaboration of Reports and
Monitoring of the Implementation of
Recommendations and Observations in the
Field of Human Rights, also established in
2016.
IMPUNITY
In February, human rights defenders
investigating human rights violations that
occurred during the military regime
(1973-1985) reported receiving death
threats; the sources of these threats were not
investigated. In May, human rights defenders
denounced these threats at a hearing before
the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights, which the Uruguayan authorities did
not attend.
The national Working Group on Truth and
Justice, implemented in 2015, had not
achieved concrete results regarding
reparations for victims of past crimes under
international law.
In October, the Supreme Court ruled that
statutory limitations apply to crimes against
humanity, hindering victims’ access to
justice, and preventing the prosecution of
those suspected of criminal responsibility.
DETENTION
The National Human Rights Institute, through
the National Mechanism for the Prevention of
Torture, continued to document and report
human rights violations in prisons, including
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RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
There remained no comprehensive anti-
discrimination policy protecting LGBTI people
from violence in schools and public spaces
and ensuring their access to health services.
threat to national security. Local authorities
continued to draft thousands of medical
personnel and teaching staff to work in the
cotton fields. Consensual sexual relations
between men remained a criminal offence.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
There were 27 femicides between January
and November, according to official data. The
adoption and implementation of a
comprehensive law against gender-based
violence, as part of Uruguay’s 2016-2019
Action Plan on gender-based violence, was
still pending.
BACKGROUND
President Mirzioiev continued to introduce a
number of wide-ranging political and
economic reform proposals, designed to end
past isolationist and repressive policies. An
action strategy on judicial reform was
approved in February. It set out several
priorities for systemic reform, including
ensuring genuine judicial independence,
increasing the effectiveness and authority of
the judiciary, and ensuring robust judicial
protection of the rights and freedoms of
citizens.
One of the legislative changes reduced the
maximum time a person could be detained
before being brought before a judge from 72
to 48 hours.
In May, at the end of the first ever visit by
the UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights to Uzbekistan, the
Commissioner called on the President to
translate his reform pledges into action for
the effective protection of human rights.
In November, the President issued a decree
explicitly prohibiting the use of torture to
obtain confessions and their admission as
evidence in court proceedings.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The lack of public policies to ensure access
to health services in rural areas continued
and access to sexual and reproductive health
services in these areas remained limited.
Obstacles to accessing abortions persisted
due to a lack of regulation of conscientious
objection by physicians and other health
personnel.
High rates of child and adolescent
pregnancy continued, due in part to the
absence of adequate sexual and reproductive
health services and information to prevent
unplanned pregnancies.
UZBEKISTAN
Republic of Uzbekistan
Head of state : Shavkat Mirzioiev
Head of government : Abdulla Aripov
The authorities eased some undue
restrictions on the media and the right to
freedom of expression. Several prisoners of
conscience and other prisoners serving long
sentences on politically motivated charges
were released; their right to freedom of
movement remained restricted. National
Security Service (NSS) officers arbitrarily
detained an independent journalist and
tortured him to “confess” to anti-state
crimes. The authorities continued to seek
the return of people they considered a
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION – HUMAN
RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND JOURNALISTS
The authorities eased some undue
restrictions on the right to freedom of
expression. They allowed some critical
reporting by the media and released several
prisoners convicted on politically motivated
charges. However, the government retained
firm control of access to information.
Independent and international media
platforms considered critical of the authorities
remained inaccessible.
In February, the authorities released
Muhammad Bekzhanov, after he served 17
years in prison on politically motivated
charges. He remained under curfew and
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close police supervision. In July, Erkin
Musaev, a former military official and staff
member of the UN Development Programme,
was released early. He had been sentenced
to 20 years on fabricated espionage charges
in 2006. Prisoners of conscience Azam
Farmonov and Salidzhon Abdurakhmonov,
human rights lawyer Agzam Turgunov and
two other human rights defenders were
released in October. All of them had been
tortured in detention. Prisoner of conscience
Isroil Kholdorov remained in prison.
In July, during a visit to the EU, the Foreign
Minister extended invitations to international
NGOs and international media to visit
Uzbekistan. The authorities granted limited
access to some representatives of
international NGOs and media.
Despite these positive developments,
human rights defenders and independent
journalists, both exiled and in Uzbekistan, as
well as their families, continued to be
subjected to smear campaigns online, on
national television and in the print media.
Surveillance by the authorities in Uzbekistan
and abroad reinforced the repressive
environment for human rights defenders,
journalists and others. Technical and legal
systems facilitated unlawful surveillance and
failed to provide effective controls and
remedies against abuse.
1
On 27 September, NSS officers detained
independent journalist Bobomurod
Abdullayev as he was leaving his home in the
capital, Tashkent. He was held
incommunicado for two weeks in an NSS
pre-trial detention facility, which is well
known for the use of torture. The NSS
accused him of using a pseudonym to
publish online articles that called for the
overthrow of the government and instigating
unrest in Uzbekistan, crimes punishable by
up to 20 years in prison. NSS officers warned
his family not to contact human rights
organizations or the media, and allowed him
only limited and supervised access to a
lawyer of his choice ten weeks after he was
detained. In November, the authorities
extended his pre-trial detention for another
three months. On 26 December, the NSS
accused his lawyer of misrepresenting the
case to the public and forced Bobomurod
Abdullayev to dismiss him in favour of a
state-appointed one.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
In August, the President announced that the
legal requirement for Uzbekistani nationals to
obtain permission to leave the country would
be abolished by 2019. Nevertheless, the
authorities continued to impose travel
restrictions on newly released prisoners who
had been convicted on politically motivated
charges. Some former prisoners continued to
be prevented from travelling abroad for
urgent medical treatment.
Human rights lawyer Polina Braunerg who
used a wheelchair, died in May from a stroke
after being repeatedly refused permission to
travel abroad for medical treatment.
In October, Murad Dzhuraev, a former
Member of Parliament, who was released in
November 2015 after serving 20 years in
prison on politically motivated charges, was
finally allowed to travel to Germany for urgent
medical treatment following mounting
international pressure. On 4 December, he
died suddenly before being able to leave the
country.
On 22 February, journalist Muhammad
Bekzhanov was released after 17 years in
prison. His sentence was handed down after
an unfair trial and torture, and arbitrarily
extended. At the end of the year, he had not
been granted permission to apply for an exit
visa to join his family abroad. He was not
allowed to travel to Tashkent for urgent
medical treatment that he required as a
consequence of the torture and other ill-
treatment he was subjected to.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The authorities repeatedly stated that they
had no intention of decriminalizing
consensual sexual relations between men,
which constituted a crime punishable by a
prison term of up to three years.
Same-sex consensual sexual relations
remained highly stigmatized, and LGBTI
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people were regularly subjected to violence,
arbitrary arrests, detention and discrimination
by state and non-state actors.
FORCED LABOUR AND SLAVERY
In August, a presidential decree formally
banned the forcible recruitment of children,
students, medical personnel and teaching
staff to work in the cotton fields. During his
speech to the UN General Assembly in
September, President Mirzioiev
acknowledged the use of forced labour in the
cotton industry in Uzbekistan and pledged to
end it.
Nevertheless, human rights defenders and
independent monitors detailed cases of
hundreds of medical personnel and teaching
staff being forced to work in the cotton fields,
in poor working conditions. In some regions,
they documented children harvesting cotton,
despite the August ban. The authorities
threatened those who refused to work in the
cotton fields with large fines, dismissal or the
loss of social benefits.
Police and local authorities tried to stop
human rights activists from monitoring the
work in the cotton fields, in some cases using
intimidation, force, and arbitrary detention.
In March, police detained human rights
defender Elena Urlaeva and forcibly confined
her in a psychiatric hospital for a month. This
was to prevent her from attending a
scheduled meeting with visiting delegations
from the World Bank and the ILO in Tashkent
to discuss her findings of the common
practice of forced labour in the cotton
industry. Between August and November,
police repeatedly detained her for brief
periods of time to stop her talking to medical
and teaching staff in the cotton fields.
“blacklist” of up to 18,000 people suspected
of membership of banned or unregistered
religious movements and groups.
However, security forces continued to detain
dozens of people accused of being members
of banned “extremist” groups, including
labour migrants returning from abroad.
Relatives and human rights activists reported
that police and NSS officers tortured many of
the people accused of illegal membership to
“confess” to fabricated charges, and that
judges continued to ignore credible
allegations, even when confronted with
physical signs of torture in the court room,
and admitted them as evidence.
In October, the UN Special Rapporteur on
freedom of religion or belief visited
Uzbekistan at the invitation of the authorities.
He was the first representative of the UN
Special Procedures to be granted access to
Uzbekistan since 2002. In his preliminary
findings he noted that religious practice was
“subject to excessive regulations that
prioritize security over freedom”.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The authorities continued to secure forcible
returns, including through extradition
proceedings, of Uzbekistani nationals they
identified as threats to the “constitutional
order” or national security.
NSS officers continued to abduct wanted
individuals (so-called renditions) from
abroad.
Those abducted or otherwise forcibly
returned were placed in incommunicado
detention, often in undisclosed locations, and
tortured or otherwise ill-treated to force them
to confess or incriminate others. In many
cases, security forces pressured relatives not
to seek support from human rights
organizations, and not to file complaints
about alleged human rights violations.
1.
“We will find you, anywhere”: The global shadow of Uzbekistani
surveillance (
EUR 62/5974/2017)
FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
In August, the President publicly called for a
review of the charges against people detained
on suspicion of possessing banned religious
or “extremist” materials. He also called for
people who regretted joining unregistered
Islamic movements, to be “rehabilitated”.
The authorities also announced that they had
removed more than 15,000 names from a
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VENEZUELA
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Head of state and government: Nicolás Maduro Moros
Venezuela remained in a state of
emergency, repeatedly extended since
January 2016. A National Constituent
Assembly was elected without the
participation of the opposition. The Attorney
General was dismissed under irregular
circumstances. Security forces continued to
use excessive and undue force to disperse
protests. Hundreds of people were
arbitrarily detained. There were many
reports of torture and other ill-treatment,
including sexual violence against
demonstrators. The judicial system
continued to be used to silence dissidents,
including using military jurisdiction to
prosecute civilians. Human rights defenders
were harassed, intimidated and subject to
raids. Conditions of detention were
extremely harsh. The food and health crises
continued to worsen, especially affecting
children, people with chronic illness and
pregnant women. The number of
Venezuelans seeking asylum in other
countries increased.
Telecommunications Commission. Other
media outlets also faced the threat of closure,
despite a 2015 ruling by the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights declaring that such
closures violated freedom of expression.
Anti-government protesters and some
opposition leaders were accused by the
government of being a threat to national
security.
The government ordered the removal of
some foreign news channels including CNN,
RCN and CARACOL from national television
cable operators. In September, journalists
from the online news and research portal
Armando.Info were threatened by
unidentified actors for their investigations into
cases of administrative corruption.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Between April and July in particular, there
were mass protests for and against the
government in various parts of the country.
The right to peaceful assembly was not
guaranteed. According to official data, at
least 120 people were killed and more than
1,177 wounded – including demonstrators,
members of the security forces and
bystanders – during these mass
demonstrations.
There were also reports from the Attorney
General’s Office that groups of armed people
with the support or acquiescence of the
government carried out violent actions
against demonstrators.
According to the local NGO Venezuelan
Penal Forum, 5,341 people were arrested in
the context of the protests, of which 822 were
tried. Of these, 726 civilians were subjected
to military justice and charged with military
crimes for demonstrating against the
government. At the end of the year, 216
people remained in pre-trial detention.
BACKGROUND
The year was marked by growing public
protests due to rising inflation and shortages
of food and medical supplies. The state of
emergency declared in January 2016
remained in force, providing the government
with special powers to attend the economic
situation. Despite the political dialogue
processes initiated between the government
and the opposition during the year, there was
no concrete progress in advancing human
rights issues.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The Office of the Special Rapporteur for
freedom of expression of the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
expressed concern about the closure of 50
radio stations by the National
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
In January the government relaunched its
public security programme, previously
named Operation Liberation of the People,
under the new name Operation Humanist
Liberation of the People. Reports continued
of excessive use of force by security agents.
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In the context of the demonstrations that
took place between April and July, the
government announced the activation of the
“Zamora Plan”, with the objective to
“guarantee the functioning [of the] country
[and] its security” by mobilizing civilians
alongside police and military forces to
“preserve internal order”. However, the
details of the plan were not made public.
The Bolivarian National Police and the
Bolivarian National Guard – among other civil
and military security forces – continued to
use excessive and undue force against
demonstrators. Between April and July there
was an increase in the deployment of military
forces to repress protests, resulting in an
increase in the excessive use of less-lethal
force and undue use of lethal force, including
firing tear gas directly at people’s bodies,
shooting multiple munitions such as rubber
bullets, beatings, and use of firearms, all of
which put protesters at risk of serious harm
or death.
According to the Attorney General’s Office,
Jairo Johan Ortiz Bustamante was killed by
gunshot wounds during a protest in Miranda
state on 6 April and Juan Pablo Pernalete
was killed by the impact of a tear gas bomb
to his chest during a protest in the capital,
Caracas, on 26 April. David Vallenilla,
Neomar Lander and Rubén Darío González
also died from injuries sustained during the
protests between April and July.
During this period, the civil society
organization Micondominio.com recorded at
least 47 illegal raids on multiple communities
and homes in 11 states across the country.
These raids were characterized by illegal use
of force, threats and mass arbitrary arrests,
and were often linked to police and military
operations against protests that took place
near the communities. The actions of the
security forces during these raids were illegal
and arbitrary and had indiscriminate effects.
Groups of armed people also harassed and
intimidated residents during the raids with
the acquiescence of the state security forces
present.
In August, the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights published a report highlighting
the systematic and widespread use of
excessive force during the protests between
April and July, pointing to a pattern of violent
home raids and torture and other ill-
treatment of detainees. The report also
expressed concern regarding difficulties
faced by international organizations in
accessing the country, and victims’ fears of
reporting abuses.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
Amnesty International documented 22
emblematic cases of people arbitrarily
detained for political reasons through the
implementation of various unlawful
mechanisms since 2014. These mechanisms
included the use of military justice, arrests
without a warrant, and the use of ambiguous
and discretionary criminal definitions, among
others, that demonstrated a much broader
pattern of efforts to silence dissent.
1
At the
end of the year, 12 of these people were
granted alternative measures to detention;
the other 10 remained arbitrarily detained,
although the courts had ordered the release
of many of them.
These documented cases included those of
MP Gilber Caro and activist Steyci Escalona,
both members
​
of the opposition party
Popular Will, who were arbitrarily detained in
January after senior government authorities
publicly accused them of carrying out
“terrorist activities”. Despite Gilber Caro’s trial
requiring authorization by Parliament, he
remained arbitrarily detained and his case
was submitted to military courts. Steyci
Escalona was granted conditional release
from pre-trial detention in November. By the
end of the year, neither had been brought to
trial.
Hundreds of people reported that they were
arbitrarily detained during the protests that
took place between April and July. Many
were denied access to medical care or a
lawyer of their choice and in many cases
were subjected to military tribunals. There
was a notable increase in the use of military
justice to try civilians.
In December, 44 people arbitrarily detained
for what local NGOs considered to have been
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politically motivated reasons were released
with alternative restrictions on their freedom.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
Many new reports of torture and other ill-
treatment were received. Wilmer Azuaje, a
member of the Legislative Council of Barinas
state, was arrested in May. His family
reported that during his detention he was
locked in a noxious-smelling room,
handcuffed for long periods of time and
sometimes kept incommunicado, conditions
that constitute cruel treatment. In July, the
Supreme Court of Justice ordered his transfer
to house arrest; however, at the end of the
year Wilmer Azuaje remained at the 26 July
Detention Centre without any charges against
him or any improvement in his conditions of
detention.
During the demonstrations between April
and July, there were reports of ill-treatment
by state officials during arrests of protesters,
including kicking, beatings and sexual
violence.
Lawyers representing people on trial before
military courts reported being harassed and
intimidated by government authorities,
putting great pressure on those defending
people critical of the government.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The justice system continued to be subject to
government interference, especially in cases
involving people critical of the government or
those who were considered to be acting
against the interests of the authorities. The
Bolivarian National Intelligence Service
continued to ignore court decisions to
transfer and release people in its custody.
Two police officers from the Chacao
municipality remained arbitrarily detained
since June 2016, despite a warrant being
issued for their release in August 2016.
Twelve other officers accused in the same
criminal case who had also been arbitrarily
detained since June 2016 were released in
December. In June 2017, the 14 officers
went on hunger strike, some for 23 days, in
order to demand that the authorities release
them in compliance with the judicial order.
5
In August, four opposition officials who had
been elected to public office were arrested
and five others had arrest warrants issued
against them. These warrants were issued by
the Supreme Court in a proceeding that was
not enshrined in law. A total of 11 officials
elected by popular vote were removed from
office in irregular proceedings.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders and individuals who
sought justice for human rights violations
continued to be subjected to attacks and
smear campaigns, in an apparent attempt to
halt their human rights work.
In February, transgender lawyer Samantha
Seijas was threatened by a police official
while filing a complaint at a police station in
Aragua state accompanied by his daughter.
2
In May, authorities raided the home of
human rights defender Ehisler Vásquez in the
city of Barquisimeto, Lara state. When he
requested information on the reason for the
raid, the Public Prosecutor’s Office
threatened to charge him with a crime.
3
Later
that month in the same city, a group of
unidentified people stormed the home of
human rights defenders Yonaide Sánchez
and Nelson Freitez.
4
Human rights defenders were intimidated
by state media and high-ranking government
officials, who publicly announced their
names and contact details while accusing
them of “terrorism”.
PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE
Leopoldo López, leader of the opposition
party Popular Will and a prisoner of
conscience, was moved to house arrest in
August. During his detention at the National
Centre for Military Proceedings in Ramo
Verde, Caracas, there had been several
reports of abuses against him, including
torture and denial of visits from his lawyers
and family.
Villca Fernández, a student and political
activist from the state of Mérida and a
prisoner of conscience, remained arbitrarily
detained by the Bolivarian National
Intelligence Service in Caracas. He had been
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repeatedly denied urgent medical care and
had reported other ill-treatment since his
detention in January 2016.
6
INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY
In May, Venezuela announced that it was
withdrawing from the Organization of
American States and therefore from the
authority of the IACHR, further limiting the
protection for victims of human rights
violations in Venezuela.
Decisions and rulings from international
human rights monitoring mechanisms were
still not implemented at the end of the year,
especially regarding the investigation and
punishment of those responsible for human
rights violations.
In November, Venezuela received a visit
from the UN Independent Expert on the
promotion of a democratic and equitable
international order. Visits from the UN Special
Rapporteur on the right to development, and
the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative
impact of unilateral coercive measures on the
enjoyment of human rights, were announced
for 2018.
victims of murder, torture and other violations
by state actors were yet to receive justice or
reparation.
The Attorney General’s Office announced
investigations into killings in the context of
protests between April and July 2017. The
National Constituent Assembly, established
on 30 July, appointed a Truth Commission to
investigate cases of human rights violations
during the protests; there were concerns
about its independence and impartiality.
There were reports of victims or their families
being pressured by authorities to testify and
agree on facts that could waive the
responsibility of state agents for these
violations, as well as obstacles to the work of
defence lawyers working with human rights
organizations.
DETENTION
Despite reforms to the penitentiary system in
2011, prison conditions remained extremely
harsh. Lack of medical care, food and
drinking water, insanitary conditions,
overcrowding and violence in prisons and
other detention centres continued. During
clashes inside penitentiary centres, the use of
firearms remained commonplace among
inmates. Many detainees resorted to hunger
strikes to protest against the conditions of
their detention.
The IACHR expressed concern over the
deaths of 37 detainees at the Amazon
Judicial Detention Centre in August during
clashes that took place when the Bolivarian
National Guard and the Bolivarian National
Police reportedly attempted to search the
premises.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
Former Minister of Defence and detained
government critic Raúl Isaías Baduel was
unexpectedly taken from his cell at the
National Centre for Military Proceedings in
Ramo Verde, Caracas, on the morning of 8 
August; he remained disappeared for 23
days. The authorities then acknowledged that
he was being held at the facilities of the
Bolivarian National Intelligence Service in
Caracas, where he was held incommunicado
and denied access to his family and lawyers
for more than a month.
7
RIGHT TO FOOD
The Documentation and Analysis Centre for
Workers reported that in December the
basket of consumer goods for a family of five,
which is used to define the consumer price
index, was 60 times the minimum wage,
representing a 2123% increase since
November 2016. The humanitarian
organization Caritas Venezuela found that
27.6% of children studied were at risk of
IMPUNITY
Most victims of human rights violations
continued to lack access to truth, justice and
reparation. Victims and their families were
often subjected to intimidation.
In April, two officers of the Bolivarian
National Guard were sentenced for killing
Geraldine Moreno during demonstrations in
Carabobo state in 2014. The majority of
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malnutrition and 15.7% of them suffered
mild to acute malnutrition.
The government failed to acknowledge the
worsening food shortage caused by the
economic and social crises. In its
Global
Report on Food Crises 2017,
the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization stated that it
lacked reliable official data on Venezuela and
that the deepening of the critical economic
situation could lead to a greater absence of
consumer goods such as food and medical
supplies.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
The economic crisis continued to limit access
to contraception. In June, in an online survey
carried out by the local NGO AVESA, 72% of
respondents had not been able to access any
contraceptives during the previous 12
months, and 27% said that they could not
afford to buy contraceptives from
pharmacies.
REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS
There was a notable increase in the number
of Venezuelans seeking asylum in Brazil,
Costa Rica, the USA, Spain, Peru, and
Trinidad and Tobago. Other countries in the
region, including Colombia and Ecuador, also
continued to receive large numbers of
Venezuelans seeking refuge.
1. Silenced by force: Politically motivated arbitrary detentions in
Venezuela (AMR
53/6014/2017)
2. Venezuela: Trans man and daughter threatened by police (AMR
53/5651/2017)
3.
Venezuela: Human rights defender harassed − Ehisler Vásquez (AMR
53/6252/2017)
4.
Venezuela: Defenders’ home invaded, safety at risk (AMR
53/6324/2017)
5. Venezuela: Arbitrary detainees on hunger strike (AMR
53/6758/2017)
6. Venezuela: Prisoner of conscience needs medical care: Villca
Fernández (AMR
53/7464/2017)
7. Venezuela: Detainee held incommunicado again: Raúl Isaías Baduel
(AMR
53/7051/2017)
RIGHT TO HEALTH
After almost two years of publishing no
official data, in May the Ministry of Health
published the weekly epidemiological
bulletins from 2016. The data revealed that
during 2016, there were 11,466 reported
deaths of children under the age of one, an
increase of 30.1% from 2015, when this
figure stood at 8,812. The most common
causes of infant mortality were neonatal
sepsis, pneumonia and premature birth. In
addition, the bulletins showed that 324 cases
of diphtheria were reported in 2016.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The Ministry of Health bulletins indicated an
increase in instances of maternal mortality of
65.8% from 2015 to 2016, with a total of 756
deaths recorded in 2016, 300 more than in
2015.
Lack of official data made it almost
impossible to monitor the rate of femicides
and other crimes against women. However,
the NGO Women’s Metropolitan Institute
estimated that there were at least 48
femicides between January and May.
Ten years after the implementation of the
Organic Law on Women’s Right to Live a Life
Free of Violence, local NGOs reported that
prosecutors, judges, police officers and other
officials remained poorly equipped to protect
women’s rights, and women often suffered
re-victimization because of institutional
violence. Other obstacles to implementing the
law included a lack of official data to plan
and programme public policies to prevent
and eradicate violence against women.
VIET NAM
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Head of state: Trần
Đại
Quang
Head of government: Nguyễn Xuân Phúc
Arbitrary restrictions on the rights to
freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly continued. A crackdown
on dissent intensified, causing scores of
activists to flee the country. Human rights
defenders, peaceful political activists and
religious followers were subjected to a range
of human rights violations, including
arbitrary detention, prosecution on national
security and other vaguely worded charges
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in unfair trials, and long-term
imprisonment. Prominent activists faced
restrictions on movement and were subject
to surveillance, harassment and violent
assaults. Prisoners of conscience were
tortured and otherwise ill-treated.
Suspicious deaths in police custody were
reported, and the death penalty was
retained.
BACKGROUND
Dozens of state company officials were
arrested and prosecuted during an anti-
corruption campaign, including those also
holding government and Communist Party of
Viet Nam positions. Several were sentenced
to death for embezzlement. In July, state
security officials abducted a former
businessman and government official while
he was seeking asylum in Germany, and
forcibly returned him to Viet Nam to stand
trial for embezzlement and economic
mismanagement; Vietnamese authorities
maintained that he had returned voluntarily.
During the assessment of Viet Nam’s
human rights record under the UN UPR
process, the government stated that by
February it had implemented 129 out of 182
recommendations made during the review in
2014. No amendments were made to vaguely
worded national security legislation used
against peaceful dissidents to bring it into line
with international law and standards.
Viet Nam hosted meetings of the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum
throughout the year, including the leaders’
summit in November.
REPRESSION OF DISSENT
The crackdown on freedom of expression
and criticism of government actions and
policies intensified, causing scores of
peaceful activists to flee the country. At least
29 activists were arrested during the year,
and others went into hiding after arrest
warrants were issued. They were charged
mostly under vaguely worded provisions in
the national security section of the 1999
Penal Code or detained on other spurious
charges. Bloggers and pro-democracy
activists were particularly targeted, as well as
social and environmental activists
campaigning in the aftermath of the 2016
Formosa Plastics toxic spill that killed tonnes
of fish and destroyed the livelihoods of
thousands of people. At least five members of
the independent Brotherhood for Democracy,
co-founded by human rights lawyer and
prisoner of conscience Nguyễn
Văn Đài, were
arrested between July and December.
1
They
were charged under Article 79 (activities
aimed at overthrowing the People’s
Administration), which carried a punishment
of up to life imprisonment or the death
penalty. Several were previous prisoners of
conscience. In August, the same additional
charge was brought against Nguyễn
Văn Đài
and his associate Lê Thu Hà, who had been
held incommunicado since their arrests in
December 2015 on charges of “conducting
propaganda against the state” under Article
88.
At least 98 prisoners of conscience were
detained or imprisoned, an increase on
previous years despite some releases on
completion of sentences. They included
bloggers, human rights defenders working on
land and labour issues, political activists,
religious followers and members of ethnic
minority groups. The authorities continued to
grant early release to prisoners of conscience
only if they agreed to go into exile. Đặng
Xuân Diệu, a Catholic social activist and
blogger arrested in 2011, was released in
January after serving six years of a 13-year
prison sentence. He was immediately flown
into exile in France. In July, Pastor Nguyễn
Cong Chinh was released four years before
the end of his 11-year sentence and
immediately flown to exile in the USA. Both
men were tortured and otherwise ill-treated
while imprisoned.
Trials of dissidents routinely failed to meet
international standards of fairness; there was
a lack of adequate defence as well as denial
of the presumption of innocence. Human
rights defender and blogger Nguyễn Ngọc
Như Quỳnh, also known as Mẹ Nấm,
(Mother Mushroom), was sentenced to 10
years’ imprisonment for
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“conducting propaganda” (Article 88) in
June. Land and labour activist Trần Thị Nga
received a nine-year sentence on the same
charge with five years’ house arrest upon
release in July.
2
In October, after a trial lasting
just a few hours, student Phan Kim Khánh
was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment
and four years’ house arrest upon release,
after conviction under Article 88. He had
criticized corruption and lack of freedom of
expression in Viet Nam on blogs and social
media. He was also accused of being in
contact with “reactionaries” overseas.
In May, the authorities revoked the
Vietnamese citizenship of former prisoner of
conscience Phạm Minh Hoàng, a member of
Viet Tan, an overseas-based group peacefully
campaigning for democracy in Viet Nam. He
was forcibly deported to France in June.
region, was denied follow-up treatment after
a medical operation.
4
Hòa Hảo Buddhist and
land rights activist Trần Thị Thúy continued
to be denied adequate treatment for serious
medical conditions since April 2015.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The authorities used unnecessary or
excessive force to disperse and prevent
peaceful gatherings and protests, in
particular those relating to the Formosa
Plastics toxic spill in April 2016. In February,
police and plain-clothes men attacked
around 700 mainly Catholic peaceful
protesters gathered in Nghệ An province
before marching to present legal complaints
against Formosa Plastics. Several individuals
were injured and required hospital treatment,
and others were arrested.
5
TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT
Reports continued of torture and other ill-
treatment, including beatings and other
assaults, of peaceful activists by individuals
believed to be acting in collusion with
security police. In September, Viet Nam’s
initial report on implementation of the UN
Convention against Torture, ratified in
November 2014, acknowledged challenges
and difficulties in implementation due to an
“incomplete legal framework on human
rights”, among other reasons.
Prisoners of conscience were routinely held
incommunicado during pre-trial detention,
lasting up to two years. Detainees were
denied medical treatment and transferred to
prisons distant from their family home.
The whereabouts of Nguyễn Bắc Truyển, a
human rights defender arrested in secret in
July, were not disclosed to his family until
three weeks later. He was held
incommunicado and denied access to
medication for pre-existing medical
conditions.
3
Denial of medical treatment was used to try
to force prisoners of conscience to “confess”
to crimes. Đinh
Nguyễn Kha, an activist
sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for
distributing leaflets critical of Viet Nam’s
response to China’s territorial claims in the
DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Deaths in police custody in suspicious
circumstances continued to be reported. Hòa
Hảo Buddhist Nguyễn Hữu Tấn died after
his arrest in May. Police claimed that he
committed suicide, but his father said that
the injuries on his body suggested that he
was tortured before being killed.
DEATH PENALTY
A Ministry of Public Security report published
in February revealed the extent of
implementation of the death penalty, with an
average of 147 executions annually between
August 2013 and June 2016. The report
stated that five new lethal injection centres
were to be built. Only one execution was
reported by official media during 2017, but
more were believed to have been carried out.
Death sentences were handed down for drug
offences and embezzlement.
1. Viet Nam: Four peaceful activists arrested in connection with long-
detained human rights lawyer (ASA
41/6855/2017)
2. Viet Nam: Female activist sentenced to nine years in prison (ASA
41/6833/2017)
3.
Viet Nam: Missing human rights defender at risk of torture − Nguyễn
Bắc Truyển (ASA
41/6964/2017)
4.
Viet Nam: Necessary medical treatment denied to prisoner − Đinh
Nguyễn Kha (ASA
41/5733/2017)
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5. Viet Nam: Hundreds of peaceful marchers attacked by police (ASA
41/5728/2017)
YEMEN
Republic of Yemen
Head of state: Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi
Head of government: Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr
All parties to the continuing armed conflict
committed war crimes and other serious
violations of international law, with
inadequate accountability measures in
place to ensure justice and reparation to
victims. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition
supporting the internationally recognized
Yemeni government continued to bomb
civilian infrastructure and carried out
indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring
civilians. The Huthi-Saleh forces
indiscriminately shelled civilian residential
areas in Ta’iz city and fired artillery
indiscriminately across the border into
Saudi Arabia, killing and injuring civilians.
The Yemeni government, Huthi-Saleh forces
and Yemeni forces aligned to the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) engaged in illegal
detention practices including enforced
disappearance and torture and other ill-
treatment. Women and girls continued to
face entrenched discrimination and other
abuses, including forced and early marriage
and domestic violence. The death penalty
remained in force; no information was
publicly available on death sentences or
executions.
BACKGROUND
Yemen’s territorial divisions and controls
became deeply entrenched as the armed
conflict continued between the internationally
recognized government of President Hadi,
supported by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition,
and the Huthis and allied forces, which
included army units loyal to former President
Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Huthi-Saleh
authorities continued to control large parts of
the country including the capital, Sana’a,
while President Hadi’s government officially
controlled southern parts of Yemen including
the governorates of Lahj and Aden. On 4
 December, Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed by
Huthi forces consolidating their control over
Sana’a.
Meanwhile, rival armed factions proliferated
and vied to assert control against a
background of economic collapse and
widespread lawlessness, in the absence of
functioning state institutions.
The authority of President Hadi, weak or
absent in large swathes of the country,
continued to wane and faced challenges from
multiple actors and entities. Through its
Supreme Political Council, the Huthi-Saleh
alliance undertook, in the areas under their
control, responsibilities and functions of the
state. This included the formation of a
government, the appointment of governors
and the issuing of governmental decrees.
In May, former Governor of Aden Aidarous
al-Zubaydi, and Hani bin Brik, a former
Minister of State, formed a 26-member
Southern Transition Council. The Council,
which expressed the aim of an independent
South Yemen and which enjoyed public
support, held several meetings and
established headquarters in the city of Aden.
The continued conflict led to a political and
security vacuum and the establishment of a
safe haven for armed groups and militias,
assisted by outside states. Some of these
forces were trained, funded and supported
by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Some local
security forces, including the Hadrami Elite
Forces and Security Belt Forces, were armed
and trained by and reported directly to the
UAE. Such forces were characterized by in-
fighting and competing agendas.
The armed group al-Qa’ida in the Arabian
Peninsula (AQAP) continued to control parts
of southern Yemen and to carry out bomb
attacks in the governorates of Aden, Abyan,
Lahj and al-Bayda. Air strikes and strikes by
remotely piloted vehicles (drones) against
AQAP by US forces increased threefold. US
forces also carried out at least two ground
assault raids. The armed group Islamic State
(IS) continued to operate in parts of the
country, albeit on a small scale.
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There was no progress in political
negotiations nor any cessations of hostilities
during the year. As military operations and
fighting continued in and around the port
cities of Mokha and Hodeidah, all parties to
the conflict refused to engage with the UN-
led process at different times depending on
military gains on the ground.
ARMED CONFLICT
According to the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, 5,144
civilians, including more than 1,184 children,
had been killed and more than 8,749
civilians wounded since the conflict began in
March 2015 until August 2017. The UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) reported that more than two
thirds of the population were in need of
humanitarian assistance and at least 2.9 
million people had fled their homes. The
WHO reported that more than 500,000
people were suspected of having cholera due
to lack of clean water and access to health
facilities. Nearly 2,000 people had died of
cholera since the outbreak began in 2016.
The ongoing conflict was a major factor in the
prevalence of cholera in Yemen.
VIOLATIONS BY HUTHI-SALEH FORCES AND PRO-
GOVERNMENT MILITIAS
Huthi and allied forces, including army units
loyal to former President Saleh, continued to
employ tactics that appeared to violate the
prohibition of indiscriminate attacks. They
indiscriminately fired explosive munitions
with wide-area effects, including mortars and
artillery shells, into residential areas
controlled or contested by opposing forces,
killing and injuring civilians. The city of Ta’iz
was particularly affected, with such attacks
intensifying at particular times including in
January and May. The UN reported that a
series of attacks from 21 May to 6 June
between Huthi and anti-Huthi forces killed at
least 26 civilians and injured at least 61.The
Huthis and their allies also continued to lay
internationally banned anti-personnel
landmines that caused civilian casualties. On
15 September, the UN reported a further
series of apparently indiscriminate attacks
launched by Huthi-Saleh forces in Ta’iz,
including shelling on a house in the Shab al-
Dhuba district and al-Sameel Market, killing
three children and injuring seven others.
The Huthis and allied forces, as well as pro-
government forces, continued to recruit and
deploy child soldiers.
VIOLATIONS BY THE SAUDI ARABIA-LED COALITION
The UN reported that the Saudi Arabia-led
coalition supporting President Hadi’s
government continued to be the leading
cause of civilian casualties in the conflict.
The coalition continued to commit serious
violations of international human rights law
and humanitarian law with impunity.
Coalition aircraft carried out bomb attacks
on areas controlled or contested by Huthi
forces and their allies, particularly in the
Sana’a, Ta’iz, Hajjah, Hodeidah and Sa’da
governorates, killing and injuring thousands
of civilians. Many coalition attacks were
directed at military targets, but others were
indiscriminate, disproportionate or directed
against civilians and civilian objects,
including funeral gatherings, schools,
markets, residential areas and civilian boats.
In March, a helicopter attacked a boat
carrying 146 Somali migrants and refugees
off the coast of the port city of Hodeidah,
killing 42 civilians and injuring 34 others.
Another attack in August on a residential
neighbourhood in southern Sana’a killed 16
civilians and injured 17 others, the majority of
whom were children.
Coalition forces used imprecise munitions in
some attacks, including large bombs with a
wide impact radius that caused casualties
and destruction beyond their immediate
strike location. They also continued to use
cluster munitions in attacks in Sa’da
governorate, despite such munitions being
widely prohibited internationally because of
their inherently indiscriminate nature. Cluster
munitions scattered explosive bomblets over
wide areas and presented a continuing risk
because of their frequent failure to detonate
on initial impact. In February, the coalition
fired Brazilian-manufactured rockets
containing banned cluster munitions on
residential areas and farmland in Sa’da city,
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injuring two civilians and causing material
damage.
AERIAL AND NAVAL BLOCKADE
The coalition continued to impose a partial
sea and air blockade that was tightened in
November, purportedly to enforce the UN-
sanctioned arms embargo on the Huthis and
Saleh-aligned forces. Throughout the year,
these blockades curtailed the movement of
people and goods, deepening the
humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict
and contributing to violations of the right to
health and to an adequate standard of living,
including adequate food. This contributed to
pervasive food insecurity and what became
the world’s worst cholera epidemic. In March,
the NGO Save the Children reported that the
coalition prevented three of its aid shipments
from reaching the port of Hodeidah, forcing
them to reroute to Aden and delaying the
delivery of aid for three months. In August,
OCHA reported that four vessels carrying
more than 71,000 tonnes of fuel were denied
access to Hodeidah by the coalition. In
November, 29 ships carrying essential
supplies were prevented by the coalition from
reaching Hodeidah port, according to OCHA.
UAE-backed Yemeni forces in Aden
perpetrated a campaign of arbitrary detention
and enforced disappearances. Amnesty
International documented 13 cases of
arbitrary detention during the year; some of
these detainees were held incommunicado or
had been subjected to enforced
disappearance. Members of the Baha’i
community were also arbitrarily detained at
Aden International Airport by local forces
aligned with the UAE and were held without
charge for nine months.
Professor and political figure Mustafa al-
Mutawakel was arbitrarily arrested by the
internationally recognized Yemeni
government forces in Marib on 27 April. He
remained in detention without charge.
IMPUNITY
Since the conflict began, all parties
committed serious violations of international
humanitarian law and violations and abuses
of human rights law with absolute impunity.
Since its inception in September 2015, the
National Commission to Investigate Alleged
Violations of Human Rights, established by
the Yemeni government, failed to conduct
prompt, impartial and effective investigations
consistent with international standards into
alleged human rights violations committed by
all parties to the conflict in Yemen. Similarly,
the Saudi Arabia-led coalition investigative
mechanism continued to appear to lack the
necessary impartiality and independence to
carry out its work credibly.
With the proliferation of armed groups and
security forces without command and control
and the lack of effective control of the central
government over its security forces and
territories, the space for impunity further
widened. In its mid-term report, the UN
Panel of Experts on Yemen expressed
concern that member states of the coalition
were expressly shielding themselves from
accountability and individual responsibility by
hiding behind the umbrella of the coalition.
In a positive development, the UN Human
Rights Council passed a resolution in
September mandating a group of experts to
investigate abuses by all parties in Yemen.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The Huthi-Saleh forces, Yemeni government
and Yemeni forces aligned with the UAE
engaged in arbitrary and illegal detention
practices. Amnesty International documented
a few cases in Sana’a and Marib of civilians
being detained solely to be used as leverage
in future prisoner exchanges, which amounts
to hostage-taking and is a violation of
international humanitarian law.
In Sana’a and other areas they controlled,
the Huthis and their allies continued to
arbitrarily arrest and detain critics and
opponents as well as journalists, private
individuals, human rights defenders and
members of the Baha’i community,
subjecting scores to enforced disappearance.
Five Baha’i men remained in detention at the
end of the year. One of the men had been
held for nearly four years, accused by the
Huthis of apostasy, which carries the death
penalty under Yemeni law.
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This constituted a first step towards justice
for victims of human rights abuses and grave
violations of international law.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
The Huthis and their allies, as well as armed
factions in Ta’iz, Aden and Sana’a, waged a
campaign against journalists and human
rights defenders, curtailing freedom of
expression in areas under their de facto
administration.
The Huthis and allied forces continued to
hold at least nine journalists without charge;
they had been arbitrarily detained for more
than two years. Meanwhile in Aden and Ta’iz,
armed groups and security forces
assassinated, harassed, intimidated, detained
and in some cases tortured human rights
defenders and journalists, forcing some to
exercise self-censorship and others to flee
Yemen.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the
Yemeni government prevented journalists
from entering Yemen, including by preventing
the UN from allowing journalists onto their
flights into Yemen, minimizing coverage and
effectively imposing a media blackout. This
ban was also extended to human rights
organizations in May.
authorities in Sana’a convicted journalist
Yahya al-Jubaihi and sentenced him to death
on charges of spying. This was the first time
the Huthi-Saleh authorities had sentenced
somebody to death. Yahya al-Jubaihi was
released in September.
ZAMBIA
Republic of Zambia
Head of state and government: Edgar Chagwa Lungu
The authorities cracked down on critics,
including human rights defenders,
journalists and opposition political party
members. The Public Order Act was used to
repress rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly. The police used
unnecessary and excessive force against
peaceful protesters and failed to address
violence by groups close to the government.
The judiciary came under verbal attack from
the President. Levels of food insecurity in
rural areas remained high.
BACKGROUND
There was heightened tension between
supporters of the President and of Hakainde
Hichilema, leader of the opposition United
Party for National Development (UPND),
following the disputed election results in
2016. Hakainde Hichilema refused to
recognize Edgar Chagwa Lungu as President.
The Constitutional Court rejected Hakainde
Hichilema’s petition against the results on
procedural grounds. The Court was also
expected to deliver a judgment during 2018
on whether President Lungu could run for
president in the 2021 elections.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The protracted conflict exacerbated existing
discrimination and inequality for women and
girls and gave rise to the adoption of negative
coping mechanisms, such as child marriage,
especially in the governorates of Ta’iz, Hajjah,
Hodeidah, Ibb and Sana’a. Societal and legal
protection mechanisms – however
inadequate – broke down. This left women
and girls with less protection from, and fewer
avenues of redress for, sexual and other
violence, including female genital mutilation,
forced marriage and other abuses.
FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND
ASSOCIATION
The space for civil society, human rights
defenders, journalists and opposition political
parties was increasingly restricted. The
authorities continued to use the Public Order
Act to prevent political parties and civil
society organizations from gathering. Section
5(4) of the Act provided that anyone
DEATH PENALTY
The death penalty remained in force for
many crimes; no information was publicly
available about death sentences or
executions. On 12 April, the Huthi-Saleh
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intending to assemble or convene a public
meeting or demonstration was required to
give the police seven days’ notice. However,
the police interpreted the law as imposing a
requirement to obtain prior authorization for
any public assembly to proceed. On 24 
August, police dispersed a prayer meeting
convened to welcome Hakainde Hichilema’s
release from Mukobeko Maximum Security
Prison in Kabwe city where he had been held
for four months on charges of treason, which
were dropped.
On 10 January, UK lawyer Oliver Holland
was arrested and charged under the Public
Order Act with unlawful assembly for meeting
with a community in Chingola city who was
challenging in court environmental pollution
allegedly caused by a mining company. He
was released the same day and charges
against him were dropped; however, he was
later charged with conduct likely to breach
the peace and ordered to pay a USD5 fine.
Police frequently used unnecessary and
excessive force to disperse protesters.
In April, police stopped a UPND rally in
Kanyama Township in the capital, Lusaka, on
“security” grounds. Although the UPND had
notified the police in advance of the rally,
they unlawfully dispersed the rally, shooting
20-year-old Stephen Kalipa, one of the
protesters. He died later from gunshot
wounds at the hospital. An investigation was
opened, but no one had been arrested in
connection with the incident by the end of
the year. The police claimed that he died of
knife stab wounds at the hands of an
unidentified assailant.
On 23 June, police arrested senior UPND
officials on charges of unlawful assembly
alleging that they held a press briefing at
the UPND’s secretariat offices without
obtaining prior authorization. On 29
September, police arrested six human rights
defenders who gathered outside Parliament
and protested peacefully against the
government’s purchase, at the inflated cost of
USD42 million, of 42 fire engines; they were
charged with refusing to obey police orders.
The protesters were beaten during the protest
by members of the ruling Patriotic Front.
EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE
On 8 April, Hakainde Hichilema and other
UPND members − Lastone Mulilandumba,
Muleya Haachenda, Wallace Chakwa,
Pretorius Haloba and Hamusonde Hamaleka
− were arrested and charged with treason
and disobeying a lawful order following an
earlier incident in which Hakainde
Hichilema’s motorcade refused to give way to
President Lungu’s convoy. Police raided
Hakainde Hichilema’s house without a
warrant, using tear gas against him and his
family. On 28 April, his wife, Mutinta, was
threatened with arrest after she reported the
police’s use of excessive force. No charges
had been brought against the police in
connection with the incident by the end of
the year. On 15 August, the Director of Public
Prosecutions withdrew all charges against
Hakainde Hichilema and the other UPND
members.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Security forces and political activists affiliated
with the Patriotic Front subjected media
workers, political activists and others who
criticized the government to harassment and
intimidation.
Staff of the Law Association of Zambia were
harassed and intimidated because of their
work in defence of human rights. On 3
March, for example, Patriotic Front loyalists
stormed the Association’s offices demanding
the resignation of its president, Linda
Kasonde.
Later the same month, the Association
joined a High Court petition to prevent the
liquidation of Post Newspapers
–
known to be
highly critical of the government − in
proceedings in which the Zambia Revenue
Authority, among others, sought the
company’s liquidation, alleging that it had
failed to pay taxes.
On 3 August, police arrested Saviour
Chishimba, president of the United
Progressive People party on defamation
charges after he criticized President Lungu
for declaring a threatened state of
emergency. Saviour Chishimba was detained
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for seven days, without being brought before
a judge; he was released without charge.
In October, the Independent Broadcasting
Authority summoned Prime Television
Zambia’s management to answer allegations
that they had violated the provisions of their
broadcasting licence when they covered a
story about the UPND’s parliamentary
candidate for Kalulushi town, Everisto
Mwalilino, who had accused government
officials of electoral corruption. The station
had also highlighted corruption allegations
against former Information Minister,
Chishimba Kambwili.
community was not fully consulted over the
use of its land for safaris.
ZIMBABWE
Republic of Zimbabwe
Head of state and government: Emmerson Dambudzo
Mnangagwa (replaced Robert Gabriel Mugabe in
November)
Activists and human rights defenders
continued to mobilize to hold the
government to account through protests on
the streets and via social media. The state
continued to use the law to crack down on
dissenting voices. The authorities continued
with forced evictions despite constitutional
provisions prohibiting the practice.
Independence of the judiciary remained
under threat following amendments to the
Constitution.
JUSTICE SYSTEM
The government verbally attacked the
judiciary, which undermined the
independence of the institution. At the same
time, there was a growing public perception
of the judiciary as a polarized institution in
which some judges were not politically
independent. In September, while on a visit
to South Africa, Hakainde Hichilema accused
the judiciary of corruption and of being under
the control of the President. On 2 November,
President Lungu warned judges against
blocking him from running for President in
2021. In November, on a trip to Solwezi, he
warned judges against following Kenyan
judges who, in September, had ruled to annul
the results of Kenya’s presidential elections.
BACKGROUND
The economic situation worsened with no
solution to the liquidity crisis in sight.
In October, the Ministry of Cyber Security,
Threat Detection and Mitigation was
established in response to social media
activism.
Factionalism and succession battles within
the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party intensified;
President Mugabe dismissed the then First
Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 6
 November, for allegedly plotting against the
government and exhibiting “disloyalty,
deceitfulness, disrespect and unreliability”.
On 14 November, the military took power and
after public support for the military action,
and Parliament’s impeachment process,
Robert Mugabe resigned on 21 November.
Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as
President on 24 November.
RIGHT TO FOOD
The 2017 Global Hunger Index reported that
food insecurity and undernourishment
remained alarmingly high. Many subsistence
farmers were affected because they were
denied access to their land due to ongoing
land disputes. In Mpande, Northern
Province, over 300 people were locked into a
legal dispute with the government after they
were forcibly evicted from their land to an
arid region where they could not produce
food. In Kaindu, Mumbwa District, the
owners and employees of a German-owned
safari company shot at, and verbally abused,
members of a 700-strong community,
preventing them from fishing in the Kafue
River and gathering food from the forest. The
FREEDOMS OF ASSOCIATION AND
ASSEMBLY
The police dispersed meetings or peaceful
protests using excessive force.
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On 26 June, police arrested Pastor Evan
Mawarire in the capital, Harare, after he held
prayers with University of Zimbabwe medical
students during a protest against fee
increases. He was held in Harare Central
Police Station for two days before being
released on bail on charges of inciting public
violence and disorderly conduct. He was
acquitted on 29 September, although
separate charges remained against him
relating to a different arrest (see below
“Freedom of expression”).
In July, Darlington Madzonga and Edmund
Musvubi were arrested by police during a
peaceful protest in Harare, held by the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
youth against the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission’s failure to implement reforms.
They were charged with killing a police officer
during the protest and they remained in
detention in Harare at the end of the year
while their case was pending in court.
On 10 November, the police disrupted a
meeting in Marange Village, in the east, of 22
activists from Latin American and Southern
African countries to commemorate the ninth
anniversary of the killing of 200 people by the
military. The 200 had been killed after they
took control of the diamond fields in protest
at government plans to hand over diamond
mines to Chinese businesses. The 22
activists were arrested and charged with
entering a protected area without a
government permit. They were released on
11 November after pleading guilty and were
each fined USD100.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
The state restricted the right to freedom of
expression particularly of human rights
defenders and other activists.
On 16 January, Pastor Philip Mugadza was
arrested by police in Harare and charged
with criminal nuisance after he said that
President Mugabe would die on 17 October.
He was released on bail on 10 March. His
case was pending in the Constitutional Court
at the end of the year. If convicted, he faces a
jail sentence of up to six months.
Pastor Evan Mawarire was targeted for
various public statements he made criticizing
the government. He had fled the country in
July 2016, but was arrested by police in
Harare, upon his return on 31 January, on
charges of subversion and insulting the
national flag. He was released on bail on 8
February. On 24 September, Pastor Mawarire
was arrested again and charged with
subverting a constitutionally elected
government after he published a video on 23
 September in which he complained about
fuel shortages and rising prices. He was
released from the Harare Central Police
Station on 26 September. On 29 November,
the Harare High Court acquitted him of all
the charges.
On 10 August, Energy Mutodi, a
businessman and supporter of Emmerson
Mnangagwa, was arrested in Harare by police
officers of the Criminal Investigation
Department for suggesting on Facebook that
a coup was likely if President Mugabe did not
choose his successor carefully. He was
charged with undermining the President’s
authority and causing disaffection among the
police and defence forces. On 23 August, he
was released from Harare Remand Prison on
bail but his case was ongoing at the end of
the year.
Victor Matemadanda, an executive member
of the National Liberation War Veterans’
Association, was detained by police at Harare
Central Police Station in August on charges of
undermining the office of the President and
causing disaffection among the police and
defence forces. He had called on President
Mugabe to step down. He was released on
bail after several days but his case remained
pending at the end of the year.
On 2 October, journalist Kenneth Nyangani
was arrested by police in the city of Mutare
for reporting that the President’s wife donated
clothing, including used underwear, to
ZANU-PF supporters in Mutare. He was
bailed on 4 October and was awaiting trial
until 13 December when the state failed to
bring him to trial.
On 3 November, journalist Martha
O’Donovan, a US national, was arrested at
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home by the Harare Police and charged with
insulting the President and attempting to
subvert a constitutionally elected
government. She was alleged to have insulted
Robert Mugabe on Twitter. She was released
on bail from Chikurubi Maximum Security
Prison on 10 November; she had not been
brought to trial by the end of the year.
2000; the forced evictions from Manzou have
left over 200 families homeless and without
compensation.
LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
In August, Parliament passed a bill amending
section 180 of the 2013 Constitution. MP
Jessie Majome challenged the bill in court on
the basis that the vote did not meet the
required two-thirds majority and threatened
judicial independence. The bill gives the
President power to unilaterally appoint the
most senior judicial positions.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS
The military police arrested a number of
suspects on charges of fraud and corruption.
Those arrested included senior state officials,
implicated in corruption, whose rights were
denied on arrest, including by being denied
access to lawyers.
During the military takeover in November,
army personnel detained several members of
a ZANU- PF faction who were alleged to
support Emmerson Mnangagwa’s dismissal.
They were held for more than the
constitutionally permitted 48 hours before
being brought to court. Former Finance
Minister Ignatius Chombo, ZANU-PF Youth
League Commissar Innocent Hamandishe,
and ZANU-PF Youth League secretary
Kudzanayi Chipanga, were arrested and
detained by military police on 14 November.
During their detention they were denied
access to their lawyers and were not taken to
court until 25 November. Ignatius Chombo
was charged with corruption and criminal
abuse of office; Kudzanayi Chipanga and
Innocent Hamandishe were charged with
publishing or communicating falsehoods after
they claimed at a press conference that Army
Commander General Chiwenga stole money
from the sale of Marange diamonds.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
RIGHTS
Economic instability, drought, high poverty
levels and unemployment put obstacles in
the way of access to education, health and
adequate food. In July, Zimbabwe reported to
the Voluntary National Review of Sustainable
Development Goals for the UN High Level
Political Forum that over 76% of children in
Zimbabwe lived in consumption poverty, and
a quarter lived in extreme poverty. Difficulties
in paying basic school fees were widespread;
the national Food and Nutrition Council
found that at least 63% of school-age
children were turned away from school for
non-payment of fees. An estimated 4.1 
million people in rural areas were reported to
be food insecure.
The right to health was increasingly
threatened as allocation of budget to health
decreased to only 8.2% of the national
budget. The Auditor General’s June report
highlighted a crisis in health service delivery,
and noted shortages of essential medicines
and equipment, unavailability of water and
specialized personnel.
FORCED EVICTIONS
In April, police used excessive force to evict
around 15 families from Manzou Farm in the
Mashonaland Central Province which
consists of several small farms. The evictions
contravened a High Court order on 24 March
which directed the government to end the
practice of arbitrary evictions and home
demolitions without providing compensation
or alternative land to those evicted. The
residents had lived on the farmland since
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
In October, UNICEF reported that 34% of
girls and women were married by the age of
18. The government was yet to amend the
Marriage Act or related legislation to comply
with the Constitutional Court’s 2016 judgment
under which marriage under 18 was
unconstitutional. NGOs and girls and women
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giving birth reported that those who had
babies in public health facilities were not
allowed to leave until their fees were paid.
Despite the Ministry of Health policy
guidance that maternal health services
should be provided for free, local authorities
continued to be charged fees for such
services in public health facilities.
Marginalized women and girls experienced
severe delays in accessing maternal health
services or received no care at all.
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